Is it possible for you to visit the school with the fantastic financial aid package and the great career opportunities? What is is about the atmosphere of this school that you like less? If you are decided on your major or career direction, which school has better stats on job placement after college in that area?

This poem is fun and scary. This is definitely a poem I will read to my nephew.

What do you think is motivating us as a species to create AI robots? Clearly parts of our species are afraid enough to warrant PR in favor of AI robots before they exist. And yet, still members of our species are actively working to create AI robots while the rest of our species (at least the ones that know that some people are doing this) are tacitly supporting the creation of AI robots by allowing this research. I seriously wonder what motivates humanity to create and allow the creation of AI robots?

Maybe we are just lonely talking to only our species and we want another intelligent species who can offer us a perspective outside of our own?

My first response to this article was: wow if that is what Nader did what an ass. Then I remembered that I must also be an ass . I have joked many times among friends that all the democrats should start voting republican if they really want change because if undiluted republican governing ideas were put into action and the results were terrible then people would be more likely to want the opposite pendulum swing and society would move much farther left in a possibly shorter time frame. I said it as a joke, but damn, some people actually adopt that as a political strategy.

I'm a brand new user and I have a question for you. Why do you pardon yourself for using the tags? They seemed relevant. Is there a reason to not use them?

Oh, and I laughed through the article you shared. Reminds me of how horrible that show "The Big Bang Therory" is and my internal groan every time someone suggests that I should watch it because I clearly love science. I studied philosophy, not science. I rarely bother to explain that I love investigating the ideas and arguments from many fields, not just science. Unless you want to count countless baking trials to get the perfect batch of chocolate chip cookies, my scientific research completed in life since school amounts to zero.

You are right. That is an abysmal beer selection. Will your grocery store not order what you want for you? I ask my liquor store and my grocery store to order me items all the time. Lately, I have had my grocery store get me: Darth Vader espresso creamer, crumpets, leg of lamb, and some Delmonico cut steaks. I have had my local liquor store order me Anchor Steam and Magic Hat #9. They order the products because if I want them then someone else might like them as well. The usually order one minimal shipment from their suppliers which gives me a little supply of what I want and if the product sells well they carry it for as long as they can. Take the Darth Vader espresso which they carried until it was discontinued. It is worth asking them anyway.

I enjoyed your rant. I noticed that the desire to label ourselves can be strong even in the middle of fighting against that very urge. In the end you succumbed and answered:

"I'm the type of person that makes a point of not answering questions".

The last one was my favorite, but I love fishing from my kayak in the mountains, so I am biased. I thought it was strange that there were no citations for the photographers.

If the Indian store sells beer it would be worth it to try out their selection. Kingfisher is an Indian beer I always have at Indian restaurants. It is a light lager.

Fair enough, you did specify "type of person". Specifying that you relate but are not only a label, that you are a "type of person", is a good way to keep a label from some of its ability to dictate what you are or are seen as. I also agree with your reasoning for not liking labels because they tend towards becoming limiting and exclusive. That is one of the things I like most about travel. The moment I get on a plane or in a car headed somewhere new I feel free from the labels that my friends, family, and acquaintances put on me. I can be almost anyone and I am free to try out new mannerisms, thoughts, and behaviors without anyone raising an eyebrow and saying that I am not acting like myself (not conforming to the labels that they have chosen for me).

Good point. That sentence made me laugh this morning. You are right and there are plenty of people in the world and so an individual need not feel lonely. I was referring more to how one can experience one's self not as an individual but as part of a species. A person can have a whole town or country full of people, but that individual could feel lonely within their social group or they could want to travel to meet someone from a different culture because they want is a fresh perspective. When a person experiences themselves as part of a species, then a specific type of desire for an outside of our species, alien perspective might be attractive for similar reasons-to get a fresh view or contradiction or confirmation of ideas or just to reassure us that we are not alone.

There are many researchers currently working to create AI and each of them might have their own reasons to want to create AI: curiosity, scientific renown, wealth, to help humanity find new solutions, etc. But I question our actions as a species: why are we as a big group allowing, funding, and desiring the creation of AI robots?

Voting third party in a general election will not likely get a particular candidate elected but I would not go so far to say that it does not change anything. Voting third party seems to be effective at accomplishing one goal: pushing the the Republican and Democratic parties further right and left respectively. Recent examples include Bernie Sanders support pushing Hillary into a further left position on trade agreements in the primary and Anti establishment Trump and Cruz supporters splitting republican support