Thoughts

Post #58,951 by Mike 10/23/02 6:16:51 PM Reply	Thoughts Well said. I've been called a liar by him also. Not just..I think you are lying on topic X..... just outright a liar....... I think Brandi will use anything to "win". I was somewhat shocked to hear him described as having perfect logic. He definitely tries to portray this in his posting style......sometimes he even succeeds :-) One aspect of the style is to break your post into discrete sections then seem to be addressing each one in turn. But he will intentionally avoid or simply dismiss your best points. All the while his radar is up for your most benign inconsistency/mistake which then becomes his primary focus. He excuses his own mistakes with defences which he would not accord another in a heartbeat. I can't be bothered to get the link...but I remember him claiming that I was asking him to use "weasel words" when he had over generalised on something or other. If he makes an error of fact/judgement....he will keep slicin' and keep dicin' his arguments and eventually he will find himself at a place he can defend again. If its something he can't slice/dice........... he's outta there. If you make a good point he sees absolutely nothing wrong with dismissing it with the most absurd and/or vacuous responses...and then moving quickly on to his agenda. You have to hand it to him, its definitely an effective style of argument. I balk at having it described as sophisticated or logical though. He has adopted positions which (in my opinion) fly squarely in the face of logic. But that's just my opinion...I could be wrong. Even though Brandioch can be annoying.....we still keep coming back don't we? I'd rather be with him than be without him. He's an important fixture in the community. Anyway.....my two cents. -Mike P.S. All in all I like to listen more than I like to talk...which is why you will see me go silent for long periods. But when I do write .. I think the most satisfying moments are when you get some positive feedback from someone else. "Nice point" can make an otherwise grey day seem great. Oh that...and triggering an enormous thread. I get a kick out of that too :-) I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.
Post #58,958 by screamer 10/23/02 6:48:29 PM Reply	I'm actually a fan of his style in other fora... and have agreed with him on many points. When there was a debate with Marlowe on the nature of "facts", although seemingly agreeing with Khasim, I was also pointing out that there is a lot of grey area in most areas of study, even in mathematics (how can you really have a "negative" number? or how many data points fall between 1 and 2? etc...). Let alone in World Politics. I am not an expert in Politics and or World History. I am well read and have a good memory. That said... History is relative. If we both witness the same car crash on the same day, we may provide completely contrary descriptions of the event because of our perceptual filters, etc... Well... You know all this stuff. I miss the old Brandioch/Khasim. His old style got tedious, but it was without the personal insults. This is a relatively new dimension to his "style" and (knowing that opinions are like buttholes) I don't really care for his new style. Especially how it has been directed at others in this fora. I have basically just jumped in when I thought things were getting out of hand. Khasim - drop the Bill Pathetic stuff please. You obviously disagree with him politically and you should continue to do so :-), but the tact of name calling, questioning people's backgrounds, etc... is kid's stuff and not appropriate for someone of your perceived intellect. I am a long time fan of your Linux threads, and many of your other posts are classic. I'm personally mad at you for the post I read earlier in the "Germany" thread, but I'll get over that. Our last few exchanges have not been very productive, but there is always tomorrow... Just a few thoughts, Screamer Living is easy with eyes closed misunderstanding all you see, it's getting hard to be someone but it all works out it doesn't matter much to me J. Lennon - Strawberry Fields Forever
Post #58,978 by bepatient 10/23/02 8:51:52 PM Reply	I won't be holding my breath ;-) You were born...and so you're free...so Happy Birthday! _{Laurie Anderson} [link\|mailto:bepatient@aol.com\|BePatient]
Post #58,962 by Brandioch 10/23/02 7:14:59 PM Reply	Awww, is the big bad man being mean to you? Well said. I've been called a liar by him also. Not just..I think you are lying on topic X..... just outright a liar....... Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize that you could be telling a lie and not be a liar. Imagine my embarrasement. I'm so sorry. [link\|http://www.dictionary.com/search?q=liar\|The dictionary says] Well, I can certainly understand your position now. We'll just skip being limited by the dictionary definitions of words, then, shall we? Oh, but then, you were assuming that you understood what I meant when I called you a liar, weren't you. And your assumption had some resemblence to the dictionary definition, didn't it? I think Brandi will use anything to "win". No. But I will not accept people switching words in their position when their position would be completely different if the other words had been used in the beginning. One aspect of the style is to break your post into discrete sections then seem to be addressing each one in turn. But only seem to be, correct? Yet it should be very simple to point out the flaws. After all, I tend to keep each point very specific and isolated from the other points. Such as here. But he will intentionally avoid or simply dismiss your best points. But it should be easy to point out where I did so. Again, I keep my points specific and isolated. All the while his radar is up for your most benign inconsistency/mistake which then becomes his primary focus. Ah, so your position can have a flaw, and it doesn't mean that your position is flawed? Other than that, I see a lot of claims you make about me and no substantiation.
Post #58,996 by wharris2 10/23/02 11:51:47 PM Reply	Typical. One other reason I'd more like a "twit" filter than a search function or a "show only new forum posts" function.
Post #59,060 by Mike 10/24/02 11:01:38 AM Reply	Yes <snif> You are now arguing with yourself. >>Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize that you could be telling >>a lie and not be a liar. a) establish a truism for yourself b) start defending it Okay.....I'll play. Hmmmmmmmmmm Brandioch......I'm not so sure.....is that necessarily true? I mean I have lots of friends who told a lie......BUT THEN....RECANTED!!!!!! they have now since recanted lying forever. TADA! They are no longer liars. This is the kind of shit you like to play......RIGHT? Your next move is perhaps to challenge why I even brought it up then. If you just call someone a liar the person cannot defend themselves. If you make an allegation of a lie....it can be challenged on the specifics. AND........... When it turns out that you were WRONG.......you MIGHT have to apologise! However.......if you label them as a liar......one small blunder on your part doesn't necessarily defeat that. And you stil have a position you can defend (no matter how illogical that position might be based on all the evidence). >>We'll just skip being limited by the dictionary definitions of >>words, then, shall we? Absolutely beaooootiful! "Shall we discuss WWII? Millions killed. Yet we still maintained rule of law." I questioned this because I thought it was ignorant and stupid (and incidentally blows away just about any other error of understanding/judgement i have ever read in this forum". [link\|http://z.iwethey.org/forums/render/content/show?contentid=25634\|Link] Then after much circular waffling attempt to replace the contention above with a variety of OTHER tautologies....(if say X, if I say Y etc. etc.) .....this is where you end up. >>Oh, because I didn't put weasel words like "usually" or "most of the time" >>or "in many cases". Is that what you're trying to say? Sorry to interupt your >>fantasy world. But people don't behave like that. [link\|http://z.iwethey.org/forums/render/content/show?contentid=26118\|Link] But NOW......NOW......the precision and use of words is important again. Tell me.......what governs what mode you are in at any given time? Don't bother...I know the answer.....you are in the mode which you think is most likely to win. -Mike P.S. You owe screamer an apology. You are allowed to conclude that he may have made a slip when he said "wall". You should then move on because its the appropriate thing to do. Calling him a liar.....you are not at liberty to conclude when he is able to provide clear evidence to the contrary. (At least in any self-respecting medium/forum which I would like to be associated with) Mr WDYHASM-now-I'm-going-to-define-America-for-you. I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.

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