Philosophical vs Theoretical

[warped one]

Having a rather heatwed convosation with my gf right now about how she thinks positive thinking can change your life.

I.e thinking about having lots of money will make it happen.

Something to do with a bloke called David Ike.

I'm more of a theory sort of guy and can see how philosophy is frought with in truth.

Discuss
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amnesia - Never in the history of usernames has one been more accurate. Warped indeed. You sir are a fecking oddball.

[colin1]

It's a balance.

Whether you believe you can or you cant, you are probably right.

If you think you cant do something, you limit your chances of doing it. If you think you can do something, and put the effort in even if really you are wrong, you have a lot more chance of doing something.

Blind Faith can be a good thing, but there are still the limits of the real world. Positive thinking only helps you get the best out of you. It doesnt automatically lead to success in the real world.

Too much positive thinking can lead to people jumping off buildings thinking they can fly.

People learn by experience whether they can expect the best or the worst. Often the people who are capable and put the most effort in, come to learn that effort is rewarded, and are positive.

Those who have learnt by experience to be cautious as if they try anything new it doesnt go well may be classed as negative, but it fits their world and circumstances.

I approve of a bit of positive thinking but I'm not enthusiastic enough to put full effort in most of time, as I'm a bit sceptical of chances of success.

You need to weigh up the chances of something succeeding and put the level of effort and positivity in accordingly.

David Ike is a bit of a nutter so I'd look for another source of positive thinking.
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colin1 is officially faster than god

[GhostRider]

Pffff next she'll be telling you the royal family is really a reptilian race from outer space who drink the blood of children in order to survive. No, I'm not joking, thats one of David Ickes fundamental beliefs. Icke is good for some conspiracy theories, but other stuff it seems like he downed a gallon of LSD prior to putting pen to paper.

GhostRider
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I have all the characteristics of a human being: blood, flesh, skin, hair; but not a single, clear, identifiable emotion, except for greed and disgust. Something horrible is happening inside of me and I don't know why. My nightly bloodlust has overflown into my days. I feel lethal, on the verge of frenzy. I think my mask of sanity is about to slip.

[Ariel Badger]

David Icke is an absolute loon who once played football for Coventry City.
He declared himself as "The Son of God" on British TV.
Wogan
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Bikers make great organ donors, get 115 on your licence today.

[chris-red]

[yen_powell]

The will, is the thought, is the deed, is the way!

Margaret Rutherford playing the chairwoman of the 'Positive Thought Society' in The Runaway Bus, 1954.
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Blackmail is a nasty word........but not as nasty as phlegm!
XT1200Z and a DR350 in bits

[hellkat]

Actually ...


[I completely agree with Colin]

Except I think David Icke is completely and absolutely barking.
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Not nearly as interesting in real life.

[hellkat]

Reason being:
For most of my life, aside from being really quite shy in person, I have a surprisingly huge amount of self-confidence.

This has been inspired by the fact that when I was young, I seemed to have considerably higher intelligence than most of my peers, I could read, spell and do maths, and had a better general knowledge than most kids my age, for quite some time. I was well advanced, one of those kids who just seemed to "get" things, or "know" things, when others struggled, and I was always the one playing up and being the wisenheimer in class, cos I knew all the answers and didn't have to try too hard academically.

So I grew up thinking I was pretty smart (I managed to learn fairly quickly that it was best not to be conceited about it), and hence that I was capable of doing anything I wanted to achieve (shame I didn't think back then about achieving riches and fame, but no matter, life hasn't been too bad so far )

So I was and always have been a positive thinker. Its not always a complete "I absolutely can do this", but an initially enthusiasm about doing something, followed by a cautious "Okay just how am I actually going to do this." Which normally results in achieving what I wanted.

On the other side of that coin, I agree that if you think you can't do something, you probably won't. Negative thinking is definitely psychosomatic (?) and I tend to believe that pessimistic people convince themselves and (worryingly) others of a negative aspect of something, when in fact a more positive attitude would completely turn a situation around.

The "glass is half full/empty" scenario is not a good indicator of this, because there are times when one could be asked that same question, and depending on circumstances, one's perception might alter.

But I do really believe that if you THINK positive, you will have a better life because of it. Shit things might still happen to you, or to your loved ones, but being an optimist makes it easier to cope with those things, even if all it means is that you can put things away "in a box in your head" until you can cope with dealing with them. because you learn to prioritise by rationalising: "Which is more positive? ... okay well I'll do that for now, and come back to the difficult thing later when my positivity is enough to get me through".

blah blah etc ad nauseum, just more hellkattish ramblings, my entire mentality on life is pretty much based on the power of positive thinking

hellkat
the most positive person I know
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Not nearly as interesting in real life.

[pa_broon74]

Its rubbish, having a positive outlook just means you notice the positive things and remember them. If like me however, you are a miserable bastard, you tend to notice the negative things and remember those instead.

The good things get lost in the miasma of insipid vapidity that is modern 21st century living.

Personally I don't trust overly positive people, they're usually hiding something, probably a great deal of psychological baggage.


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Didn't catch anything.

[hellkat]

Not so much hiding anything, as hiding from stuff ... like the shittiness of the world, and of humanity.

If we only have 70-75, average years on this planet, by the time you get to [my age], you've pretty much had enough of the crap, the shitty things, the people, the things you can't change even if you wanted, and have tried (by being positive and humane about stuff).

So you get to reckoning its better to go along reasonably happy and hope to improve other peoples lives simply by bringing nice thoughts, feelings, etc etc, wherever you go.

*lalalalalalalala I can't HEAR you*

Or you can be a miserable old grouch* and live your life with constant headaches/tension.

*scatters flowers, lights incense*

If it helps, even I have bad days.
Quite often.











*although with the Scottish, grouchiness is actually a genetic thing, so thats alright then. Once people accept that, everything's fine.
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Not nearly as interesting in real life.

[T0MMY]

If your girlfriend is just meaning that positive thinking can change the way you behave or the way others perceive you and that this can lead to improvements in your quality of life then she might be right, who knows?

If she means by some fuzzily defined paranormal explanation whereby things happen because you think about them then she might also be right but I doubt she's really thought out what a major thing to believe that is and what it says about reality and the laws of nature

Either way, if she listens to David Icke, she has SERIOUS issues.

Anyway, I'd better disappear from this thread sharpish before Hetzer appears and we start arguing about the nature of reality or evidence based belief systems or something I have work to do...
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ZX6R + CBR600RR

[pa_broon74]

[colin1]

The funny thing about David Icke, is a Jewish pressure group got cross with him, as they thought all his talk of lizards was code for Jewish people. As who would be so dumb as to think lizards were disguised as people and up to no good. Canada wasnt going to let him into the country as they thought he was being anti semitic. He explained that no, he really did mean lizards. So they realised he wasnt a dangerous racist, but a complete and utter nutter.

"Journalist Louis Theroux cautions against accusing Icke of antisemitism, arguing that it might not only be unfair, but may also lend a patina of seriousness to Icke's ideas."

ie you have to take anti-semitism a bit seriously, but Icke is just a loon.

I read a bit about him on wikipedia, and interestingly, for a good while he had him his girlfriend and his wife all living in the same house, and the girlfriend had a kid by him although at the time, he claimed she was just a friend. I'm not sure whether to respect his charm and selfishness for being able to have two women on the go and both know about it, or disapprove.
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colin1 is officially faster than god

[FURBAR]

A positive outlook, not only is nice, but also helps you to get more things done ...
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Fuk um !!

[colin1]

[FURBAR]

Get a room, stfu .. and fist ..
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Fuk um !!

[T0MMY]

Your level of self perceived intelligence is entirely dependent on the company you keep.

I thought I was cleverer than I was until I started in a new job with lots of very clever people around me Lately I've realised how remarkably average I am and I've been getting stupider all my adult life too with my excessive alcohol consumption I'm sure if I got away from academia and got a job in a hair salon I could convince myself I was a member of the intelligentsia again

This is why you always get these dickhead mouthpieces in pubs who are thick as pigshit but think they're Einstein because they have the highest reading age in their social circle.
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ZX6R + CBR600RR

[FURBAR]

Emotional intelligence and academic / practical intelligence ... i would gladly trade some emotional in for a bit more practical !!!
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Fuk um !!

[colin1]

[hellkat]

[hellkat]

[pa_broon74]

I remember a kid I knew coming up to me and saying "He just told me I'm the coolest person he knows, isn't that great?"

I said it was, but the level of cool was a relative thing and the person who'd said he was cool was more square than Will Young's Chin.

I think it robbed the compliment of any depth.

I am a bit miserable.


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Didn't catch anything.

[FURBAR]

I am a bit miserable.

Yeah ,, Ok Broony, and i only need to lose half a stone ...
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Fuk um !!

[pa_broon74]

[FURBAR]

Whatever the fuck that means i dont know, sounds like another godwins law tongue twister to me ... all i know is i'm a fat fucker and your a miserable cunt ...... .. fortunatley for you, you can change at will ..
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Fuk um !!