|
Index of Discussion Topics
Topics
proposed and discussed by participants in Adelaide Active
Thinking meetup from
2017
+ topics from earlier meetup series back to 2011
<> Another set
of discussion questions for people learning English can be seen
at
http://thormay.net/lxesl/DiscussionTopics/Adelaide-ESL-Meetup.htm
Active Thinking Topic 64 - 16 August 2023
- Bullshit Jobs, Gig Jobs, Consequences
Active Thinking Topic 63 - 2 August 2023
- How Many Children Does A Person, A Country Need?
Active Thinking Topic 62 - 22 July 2023 - Collective Intelligence Vs Collective Stupidity
Active Thinking Topic 61 - 8 July 2023 -
Nationalism - A Good or Bad Idea?
Active Thinking Topic 60 - 24 June 2023 -
The Benefits of Being Second Best
Active Thinking Topic 59 - 10 June 2023 -
The Age of Anxiety OR The Age of Opportunity?
Active Thinking Topic 58 - 27 May 2023 - Exit Doctors & Teachers, Enter Chat GPT? AI In Your Life
Active Thinking Topic 57 - 13 May 2023 - There Are Two Kinds of People in the World (??)
Active Thinking Topic 56 - 29 April 2023 - When Is Reason Not Rational?
Active Thinking Topic 55 - April 15 2023 - When is Force Necessary?
Active Thinking Topic 54 - April 1 2023 - The 4th Industrial Revolution
Active Thinking Topic 53 - 18
March 2023 - Believe It Or Not - What is True Anymore?
Active Thinking Topic 52 - 4
March 2023 - Everything is Better Than It Used to Be - Right?
Active Thinking Topic 51 - 18 February 2023 - You Can't Ask That!
Active Thinking Topic 50 -
4 February 2023 - Natural and Unnatural Abilities
Active Thinking Topic 49 - 21 January 2023 - Is It Worth Knowing How Stuff Works?
Active
Thinking Topic 48 - 7 January 2023 - Random - Think
Deeply About Simple Things
Active Thinking
Topic 47 - 19 December 2022 - What is a Fair Wage?
>>> Essay generated by Artificial
Intelligence (ChatGPT) on the topic, "What is a fair wage in
Australia"
Active Thinking
Topic 46 - 5 December 2022 - Self Education
Active Thinking
Topic 45 - 21 November 2022 - Your Body Parts
Replaced & Modified - Any Limits?
Active Thinking
Topic 44 - 7 November 2022 - Low Challenge Vs High
Challenge
Active Thinking
Topic 43 - 24 October 2022 - Everyone Wants Your
Attention, Nobody Gets It
Active Thinking
Topic 42 - 11 October 2022 - Can Science Be Trusted?
Active Thinking
Topic 41 - 27 September 2022 - Are We All A Little
Mad?
Active Thinking
Topic 40 - 13 September 2022 - Migration is Destiny
Active Thinking
Topic 39 - 30 August 2022 - Givers, Takers & Matchers
Active Thinking
Topic 38 - 16 August 2022 - Not Quite Perfect
Individuals & Cultures - Flaws In The Glass
Active Thinking
Topic 37 - 02 August 2022 - The Price of Freedom
Active Thinking Topic 36 -
19 July 2022 - What is the Use of God(s)?
Active Thinking
Topic 35 - 05 July 2022 - Intuition - When Does It
Work?
Active Thinking Topic 34
- 21 June 2022 - Scammers of the World Unite !
Active Thinking Topic 33
- 07 June 2022 - The Best Questions Start a Journey
Active Thinking Topic 32
- 24 May 2022 - Status Games - What's the Big Attraction?
Active Thinking Topic 31 - 10 May 2022 - What's Wrong With Democracy?
Active Thinking Topic 30 - 26 April 2022 - The more things change the more they stay the same
Active Thinking Topic 29 - 12 April 2022 - Lazy People Are Essential
Active Thinking Topic 28 - 29 March
2022 - Wars Are Inevitable. Yes or No?
Active Thinking Topic 27 - 15 March
2022 - Fantasy Is Both Necessary and Dangerous
Active Thinking Topic 26 - 1 March
2022 - Things That Don't Make Any Sense
Active Thinking Topic 25 - 15 February 2022 -
Everyone is a Hero in Their Own Movie
Active Thinking Topic 24 - 1
February 2022 - The Limits of Competence - Are We Just Monkeys
with Screwdrivers?
Active Thinking Topic 23 - 18
January 2022 - Your Letter to Santa's Mailbox
Active Thinking Topic 22 - 4
January 2022 - Unknown Unknowns
Active Thinking Topic 21 - 21
December 2021 - How Safe Do You Need To Be?
Active Thinking Topic 20 - 7
December 2021 -
Yes/No/Neither? - Brainwash
Test
Active Thinking Topic 19 - 22
November 2021 - What Is Australia's Big Plan? Yours?
Active Thinking Topic 18 - 8
November 2021 - Fake It 'Till You Make It
Active Thinking Topic 17 - 25
October 2021 - The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions
Active Thinking Topic 16 - 11
October 2021 -
Clutter! What & Who is Worth Keeping?
Active Thinking Topic 15 - 27
September 2021 - Does Debt Matter?
Active Thinking Topic 14 - 13
September 2021 - When Does Free Mean Selfish?
Active Thinking Topic 13 - 30
August 2021 - Will Big Data Eat You for Breakfast?
Active Thinking Topic 12 - 16
August 2021 - Woman Trouble. Man Trouble. Is a Truce in Sight?
Active Thinking Topic 11 - 2 August
2021 - Effective Democracy With Stupid Voters
Active Thinking Topic 10 - 19 July
2021 - Everyone Has a Plan Until They Get Punched in the
Face
Active Thinking Topic 09 - 5 July
2021 - Who Should Pay Tax? Who Does Not Pay Tax? Why?
Active Thinking Topic 08 - 21 June2021 - A Sense of Proportion
Active Thinking Topic 07 - 7 June2021 - Inventions We Need - Real & Imaginary
Active Thinking Topic 06 - 24 May
2021 - Best Ways to Herd the Human Herd?
Active Thinking Topic 05 - 10 May
2021 - Truth & Propaganda in Public & Private Life
Active Thinking Topic 04 - 26 April
2021 - Life Lessons?
Active Thinking Topic 03 - 12 April
2021 - So What Is Your Culture Anyway?
Active Thinking Topic 02 - 22 March
2021 - Imagine That!-Is Imagination a Friend or Enemy?
Active Thinking Topic 01 - 8 March
2021 Dilemma - The Politics of Climate Change
DiscussionX8 Topic 17 - 22 February 2021 How Does Science Differ from Religions and Ideologies?
DiscussionX8 Topic 16 8
February 2021 - Life is Unfair. So What?
DiscussionX8 Topic 15 Date:
25 January 2021 - The Human Spirit - Inspiration, Perspiration
or Lucky Gamble?
DiscussionX8 Topic 14 Date:
11 January 2021 - Risk and Original Thinking
DiscussionX8 Topic 13 Date:
28 December 2020 - How independent should Australians and Australia be?
DiscussionX8 Topic 12 Date: 14
December 2020 -
Food
Wars - Vegan or Carnivore?
DiscussionX8 Topic 11 Date: 30 November 2020 -
So What
is Creativity Anyway?
DiscussionX8 Topic 10 Date: 9 November 2020 -
What
Level of Social Control is OK ?
DiscussionX8 Topic 9 Date: 26 October 2020 -
Smart
Phones Changed Us
DiscussionX8 Topic 8 Date: 10 October 2020 -
Too Big to Care
DiscussionX4 Topic 7 Date: 26 September 2020 -
Is
There Life After Food, Drink and Sex?
DiscussionX4 Topic 6 Date: 12 September 2020 -
Conspiracy Beliefs & Cults - What's the Overlap?
DiscussionX4 Topic 5 Date: 29 August 2020 -
The Average Quality of Leadership Never Improves - Why?
DiscussionX4 Topic 4 Date: 15 August
2020 -
Do you get what you pay for in life?
DiscussionX4 Topic 3 Date: 1 August
2020 - Everything You Believe About #?@$ Is Wrong
[macro economics]
DiscussionX4 Topic 2 Date: 18 July
2020 - No
Escape - You sink or swim with friends & enemies - Australia too
DiscussionX4 Topic 1 Date: 4 July
2020 -
The Disaster of Knowing Too Much
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar Topic 62 Date: 20 June
2020 -
ONLINE A Life of Unintended Consequences
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar Topic 61 Date: 6 June
2020 -
ONLINE - Everything Online? - How Wide and Deep Can We Go?
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar Topic 60 Date: 23 May
2020 - ONLINE -
Too Risky! .. or Who Dares Wins?
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar Topic 59 Date: 9 May
2020 -
ONLINE - Stupidity is Kind of Interesting
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar Topic 58 Date:
25 April 2020
ONLINE -
The New Australia - After Covid-19
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar Topic 57 Date:
11 April 2020
ONLINE -
Attitudes to Religion: Moral Argument Vs 'Is There a Market for
It?
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar Topic 56 Date: 14
March 2020
Climate Change and Energy Choices - Nuclear ...?
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar Topic 55 Date: 29
February 2020
Could You
Be A Surprising Success as an Online Learner?
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar Topic 54 Date: 15
February 2020
Routines of Creation & Destruction - The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar Topic 53 Date: 1 February 2020
We Need
Hopeless Situations, Don't You Agree?
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar Topic 52 Date: January 18 2020
Race,
Culture, Privilege
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar Topic 51 Date: 4 January 2020
How Spaces Shape
Us
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar Topic 50 Date: 21 December 2019
Question
Everything - The Key to Creative Change
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar Topic 49 Date: 7 December 2019
Are you for rent?
What are your terms?
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar Topic 48 Date: 23 November 2019
Is Australia
For Sale?
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar Topic 47 Date: 9 November 2019
Social Class - What is
it? Do you need it? Can you avoid it?
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar Topic 46 Date: 26 October 2019
Competently Incompetent - Being good at doing things badly
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar Topic 45 Date: 12 October 2019
What is smart &
what is crazy? Part 2 Organizations
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar Topic 44 Date: 28 September
2019 What
is smart & what is crazy? Part 1: Individuals
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar Topic 43 Date: 14 September
2019 Everyone
needs to cheat a little
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar Topic 42 Date: 31 August 2019
Is Privacy
Worth Having?
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar Topic 41 Date: 17 August 2019
What are we humans
evolving into? What's the competition?
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar Topic 40 Date: 10
August 2019
Memory -
Builder, Guide, Trickster, Demon of Passions, or Best Forgotten?
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar Topic 39
Date: 20 July 2019
Destinations
Shape Us. What's Yours?
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar Topic 38
Date: 6 July 2019
What If .... (.. and what
could possibly go wrong)?
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar Topic 37
Date: 22 June 2019
Is Australia
a Significant Country? Does it Matter?
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar Topic 36
Date: 8 June 2019
Play is the Engine
of Creation
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar Topic 35
Date: 25 May 2019
Boundary Players, Boundary Breakers, Navigators and Drifters
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar Topic 34
Date: 11 May 2019
Money Exists to Make Friends Out Of Enemies
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar Topic 33
Date: 27 April 2019
You can't fool all of the people all of the time
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar
Topic 32 Date: 12 April 2019:
It's All Too Complicated
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar
Topic 31 Date: 30 March 2019:
Viral Ideas, Viral Emotions, Psychological & Social Contagion
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar
Topic 30 Date: 16 March 2019:
Tax What? Tax Who? Why?
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar
Topic 29 Date: 2 March 2019:
Do You Work for Love
or Money? - The Mercenary's Tale
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar
Topic 28 Date: 16 January 2019:
Folk Tales In Disguise -
What We Hear and Tell
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar
Topic 27 Date: 2 February 2019:
The World in 2054 -
Your Predictions
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar
Topic 26 Date: 19 January 2019:
Change
only happens when people change their minds. (Doesn't it..?)
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar
Topic 25 Date: 5 January 2019:
Global culture Vs local cultures - love or war?
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar
Topic 24 Date: 22 December 2018:
Is
it possible to go back to where we came from?
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar
Topic 23 Date: 8 December 2018:
Individualist cultures Vs collectivist cultures
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar
Topic 22 Date: 24 November 2018:
How
free should free speech be?
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar
Topic 21 Date: 10 November 2018:
So
what do you think you should do about climate change (if
anything)?
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar
Topic 20 Date: 27 October 2018:
The
Best Model? => Education = Procedures + Stories to Justify +...
= Job (???)
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar
Topic 19 Date: 13 October 2018:
How
real is the 4th Industrial Revolution to you?
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar
Topic 18 Date: 29 September 2018:
Which way is the (human) herd running?
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar
Topic 17 Date: 15 September 2018:
What
is the best way to give stuff away?
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar
Topic 16 Date: 1 September 2018: Is
Australia Doomed to Become a Dictatorship?
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar
Topic 15 Date: 18 August 2018 : -
The
Gentle Art & Science of Being a Better Second Best
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar
Topic 14 Date: 4 August 2018 :
Trump says that
Americans (and everyone else) are stupid. Is he right?
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar
Topic 13 Date: 21 July 2018 :
Is
Artificial Intelligence Good for Us?
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar
Topic 12 Date: 7 July 2018 :
All men are not
created equal, neither are all women
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar
Topic 11 Date: 23 June 2018 :
Magic is always
popular
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar
Topic 10 Date: 9 June 2018 :
History is written
by the literate, and lived by the nameless
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar
Topic 9 Date: 26 May 2018 :
The End of Trust - So
who is left to believe in?
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar
Topic 8 Date: 14 May 2018 :
Do Australians
have it too easy?
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar
Topic 7 Date: 29 April 2018 :
Why do
people stop learning? (... Do they?)
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar
Topic 6 Date: 16 April 2018 :
$1m now, or
$1,000 a week for the rest of your life - both tax free?
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar Topic
5 Date: 2 April 2018 :
Plan, take
a risk, or just let it flow?
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar Topic
4 Date:
19 March 2018 :
Common
Values - inherited, acquired, bought, made .. or a myth?
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar Topic
3 Date:
5 March 2018 :
Simplicity
from
Complexity - change yourself (and the world)
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar Topic
2 Date:
19 February 2018 : Imagination exercise: What Startup would you
like to start up?
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar Topic
1 Date: 5
February 2018 : No hiding place: Have you been milkshake-ducked?
AQ&A Topic 13 Date:
22 January 2018 :
Money has made
us human(e). Disagree if you dare
AQ&A Topic 12 Date 8 January 2018 :
Have You Been
Socially Engineered by Governments & Companies?
AQ&A Topic 11 Date: 27 December 2017 : Lazy and Stupid Saves Us All
AQ&A Topic 10 Date: 11 December 2017 : A Short History of the Future
AQ&A Topic 9 Date: 27 November 2017 : The Blowback from Punishment
AQ&A Topic 8 Date: 13 November 2017 : Outsiders and Ritual Followers
AQ&A Topic 7 Date: 30 October 2017 : Humans as Predators - a net plus or a minus?
AQ&A Topic 6 Date: 16 October 2017 :
Is Time Wasting a Waste of Time?
AQ&A Topic 5 Date: 1 October 2017 : China - Friend or Enemy? Neither or Both?
AQ&A Topic 4 Date: 17 September 2017 : A citizen of the world? .. of a country, a town? So what is a citizen anyway?
AQ&A Topic 3 Date: 3 September 2017 : Maybe "God" is a brain bot for avoiding responsibility ..
AQ&A2 DATE: August 20 2017 Topic: The War on Terror - does it make sense?
AQ&A1 DATE: August 6 2017 Topic: The Contest for Competence
EH6 DATE: July 23 2017 Topic: Bamboozled ! Finding a way through double talk
Let's explore the infinitely deceptive and confusing answers that can be given to the most innocent of questions.
EH5 DATE: 9 July 2017
Topic: Creatively destroy a short talk by Thor: “The holiday business – do holidays actually change people?”
EH4 DATE: 25 June 2017
Topic : History shows that humans have never found a way to choose the best leaders for anything, or even the best partners. ( .. the aim is for those who come to the meetup to formulate ten questions which will throw light on the topic before allowing themselves to debate, express opinions and discuss. The underlying objective is to foster skills in framing interesting questions)
EH3 DATE: 11 June 2017
Topic : There are so many competing sources of information and distraction now that the idea of a “common culture” is nonsense. ( .. the aim is for those who come to the meetup to formulate ten questions which will throw light on the topic before allowing themselves to debate, express opinions and discuss. The underlying objective is to foster skills in framing interesting questions). [Post-meetup sub-questions by Thor on Common Culture]
EH2 DATE: 4 June 2017
Topic : Equality is a myth ( .. the aim is for those who come to the meetup to formulate ten questions which will throw light on the topic before allowing themselves to debate, express opinions and discuss. The underlying objective is to foster skills in framing interesting questions). [Post-meetup sub-questions by Thor on Equality]
EH1 DATE: 21 May 2017
Topic : Money - past, present & future ( .. the aim is for those who come to the meetup to formulate ten questions which will throw light on the topic before allowing themselves to debate, express opinions and discuss. The underlying objective is to foster skills in framing interesting questions). [Post-meetup sub-questions by Thor on Money]
QE8 DATE: 14 May 2017
1. How can people, projects, organizations, countries .. be both a success and failure at the same time? Think of examples, and what can be done about failure as a partner of success? [Thor] = sub-Questions & references about simultaneous success and failure @ http://thormay.net//unwiseideas/DiscussionTopics/QESUB-QUESTIONS/Failure&Success.html
2. Where will we go after we achieve all we want (at this moment) in our life? [Min, Thor] = sub-Questions & references about success @ http://thormay.net//unwiseideas/DiscussionTopics/QESUB-QUESTIONS/AfterSuccess.html
My background for this question is that I have a Chinese supervisor. He immigrated in Australia in 1989. Now he is a professor in Uni. He is a typical successful migrant here. He came here with nothing, owns his own gorgeous house in Adelaide, has 2 lovely daughters, a well-paid job in university, high status and a good reputation...
Everything he has is all I'm chasing now. I'm trying so hard to graduate, to find a great job, to have beautiful children, to be a successful person. [But] I have never thought about what I'm going to do if I achieve everything.
QE8 DATE: 30 April 2017
1. What is the best way to ask interesting questions, and why bother anyway? [Thor] = sub-Questions about Reasons for Asking Questions @ http://thormay.net//unwiseideas/DiscussionTopics/QESUB-QUESTIONS/HowToAskQuestions.html
2. What is the meaning of universities apart from learning knowledge, which may never be used in your life? [Min, Thor] = sub-Questions & references about the meaning of universities @ http://thormay.net//unwiseideas/DiscussionTopics/QESUB-QUESTIONS/WhyUniversities.html
QE7 DATE: 23 April 2017 [nil attendance - cancelled]
QE6 DATE: 3 April 2017 [nil attendance - cancelled]
1. Is personal threat (or its disappearance) usually the main driver of action or belief? … or stated in a more colourful way: "Knowing that you will be shot at dawn concentrates the mind wonderfully" - How useful is this idiom as a guide to management and self-management? [Thor] = sub-Questions about Threat driving behaviour @ http://thormay.net//unwiseideas/DiscussionTopics/QESUB-QUESTIONS/Threat-as-a-driver-to-action.html
Here are some example propositions that flow from it (they might or might not be true):
a) "The great handicap of the welfare state is that it takes pressure off individuals to exercise initiative".
b) "Australian's are basically lazy because there is always a way to get by in this country".
c) "Traditional religion has been fading for 300 years because the fear of early death has lost reality for the young (with increasing lifespans )."
d) "Trumpism's assault on democracy and truth-telling is leading to an urgent rebirth of democracy and truth-telling".
2. ....
QE5 DATE:
19 March
2017
1.
Are humans too successful as a species?
Without
war and disease, will we simply breed ourselves out of a food
supply? Can/should populations be controlled locally and/or
globally? [Thor]
= sub-Questions about Human Futures @
http://thormay.net//unwiseideas/DiscussionTopics/QESUB-QUESTIONS/Is-the-human-species-too-successful.html
2. "Why is it that the worlds greatest advances in technology,
social welfare and human rights have been invented and
implemented by people's and cultures who live in temperate and
colder climes, above and below the tropics of Cancer and
Capricorn, the Equatorial zones seemingly having the least in all
of the above.
Do climatic conditions affect the so called
advancement of the human species.? '" [Suzanne Moore] =
sub-Questions about Climate Vs Social Development @ http://thormay.net//unwiseideas/DiscussionTopics/QESUB-QUESTIONS/ClimateVsTechnoogyVsCountries-19March2017.html
3. “Let's question our current energy market. What are
it's discrepancies? Why are we having issues with It now?
QE4 DATE:
5 March 2017
1.
The American President has declared that journalists are "the
enemy of the people". Is this simply unhinged, or is there
an argument to be made here? What is the proper function of the
4th Estate in the 21st Century and how is that role to be
formally accommodated? [Thor] = sub-Questions about Journalism
@
http:thormay.net//unwiseideas/DiscussionTopics/QESUB-QUESTIONS/Journalists-are-the-enemy-of-the-people.html
2.
How do we get new ideas? Ideas "come" to my mind at
times ... but do these ideas "come" from an external
source or do "I think" of those ideas? - because I
hardly ever sit down to say OK now I am going to sit down and
"think of an idea" but it usually just "comes"
while busy with something completely irrelevant. If it just
"comes" from somewhere then am I entitled to claim
ownership of it? [Amir] = sub-Questions about New Ideas
@
http://thormay.net/unwiseideas/DiscussionTopics/QESUB-QUESTIONS/Where-do-ideas-come-from.html
3. It is not long since President Donald Trump
signed an executive order formally withdrawing the United States
from the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. So lets’ discuss the Trans-Pacific Partnership with an unbiased approach.
= sub-Questions about New Ideas @
http://thormay.net/unwiseideas/DiscussionTopics/QESUB-QUESTIONS/The-TPP.html
a)
Do you think that America will be like Scandinavia, and reinvest
a portion of the profits reaped by greater access to Asian
markets on economic growth, unemployment benefits, worker
retraining and government programs? Or
b) Do you
think that America will call those things socialism, ignore the
problem, and allow large companies to reap the economic rewards
unmolested which would eventually be a failure of
TPP?"
[Vishal]
4 How have we allowed our
democracy to be so partisan? There is virtually no debate simply
a statement of ideological position which instantly makes the
argument - I'm right, therefore you must wrong. Socrates'
associates understood the concept of 'statesmanship', the concept
of acting for the state, not themselves or individualistic
agendas. Is this why we see the dissatisfaction and frustration
with current politics leading to the simplistic extremes of Trump
and Hanson. I'm sure you all get my drift .. [Bryn] =
sub-Questions about New Ideas @
http://thormay.net/unwiseideas/DiscussionTopics/QESUB-QUESTIONS/Partisan-Politics.html
QE3 DATE:
February 19 2017
1.
The past year has been awful in the middle east with the
Syrian/ISIS etc conflicts. Can Islam (as a religion) overcome the
political extremist (Islamist) outworkings seen in this area and
carried abroad by terrorism? Will it be possible for Muslims to
be accepted into other cultures and societies as being seperate
from the extreme or is the hegemonic already fact? [Bryn] =
sub-Questions about confirmation bias @
http://thormay.net/unwiseideas/DiscussionTopics/QESUB-QUESTIONS/MuslimIdentity.html
2.
America’s Trump is opinionated to the point of wanting to
be President, yet can/will only read single page bullet point
summaries on anything. This is not unusual among management, let
alone employees. The average reading age of a tabloid reader
(e.g. of Adelaide’s The Advertiser) is 11 years. Almost
half of Australians are functionally illiterate (can’t read
the stuff on a jam jar label). What are the consequences of low
literacy, and what (if anything) can be done about it? [Thor] =
sub-Questions about confirmation bias @ http://thormay.net/unwiseideas/DiscussionTopics/QESUB-QUESTIONS/Literacy.html
QE2 DATE
29 January 2017
1. "Accordion to scientific studies, 90% of the people do not
realize I replaced the beginning of the sentence with an
instrument" [stolen from a Facebook post :) ]. What are some
uses and abuses of perceptual error? - Note: perceptual error is
not just for party games. It is a major element in all kinds of
institutions and processes. [Thor] = sub-Questions about
confirmation bias @ http://thormay.net/unwiseideas/DiscussionTopics/QESUB-QUESTIONS/Perceptual-Error.html
2.
To what extent does Confirmation Bias influence our lives? What
do we do with it? I have been reading some articles related to
this concept and finding it very interesting as to its nature of
interconnectedness to heaps of other subjects, such as decision
making, rigid and set ideas compassing your life path, and the
notion of getting out of your comfort zone and suchlike. [Sophie]
= sub-Questions about confirmation bias @
http://thormay.net/unwiseideas/DiscussionTopics//QESUB-QUESTIONS/ConfirmationBias-QE.html
3.
Does our apprehension of beauty have an objective foundation in
external reality, or is it purely subjective, i.e. all in the
mind? [Bernard] = sub-Questions about Beauty @
http://thormay.net/unwiseideas/DiscussionTopics/QESUB-QUESTIONS/Beauty-QE.html
QE1 DATE
15 January 2017
1.
What do you find funny? Where does that kind of humour place you
in the human zoo? [Thor] = sub-Questions about Humour
@
http://thormay.net/unwiseideas/DiscussionTopics/QESUB-QUESTIONS/What-do-you-find-funny.html
2.
If there was any really serious conflict between USA and China
where would Russia sit? - I am always fascinated by the love/hate
- dependence/conflict avoidance relationship between China and
Russia and the twisted history those two nations have.
[Gerard]
3. To what extent does Confirmation Bias
influence our lives? What do we do with it? I have been reading
some articles related to this concept and finding it very
interesting as to its nature of interconnectedness to heaps of
other subjects, such as decision making, rigid and set ideas
compassing your life path, and the notion of getting out of your
comfort zone and suchlike. [Sophie] - not yet discussed || =
sub-Questions about confirmation bias @
http://thormay.net/unwiseideas/DiscussionTopics/QESUB-QUESTIONS/ConfirmationBias-QE.html
4.
What lies beyond our observable universe? [Vee] = sub-Questions
about confirmation bias @
http://thormay.net/unwiseideas/DiscussionTopics/QESUB-QUESTIONS/The-Known-Universe.html
5.
What does Universe mean...Mmmmm - UNI - meaning ONE
VERSE -
meaning SONG - Why was Space called One Song?
So many
questions. .. [Enzo]
6. Does our apprehension of
beauty have an objective foundation in external reality, or is it
purely subjective, i.e. all in the mind? [Bernard] =
sub-Questions about Beauty @
http://thormay.net/unwiseideas/DiscussionTopics/QESUB-QUESTIONS/Beauty-QE.html
7. "Is a big Australian population a good thing or not?" [John]
Past
Discussion Topics, plus links for
the Active Thinking meetups, Adelaide and Brisbane, and Brisbane
Gentle Thinkers before those (most recent discussions at
the top)
Note:
Together
with the topics already discussed below, I have added links
to articles and notes which
were intended to facilitate discussion. For most of these meetups
I prepare some personal notes, also linked here, and/or an actual
essay. A number of these essays have received wide subsequent
circulation through my Academia.edu repository at
https://independent.academia.edu/ThorMay
AP8-27
September
25 ,
2016 Why
do brains go wrong? Who decides?“All
the world is mad but you and me, and even you are a little
strange..” Unbalanced mental states range all the way from
depression to killer crazy. In Australia in any given year 4
million people will experience a mental illness, and 1 million
Australians have a disabling psychiatric disorder. The favoured
treatments of the age are mostly pharmaceutical. How smart is
this?
AP8-26
September
9 ,
2016 The
Trust Problem. Some people and some countries have it. Some
don't. Why?
Whom
do you trust? In a society, less trust = more laws. Signals of
trust change between cultures, and even social class. In some
countries public trust is almost zero. Also, can a “Facebook
friend” or a face from TV be really trusted? An Internet
romance? For some, religion signals trustworthiness. What is your
solution for building trust in a complicated world?
AP8-25
August
28 , 2016 Donald
Trump has won the US presidential election (imagine)! An
attempt to outline some scenarios, blow by blow, over the next
four years under a Trump presidential regime. [Australia may be
faced with some very tough choices]
AP8-24
August
14 , 2016 What
is fashionable?
What
drives fashion – in clothes, ideas, behaviour, motor cars,
and all the rest. What forces work to disrupt it? How important
is fashion, and to whom?
AP8-23
July
31 , 2016 How
are children shaped ?
The
kind of world we live in, whether it be work or play or love or
even politics and the fate of communities, depends a lot on the
experiences we had as children. Can or should this be influenced
beyond the family? If so, how and by whom?
AP8-22
July
17 , 2016 Is
globalization a failure, or can something worthwhile be rescued?
For
a generation globalization has been sold as the yellow brick road
to prosperity. What exactly is globalization? Can its benefits be
cherry-picked? Where do we go from here?
AP8-21
July
3 , 2016 Count
your lucky starsWhat
part does luck play in the success of individuals, enterprises
and countries? Think of examples. From politics to careers to
finding the love of your life, there has never been more advice
available, yet at the end of the game, some people seem to have
been lucky and others not. Why is this so? Can you really do much
about it?
AP8-20
May
22 , 2016 What
is the best way to fund research, and what kinds of research
should be funded?
There
are many kinds of research and many kinds of people involved in
research. Sometimes what seems useless at the time can have huge
consequences a generation later (and sometimes not). Some
research results which seem a triumph at the time are show
useless by later developments. A career in research requires
dedication and talent, but is highly risky in terms of personal
and institutional success. How can all of these factors be
balanced?
AP8-19
May
8 , 2016 A
Universal Basic Income. $400 per week indexed to the CPI
Pay
everyone $400 per week (current age pension), rich or poor,
indexed to the CPI. Governments print the money (they do now),
and the money goes around. You have an economy. Employers pay a
margin above the UBI to attract workers if they want them
(overall probably cheaper for them than now). A true market then
controls most working conditions, not the current blackmail.
Centrelink (now a failed organization) not needed. Tax system
simplified. Automation taking jobs doesn’t matter. Health
costs fall. People can choose to learn, grow and think. Free
university & tech (like Germany). Employment for
satisfaction, more money and/or career interest.
AP8-18
April
24, 2016 Prisons:
so what is to be done?
“ It
costs … taxpayers $109,782.60 a year – or $301.60
each day - to keep a prisoner "on the inside",
according to the Australian Productivity Commission.
Alternatively
it costs $49,700 – less than half - to provide that
prisoner with rent, food, a small four-cylinder car and money for
any degree in Australia for a year”. [Brisbane Times 28
Febuary 2016]
AP8-17
April
10 , 2016 What
is right and what is wrong in the training of medical doctors?
Comment:
somewhere out there in medical-land there is a useful answer for
many medical questions, but experience (mine at least) suggests
that odds of finding a GP who knows is often slim. For someone
with basic research skills, good answers tend to come better (and
more cheaply!) from “Dr Google”. Also Dr Google soon
shows up where the science is not settled (most issues), but
doctors rarely do. Nor will they debate the evidence.
AP8-16
March
27 , 2016 Questions
about Cities -
Cities
are a complicated and fascinating subject. They pose endless
questions. For example, as individuals, are our life
opportunities more defined by particular cities than particular
countries? How much loyalty and sweat should we invest in a
particular city? What makes a good city? How important is it for
a city to be well-known, and what can they do about it? The UN
lists 4,416 cities in the world with a population of over
150,000. The biggest (Tokyo and Jakarta) have over 30 million
people. Cities usually want to be “recognized” to
attract some kind of advantage, usually economic. Is this kind of
‘city exhibitionism’ a waste of time? .. and more
questions that you can think of.
AP8-15
March
13 , 2016 Narcissism
grew like an invasive plant throughout the 20th Century. Now it
is in full bloom
Firstly
a lot (not all) of “modern” art and poetry and even
music stopped saying much about the societies which hosted them
and became purely self indulgent, often pompously “abstract”.
This mirrored a lot (not all) of what was happening in many areas
of academic work, and a lot (not all) of what was happening in
so-called high finance. When the digital camera democratized
imagery, “selfies” (or the ultimate self-indulgence,
sexting) became the dominant form of photography. Now Donald
Trump stands on top of the American political muck heap and asks
to be anointed as the emperor of self-love.
AP8-14 February 28, 2016 How much history should we expect most people to know, and what kind of history? It is often said that history is written by the winners. You might also say that popular history is written by Hollywood, or Facebook, or whatever political enclave you are living in .. Does any of this matter?
AP8-13 February 14, 2016 Politics and Politicians : a volatile mix?Politics is like medicine: sometimes useful, even necessary, in small amounts, but fatal if taken in an overdose. Politicians can be a useful species but are prone to going feral. Democracies often elect either mediocrities or confidence tricksters because large numbers of electors share similar qualities. In practical terms, is there a better way to manage national affairs?
AP8-12
January
31, 2016 Half
the jobs in Australia will disappear. What then?Australia
has over 600,000 not-for-profit organizations, and a quickly
expanding “sharing economy” (e.g. Uber, Airbnb,
eBay). Most of this is under the radar of news reports. What are
the signs that NFP’s and the sharing economy can become a
main career path for many when automation destroys half of normal
jobs Australia & America in the next few years?
AP8-11
January
17, 2016 What
is your understanding of “Active Thinking”?
What
other kinds of thinking (human or non-human) are found in the
known universe?Over
140 people have now signed up to the Active Thinking meetup... So
let us know (actively!) what you expect to happen when you and a
7 other people get together in the State Library to think
actively about a chosen topic. How do you approach puzzling
topics over and above giving a simple unexamined opinion? (And
just for laughs, how might cyborgs think through things
differently?) Um, what topics are you ready to think about
actively?
AP8-10
January
3, 2016 Adelaide
seems to be a media-challenged cityThere
are road accident reporters, but there do not seem to be
investigative journalists and insightful commentators who
interpret the city to itself. What is to be done?
AP8-9
December
20, 2015 When
does security become insecurity?
AP8-8
December
6, 2015 The
Peculiar Interest of God(s) in Human Morality
AP8-7
November
22, 2015 What
are the limits of tolerance? -
Can
we reconcile “live and let live” with “drawing
a line in the sand”?
AP8-6
November
8, 2015 What
is your best list of stupidities? What are your cures?
AP8-5
October
25, 2015 When
should collective interests (e.g. those of a state) override the
interests of individuals?
Example:
Many Americans see “the right to bear arms” as a
triumph of individual rights over the collective rights of the
state.
AP8-4
October
11, 2015 Is
a modern culture without advertising possible or desirable?.
AP8-3
September
27, 2015 Why
have men (not women) made the most inventions?" (Support
your case).
AP8-2
September
12, 2015 Can
Change be Managed? If
so, How and Why? If not, well Bye-bye?
AP8-1a
August
30, 2015 and
AP8-1b
September
7, 2015
“Rules
are for the obedience of fools and the guidance of wise men”.
[Douglas Bader]
How
can we interpret Bader’s idea?
BAT13
January
25 , 2015 - Start
your own business – a mental experimentImagine
that you are starting a new business. What would it be? Why did
you choose it? Why would you choose a personal enterprise over
working for somebody else (or why wouldn’t you)? What
rewards would you be looking for? What personal costs would you
be prepared to tolerate? Would you attempt it alone, or would you
look for partner(s)? What are the ways you could fund such a
startup? Would it be local, or seek a wider market? .
BAT12
January
11 , 2015 - Is
the “white noise” of daily media distraction
deliberate social control, or just modernity out of control?Everyone
has only 24 hours in a day. In many countries the sheer struggle
to survive occupies most waking hours. In some others, any “free
thinking time” is carefully manipulated by state directed
activities, propaganda and censorship. A possible third model is
that ruling elites and governments may prevent criticism by
distracting the main population with sports, entertainment and
endless trivial ‘news’.
BAT11
December
28 , 2014 - Why
do people take up religions, persist with them, and abandon them
?
Whatever
you think of religions personally, or any particular religion,
they seem to have been around forever amongst (most) humans, and
seem unlikely to go away entirely amongst the species as a whole.
Clearly though, particular cultures in various historical phases
have many members who are attracted to religions or substitute
ideologies, but tend to drift away from them in other phases. At
a different level, women seem to be the most persistent believers
by numbers, but religious hierarchies are almost always
controlled by (humourless old) men… What is it in
human psychology that generates these religious phenomena?
BAT10
December
14 , 2014 - When
is censorship acceptable? Justify your argument
Forty
years ago the biggest social debates were about the acceptability
(or not) of censorship related to sexuality. Now the
preoccupation might be more with political censorship. There are
many kinds of censorship, including self-censorship. Who should
be drawing these invisible lines in the sand, and applied to
what?
BAT9
November
30 , 2014 - Should
University Education Be Free? If not, why not?
With
the rocketing prices of tertiary education and the availability
of free online open courses, will university education become
obsolete? What needs to change in the system to adapt to the new
realities of the workplace and technology?
BAT8
November
2 , 2014 - How
can Australia best arrange its international relationships?
Since
World War II Australia’s leaders have consciously
positioned Australia as a client state of the United States of
America. Defence forces are totally integrated, and foreign
policy rarely deviates from the American line. Australia’s
commercial culture is America writ small. Is this American
patterning the best option for Australia in the future?
BAT7
October
19 , 2014 - Does
travel broaden the mind or just confirm prejudices?
BAT6
October
5 , 2014 - DEBATE TOPIC BAT 6. The
Work ProblemFor
most ordinary people, their job is not something that they enjoy
much. However, without formal work they lose focus, become
dependent on welfare, and become socially stigmatized. It seems
that increasing numbers of people will never be able to have
secure employment. What is a practical, long term national
solution to “the work problem” for ordinary people?
BAT5
September
21 , 2014 - DEBATE TOPIC BAT 5. Fake
It ‘Till You Make It – A viable way to succeed?It’s
all around us. From face lifts to luxury cars on hire purchase,
from inflated CVs to exaggerated job titles, from company
publicity material to the spin that governments put on their
failures and deceptions. At what point does fakery become fraud?
Would the world be a duller place without it?
BAT4
September
7 , 2014 - DEBATE TOPIC BAT4. Multiculturalism
is a Flawed DoctrineNote:
Matthew
McLean is
moderating this meetup topic, and has prepared a thorough set of
notes. Please
read at
http://thormay.net/unwiseideas/DiscussionTopics/Multiculturalism-MattMclean.htm
BAT3
August
24, 2014 - DEBATE TOPIC BAT3. Property
and life choices .
How
does owning (or not owning) real estate, and mortgage debt,
influence the behaviour of individuals in their wider lives? What
are the consequences of these patterns for whole nations?
BAT2
August
10, 2014 - DEBATE TOPIC BAT1. The
Purpose of EducationIs
education most commonly treated purely as an instrumental tool
(e.g. to get a job), or as a path to self-development, or both?
How can a balance between objectives be achieved in public
education?
BAT1
19
July , 2014 - DEBATE TOPIC BAT1. What
are some illusions that Australians live by?What
are some illusions Australians live by? .. and why would we want
to dispense with illusions?
Think of the imaginary countries
we live in. Do all those people you pass on the street every day
have their heads in the same place that you do? What are some
consequences of NOT sharing the same illusions?
D27
5
April , 2014 - DEBATE TOPIC 75. When
do ends justify means?Sooner
or later everyone – individuals, governments, companies – has to make choices about whether to put aside certain values to
achieve a desired end. Michael Pascoe, an Australian financial
journalist, has recently discussed this at http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/business/comment-and-analysis/abandon-principles-and-pay-the-price-20140331-35tz4.html
D26
5
April , 2014 - DEBATE TOPIC 74. Learning “grit” is the best way to beat failure and succeed
(proposed
by Thor)
How
have you managed your failures, and has failure made you a better
person? Everyone fails at something sooner or later. The
important thing is how they handle failure. A recent educational
fad in America is to teach students “grit” (http://www.npr.org/2014/03/17/290089998/does-teaching-kids-to-get-gritty-help-them-get-ahead
).For
those who are unclear, here are a couple of definitions of "grit" from the Internet:
- "firmness of mind or spirit : unyielding courage in
the face of hardship or danger"
- "perseverance
and passion for long-term goals"
D25
22
March , 2014 - DEBATE TOPIC 54. Are
diet and exercise really personal choices?
(proposed
by Thor)
A
human epidemic of obesity / near-obesity has correlated worldwide
with the spread of manufactured food & beverage, and
motorized transport. Diet & exercise though seem to be
intensely personal choices. How can this dilemma be solved?
D24
8
March , 2014 - DEBATE TOPIC 72. How
Do We Judge Literary and Artistic Value? Are they entirely
subjective?
(proposed
by Bill)
D23
22
February, 2014 - DEBATE TOPIC 42. Are
we too wealthy?
Do
we demand an unsustainable and unrealistic quality of life? Does
our desire to be wealthy place too much pressure on the economy
and on the environment? Is it possible that we may have to think
about accepting less (proposed by Bill)
D22
9
February, 2014 - DEBATE TOPIC 48. How
Can We Treat Refugees Humanely (proposed
by Stephen)
D21
25
January, 2014 - DEBATE TOPIC 50. People
should require a licence to become parents
(proposed
by Dominicus)D20
11
January, 2014 - DEBATE TOPIC 70. What
will be the dominant ideologies of the 21st
Century?
(proposed
by Bill [topic 12], modified by Thor)The
20th Century revolved politically around
competing interpretations of Capitalism, Communism, Socialism and
Fascism. These are all ways to organize the lives of people on a
large scale. Are real alternatives or new interpretations likely
to emerge in the challenging years ahead? What might they look
like?
D19
14
December, 2013 DEBATE TOPIC 64. How
far should we go in raising an indifferent public’s
awareness of important social, moral or political issues?
(proposed
by Mehdi)Some
believe “ignorance is bliss”, and the more they know
the more they get worried. On the other hand we definitely can’t
be indifferent about many things. From a social perspective,
through which we try to manage our relationship with others in a
friendly manner, what is the borderline between legitimate worry
(which leads to taking action) and indifference (which preserve
peace of mind, at least in the short term)? Is it morally
permissible to encourage other people to worry about certain
issues, say global warming, human rights, animal rights, etc. to
precipitate effective action? Should we consider them selfish if
they are innately not concerned about such issues, or merely show
token agreement?
D18
November
30 , 2013 DEBATE TOPIC 65.
Creating
Meaning in Life
Humans
have a short physical existence on a planet that will eventually
cease to support life at all. In this context, what strategies
should humans use to impart meaning to their own lives? Some
possibilities are listed. Which of these have you used, and how
effective have they been? Are different approaches appropriate to
different stages of life?
A.
Compete with other humans (e.g. for status)
B. Care for
other humans (e.g. as a humanitarian)
C. Maximize close
connections with other humans (e.g. with a love partner)
D.
Maximize positive subjective experiences (e.g. “be happy”)
E. Align yourself with what you believe to be a higher
purpose (e.g. politics)
F. Adhere to a set of
rules/standards (e.g. moral precepts)
G. Attempt to create
something that will outlive you (e.g. art)
H. Invest in the
next generation of humans (e.g. your biological offspring)
I.
Other approaches?
D17
November
16 , 2013 DEBATE TOPIC 15.
Abortion
In
the recent presidential debates in the USA the Republican party
expressed their wish to make abortion illegal once more, with an
exception for cases where pregnancy was the result of rape or
abuse. Do you think this line of reasoning makes sense? Is it
enforceable? Is this even an issue that warrants the government’s
involvement?
D16
November
3 , 2013 DEBATE TOPIC 45.
Is
love an evolutionary instinct?
I.e.,
is it an innate, unconscious impulse that has been encoded into
our genes over millions of years as a mechanism to ensure the
survival of (the whole or individual members of) the species? Or
is there more to it? Is there another way to explain it? Do all
animals experience love?
D15
October
19 , 2013 DEBATE TOPIC 46. Some
people consider themselves to be “spiritual”. What
does this really mean?
D14
October
5 , 2013 DEBATE TOPIC 29. It
is OK to use animals in research if it benefits humans.
D13
September
22, 2013 DEBATE TOPIC 22. Democratic
societies are less likely to make war than dictatorships. What is
the evidence?
D12
September
8, 2013 DEBATE TOPIC 53.
What
is creativity? How can it be taught?
How
is it important? And should creative, arts and performance skills
be a compulsory part of the education curriculum? (proposed by
Bill & Thor; discussed 8 September 2013)Politicians
and management gurus tell us endlessly that innovation is
critical to national survival. Yet innovation requires
creativity, and creativity needs a mindset which does not usually
spring from accountants and process workers. In fact, the most
dynamic part of many economies worldwide is (and always has
been) found in arts, music, film, performance skills, inspired
writing (imaginative or non-fiction), and fine design of all
kinds. Should these activities be purely for an elite, or should
they be funded and nurtured for everyone within the national
education framework?
D11 August
24, 2013 DEBATE
TOPIC 34. Is
English the most important language in the world?
Is
English the most important language in the world? Is all language
translatable? Which parts of which languages are incompatible
with other languages and how do different groups of individuals
deal with that? Will globalization accelerate the loss of certain
native languages? What are the consequences of focusing on
learning the dominant languages and not focusing on preserving
native languages?
D10
August
10, 2013 DEBATE TOPIC 23: Economies need a high level of
government interference. [.. expanded and posted on the Internet
as "Economic
Complexity and the Engine of Psychology
]
The
most economically successful societies have always depended upon
a high level of government collusion with commerce and industry,
if not control. This argument is a way of saying that the “invisible hand” of the market is not enough to
maintain an efficient market, at least beyond village level.
There has to be an independent umpire, or forced control
(dictator, mafia … )
D9
July
27, 2013 DEBATE TOPIC: 30. Ethical
Behaviour is Harder for the Rich.
[.. expanded and posted on the Internet]
D8
July
13, 2013 DEBATE TOPIC 33: Is there any alternative
government structure better than democracy? What’s beyond
democracy? Is it important to have everyone’s voice being
heard or is it the majority opinion that counts? Does the whole
voting system represent a nation? What if voting is not
compulsory in Australia? See The
Democracy Problem [posted
on the Internet]
D7
June
29, 2013 DEBATE TOPIC 6: What is the purpose of dreaming?
(i.e. what evolutionary advantage would a dreaming creature have
over one that does not dream?) There are many existing theories,
such as emotional reboot, building neural networks for visual
processing, etc., but there is o genuine consensus on the issue.
For a personal perspective on nature of dreaming, see Comments
on Dreaming [notes
posted online]
D6
June
15, 2013 Debate topic 5: Is there intelligent life
elsewhere in the universe? Or was the development of life on
earth a complete fluke, a once only event, which happened against
all odds, and is never likely to occur again anywhere in the
universe? Is the search for life elsewhere in the universe a
waste of time, money and resources? Or is it an important
endeavour? For reference, see my summary notes on a lecture by
Stephen Hawking, online @ Life
in the Universe .
D5
June
1, 2013 Debate topic 4: Are antidepressants
overprescribed by doctors? Are they masking a person’s true
problems? What about the serious side effects? Should they be
given to children as young as 5 years old? Can we trust
pharmaceutical companies to do their own trials? Why is it
governments are not providing more money to relationship
education, emotional intelligence, resilience, and counseling to
help prevent depression.
D4
May
19, 2013 Debate topic 3: Western civilisation is
often held up as an example of having achieved gender equality.
Do you think we have reached that point as a nation? Is such an
ambition even a real possibility? If it is, what does it look
like?
D3
May
4, 2013 Debate topic 2: The line ‘No man is an
island’ from a John Donne poem has become famous largely
because so many recognise it to be true of the human experience.
Why is it that we gravitate towards being in relationship with
others? Why is ‘community’ so important to and for
us? What would society look like (would there in fact be a notion
we could call ‘society’) if each of us operated as
‘an island’? For some informal personal notes on this
topic, see No
Man is an Island online].
D2 April
20, 2013 Debate topic 1: Are we
responsible for our actions in all circumstances. Is there any
time we are not. Do we have free will or is everything
predetermined? Does anything happen randomly? Some personal notes
on this topic are here.
(However the notes barely skim the topic, and contain a summary
of complexity theory which will not make much sense to anyone who
did not participate in the debate).
D1
April
6, 2013 General discussion.
About
other
links from this author, Thor May, thormay@yahoo.com :
Historical: This web page exists as a record of discussion topics. The discussions have occurred in a series of meetups. The origin was a meetup which still occurs bi-weekly in Brisbane, Australia, called Gentle Thinkers (http://www.meetup.com/Gentle-Thinkers/ ). The Gentle Thinkers Brisbane meetup is now not associated with this topic list, but the old topics, up to number 79, have been retained for reference. The Gentle Thinkers connection was followed by a new meetup, Brisbane Active Thinkers. The Brisbane chapter of Active Thinkers was closed when I transferred to Adelaide
in 2015, but the topics discussed are retained here. Adelaide Active Thinkers followed the format of the Brisbane model, but I closed it after a year. I tried a couple of other experimental formats,
mostly (failed) attempts to provoke more original contributions from other
participants: Question Everything and Eh, Why Do You Think Like That? Questions from all the earlier formats are retained here. These previous meetups
were succeeded in Adelaide by a new meetup, Adelaide Question & Answer. AQ&A
adopted a pattern of offering a topic question each time, plus a set of about ten sub questions as a focusing mechanism. The hope
was that people who came would at least Google the topic before arriving so that we could share their new knowledge.
Adelaide Lunchtime Seminar has retained the format of AQ&A, but
transferred the venue from a pub on weekdays to a cafe on Saturdays, to
(hopefully) appeal to a wider demographic. Most ALS topics now also have a
recommended list of reading links, often with added comments by Thor.
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