Curiosity Over Pride (FYI: To comment, send an e-mail to scifidink@gmail.com)

Monday, December 7, 2009

Thoughts on some viewpoints

9 comments:

Thai said...

And you all know who I'm talking about. ;-)

Dink said...

OMFG! This couldn't be any more perfect..... Seriously, we need to incorporate this into the Saloon banner somehow!

I found a t-shirt in the latest Thinkgeek catalogue for a fractal fanatic . And something for the lit major too ;)

And one more piece of amusement, a Lego drug seeker with a great list of allergies . To quote the Lego ED doc, "Awesome".

Debra said...

I'm really thick, Thai but.. YEAH, I THINK I know who you're talking about...

Debra said...

Leloland ER...
We could spend HOURS discussing this little doc if you wanted, but you would tell me that I don't have a sense of humor, and... you would probably be right...

Thai said...

LOL!!!

Now that is an average day in my life. ;-)

Dink said...

"Now that is an average day in my life. ;-)"

I hope you use "Please, Ma'am, go home" and "Awesome. This has been great" in absolute monotone as frequently as possible :)

Perhaps I'm becoming allergic to non-narcotics.....

You know, Deb, I've been curious about how a Walla Walla girl became a Grenoble femme. Tell us the story someday.

Thai said...

Deb, I thought you would like this

Dink said...

"oxytocin gene receptor"

It can get sloppy when non-sci writers try to summarize scientist's work.

But the gist of the matter came through. It seems that there could be a difference in definition between what some consider "selfish" vs. "self-interest" vs. "public good". On an individual level being in a kin circle feels good and being excluded feels bad. And the desire to feel good is selfish. But its selfishness that happens to appears altruistic.

It seems to be one of those win-win scenarios like parenthood (kid is happy, parent is happy, community is happy) Of course, its all the gene's masterplan to get us to do their bidding ;)

Debra said...

Thanks for the link, Thai.
It comes at an interesting time for me...
Today I pulled a first for me.
I was walking along the street, coming back from the cultural association where I donate my time, and I passed by a man with a map in his hand.
I asked him if he was lost, and he told me that he had lost his backpack with all of his papers, credit card, check book, etc in it, and that he was killing time, trying to figure out what to do.
We spent about an hour together. I invited him to lunch, and tried to find out different ways to help him. We had a nice discussion about our mutual interests, and in the space of one hour, I learned quite a bit about him, and he about me.
At the end of that time, I went to an ATM, withdrew 50€ and handed over 57€ to him total, while specifying that I will host 13 people over Christmas, so, unfortunately, I can only lend him the money, not give it to him, the way I would like.
We exchanged addresses, and I also told him that... although I am not a Church going Christian, I am a firm believer in the Gospel, and in Jesus' teachings.
And that I was doing what I was doing because of what I believed.
I will keep you posted about whether I get this loan back or not, but.. something tells me that I will get it back.
And.. we have arranged to go sailboating when I go to Saint Malo, the place where he is from.
I will write a post in the future about Walla Walla to Grenoble.

The Most Fabulous Objects In The World

  • Hitchhiker's Guide To The Universe trilogy
  • Lord of the Rings trilogy
  • Flight of the Conchords
  • Time Bandits

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