Toadfish Monastery

I find this very interesting, as you might have noticed by now, I love to get things defined...   


Humble and humility is two of those words that, to me, always are depending on their context. 
And even though I don't consider my self a stranger to the English language any more, having had almost daily contact with it for most of my life (English classes begun when I was eight) it is still difficult to give an good definition of them from the top of my head.

Speaking as a non native English speaker my experience is; that how one defines, and understand, words like these have as much to do (if not more) with how rich your vocabulary in your native tongue is, as it has to do with how advanced your English is.
The richer your vocabulary is in your native tongue the bigger the chance that you will be able interpret the word correctly, by pairing it up with its' (in my case Swedish) counterpart not only translating one word against another but also taking in the context in which it's used and choosing the  translation that not only fits the word but also the context.

Take humble for example:
The first translation to Swedish is ödmjuk which means an attitude of respect and not putting one self above others.
The second translation is underdånig which means to be subservient,"an humble servant", yielding  or even obsequious.
The third and fourth translations is anspråkslös or oansenlig which more or less means "of simple origin".
The fifth translation is kväst which means what you feel after having been humiliated.
It have even more meanings among them "of poor quality".

I guess if one depend solely on dictionaries to translate a text, it is easy to get stuck with the meaning of the first translation, not to mention that many, more simple, dictionaries doesn't even list multiple meanings of a word. 

On my desk I have: one Swedish to English/English to Swedish dictionary, The Concise Oxford Dictionary, Collins English paperback dictionary and in the bookmarks tool bar field I have links to Webster's Rosetta Edition and to a Swedish/English on-line dictionary. And I'm not even ashamed of it!
I don't use them as much now days as I did two or three years ago, but I still use them when I feel insecure about how to express my self in distinct a way. Or for that matter if I feel to be ambiguous in a certain way.



(do I need to mention that those dictionaries got a good exercise today? )

/D

mind

Communication is a tricky thing, doing it by written language alone is worse, communicating through text in a language that isn't your native tongue is even worse... However you are not alone in that situation, my first language is for example Swedish and there are as I understand many other nationalities among the Siblings.

You asked for constructive help to avoid misunderstandings, The Meromorph has points out some very important keys to what perhaps make people misread your intentions.

My two cents in communication guidance would be:

Read: a lot, read English texts in every field you wish to make your opinion heard. If you want to write about cooking read cookbooks, it you want to write about art read art books, and of cause if you want to write about philosophic matters read such books. 

Tune in: If you are new to a place and you feel that the language is restraining you. Stop and listen (look), take a while and look around let the tone of other peoples conversation inspire you and set the tone in your contributions. This do not mean that you should conform into some sort of clone of somebody else. I simply mean that as a new member of a group (I'm new too) one sometimes has to tune in to the attitude as well the way words are used. this links to my next advice.

Tone down: As someone with a somewhat finite knowledge of a language it is easy to use too strong or too big words. If you feel like writing that something is "of the uttermost importance", tone it down, choose "of great importance" instead  you are still putting emphasis on importance and it is much easier to tune up the emphasis later (if needed) than to tune it down with out undermining ones argumentation.

Use help: Keep a good First language to English lexicon at hand and use it. Not for the spelling or grammar but for synonyms.
I'm going to use the tools of my trade (I'm an illustrator) to try to create a metaphor that explains what I mean: Synonyms of a word are like hues/nuance and saturation of a colour. To paint a picture, for example a portrait, you would need to use not only the right colours but also in the right nuance and in the saturation. Because even if you use the right colours, not using the right nuance and saturation will leave the picture looking naivistic and childish or even crude.
Do I make any sense?

There are a lot of on-line lexicons available Websters online dictionary (  http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/ ) is one.

These guidlines usually works for me.

/D

orange juice

lock

How does it goes that old proverb; "to recognize how little you know is the first step towards great wisdom"... 



Real philosophy and mathematics I usually leave to people with a passion for straight logic...

I'm a sceptic by nature, and not an expert in any field, but I'm curious, so enjoy reading a lot, and among the fields that I browse are archaeology, social and cultural anthropology and history. And I think that a key to understand oneself is to understand society of today (or at least try to understand it) and the key to understand any society is found in it's history -recent as well as the thousand year old.

To scrutinize a source or a theory is second nature to me, and if anyone comes along claiming to have a proven theory (and yes I'll stick to theory since even as well proved theories as Newtons gravity theory still is a theory even though most of us consider it a fact) I would want to see some scientific method that proves this "proven theory" or I have a very hard time to see how it can be proven...

Now science have many faces, and at least as as many methods.
Anthropologists for example mostly use either an empirical method or a inductive method.
Using the empirical method they derive data observing an empirical experiment rather that from a theory, but still in order to have proven something this experiment must have taken place time and time again under the same circumstances with the same results.
If they lean towards the inductive school they will instead use logic, collect "facts" from observation and form a theory about what happens and why, this is called "inductive reasoning".

Both methods has their pitfalls, the most famous example of criticism towards the inductive reasoning is  Bertrand Russell's "Inductivist Turkey"
"The turkey found that, on his first morning at the turkey farm, that he was fed at 9 a.m. Being a good inductivist turkey he did not jump to conclusions. He waited until he collected a large number of observations that he was fed at 9 am. and made these observations under a wide range of circumstances, on Wednesdays, on Thursdays, on cold days, on warm days. Each day he added another observation statement to his list. Finally he was satisfied that he had collected a number of observation statements to inductively infer that -I am always fed at 9 am. However on the morning of Christmas eve he was not fed but instead had his throat cut.''

Of cause it has flaws, since people aren't turkeys we can talk and doing so we can share knowledge with each other. But still It is in many ways true especially when consider armature inductive reasoning chains.


Curiously
/D

cigarettes

Lime ice tea.

The joy of two strangers from different cultural settings, meeting in a virtual space where face and body language as well as tone of voice is non existent as an aid for interpretation. Especially when the common language is just common, not the first language of any of the two.

Quote from: jjj on August 13, 2007, 12:16:41 PM

QuoteYou don't see the benefits of reading other philosophies, but still you expect other people to accept your theories with out questioning them?

You see, I don't expect other people to accept my theories without questioning them! Beside, I don't call my philosophical insight 'theories' any more, because to me they are already 'proven, working facts'. Chances are that they work for other people, too.

I don't mean to be aggressive or snarky but as a fellow seeker I would like to know how (by what method) your philosophical insight is proven?

Quote from: jjj on August 13, 2007, 12:16:41 PMIn several postings I encouraged you to feel free to constructively question, criticize my statements. It's then that we will be able to discuss and compare our gained insight and/ or theories. That's what we are here for... to discuss our gained insight and/or theories. So, I'm sorry to contradict your claims.

Don't be sorry about that.   

Quote from: jjj on August 13, 2007, 12:16:41 PM

QuoteWhat made you sure your life-theories and your insight would be fit to help for others?

Again, nothing of the sorts!  As already mentioned various times, I merely enjoy... (wait I copy from past postings...)
>>> enjoy to compare other people's insight to mine and share the gained insight I found worked and still works for me . Thus, feel free to doubt/ discredit my insight, for I have no scientific proof to back up any of my claims other than relying on personal observation, experiences and some practice in amateur reasoning. Chances are, my claims still somehow make sense to you and so, I would feel humbled and delighted to share them with you.
What more should I do to put my humble position clear?

I was more thinking in the lines of that there has to have been a moment, a defining event when you realised that "this can help others!" (since you as I understand it have written several books so your aim is to spread your insights and there by help others, yes?) and I was wondering what that event was, what led up to the said event and what happened afterwards?

And it would be interesting to read more of a introduction to your insights, I have read your posts but they don't give me a clear and connected view of your opinions, therefore I can't properly discuss them. Post a broader explanation to your philosophy or a link where we can read one, then it would be much easier to give you the kind of feedback you might came here looking for.

Cider

1. Have you ever seen a live belly dancer?
Yes, and I used to dance my self, I'm thinking about taking it up again too... Does wonders for ones posture.

2. Would you go see one?
YES!

3. Favorite non-native cuisine (IE something your mother didn't cook regularly for dinner)
Thai, I think, but Middle East, Indian and Szechuan cuisine is very nice too. I'm a bit of a foodie.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1) Do you dance?

2) Is there a special dance you would like to be good at?

3) Do music play in important role in your life?

Quote from: jjj on August 12, 2007, 02:51:57 PM
Both of your assumptions are correct, because most of these fora cling to established philosophical ideologies to which I don't subscribe. I am more interested in the pragmatic aspect of philosophical progress on both, the individualistic and social realm.
I don't even dare to allow myself indulging in other philosophies out of fear to forfeit/ corrupt my own reasoning source. I prefer to process  data on my own accord live, then compare it to other people's reasoning, finally amend it by trial & error as well as constructive criticism of others.
Mind you I had to do my homework first to be able to do it in this way.
After decades of practice this process has become much easier to perform.

When I suggested reading Maslow, this is not helpful?
Not really, because I prefer to be confront by the problem/ task in context.

I'll bring up this question again since it has been asked before but you seem to have missed it:
You don't see the benefits of reading other philosophies, but still you expect other people to accept your theories with out questioning them? How come?

Also, I have theories of my own about how to achieve balance and progress in life, and I like to discuss those theories with my friends and loved ones. My friends also have their own personal theories, actually most people have this kind of theories, but for both me and them, these theories remain just theories, and having theories doesn't make us philosophers. What made you sure your life-theories and your insight would be fit to help for others?



Curiously
/D

weed

Think about this:
There are situations when movement is what create stability.
The slower you go on a bike the harder it is to keep the balance, the same when paddling a kayak.

I think life is a balance act, you have to have enough speed through it to keep stable and be able to steer (no speed no steering, right) but you can't move too fast or you loose the ability to control where you go.

I hope I'm going to continue to grow as a person for a long, long time; being able to change when I realize when I need/want to, step up and do things I didn't thought I was able to and then let the experience evolve me.
I also want to learn by my mistakes and give others the opportunity to learn by them too. I think that the day I stop wanting to learn is the day I cease to grow it will also be the day I start to die.


I don't believe in one way, or one method, or one truth. -What is right for one person could be a catastrophe for someone else.

What I do believe is that if more people realized that we would live in a much happier world.

Quote from: beagle on August 08, 2007, 06:04:53 PM

Might be amusing to ask the management to clarify what the rules are for deciding when to ask for backup.  Will give you an amusing list of their approved prejudice list to chortle over if nothing else.

Tattoos   - 10 points
Leather Jacket - 5 points
Mohican or skinhead hair cut - 20 points
Piercings - 5 points each
Mad staring eyes - 100 points
Gun - 1000 points
Pete Doherty T-shirt - 2000 points

We sort of have a list.

Young people in large groups.

People in big or baggy clothes (it's easy to hide a bottle in the waistline of your pants if your t-shirt is 4 sizes to big).

People in big coats or jackets with large pockets (especially if they behave twitchy) or wear this kind of clothing even if the weather don't call for it.

And then some individuals that we more or less caught red handed...