Why can’t we live in peace?

[Marty Grass]

Nah, I'm using data as a singular noun. Not the plural of the data points. The best part about pedantic people is when they are actually wrong.

Is 'data' singular or plural? | Merriam-Webster

This is another example of English being an evolving or "living" language. There is evolving acceptance of the term "ain't" also.

Classically data is plural. American English has drifted to the point where commoner language doesn't recognize the difference between data and datum. The drift is eventually accepted as normal. These updates are sanctioned and new words added by Merriam-Webster annually.

Your browser is not supported | usatoday.com

PEDANTIC Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

I am a university professor. Being pedantic can be an essential part of the mindset, as can being didactic. Without a clear definition of terms, productive debate and discussion are hobbled. But I will admit most people are not aware that the term data is the plural of datam, and they don't care. Terms that are "close enough" eventually become the norm.

I admit that in common language the terms pedantic, didactic, and academic all can have negative connotations, the "correct" compared to "close enough that I understand what you mean".

An example of adequate communication with "improper" expression is someone saying the hot dog he is eating "doesn't taste so good". I get it.

[joe2758]

. I’ve been trying to sell that idea for a long time, but buyers are few and far between. Thanks

do you mean you have literally been trying to sell lessons and it didn't catch on?

[Mark Kleinhaut]

do you mean you have literally been trying to sell lessons and it didn't catch on?

nope, not at all. I may coach from time to time, but after trying for a semester long ago as a university adjunct, part time, I realized my autodidactic approach was non-communicable and the last thing on earth I’d want to adopt is standardized pedagogy. Nope, I only meant to do by example and encourage others to find their way to creativity and beauty.

[Stringswinger]

This is another example of English being an evolving or "living" language. There is evolving acceptance of the term "ain't" also.

Classically data is plural. American English has drifted to the point where commoner language doesn't recognize the difference between data and datum. The drift is eventually accepted as normal. These updates are sanctioned and new words added by Merriam-Webster annually.

Your browser is not supported | usatoday.com

PEDANTIC Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

I am a university professor. Being pedantic can be an essential part of the mindset, as can being didactic. Without a clear definition of terms, productive debate and discussion are hobbled. But I will admit most people are not aware that the term data is the plural of datam, and they don't care. Terms that are "close enough" eventually become the norm.

I admit that in common language the terms pedantic, didactic, and academic all can have negative connotations, the "correct" compared to "close enough that I understand what you mean".

An example of adequate communication with "improper" expression is someone saying the hot dog he is eating "doesn't taste so good". I get it.

If language didn't evolve, we in America would all be speaking Chaucerian English. Or old Norse.

My wife is a bit of a grammar Nazi. She hates it when someone answers the question of how they are doing with "I'm doing good" Of course, with proper grammar, that answer should be "I'm doing well". To me that stuff matters not. Language is all about communication. If I understand what you are saying, I am fine with it. But if someone's grammar is particularly "off", it does result in my doubts as to their education level. That said, I try not to assume. Some of the smartest and most successful people that I have met in this life lacked a higher education and used incorrect grammar. The word assume has been said to make an ass out of you and me. I have found avoiding assumptions has been beneficial to my life.

[Aiq]

This is another example of English being an evolving or "living" language. There is evolving acceptance of the term "ain't" also.

Classically data is plural. American English has drifted to the point where commoner language doesn't recognize the difference between data and datum. The drift is eventually accepted as normal. These updates are sanctioned and new words added by Merriam-Webster annually.

Your browser is not supported | usatoday.com

PEDANTIC Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

I am a university professor. Being pedantic can be an essential part of the mindset, as can being didactic. Without a clear definition of terms, productive debate and discussion are hobbled. But I will admit most people are not aware that the term data is the plural of datam, and they don't care. Terms that are "close enough" eventually become the norm.

I admit that in common language the terms pedantic, didactic, and academic all can have negative connotations, the "correct" compared to "close enough that I understand what you mean".

An example of adequate communication with "improper" expression is someone saying the hot dog he is eating "doesn't taste so good". I get it.

Fewer/less, versus/verse.

I taught grammar to advanced section sixth graders, when we had the yearly meeting with the middle school teachers I was told they always knew my students as they were relatively strong in grammar.

[charlieparker]

Actually, that's called agnosticism, i.e., "I don't know if there is a Supreme Being," atheism is asserting there is none. It is illogical to believe in a Supreme Being, that is to say, one cannot logically prove that God exists - or does not exist - so your position is perfectly rational.

Belief can be founded on mystical experience, which is the goal of traditions such as yoga, zen buddhism, sufism, etc. Sri Aurobindo called this suprarational knowledge. It is the subject of Aldous Huxley's book, the Perennial Philosophy, although it's an academic treatment of it. My mother's faith was founded on direct experience, as was that of a few other people I've met such as Jack Schwarz ( Amazon.com: Jack Schwarz: books, biography ) and Doug Boyd ( Amazon.com: Doug Boyd: books, biography ).

We are not completely whole without mystical and spiritual experiences. I used to be an atheist/agnostic but I've become convinced otherwise. I don't think consciousness can be explained without it not to mention things like the origin of our Universe. The big bang is only a model of the Universe's evolution after it's creation.

[charlieparker]

The current scientific label for "nothing" is dark matter which is invisible and yet supposedly comprises about 60% of the matter in the universe, but maybe it's the scientists version of God, it's invisible but they need to believe in it for their cosmological theories to make sense.

Ehh, I don't love this comparison. Scientific models are correct in certain regimes and fail in others. This is what led to the discovery of GR.

Currently, GR fails at cosmological scales, so scientists have proposed new modified theories or alternatively the existence of Dark Matter. Dark Matter isn't really nothing, it is matter that doesn't interact with the electromagnetic forces. They have also several different candidates of matter from Axons to WIMPs that they are trying to detect.

Also, physics doesn't really answer why questions and just are models that predict the future.

[Mick-7]

you have faith the people you vote for will actually do what they say they are going to do.

That would be extremely naive... in some countries politicians can be criminally indicted for fabricating stories about their political opponents, whereas in the U.S. they are rewarded for doing so.

[Mick-7]

Ehh, I don't love this comparison (i.e., between dark matter and noting)

You're right, bad analogy. As I said earlier, something has always existed, or as Parmenides put it about 2500 years ago, "ex nihilo nihil fit."

[joe2758]

To try and paraphrase Buddha, I think he suggested that universes expand and contract one after another with no discernable beginning. I'm not aware of any mention of a gap in between.

[Kirk Garrett]

If all the people living on earth played the guitar as beautifully as you do, there would be peace on earth. I'm sure of that.
Best
kris

Peace is easy when we’re just playing music and hanging around in a world of plenty. A well stocked pantry. Plenty of water. Nice guitars.

But as this thread demonstrates, even minor and trivial disagreements in language lead to rancor and pridefulness.

[Mick-7]

To try and paraphrase Buddha, I think he suggested that universes expand and contract one after another with no discernable beginning. I'm not aware of any mention of a gap in between.

The Buddhist conception is based on Hindu (Vedic) cosmology: In the final stage of the cosmic cycle (a.k.a., yuga), the universe returns to a formless state of chaos, whereupon the cycle starts again.

I think the vedic philosophers also said that a day in the life of Brahma (the God of creation) is roughly 4.32 billion human years, they must have gotten a glimpse of his day planner? .... "Day 7, destroy Universe #64, it's just not working out as I planned at all."

[joe2758]

Is it the same Brahma in Hinduism who creates each cycle, i.e. he is eternal?

[AKA]

……. America's freedoms only work with a moral people. And in recent times, I see that morality as having been abandoned by many. Which I think is to our collective peril.

I agree with your sentiment, with one exception. The abandonment of morality by many occurred far earlier than recent times!

[mr. beaumont]

I agree. It's just my personal viewpoint at what brings inner peace - aligning with what's right. Yes, the world is extremely imperfect, but bowing to it doesn't bring inner peace. Doing your best to improve your outward circumstances and inner environment is what brings inner peace.

I see what you are saying. I'm not really suggesting bowing to it...more of a serenity thing...the serenity prayer actually...you know the whole accepting the things you cannot change, changing what you can, and having the wisdom to know the difference...(I always forget the exact wording)

Teaching in a public school has really kind of cemented this attitude for me. I want what's best for my students, right? But I only see them an hour a day, and they're in the school itself only 7-8 hours or so. So it's my job to control what I can...make my classroom the best possible experience, a place of inquiry, peace, belonging...I can't control what happens to my students when they are not with me. But I do what I can while they are.

[Mick-7]

Is it the same Brahma in Hinduism who creates each cycle, i.e., he is eternal?

Um, I'm not up on my Hindu philosophy, I know that Brahma is the creator god, Brahman is the fabric of reality from which the universe is formed. Brahman is eternal, not sure about Brahma, he may have a life span - I suppose he must since he is a discrete entity. Good question though, I'll ask him the next time I run into him, "Dude, how discrete are you anyway?"

[joe2758]

Um, I'm not up on my Hindu philosophy, I know that Brahma is the creator god, Brahman is the fabric of reality from which the universe is formed. Brahman is eternal, not sure about Brahma, he may have a life span. Good question though, I'll ask him the next time I run into him.

ok..you brought it up...

[JazzKatua]

Don't want to be that guy, but there will never be peace as long as there is organized religion.

You NAILED it to its core's problem!

[pauln]

This is another example of English being an evolving or "living" language. There is evolving acceptance of the term "ain't" also.

Classically data is plural. American English has drifted to the point where commoner language doesn't recognize the difference between data and datum. The drift is eventually accepted as normal. These updates are sanctioned and new words added by Merriam-Webster annually.

Your browser is not supported | usatoday.com

PEDANTIC Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

I am a university professor. Being pedantic can be an essential part of the mindset, as can being didactic. Without a clear definition of terms, productive debate and discussion are hobbled. But I will admit most people are not aware that the term data is the plural of datam, and they don't care. Terms that are "close enough" eventually become the norm.

I admit that in common language the terms pedantic, didactic, and academic all can have negative connotations, the "correct" compared to "close enough that I understand what you mean".

An example of adequate communication with "improper" expression is someone saying the hot dog he is eating "doesn't taste so good". I get it.

You misspelled datum the second mentioned above;
do you even know how to use it's nominative forms?

the datum
this datum
this here datum
that datum
that there datum

these data
these here data
those data
those there data
them data
them there data

[Hyppolyte Bergamotte]

I'm sorry to tell you this, but a God doesn't exist: when you die, there will be no trace left of your existence

[Kirk Garrett]

I'm sorry to tell you this….

I’m guessing this part of the statement is as untrue as the second part.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Strat-itis]

You NAILED it to its core's problem!

Conflict is much more correlated with the absence of religion.

[Strat-itis]

I see what you are saying. I'm not really suggesting bowing to it...more of a serenity thing...the serenity prayer actually...you know the whole accepting the things you cannot change, changing what you can, and having the wisdom to know the difference...(I always forget the exact wording)

Teaching in a public school has really kind of cemented this attitude for me. I want what's best for my students, right? But I only see them an hour a day, and they're in the school itself only 7-8 hours or so. So it's my job to control what I can...make my classroom the best possible experience, a place of inquiry, peace, belonging...I can't control what happens to my students when they are not with me. But I do what I can while they are.

I agree with the clarification. I just don't believe in only trying to achieve peace thru acceptance without outward or inward action to reconcile with what's right. If I can't improve the environment I'm in up to my standards, then I have to get out of those circumstances, not accept them.

[Stevebol]

This thread surprises me and is interesting.

I served in the US Air Force (Space Force now) on bases with nukes. This had a lasting effect on me and likely those with whom I worked. We had drills and even some real alerts related to the Middle East. These often occured early at night, corresponding to a morning attack in the middle east. The alerts at that time were about the escalations building in the Middle East. We knew that if our major adversaries got hot, we'd be hit. I can tell you that this feels completely different when you are standing at attention with hundreds of your fellow airmen lined up next to runways with bombers and fighters idling on the ready. I can't explain, but it was profound and sad.

It is extraordinary hard and relentless to pursue peace. This is not a comment on any country. Rather, it is our species that is inclined to war.

Unrelated to that military duty, I became involved for research purposes on the October 7 concert attack and the follow up atrocities on both sides. It was part of the SafeHeart project. SafeHeart | Mental support for Nova survivors There are countless barbaric acts against humans by humans that have no military discipline, just plain savagery.

We are approaching 100 years with nukes as a planet but not there yet. Annie Jacobsen has a great way of presenting the technicalities and threats.

We have had several close calls, and I truly mean that. And there are the chemical and biological agents that get little discussion these days.

I don't know how we got on this topic. It brings to mind a quote attributed to Albert Einstein. "I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones".

The Trump administration is using mafia tactics against a foreign country. Iran. Now there's stagnation. I don't expect anything to change for the foreseeable future.

[Strat-itis]

Dude, I already explained this and you said you agreed.

Why would I extend any grace to you when all you're doing is making every possible effort to straw man me in order to invalidate my and the rest of the Christians on this thread's beliefs? I respect your stance that you don't see God as a logical necessity for explaining reality, but that you ultimately don't know the explanation for everything since it's impossible to prove at this point. That's perfectly logical. The least you could do is extend the same standard to Christians as you expect for yourself.

I repeat again, the version of atheism that describes me is not a religion. It's not a belief. It is a position of not being convinced of any of the specific claims of God and religious systems. I am saying I don't know.

That's called agnosticism like Mick said.

Things have to be proven only if you claim they exist.

Who told you that? General Relativity has been accepted unproven for over 100 years lol.

So there is no double standard. You are the one who believes in after life, Jesus being God, God being all loving all that. You make specific metaphysical claims about existence as part of the Christian theology. You have the burden of proof, not me.

You're being extremely irrational. Why would I have to prove something that isn't stated as a fact? That is 100% a double standard. You're trying to say that you get to invalidate Christianity because it's not provable at present, but incidentally your belief stands as the default even though it's not provable either.

Except that science doesn't need Christianity. You are just smuggling in superfluous, irrefutable beliefs when they add no meaningful explanatory power to science.

What am I smuggling? I'm saying the exact same thing as you: I believe in what's empirical and observable, I just happen to believe that Christianity is also true and congruent with scientific systems, although this is unproven, it's a belief. You seem to be saying that you get to hold the empirical high ground, while also reserving the right to not know, and you get to invalidate my stance while also opting out of accountability yourself. That's idiotic.