What is a douchebag?

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ZenMuadDib
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What is a douchebag?

Post by ZenMuadDib »

A douchebag is someone who refuses to admit they were wrong, mostly to themselves. It is someone who is afraid to admit they do not know what they are talking about because they do not know the history of a thing. Any further definitions from anyone?
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Dan Rowden
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Re: What is a douchebag?

Post by Dan Rowden »

Not from me; I already cop too many accusations of redefining things.
ZenMuadDib
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Re: What is a douchebag?

Post by ZenMuadDib »

Dan Rowden wrote:Not from me; I already cop too many accusations of redefining things.
Where would we be, though, if we stuck with the very first "meaning" of a word and never expanded it from there?
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Dan Rowden
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Re: What is a douchebag?

Post by Dan Rowden »

Good point; I wish those who throw that accusation around would remember it. Plus it's possible for accepted definitions to be improved upon, or indeed be of limited or lesser utility from one context to another. This is why dictionary definitions are not always useful for philosophical purposes; they just aren't intended to be. And dictionary's don't really define words, they provide usage and meaning. Dictionaries are not God.
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vicdan
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Re: What is a douchebag?

Post by vicdan »

The problem is not redefining per se. The problem is equivocation over different definitions -- and redefining for the purpose of enabling such equivocations. This is why you folks get accused of trying to win through redefinition.
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Nick
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Re: What is a douchebag?

Post by Nick »

My definition of douchebag is any shitty driver who enters my field of vision while on the road.
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DFBatosee
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Re: What is a douchebag?

Post by DFBatosee »

i keep getting the " you always have to be right" thing from everyone? i dont understand why? if they say something that is incorrect or mistaken they take it as im being an ass? like last night for no reason my grilfriend out of nowhere says" why do you always have to be right" and i had no clue what to tell her.....answers? advice? anything?
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Tomas
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Re: What is a douchebag?

Post by Tomas »

ZenMuadDib wrote:A douchebag is someone who refuses to admit they were wrong, mostly to themselves. It is someone who is afraid to admit they do not know what they are talking about because they do not know the history of a thing. Any further definitions from anyone?


Hmmm.
Lotsa spare time on your hands?


Tomas

7

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brokenhead
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Re: What is a douchebag?

Post by brokenhead »

DFBatosee wrote:i keep getting the " you always have to be right" thing from everyone? i dont understand why? if they say something that is incorrect or mistaken they take it as im being an ass? like last night for no reason my grilfriend out of nowhere says" why do you always have to be right" and i had no clue what to tell her.....answers? advice? anything?
Interesting that you are posting this in this particular thread, don't you think? You are not replying to the topic per se, and yet from what you say, it seems pretty obvious that you think you are being a douchebag or else your girlfriend thinks you are.

So what your girlfriend really says is, "Why do you always have to be right, you douchebag?"

And what she really means is, "Why do you always have to think you're right and know more than everyone else, and want everyone else to think so too, you fucking douchebag?"

Don't you know that people hate to be corrected all the time? It's overbearing. Are you at least humorous when you correct her grammar or point out her lack of logic? Probably not. Always being right makes the other person feel lonely.

And by the way, you really only think you're right most of the time, I guarantee it. Just shut up and let her feel good about herself and stop being such a fucking douchebag.
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Re: What is a douchebag?

Post by brokenhead »

vicdan wrote:The problem is not redefining per se. The problem is equivocation over different definitions -- and redefining for the purpose of enabling such equivocations. This is why you folks get accused of trying to win through redefinition.
This makes sense. It's like playing a game that already has rules - and rule books - then changing them during a contest to suit your own strengths. Being a player-manager is one thing, being a player-ref is another. I think if the goal of a discussion were not always to turn it into a debate and win that debate, equivocation would be less prevalent. Then it wouldn't feel like redefining as much as extending or expanding the usual definition.
At any rate, I myself don't make that accusation, but I understand it when other forum members do.
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Re: What is a douchebag?

Post by ZenMuadDib »

brokenhead wrote:
vicdan wrote:The problem is not redefining per se. The problem is equivocation over different definitions -- and redefining for the purpose of enabling such equivocations. This is why you folks get accused of trying to win through redefinition.
This makes sense. It's like playing a game that already has rules - and rule books - then changing them during a contest to suit your own strengths. Being a player-manager is one thing, being a player-ref is another. I think if the goal of a discussion were not always to turn it into a debate and win that debate, equivocation would be less prevalent. Then it wouldn't feel like redefining as much as extending or expanding the usual definition.
At any rate, I myself don't make that accusation, but I understand it when other forum members do.
That's where dialectics comes in, as opposed to trying to "win" a debate.
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Re: What is a douchebag?

Post by TheSourceCode »

A douchebag is a vagina and do you what what we do with one?
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Re: What is a douchebag?

Post by brokenhead »

TheSourceCode wrote:A douchebag is a vagina and do you what what we do with one?
WTF?
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Dan Rowden
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Re: What is a douchebag?

Post by Dan Rowden »

DFBatosee wrote:i keep getting the " you always have to be right" thing from everyone? i dont understand why? if they say something that is incorrect or mistaken they take it as im being an ass? like last night for no reason my grilfriend out of nowhere says" why do you always have to be right" and i had no clue what to tell her.....answers? advice? anything?
Ask her why she's happy with being wrong. Also, stop and consider whether your corrective behaviour is always necessary and socially appropriate or an expression of a form of obsessive compulsive. Also, there are different ways to correct people's errors. Have you stopped to consider that your method may be the problem?
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Dan Rowden
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Re: What is a douchebag?

Post by Dan Rowden »

brokenhead wrote:
vicdan wrote:The problem is not redefining per se. The problem is equivocation over different definitions -- and redefining for the purpose of enabling such equivocations. This is why you folks get accused of trying to win through redefinition.
This makes sense. It's like playing a game that already has rules - and rule books - then changing them during a contest to suit your own strengths. Being a player-manager is one thing, being a player-ref is another. I think if the goal of a discussion were not always to turn it into a debate and win that debate, equivocation would be less prevalent. Then it wouldn't feel like redefining as much as extending or expanding the usual definition.
At any rate, I myself don't make that accusation, but I understand it when other forum members do.
Victor's accusation does nothing but indicate acute asbestotis of the brain.
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vicdan
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Re: What is a douchebag?

Post by vicdan »

My accusation was brought to painfully vivid life during the QM argument, when Quinn unwittingly served as a perfect exemplar of just such a dishonest definitional equivocation. Solway fared better merely because he said less.
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ZenMuadDib
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Re: What is a douchebag?

Post by ZenMuadDib »

TheSourceCode wrote:A douchebag is a vagina and do you what what we do with one?
Lol a douchebag, technically, is a syringe for douching, cleaning, the vagina dumbass.
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David Quinn
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Re: What is a douchebag?

Post by David Quinn »

vicdan wrote:My accusation was brought to painfully vivid life during the QM argument, when Quinn unwittingly served as a perfect exemplar of just such a dishonest definitional equivocation. Solway fared better merely because he said less.
You were the one who was equivocating, Victor.

For example, it was clear that you couldn't make up your mind up what "randomness" meant. It was either "things just happening, without cause", or the very different notion of "things being unpredictable". It seemed to depend on which corner you were being backed into.

And we all know that scientists are the masters of equivocation. Enough said.

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Re: What is a douchebag?

Post by brokenhead »

For example, it was clear that you couldn't make up your mind up what "randomness" meant. It was either "things just happening, without cause", or the very different notion of "things being unpredictable". It seemed to depend on which corner you were being backed into.
That's not a trivial example. The meaning of "randomness" is particularly tricky.
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vicdan
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Re: What is a douchebag?

Post by vicdan »

David Quinn wrote:For example, it was clear that you couldn't make up your mind up what "randomness" meant. It was either "things just happening, without cause", or the very different notion of "things being unpredictable".
I was extremely clear and unequivocal about exactly what I meant by randomness. You perceived equivocation because you tries to stuff facts into your silly aprioristic framework. I challenge you to find a single instance of me ever saying two incompatible things about randomness.

i always said that the random distribution itself is caused, but the specific outcome (e.g. 5 vs. 6 on the quantum die) is not determined by prior conditions. You just had trouble wrapping your mind around it, because you wanted either total determinism, or shit just happens (you know, a sheep becoming a grandfather clock, or whatever). Your problem was the following idiotic, dishonest reasoning:

'Cause' is necessary prior condition, or something similar
Everything has such prior conditions
Therefore, everything has a cause
'Random' means 'uncaused'
Therefore, there can be no randomness

Shall we play 'spot the fallacy' here, kiddo?
And we all know that scientists are the masters of equivocation. Enough said.
projecting: it ain't pretty.
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Re: What is a douchebag?

Post by brokenhead »

There is a reason why books on statistics always have tables of random numbers in the back. The publisher - or editor - is vetting that those numbers pass all known algorithms for randomness. You cannot mathematically prove any sequence of numbers is random, any more than you can prove pi is irrational.

You can only prove that some sequences are not random.

A computer's "random-number generating" function is a little suspect as well. That's why state lotteries use ping-pong balls to generate winning numbers. You'd more readily accept 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 as the jackpot number for a six-number lottery if you saw it as a result of a physical drawing than if a computer gave you the numbers.

Again, "randomness" may have a definition, but the meaning of the word is a bit more slippery. Actuaries get paid big bucks to know the difference between a random sample and one that's not.
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DFBatosee
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Re: What is a douchebag?

Post by DFBatosee »

brokenhead wrote:
DFBatosee wrote:i keep getting the " you always have to be right" thing from everyone? i dont understand why? if they say something that is incorrect or mistaken they take it as im being an ass? like last night for no reason my grilfriend out of nowhere says" why do you always have to be right" and i had no clue what to tell her.....answers? advice? anything?
Interesting that you are posting this in this particular thread, don't you think? You are not replying to the topic per se, and yet from what you say, it seems pretty obvious that you think you are being a douchebag or else your girlfriend thinks you are.

So what your girlfriend really says is, "Why do you always have to be right, you douchebag?"

And what she really means is, "Why do you always have to think you're right and know more than everyone else, and want everyone else to think so too, you fucking douchebag?"

Don't you know that people hate to be corrected all the time? It's overbearing. Are you at least humorous when you correct her grammar or point out her lack of logic? Probably not. Always being right makes the other person feel lonely.

And by the way, you really only think you're right most of the time, I guarantee it. Just shut up and let her feel good about herself and stop being such a fucking douchebag.

man brokenhead...your so nice =) but i do see what you say and truly i know it is kinda mean but i dont intend to make people feel bad but i am funny its not just being a jerk i make a joke or something im not like....you suck at life and your wrong about everything only im right...i just....idk maybe i should just cease talkin for the time being =)
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Re: What is a douchebag?

Post by brokenhead »

Especially around girls. Girls like to be listened to, not talked at.
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