Little questions from around the world.

Want to just shoot the breeze? Forum 42 is the place!

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Kurt_
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Re: Little questions from around the world.

Post by Kurt_ » Mon Jul 20, 2009 4:38 pm

Right and wrong is merely a matter of perspective.

AS is reality.
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Re: Little questions from around the world.

Post by eagle5953 » Mon Jul 20, 2009 4:54 pm

Kurt_ wrote:Right and wrong is merely a matter of perspective.

AS is reality.
Well, that's relativism in a nutshell.

However, I believe that right and wrong are not just matters of perspective - that some things are universally right or wrong. Otherwise, how could you criticize or punish anyone for anything without imposing your opinion of right and wrong in so doing? You couldn't. Even without getting into the religious ramifications of the relativistic perspective, there certainly would be effects in the legal and social spheres.

Don't get me wrong, though - not every decision has a right answer and a wrong answer, and those who believe so are wrong, but to say that everything is relative is as gross an oversimplification.

In short, I'm not saying that everything is black and white, but I am saying that everything is not gray.

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Re: Little questions from around the world.

Post by Valium » Mon Jul 20, 2009 5:36 pm

bacteria wrote:
* Why do main power plugs have 3 pins (inc ground) and others from other nations use 2? Why have 2 pin plugs in different orientations (eg USA / Australia) for similar mains power needs? (I think that's right?).
The 3 pin thing is only because some appliances/etc don't need the ground. Don't use enough juice for any precaution to need to be taken. And the reason we have different orientations for plugs is because there's differences in voltages everywhere you go. Earlier you mentioned that America and Europe use 110v. That's a little off, North America uses 120v (South America is fairly close, although some places use 127v) in our mains power, with 220-240v lines for anything bigger (fridges and the like).

The whole reason for the different plugs is, simply; every plug is for a different voltage or frequency.

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Re: Little questions from around the world.

Post by bicostp » Mon Jul 20, 2009 5:42 pm

Negative_Creep wrote:We drive on the right side of the road, you drive on the wrong side.
You can dispute that if you want though, nobody will come up with a clear answer haha, even though a good portion of the world drives on the 'wrong' side.
Another thing: no matter what side of the car the driver's on, they always drive so the driver's door faces the middle of the road. Wouldn't it make more sense to have the driver's side of a car on the side that faces the curb, so the driver doesn't have to risk life and limb getting out of the car when they parallel park?

Are drivers in your countries as bad as they are here in the US? Are there any US drivers worse than Boston Bobby and Providence Pete who can't help but talk on the phone and text message while driving?

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Re: Little questions from around the world.

Post by Negative_Creep » Mon Jul 20, 2009 5:45 pm

I've heard of people using their phone whilst driving.
Texting whilst driving though, nobody is dumb enough to risk their lives for that...

and with hands-free kits, surely using your phone whilst driving is about as dangerous as talking to passengers in the car lol

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Re: Little questions from around the world.

Post by dragonhead » Mon Jul 20, 2009 6:04 pm

Negative_Creep wrote:I've heard of people using their phone whilst driving.
Texting whilst driving though, nobody is dumb enough to risk their lives for that...

and with hands-free kits, surely using your phone whilst driving is about as dangerous as talking to passengers in the car lol
i almost get killed daily by text-drivers.

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Re: Little questions from around the world.

Post by bacteria » Tue Jul 21, 2009 4:25 am

One day you don't dodge my car, dragonhead, one day!! :wink:

bicostp wrote:no matter what side of the car the driver's on, they always drive so the driver's door faces the middle of the road. Wouldn't it make more sense to have the driver's side of a car on the side that faces the curb, so the driver doesn't have to risk life and limb getting out of the car when they parallel park?

Are drivers in your countries as bad as they are here in the US? Are there any US drivers worse than Boston Bobby and Providence Pete who can't help but talk on the phone and text message while driving?
Italians and French are known as seriously dangerous drivers!

In regards to the side the driver is on - reason is that it is far safer to overtake vehicles as you can see further up the road ahead.
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Re: Little questions from around the world.

Post by ShockSlayer » Tue Jul 21, 2009 7:22 am

Deep-fried pizza.....mmmm....sounds good. Bacteria!, mail me some! :P

Oh, and bag of milk? Am I the only one who finds that phrase to be overly-suggestive?

Grandma.

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Re: Little questions from around the world.

Post by limpport » Tue Jul 21, 2009 7:29 am

bicostp wrote:
Another thing: no matter what side of the car the driver's on, they always drive so the driver's door faces the middle of the road. Wouldn't it make more sense to have the driver's side of a car on the side that faces the curb, so the driver doesn't have to risk life and limb getting out of the car when they parallel park?
It's also handy to be able to judge how close you are to an oncoming car. If you about how wide your car is, you can judge the center of the lane from the yellow line.

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Re: Little questions from around the world.

Post by Kurt_ » Tue Jul 21, 2009 6:51 pm

It's also handy for getting a steering wheel and transmission rammed up your crotch in a head-on collision.

Eagle:
However, I believe that right and wrong are not just matters of perspective - that some things are universally right or wrong. Otherwise, how could you criticize or punish anyone for anything without imposing your opinion of right and wrong in so doing? You couldn't. Even without getting into the religious ramifications of the relativistic perspective, there certainly would be effects in the legal and social spheres.

Don't get me wrong, though - not every decision has a right answer and a wrong answer, and those who believe so are wrong, but to say that everything is relative is as gross an oversimplification.

In short, I'm not saying that everything is black and white, but I am saying that everything is not gray.
I disagree. Everything everywhere is relative. Punishment (for simplicity's sake, laws) is a matter of perspective. It just so happens that it is the consensus of the majority of the population. It doesn't mean everyone feels that a law is just. Even some will disagree that murder is wrong. Sure, they're pretty mentally unsound, but they are still part of the "everyone" required for rules and punishment without opinion. A great quote from Penumbra sums up my feelings perfectly... *digs up quote*

"Truth is the consensus of opinion"
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Re: Little questions from around the world.

Post by collinE » Tue Jul 21, 2009 7:32 pm

dragonhead wrote:
Negative_Creep wrote:I've heard of people using their phone whilst driving.
Texting whilst driving though, nobody is dumb enough to risk their lives for that...

and with hands-free kits, surely using your phone whilst driving is about as dangerous as talking to passengers in the car lol
i almost get killed daily by text-drivers.
:lol: I almost hit a dead deer in the road while browsing facebook on my phone.

Don't worry. I immediately updated my status that I almost hit the deer.
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Re: Little questions from around the world.

Post by bacteria » Wed Jul 22, 2009 1:54 am

...that makes it ok then! :lol:
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Re: Little questions from around the world.

Post by Negative_Creep » Wed Jul 22, 2009 6:04 am

Why is the previous generation in England so racist? Is it like that in America?

I was listening to some hiphop/grime mixtapes yesterday and got in response "that black man music, why are you listening to that?", when i'd say lyrics about the streets of england, getting stabbed, the government spending our money etc. is most likely more english than all the 'white man' plastic indie rock :/

Not to mention every girls parents i've met have had no shame in expressing their immediate dislike for people of this nature, sadly it carries over to their children sometimes which frankly I think is pathetic.

Sorry if this crosses the rule boundaries too much into racist territory.

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Re: Little questions from around the world.

Post by bacteria » Wed Jul 22, 2009 9:06 am

Culture changes for the better in this regards. In the '50's it was (sorry, can't say this any other way, I don't agree in any way with this, but phrased to state what it USED to be like c. '50's) - "No Dogs, No Blacks". Pretty bad. Look at how television (representing society) has changed in this regards. In the '60's and '70's you had Alf Garnett "In Sickness and Health", '70's Bernard Manning (and others not so bad but very racist), '70's Love Thy Neighbour and other programs like that. All were considered good family viewing. Things started changing in the '80's for the better.

Nowadays, rightly, such programs are intolerated and not deemed to be remotely funny.

Therefore, people who grew up in the '80's and after will be far more decent than people brought up years before. Society changes.
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Re: Little questions from around the world.

Post by bicostp » Wed Jul 22, 2009 12:23 pm

Negative_Creep wrote:Why is the previous generation in England so racist? Is it like that in America?
Only the south. :lol:

Race is only an issue because people think it's important. Why so much fighting over who has the most (least?) melanin?

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