things that make you think

[Tricky]

On a similar note, I wonder how many relics of that war are still waiting to be found in Russia. Just recently I read about a wrecked Soviet Hurricane that was found in a marsh and the pilot was still sitting inside in somewhat ok condition although he was all battered up from impact. The marsh was able to preserve his body to some extent. thats pretty interesting!theres all sorts waiting to be found in the russian forests & marshes,theres a rumour running around various AFV forums that a Tiger 1 has been found in a marsh,it'll be interesting to see if its true as there are only around 8 known ones of them left in the world out of around 1300 built!and only one of them is in running condition (which ive had a climb about on )

[Philly_SWAT]

this thread can go anywhere, anywhere at all. i am interested in the kinds of things that give you a bit of pause in your everyday life and cause you to wonder. Well, this is certainly an interesting thread, and one that would be difficult for me to answer, for I am constantly thinking of all kinds of things, from the inane to the complex. I have a hard time shutting my mind off. I have always had a hard time getting to sleep, because as I lay down, my mind is still actively thinking about something. The easiest way I have found is to be totally exhausted when I lay down, which makes it easier to fall asleep. One of the things I find myself thinking about sometimes is this..I wonder if mankind will ever figure out .."new ways of thinking" about things. Just because things have always been one way doesnt mean it wouldnt be better to go another way. One example I think of is cities. Without going into too much detail, suffice it to say that cities originated in random ways. Generally located near bodies of water, they grew in random and haphazard fashion. There was no master design to them (usually), and where stuff ended up being built was based on simple ideas (such as "there is iron in that mountain, lets build a mine there". Then stores and houses popped up near the mine. etc). I can not blame man for not thinking ahead, how would they really know to. Centuries in the past, people had to literally think about how they were going to eat tomorrow more so than we do nowadays. Many of our big cities have crumbling infrastructures. While I am not suggesting to just let them turn into rubble, I think we would be smart to start building new cities that have more intelligent design to them. We have plenty of wide open spaces available. My general thoughts are this..have industrial, commercial and residential layed out in ways that make it condusive to mass transportation. One reason MT is frowned upon by some is the inconvience. The trains,buses, etc., dont take you exactly where you want to go, they cant go EVERYWHERE, so there is a lot of walking involved. Here is a pic of my general thought... Put all the industrial in the center of the community. Safety/pollution concerns would have to be addressed, but that still has to be addressed now. But this puts the production, i.e jobs, in a central location for all. Have commercial around the center. Now there is a short distance from production center to where the goods will be sold. Put housing outside of this. Have train systems that go around the commercial areas...lots of trains, all sharing the same track. Not high power, super fast trains, but slower moving ones, designed to stop every few blocks or so. Have buses that travel throughout the residential area in logical fashion, bringing people to the central commercial train area, as well as into the industrial area. By definition, everyone would be within easy reach to their jobs and their shopping by public transportation. Energy use would be minimized, better for the environment, etc. Have landfills,power plants, water treatment, etc, on the outskirts. I could go into much more detail, but thats it in a nutshell. This is one of the things I think about.

[Mike70]

thats pretty interesting!theres all sorts waiting to be found in the russian forests & marshes,theres a rumour running around various AFV forums that a Tiger 1 has been found in a marsh,it'll be interesting to see if its true as there are only around 8 known ones of them left in the world out of around 1300 built!and only one of them is in running condition (which ive had a climb about on ) aren't there a few accidents (some fatal) a year in russia, parts of poland and germany due to WWII era artillery shells and bombs accidentally being dug up in construction projects?

[Neil]

I wonder if we DO make it, how far will we go? Where does our evolution end? (makes me think of the end of Babylon 5, a la the Vorlons) I find this question depressing... As a child you imagine with 10-20 yrs man will be on mars and flying around jupiter, and then not too long after discovering and exploring alien worlds with life, possibly intelligent. Then as you grow up you realise how incredibly slow the rate of progress is, and worse still that we may be up against a clock:- 1) Will global warming put an end to our current civilization? 2) Will some other global catastrophe put an end to it? Super volcanoe? Asteroid? Magnetic poles swapping? 3) Will we ever meet/hear from an alien intelligence? - The universe is so massively big and not very friendly. We will go to the grave most likely:- 1) Never having received an alien transmission. And even if we do, we know that was it... We won't be around for the rest of the conversation. (each transmission will take tens, hundreds, thousands of years) 2) We may start seeing the signs begin for the end of our civilization - Global warming may be true, and we certainly ain't doing enough to stop it.

[LoSTBoY]

Here is a movie I think you would LOVE Mike, "The Man From Earth" it's about a going away part for a professor who asks, as an intellectual exercise, of his colleagues the question, what if a cro-magnon man who didn't age continued to live & thrive until modern day. Who would he be? Through the course of the conversation they begin to suspect HE may be the subject of their conversation. What follows is a great discussion that touches on science, philosophy, religion, metaphysics, etc, etc. It's a science fiction movie w/ no special effects, explosions, robots, etc. It basically is a one act play, all takes place in one cabin in real time & is just a bunch of people sitting around talking. And it's utterly fascinating. Can't recommend it enough. Great cast too, including Tony Todd. If you like things that make you wonder & think, this is it. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0756683/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_From_Earth Agreed, this is an excellent move. The acting is not much but the story is really good. Recommended to all.

[SymphonicX]

Good idea for a thread, and one that I'm totally stumped for an idea. Recently I've not been the happiest chap, having come back from a blinding holiday to tons of stress and of course, the weather, general money worries etc... As a result I've not actually stopped to appreciate, or felt the need to marvel at anything. I'd even go as far to say that it's not even about that, it's closer to me not actually respecting anything...like I look at those beautiful sunsets that sometimes catch my eye and think "fuck it". I see the innocence of the world sometimes, but can't keep that thought with me...all I seem to see recently is more demonstrations of pure, unabated ugliness and fuck...it feels like I'm swallowed up in it. I felt like I've reached a moments of great realisation...an epiphany...but the conclusion is cynical...I mean life IS beautiful, and it really can be...but if you look at it objectively...it's not. And never has been...well...not since the dawn of humanity it hasn't. I guess what I'm trying to say is...if we got rid of all the people...things might be better.

[Tricky]

abandoned buildings always make me think,especially ones that have been empty for a good few decades!i always start thinking about what the building was like when it was new,what it was used for,how it will have been bustling with the people who worked or lived there at one point,and what happened for it to become abandoned,and who the last person was to switch the lights out before it became an empty shell.This can range from anything,abandoned factories,hospitals,military installations,houses,medieval castles & monastaries etc,it fascinates me!i can waste hours trawling through urban exploration sites or sometimes exploring places like that in person

[Mr. Beakman]

this always makes me think about the guy painted around his hand. what was his name? what did he do in his tribe? was he important or just a young man screwing around. i also wonder about the fact that the haplogroup my blood type belongs to (i've participated in a couple of mitochondrial DNA studies by simply swabbing my mouth for cheek cells - the results were fascinating) originated in southern france and northern italy, did one of my ancestors belong to this guy's tribe or live near them. Man, you guys are all pretty deep. I was just wondering why he never finished the turkey.

[3pidemiC]

I often wonder about non-existence. Such as what happens if there is no afterlife. The thought of you not existing in any form is very weird. Also, I often think about life 500-600 years ago. In the US, there was nothing here. Seriously, Native American tribes were sparsely populating small areas but that was it. It's amazing how much our civilization has advanced in such a small amount of time, considering the age of the earth.

[MoonSylver]

Man, you guys are all pretty deep. I was just wondering why he never finished the turkey. I often wonder about non-existence. Such as what happens if there is no afterlife. The thought of you not existing in any form is very wierd. That one is one that I oddly feel sorta comfortable about...I usually think of the old chestnut "energy can never be created nor destroyed, it only changes forms"...my thought is that since all of our neural activity is electrical in nature (energy) that when we die & that electrical activity ceases & all of that stored energy ("the soul") dissipates that it returns back to it's source (god?). This makes sense to me in a context of if god is everywhere & everything (the universe/all of creation) then we are a part of god, god is a part of us & when we die we return to/meld with/become a part of that source. This lends itself well to the concept of reincarnation as well, as we die & are born that energy is constantly returning to & splitting off from that source energy. What I DON'T think the afterlife is is fat babies with wings strumming a ukulele on a cloud or whatever. Also, I often think about life 500-600 years ago. In the US, there was nothing here. Seriously, Native American tribes were sparsely populating small areas but that was it. It's amazing how much our civilization has advanced in such a small amount of time, considering the age of the earth. I would love to see this country before it got "civilized"

[ProfessorChaos]

i got released from active duty four years ago this month, and in honor of the occasion, i've recently called a few friends from my days in the corps to see what they've been up to. anyway, i just found out that one guy i knew died in a drinking and driving crash almost immediately after he got out (about a year before i did, so about 5 years ago now)....odd that it's been that long since the days when we spent all week training and all weekend at the beach getting hammered and picking up on officer's daughters...i kinda always remembered him in that way, since all he wanted to do during his last six months in was spend every weekend on the beach getting shit-faced and chasing tail... "Strange memories on this nervous night in Las Vegas. Has it been five years? Six? It seems like a lifetime, the kind of peak that never comes again." anywho, this made me reflect upon how lucky i am for numerous reasons, most importantly the fact that i'm alive and healthy, something i think many (including myself) take for granted...anyone ever have an incident similar to this where you're cruising along without a care in the world, then something comes along and floors you and makes you realize how fortunate you really are?

[Mike70]

I would love to see this country before it got "civilized" yep. moreover, i'd like to see ohio before it got "civilized." walk a bit with the Miami (every other thing in SW ohio is named for them) and the Shawnee. i'd probably end up telling them that there is a storm coming that you cannot weather nor can you survive intact. you will be swept away and one day, you will be only a memory remembered in place names and in stories of what ohio once was. morose i know but the truth is often morose. i'd also like to meet the folks who built this: this is a pic of the great serpent mound in adams county, if you've been there you know how fooking cool it is. jared, yep i've had a similar experience. instead of death, i found out that one of my closest friends in the army had become a bandit in mexico with his own nickname! damn was i surprised. the paths that life takes us down sometimes are twisted and weird.

[MoonSylver]

yep. moreover, i'd like to see ohio before it got "civilized." walk a bit with the Miami (every other thing in SW ohio is named for them) and the Shawnee. i'd probably end up telling them that there is a storm coming that you cannot weather nor can you survive intact. you will be swept away and one day, you will be only a memory remembered in place names and in stories of what ohio once was. morose i know but the truth is often morose. Here's one along those lines: being an Ohioan & as knowledgeable in history as you are, you already know the whole story of Tecumseh. I often wonder, what if his plan to unite the tribes had succeeded? Would history be different if a unified Indian nations had driven out the early whites? Or was or coming unavoidable. (BTW I LOVE the outdoor drama & have been several times. I know it's not great history, but it's s fun experience. Go early, take the back stage tour, have the dinner, the whole spiel...great family fun.) jared, yep i've had a similar experience. instead of death, i found out that one of my closest friends in the army had become a bandit in mexico with his own nickname! damn was i surprised. the paths that life takes us down sometimes are twisted and weird. I went to school with a guy who I was great friends with when I first moved to Ohio, until I found out how weird he was & distanced myself. A few years back (through some internet detective work) I found out he was doing 5-25 in state corrections for rape. Did 20 & got out a few years ago & is on parole & a registered sex offender. Saw his prison pics & his subsequent parole pic's..., the years & the joint were NOT kind...

[Mike70]

Here's one along those lines: being an Ohioan & as knowledgeable in history as you are, you already know the whole story of Tecumseh. I often wonder, what if his plan to unite the tribes had succeeded? Would history be different if a unified Indian nations had driven out the early whites? Or was or coming unavoidable. (BTW I LOVE the outdoor drama & have been several times. I know it's not great history, but it's s fun experience. Go early, take the back stage tour, have the dinner, the whole spiel...great family fun.) bro, i've gone one better than that, i've stood in the very spot where tecumseh gave the speeches that roused the tribes in ohio to war. weird when i think that my ancestors (my family has been in northern ky and sw ohio since about 1790 or so) probably helped to destroy the shawnee and the miami and eradicate indians from ohio for good. i don't think anything could've been done at that point. by the time the indians were forced into exile from ohio, whites were so numerous on the eastern seaboard that whatever the indians would've done, it would've been in vain. besides, technology and organization trumps just about everything. it's still sad though. the shawnee and miami, after whom so much in ohio is named are almost extinct. there are only about 8,000 shawnee left in exile in fucking oklahoma of all places and the miami population comes to a grand total of about 3,500 - in exile in oklahoma like the shawnee and pretty much without hope of return to ohio.

[MoonSylver]

bro, i've gone one better than that, i've stood in the very spot where tecumseh gave the speeches that roused the tribes in ohio to war. Very cool. i don't think anything could've been done at that point. by the time the indians were forced into exile from ohio, whites were so numerous on the eastern seaboard that whatever the indians would've done, it would've been in vain. besides, technology and organization trumps just about everything. Agreed. For some reason I just WONDER about it though. I guess I feel like we would've DESERVED to get our asses kicked out. When I think of our whole history with the Native American's it gives me a bad case of white man's guilt. it's still sad though. the shawnee and miami, after whom so much in ohio is named are almost extinct. there are only about 8,000 shawnee left in exile in fucking oklahoma of all places and the miami population comes to a grand total of about 3,500 - in exile in oklahoma like the shawnee and pretty much without hope of return to ohio. Sad indeed. I was pretty stoked a few years ago when I was hearing the Shawnee were suing for tribal/reservation land here in Ohio & was hearing it looked likely, but now not? Not clear on the specifics, but would be awesome if true.