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Big Brother is Watching You57% Voted for by Molzahn, Weydon, WiseOwl, GinryuStargazer.
I'm still not sure the fear is justified. -
No Matter WhatI believe that, yeah, the government is starting to have satellites orbiting the earth. watching us. I believe that no matter what we do now, it's getting harder to keep our private lives PRIVATE. But humans don't just watch us, little bugs and animals do to. I see that no matter what we do, we're ALWAYS being watched.Voted for by Rhapsody.Please login or register to comment.
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How can a satellite watch us indoors?
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"I believe that, yeah, the government is starting to have satellites orbiting the earth. Watching us."
Really? Can you prove this? What evidence do you have for this assertion?
"But humans don't just watch us, little bugs and animals do too."
Erm... how? An animal may "see" you perform a given action, but as I see it, to "watch" something implies a direct and intentional focus of one's attention on a given thing, as well as the deliberate processing of the images seen. That is to say, an animal cannot "watch" you, because an animal does not "watch" a human being's actions and understand them as meaningful concepts. You can dance naked in front of an entire audience of "little bugs" and I'm fairly sure that not a single one of them will have any clue what it means. They're simply "seeing" you dance, rather than "watching" you dance. There's a difference.
To that end, I'm fairly unconcerned about being "watched" by little bugs and animals. Think about it. If you're getting dressed in the morning and your cat's sitting nearby on the bed, you don't tell it "look away, I'm getting dressed!" because it really has no idea what you're doing, and doesn't really care anyway. In this sense, they're really not watching you; they're just "seeing you".
But once again, this business of the government watching us with satellites. Prove it. If you can't prove it, I suggest you revise your opinion until you have a sufficient reason to feel this way. -
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Open up your mind. there's alot of things in this world you don't pay attention to. Animals do notice and so do bugs, you don't realize it because you're only human. It's like an ants mind on how it thinks it must find food for survival, for the queen, and avoid being squished or burned with a magnifying glass. Philosophy is like an opinion. YOu don't use proof for philosophy.
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"Open up your mind."
Meaning...?
"There's a lot of things in this world you don't pay attention to. Animals do notice and so do bugs, you don't realize it because you're only human."
Indeed? And what sorts of things do they pay attention to? How, may I ask, do you know that they are paying attention to them? Can you get inside the animal's head and see that they are paying attention to anything? Can you even make an independent inference that they are paying attention? Why does the fact of my humanity make me unable to detect these things? If it is true that I do not realize it because I'm "only human", how is it then that YOU, apparently, do realize it? Are you not human?
"It's like an ant's mind on how it thinks it must find food for survival, for the queen, an davoid being squished or burned with a magnifying glass."
I would love to respond to this, if I only knew what on earth it had to do with anything. I don't see the point you're making here; you're not making sense.
"Philosophy is like an opinion."
No, it isn't. Philosophy is the love and pursuit of the truth and of knowledge. We use reasonable discourse in order to discover the truth. An "opinion" is like an opinion, and "philosophy" is like philosophy.
"You don't use proof for philosophy."
Nonsense! Of course you use proof for philosophy. If you didn't, how could we know anything? Because you say so? Rubbish. If one is unable to offer reasons that justify the opinion they hold, then they oughtn't to have that opinion-- or at the very least, they oughtn't to express it. If you don't use proof for philosophy, what on earth is proof for? What DO you use for philosophy? Without proof, it becomes nothing but a bunch of people sitting around saying, "Well, MY opinion is this, though I really don't know why; I just THINK so, and that's my opinion." -
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Something that has been proven began as an opinion, did it not? No i can't read an animals mind, but neither can you. You can't necissarily judge that way. A justification for someone's opinion is that they believe in it. I believe in certain Philosophies. and not all of them need proof. It starts out as an opinion and forms into something greater. You have no right to judge that.
"No, it isn't. Philosophy is the love and pursuit of the truth and of knowledge."
opinions are forms looking for the truth and gaining knowledge, are they not?
What I mean about opening your mind, is there more ways of thinking than logical. if that's the only way you think, you live a sad life sir.
The ant was an example of how animals and bugs, etc, have a brain, they think, they see, they hear, they know without you realizing it. We look onto bugs and animals as if there were aliens looking down at us. If there were aliens, they probably wouldn't hesitate to "burn us under a magnifying glass" for a figure of speech. It's a chain, anything littler than us, we have to overpower. Power is a horrible thing. I can't read animals or bugs minds, but neither can you.It seems you don't have the right to refute the point. -
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"Something that has been proven began as an opinion, did it not?"
No, it did not. Something that has been proven began as a suggestion based on the currently extant evidence that we have. It did not just spring up arbitrarily in someone's mind and get proven from there. If I make the assertion, for instance, that the government is watching me, I don't just come up with the idea out of thin air; I saw some sort of reason to feel that way. Perhaps I found documents pertaining to such a programme that would entail the government's surveillance of the populace; whatever the case, I found SOME sort of reason to think this way. It didn't begin as an opinion; an opinion is a subjective statement, like "I prefer orange to red" or "I think that hardwood is better than carpet.". You can't PROVE these things, because they are opinions, purely subjective notions that vary from person to person. But something that has been PROVEN cannot have begun as an opinion. As I say, it begins as the most likely possibility that you can think of, and it is proven or disproven from there. That the government is watching is is an objective idea; it is either true or untrue, rather than a subjective preference or opinion.
"A justification for someone's opinion is that they believe in it."
Patently absurd. Merely because you believe in something is hardly justification for believing it. That's entirely circular reasoning. "Well, I believe this thing... because I believe it." You might as well say that apples are red... because I believe they are. No progress can be made with this sort of thinking. If you say "apples are red... because I perceive them to be what I call the colour 'red' and they display wavelength percent transmittance of light inimical of that of the wavelength known to be the colour red.", then you are making a reasonable statement. In the particular case of apples, however, mere perception might be enough justification: apples are red because when I look at them they are the colour red. But just to say that your opinion is justified merely on the grounds that you believe it is absurd. So because I believe in færies, my opinion is justified-- because I believe it?
"It starts out as an opinion and forms into something greater. You have no right to judge that."
I'm not "judging" anything; I am merely making the observation that you are asserting an objective idea-- that the government is watching us-- without presenting any real reason to think so. I don't disagree with you merely because you don't agree with my own views. Rather, I disagree with you because you have not presented a shred of evidence for which you believe such a statement to be true!
"What I mean about opening your mind, is there more ways of thinking than logical. if that's the only way you think, you live a sad life sir."
What, pray, are these "more ways of thinking" than logical? I grant that there is more than one way of knowing. This is basic, textbook epistemology: Reason, Perception, Emotion, and Language. These are different ways of knowing. However, in this particular context, the most effective form of addressing the question "Is the government watching us?" is with the faculty of Reason. Are we being watched? Well, let's investigate the matter. Can there be located documents, photographs, recordings, video clips, whatever, that might indicate to us that the government is indeed watching us? Do we know any government official who has stated that they are watching us? Does the government display behaviour that would indicate such a notion? Have there been located any cameras, recorders, or any other devices that might be used for surveillance by the government of the people? If, say, we were to find all of this information, then it might be reasonable to say that we MAY be being watched; even then, it has not been confirmed. If such evidence cannot be found, then there is really no reason to believe it, and I contend that it would be silly, indeed, "mouthing off", to continue to assert the idea if no evidence exists in its support.
"I can't read animals or bugs minds, but neither can you.It seems you don't have the right to refute the point."
You're right, I can't read animals' minds, but I'm not the one claiming that they "watch" us, am I? I cannot read animals' minds. Therefore, there is no reason for me to think that they watch me, for in order to know this, I would have to be able to read their minds. You have already said that you cannot read the minds of animals. How, then, do you know that animals are watching us? You're absolutely right that I cannot read animals' minds, but as I said, I am not the one making any assertion with regard to them. If I said, "My cat watches me", then it lies on me to produce a reason for saying so. If I cannot do this, then there is no reason to continue thinking that my cat is watching me.
"they think, they see, they hear, they know without you realizing it."
How do you KNOW this? Of course they have a brain! We can open an animal up and SEE it. But how do you make the jump that they "watch" us without us "realising" it? How do you know this? How? I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with the idea. I am merely saying that inasmuch as you cannot produce any reason to believe this, there is no reason for anyone else to think so, nor, even, do you! If you cannot produce a reason why you believe something, other than simply because you "believe it", why do you still believe it???
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I just have to laugh at the end of this comment,
" I suggest you revise your opinion until you have a sufficient reason to feel this way."
Please,dont think differently than me unless you can prove me wrong. Is this not the purpose of "opinions"? to answer Weydon,x-ray is a fairly common concept in science today isnt it? -
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No, not really. Have you ever had an x-ray done to you? Whether you're at the dentist or getting a broken bone looked at, it takes a HUGE camera at close range, you can't move, and important local areas of the body need to be covered with a lead blanket to avoid radiation poisoning. When this still-shot is taken, you are left view of your bones.
Satellites from hundreds of miles away x-raying straight through all the layers of my roof, the ceiling, the furniture on the 3rd floors, the floors, the ceiling, the furniture on the second floor, the floor, the ceiling, and stopping directly on me on the ground floor without giving everyone radiation poisoning is unlikely if it were even possible in the first place. Pretending all of these impossibilities didn't exist, exactly how many satellites do they have to monitor every resistents of my building, let alone the millions of people in the country everywhere? -
I hardly said anything even implicitly to the effect of "please don't think differently than me unless you can prove me wrong". What sheer absurdity. I didn't even state an opinion on the matter of the government watching us, so he couldn't even know what I didn't want him to "think differently than". All I asked was for him to supply some sort of evidence for which he believes such a thing.
You should never publish an opinion unless you have sufficient reason to hold said opinion. If you do not have any reason to be of that opinion, then your opinion is simply rubbish and is hardly worth discussing. He made the assertion that the government is watching us with satellites. Well and good. That's a tall claim. So I asked him to verify it; cite reasons for this "opinion". If he cannot produce a reason why he believes this, then I suggest that he not publish the opinion, for, as abovesaid, any opinion that cannot be supported is simply rubbish and he is simply mouthing off.
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what's this "Please don't think differently than me unless you can proove me wrong" It seems you like to be a dictator. It's either you're way or no way. What would the world be like if we all thought like you? It probably be a hell hole. I'm sorry there are people who don't agree with you all the time, but you need to realize that. No one was mouthing off until you "barged" in. If you feel you're better than everyone else, start a thing on here and see what you get.
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Did you even READ what I said? What I wrote is that I did NOT say "Please don't think differently unless you can prove me wrong." I never said anything to this effect, and if you look at my comment, you will see as such. I was replying to someone else's comment where they took that interpretation, and I said that such an idea was absurd; I never, nor would I ever say such an idiotic thing.
I don't really care that people do or do not agree with me; all I said was that if people are GOING to make an assertion, ANY assertion, then they ought to have a reason for it. For example, you said that the government is watching us. Very well, why do you think so? If you can't explain why you think a thing, isn't it absurd to say that you think it? So I asked you to supply some evidence, or at least reasons, for which you believe the government watches us, to which you merely replied, "Open your mind". -
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it's what you're proposing sir. it's you're way or no way. whether someone else said it, they were showing that's what they're getting from all what you say. interpret what you're saying in more of a non- know-it-all-way and this wouldn't of been a subject to bring up. Why do I think the government has been watching us? Because governments have been watching their people for years! Like hitler and stalin with their people. you can't say it's not possible. I have my reasons. You can't nearly just judge if someone hasn't mentioned it. "Open Your Mind" meaning remember, remember things like history class? where they taught you of hitler and stalin in world war two. napoleon back in france. That is PROOF if you want it. There's not a doubt in my mind that the government could be watching us.
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"it's what you're proposing sir. it's you're way or no way. whether someone else said it, they were showing that's what they're getting from all what you say. interpret what you're saying in more of a non- know-it-all-way and this wouldn't of been a subject to bring up."
Ugh, read my lips: I don't CARE if you disagree with me; I don't care if people don't go "my way"; my way has been known to be wrong on more than one occasion; perhaps they are right. I acknowledge this, and accept this, indeed embrace it! It's hardly "my way or no way". Nonsense. You keep saying that this is what I'm proposing, but I defy you to quote me; where did I ever say this?
"Why do I think the government has been watching us? Because governments have been watching their people for years! Like Hitler and Stalin with their people. You can't say it's not possible."
I never SAID it was not possible; it certainly is possible. But merely because it is POSSIBLE does not mean it IS. So Hitler and Stalin watched their people. How does that automatically mean that OUR government does. Hitler and Stalin were both maniacal dictators with a paranoid determination to stamp out dissent and hold onto their power. Can you provide reason to suggest that our government is like this?
"Remember, remember things like history class? where they taught you of Hitler and Stalin in World War Two. Napoleon back in France."
Yes, because there's loads of evidence suggesting that Napoleon watched his people. In any case, you still fail to explain why because Stalin and Hitler watched their people, it therefore means that OUR government watches its people too.
I don't care if people disagree with me, or with anyone else. I just want people to believe things for a reason, not just believe it because they "believe it". -
"Why do I think the government has been watching us? Because governments have been watching their people for years! Like hitler and stalin with their people. you can't say it's not possible. I have my reasons. You can't nearly just judge if someone hasn't mentioned it."
Rhapsody... there was never any "judging" from Xelgaroth. You say now you have your reasons - all he did was ask what those reasons are. After he asked for your reasons (i.e. evidence), you told him to "open his mind", that animals are watching us, that a belief is justified because you believe it, and a whole lot of other nonsense.
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Hey, i just though that i would add, that its not only the satellites that are watching us. There is also many cameras; CCTV, etc. Roaming our major cities.
And also most of those satellites don't give out a live feed. But then again, they are the government and they could have friggin light sabers for all we know. -
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that's true. the government hides so many things from us. What's in Area 51? is it just where they built the stealths? or is there something more. Maybe that's where they got the idea for light sabers. lol. My friend got on the computer the other day and google earth'd his house. It had got a picture of his little brother and sister jumping on the trampoline from the day before.
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:p“At any cost, appearances must be saved; for ranting editors are jealous gods, and their wrath is implacable, for it pays well, as good people like to know what naughty folks do.” Teleny, or The Reverse of the Medal, circa 1890'sVoted for by gene88.
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...The day the government starts getting into our lives even more, I hope I'm dead.Voted for by GinryuStargazer.
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me too. but it's too late, they're starting already.
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Come to Britain! CCTV, CRB checks for practically everything from looking after a friend's children to working with vulnerable people ( the last one is fair enough as it's what I do for a living) but they always seem to be adding more reasons for having the check done. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if they start to do it for new parents or if you're moving to a new area!
I don't know what it's like in other counties but I imagine it's the same, and it doesn't help with the media scaring a lot of the population with scare stories in the tabloids (the Daily Mail being one of the worst culprits!) telling us "Well if you've got nothing to hide..."
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wurzalgnu
December 16, 2009
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Everywhere you go there are CCTV cameras! The battle cry of "If you've got nothing to hide..."
You wanna help a friend out by taking their kids to school with your own kids, you got to fill out forms to prove you're not a pedo!
Next stop criminal record checks if you're about to become a parent!
So I would say yes BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING US ALL!
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