I think math is marvelous. It's hard to beat it as a measuring
   tool and pure mathematics has its own beauty in the same way
   that poetry adds a beauty to language without being strictly
   adhering to grammar and such. In short, there's the math that
   corresponds well with reality and then there's the math that
   doesn't but has a beauty of its own that goes beyond.
   ==
   Hm. Maybe. There's been a fight between Science and Philosophy
   for a long time though. I don't have handy-quotes, but if you
   think about it, revealing Science-as-a-system within Philosophy
   takes away some of the power of Science as absolute arbitrator
   of Truth, so philosophy can be dangerous as Science progresses
   forward in power.
   ==
   *Agreed. Because of your dual-interest, you can see further than
   either "silo of knowledge". Puts you in a very strong position,
   although you'll likely find yourself in a number of debates from
   both camps in the process.
   ==
   Indeed. Specializaton. You rarely see a PhD in Generalism.
   ==
   *It's encouraged by the system though. All of them. If I wanted
   to be a doctor for example, there's no financial benefit to
   becoming a general practitioner and becoming a GP isn't
   encouraged but specialization is strongly encouraged.
   ==
   Yes, and I think our society's globalization and changes in
   commercial fields is going to require more generalists and less
   specialists. Unfortunately, there's no school for generalist.
   Liberal Arts was supposed to be that, but they left that realm
   long ago.
   ==
   I only LEARNED that "Generalist" is even a real word just about
   a year ago. I thought one day, "Wait, everybody's a specialist.
   But who is a generalist? Is there such a thing?" and, indeed
   there is. There's articles extolling the virtues of the
   generalist and predictions of a future that will require more
   and more of them - and I believe that to be true - but we're
   still stuck in an antiquated industrial revolution model.
   ==
   *The only career I could find that embraces Generalist is... of
   all things... Human Resources. Freakin' human resources. But at
   least they got that one right.'
   ==
   Oh absolutely. I go back and forth making fun of both. I see no
   reason why they can't be integrated easily enough. Same with
   Humanities vs Sciences. The split is strange and artificial to
   me.
   ==
   *It's beautiful stuff. Cognitively, we can't process numbers
   that big, so we simplify to the letter E with a tilde above it
   and a subscript 7, with various layers of understanding that go
   deeper and further from there.
   ==
   *Well yes, the social science are dealing with different _types_
   of complexity. It doesn't make the complexities of mathematics
   LESS complex in the process.
   ==
   Ah. Well, they're repelling an attack. They're right: film
   studies is generally considered the "basket weaving" of
   academia... well, one of them. But it's a uniquely complex field
   for those inside of it. And.. those inside of it, while they
   have inight into their OWN field of study, possess a simplified,
   minimal insight into fields that are NOT their fields, such as
   mathematics and hard sciences. This stereotyping and
   simplification allows them to push them aside as minimal in
   order to bolster their position as complex. It's a common tactic
   in defense but it's unnecessary. Better would have been to say,
   "Just as complex but differently" and explained how.
   Chat Conversation End
   ==
   Oh when I say maturity I'm not talking about puberty or brain
   structures. Rather, I'm talking about "outlook on life". Wisdom.
   How you treat other people. If you treat someone with mutual
   respect, you can be 4 yrs old, 8 yrs old, 15 yrs old, 21, yrs
   old, 30 yrs old etc. It's social immaturity.
   ==
   Me too. I may never reach my goal. In some ways, I was more
   socially mature when I was 12 than I am now. Ups and downs.
   Sometimes I let things slide off me, other times I fight. We're
   all works in progress... or we're stagnant. But I don't believe
   there's a natural progression from less to more when it comes to
   social stuff. Iv'e seen wise people get angry over one
   particular thing and all of their wisdom goes out the window and
   they become wordier versions of, "Your mom was your dad" and
   stuff like that.
   Chat Conversation End
   ==
   I'm a strong believer in civility. The word sound strange to me
   even today but I believe fully in it.
   ==
   Fighting and arguing is something humans will do 'til they day
   we die. I could have 1000 reasons why but it seems to be
   something all humans do at all ages and times. But the ability
   to recognize the other person/people as "human" is something we
   can do at any age and that's where civility comes in. As far as
   the conversation they didn't want to have, maybe they wanted to
   "post and run". People who rant often do that. They believe what
   they believe and, well, that's that.
   ==
   After 9 months straight in the philosophy forums, something
   changed in me for a little while. I still find myself doing it.
   Somebody had to point it out to me that I was doing it: I would
   argue more. If sometihng bothered me, I wouldn't let it go and I
   would defend my position, not realizing I was REALLY going on
   the attack and trying to force a discussion when it wasn't
   wanted. I was probably like that before.. but the fact that
   someone pointed out to me, "You're always arguing everything
   nowadays" really sunk in, so I started working on just "letting
   it be".
   Chat Conversation End
   ==