Actaeon

Which is why I wrote "believe". There is a fair amount of doubt in my mind, I'll admit. The man was brilliant, but also one of the few authors more obsessively involved in the world he created than his fandom. Which is saying something.

I don't believe Tolkien actually believed in hobbits. It can be done.

I saw a topic from September that covered this somewhat, but not in great depth. Nethergate had one, too, but... Anyway, we probably have some neuroscientists and lucid dreamers here. So in addition to being curious as to what sort of strange, Spiderweb associated dreams some of you have, I'd be curious as to your take on the purpose thereof. I understand there are several scientific theories, but am under the impression that none are definitive. I tend to feel like my mind is running scenarios to help me cope with otherwise new issues. Others view them as a break from day to day life, a chance for your subconscious to express itself, or messages from another universe. For clarification, I mean the hallucinations you suffer while unconscious, not your hopes for the future (though those are important, too).

A Google Calendar could take care of that pretty easily.

Thank you for during my research for me. I don't deny the existence of autism. It's where they draw the line between normal and impaired these days that confuses me. There are many things that can impair day to day life that we do not label as a disorder. I can not speak to this directly. I do not quite meet the requirements for an autism diagnosis. I am thankful for that, as I value most of the criteria I don't meet. Instead, I am responding from a general distrust of the "disorder" concept where it comes adjacent to what we label as "normal". Homosexuality used to be considered a disorder. Certainly, being gay in a predominantly straight society has an impact on one's life, but we no longer consider it an impairment, just a difference.

Originally Posted By: Sarachim Originally Posted By: waterplant I saw on a doco last night that the autism rate in the US has increased by 20% per year for the last 20 years whereas most other psychological conditions increase by around 3% p.a. in occurrence. Not a watertight stat - but what is on the internet? Probably a diagnosis issue. Everyone who knew us both says my grandfather was just as autistic as I am, but I was diagnosed and he wasn't just because of when we were born. My understanding is that "autism" is something of a catch all term. Twenty years ago, Asperger's wasn't even on the radar for diagnosis, and only severe cases (which would not really allow you to post on a forum) were labelled as such. Now, society has found a place to lump the incurable introverts and label them as abnormal. Given that several very high functioning members of an incredibly bright social group have identified themselves as such, I can't help but feel that we're looking at a subset of population as much as a disorder. Not to say that wouldn't be challenging in such a socially complex and demanding society, but this place and time is rather different from those that came before the Industrial Revolution. Edit: You guys make me look like an optimist, and I don't like it. I have concluded that most people are not, in fact, jerks. Hanlon's Razor: never assume malice when stupidity will suffice.

Shouldn't you already be delusional? I can't be the only one that actually left my sanity at the door. There was a pile there.

I'd have to admit, though, that if I had to choose one person who seems most content in any given present, it's my autistic brother. Edit: I suppose it's possible I have mild Asperger's myself, but after growing up around my severely disabled brother, I feel too bloody normal to bother checking.

How DARE you imply that I'm increasing my post count by occasionally posting about how silly competing over post count is. That would be very incongruous and potentially hypocritical of me.

My apologies for using Pearl Harbor as an example. It's just what got me thinking. I'm with you and Franklin on this one.

... With Kel's disappearing act, you're looking a touch D.I.D. there.

FDR told us (well, our parents... or grandparents) that December 7, 1941 would live in infamy. Well, seventy years later, December 7 gets about as much fanfare as December 8 (1980), November 22 (1963), and marginally more than April 4 (1968). That is to say, not much at all. This leaves me wondering about our perspective. Dates are one thing. The wholesale tendency of American society to value the future over the past is another. As usual, I'd rather open the floor to broad discussion than rant and ask you to respond. Some of you are from countries with a long sense of history. Some of you are Americans that roll your eyes at the way we behave. Still others might see this era as so fundamentally different than those that came before that the old lessons are irrelevant. My question is this: is it possible to learn from the past, be content in the present, and look forward to the future?

... Is it strange that Jeff's momentary presence in the "Who's Online" box has me all excited and curious?

Karma! That's what they called it. And newbies did. And I remember comparing member numbers more than absolute join dates. Until Aran's stats came out, and a whole new... measuring contest began. Good thing we're past all that.

Before the UBB turnover, we were able to rate each other on either a four or five star (or smiley... my memory for such things is not the best) system. Post count was still the dominant factor in social status, but your stars were taken into account, too. And time in the community, I suppose. I imagine that's diminished as the relative stay of most oldbies grows closer.

To question the value of being the biggest poster is blasphemy. Shun the non-believer.

Now that we're addressing future comers and not just this one, already sold poster... Most of us are here because Jeff is a great storyteller above all else. The Geneforge series epitomizes that. The whole setting is thought provoking and addictive. It's why we still dream of "Blades of Geneforge", even though it wouldn't be very lucrative, and why I hold out hope for a Geneforge AIMhack.

I still think we should have a stickied version of this thread.

I'm a fan of Geneforge. Tyranicus will get around to posting the Nethergate picture soon, I imagine. The company was founded on Exile and its remake, Avernum. Avernum itself is being remade, and will be coming out for Macintosh this month. They all have their advantages. We all have our favorites. Hopefully, you will, as you said, get around to playing them all.

Originally Posted By: Sylae While there have been concerns that the publick broadcast of this script's data would cause spamfests, I believe that this is a large enough period of time to cause any chaos and anarchy. In theory, such data could have the opposite impact. "99 posts?", an unnamed member might say, "And I haven't really said anything. I should dial it down a notch."

Mine was in the Geneforge 3 anticipation thread. But it didn't provide NEAR the post padding it did for Iffy. It is also possible I am still in that period.

Since the the last Ermarian update (2007, I believe), Randomizer has posted 5,983 times. Alorael has posted 5,437. I believe that qualifies as catching up, though it would take about eighty years to close the gap. http://endeavor.ermarian.net/member/335 http://endeavor.ermarian.net/member/6785

Give Randomizer some credit. More than 10,000 posts in a little less than six years.

Originally Posted By: Hostile Climate —Alorael, whose average daily posting rate is substantial but by no means outrageous. He just has a slightly higher average than most other oldbies and far more years than most highly active posters. So... they're catching up. Perhaps Aran would be willing to use his analytical resources to judge when, at current posting rates, you would be surpassed, and by whom?

I have trouble imagining something the complex applied to one of Jeff's games, as he tends to focus more on plot than engine. That's not to say it's not an intriguing concept... I think there are some first person shooters that do something of the sort, but I'm afraid my computer would have a fit trying to run such a thing. As it is, I rely on tabletop RPGs to go beyond the limits of what Jeff can do. So far, it's worked fairly well. Otherwise, I'm sure someone will get around to it in computer form eventually, if they haven't already.