Summer Updates - 044

[Lightbender]

Well, they aren't Awchons, so clearly there's no universal rule about it.

[OneHugeTuck]

then you've got all the aussie's and kiwi's that went to america and became the dumbest embassadors for our countries ever. we are not like russel crow, steve irwin or pual hogan (crocodile dundee) but those guys are what everyone thinks we're like. they would make for good warlords/rulers.

But you guys have such awesome accents and get all our women due to that.

Which rather makes you like Martians.

[Gez]

Maggie is probably more genetically similar to the marbits than she is to Parson. As Spock would say, they may not be carbon based life forms.

Look more like cartoon-based life forms.

[Roszlishan]

this thread is way off topic but i blame the huge gap in between updates and the initial subject matter of sex in erfworld. really who leaves mature adults to talk about sex as a topic for a week. that's asking for trouble.

Asking mature adults to discuss sex is not asking for trouble.

If trouble occurs, perhaps you should check the assumptions.

I do agree that 'twould have been more interesting had we some more Erfy and less earthy topic on which to dwell.

Happiness
Roszlishan

[moose o death]

that was horrible..so damn horrible. why? you dastard.

gah, puns are bad, but that was some kind of mega pun.

Asking mature adults to discuss sex is not asking for trouble.

If trouble occurs, perhaps you should check the assumptions.

I do agree that 'twould have been nice had we some more Erfy and less earthy topic on which to dwell.

it was a joke. there is no such things as a mature adult. just humourless ones.

[Matty]

Quick question: are there going to be any more updates before the start of book two?

[konmanrocks]

considering it comes out tommorow.. i dont think so.

[slb]

Per your strange logic then, being asleep and eating should also be closely reserved. That's the funniest explanation I've been given to justify the sex taboo in our civilization

And sleeping often is 'closely reserved'. Animals tend not to sleep where they don't feel safe. They also tend to maintain a high level of alert while eating. Watch even semi-feral dogs or cats sometime, and you'll see it.

Interesting how you've come back to animals regarding the feeding, sure humans are not considering this activity "closely reserved", they actually enjoy this activity in crowded areas like restaurants. But guess what ? They no more consider sleeping "closely reserved", never heard of dormitories ?
I know it's difficult to admit a taboo because it is ingrained and considered "normal", Diogenes was already unsettling the citizens of Athens because he was ridiculing the traditions and taboos 2500 years ago by masturbating in public. But at least he was not thrown in prison for that.

You probably missed all the posts in this thread about animals having sex not for a reproductive purpose. Also the higher on the food chain a mammal is, the longer and more frequents are their ruts, compare the matting duration of a rabbit and a lion. Oh, and BTW, the human being is on the top of the food chain ...

Nope, didn't miss a one. And it doesn't change anything, either. You'll note I didn't say that drive for safety only occurred when rutting for procreative purposes. It's always there, because the act is always one involving vulnerability.

Sorry, I was not explicit enough. My point was to explain that your use of animal matting habits was a nonsense because animals themselves do not all show the behavior you're attributing them. If mating is dangerous for a species, evolution will take care of that and matting will be very short (a few seconds for a rabbit) and avoid non-reproductive behavior; conversely predators are not vulnerable during the matting (several minutes for a lion). You could certainly draw a better comparison regarding animal and human sexuality with predators or even better primates like bonobo/chimpanzes who actually are using sex as a social behavior.

a)the "reptile brain" underlies everything you do. It is a functioning, strong, and often dominant part of the decision-making process that takes place in the human mind - a decision-making process, I should note, that seems to happen before you consciously make a decision. (see Libet, Benjamin). It is a very large part of why, as rational as we like to pretend to be, we are still very much creatures of emotional knee-jerk response before reasoned decision unless we make not insignificant efforts to train ourselves otherwise.

You are twisting Libet's work here. Nowhere Libet says that unconscious processes in the brain are "dominant" for decision-making: They are the initiators, this is extremely different. Libet also explains that after this unconscious initiator, then the consciousness accept or veto. And that's basically where all our education and sophisticated motives are, including our sex taboos.

b)Sorry, society itself is merely a means to increase the chances for reproduction[...]The continuation of life is Life's purpose. Everything that we do, as individuals, as groups, as a species, is tied directly or indirectly to the need to breed.

Has a transhumanist, I disagree with this statement but it is unrelated to our topic, if you're interested on discussing that we may start a new thread.

We don't know a)to what extent thinkamancy/loyalty/duty combine to form an underlying precondition[...] 'if the Warlord/Overlord/Ruler wants it, you want it'[...]

We know that at least a caster unit may not want it, remember Sizemore & Parson dialog about killing.

b)we don't know to what degree units with some measure of self-determination (warlords, casters, etc) place value on intimacy, for exactly the reasons you mention: there's no biological necessity that we know of, so we have no way to know if the 'rules' that govern Erf generate a simulated imperative that would give rise to similar tendencies or not.

Sure, except that again, intimacy is related to a sex taboo and has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that it is a reproductive act

[atteSmythe]

considering it comes out tommorow.. i dont think so.

You mean a week from tomorrow?

[moose o death]

i was gonna say.

28th

the next update is wednesday. so we get some new material to argue about

[DevilDan]

As if we need more material. Surely these are self-sustaining reactions now?

[Anton Gaist]

As if we need more material. Surely these are self-sustaining reactions now?

"We cannae control her, cap'n! She's self-sustaining now!"

[raphfrk]

the next update is wednesday. so we get some new material to argue about

Is it regular ... or is that just an estimate?

[Roszlishan]

that was horrible..so damn horrible. why? you dastard.

gah, puns are bad, but that was some kind of mega pun.

Asking mature adults to discuss sex is not asking for trouble.

If trouble occurs, perhaps you should check the assumptions.

I do agree that 'twould have been nice had we some more Erfy and less earthy topic on which to dwell.

it was a joke. there is no such things as a mature adult. just humourless ones.

I couldn't resist the pun.

And I'd mightily rather discuss the pun than the broadsword.

<collapses giggling>
Roszlishan

[Lord Kasavin]

I'm posting this topic for the sole reason of wanting this topic to reach 20 pages.

So....

Wanda and Sizemore are obviously soulmates.
Parson is obviously going to fall in love with Stanley's plated Red.
Jetsone will loose by accidently ending their turn underwater, obviously.
Australia is the world capital venomous prostitutes, this is well known.
Maggie is infact an obvious Mary Sue for Jamie whose potential will now never be realized.
Jillian and Vinnie and Charlie are going to conquer Orgchart and then have tea.
If a newspaper cannot knowingly print falsehoods and lies, then the press is not free.
I'd take Jared Diamond over Victor Davis Hanson any day of the week, except Tuesday but that goes without saying.
The fourth Arkentool is almost certainly Ossomer, though no one's bothered to tell him.
The FAQ predictamancer not mentioned by name is currently in the Magic Kingdom with the fourth Arkentool.

I hope we are all in agreement. And if we are not, just know I am right and you are wrong. Thank you.

[Danetrix]

I'd like to post an alternate theroy, actually.

Wanda and Sizemore are in love with Stanley's plated Red.
Parson is obviously going to fall underwater, obviously.
Jetsone will loose by accidently ending their turn and then have tea.
Australia is the world capital venomous prostitutes, whose potential will now never be realized.
Maggie is infact an obvious Mary Sue for Jamie, this is well known.
Jillian and Vinnie and Charlie are going to conquer Orgchart, with the fourth Arkentool.
If a newspaper cannot knowingly print falsehoods and lies, then the press is not free.
I'd take Jared Diamond over Victor Davis Hanson any day of the week, obviously soulmates.
The fourth Arkentool is almost certainly Ossomer, except Tuesday but that goes without saying.
The FAQ predictamancer not mentioned by name is currently in the Magic Kingdom, though no one's bothered to tell him.

[Darkside007]

Jetsone will loose by accidently ending their turn

I've done this.

[Yosarian]

Jetsone will loose by accidently ending their turn

I've done this.

Especially in Axis and Allies. Oh, man, nothing worse then when you forget to buy units, have no one in Moscow, and there's German tanks two squares away, lol.

[Emaria]

Thank you kasavin and danetrix for summing up our digression. Yes, new material will be lovely. And when it is accompanied by shiny artwork by the new artist it will be all the better.

[Dancing Cthulhu]

Jetsone will loose by accidently ending their turn

I've done this.

I once watched a game of WH40K, and one of the guys seemed to have the worst memory I've ever seen in a gamer of any kind. He'd end and, seriously, everyone would wait a few seconds for him to go "#@$%, I forgot to do such and such". Every damn turn. Then they'd have a good laugh at his expense while his opponent took full advantage of his oversights. Good times.

Fortunately he wasn't plotted away to serve as the ultimate warlord for anyone.