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Once again, I'd be interested to know what definition of 'information' you are using because I suspect that one of the following two things will be the case: (1) that you are equivocating between different definitions of information, in particular between a colloquial and a technical form, or...

There's a major risk for vagueness here --> what is your definition of information? (Issue: if you have a signal, you generally need an interpreter or assigner of meaning. Perhaps things only constitute information in so far as we attribute meaning to them, rather than possessing intrinsic...

Think about our present debate though. It doesn't mean much to say 'ignorant people can reasonable maintain a belief in god'. Of course there will exist states of belief in which the level of ignorance is so thorough that the proposition 'god exists' is supported (this is not a cheap stab - such...

Hmm, the main problem with this, I would suggest, is that it looses sight of the process of belief revision over time. In other words, while experiences may give us prima facie reasons to form certain beliefs about the world, these beliefs may nonetheless be revised in light of further...

While you can make subtypes till the cows come home the core of the respective positions remains as follows: Theism - Affirms the claim 'god exists' Atheism - Affirms the claim 'god does not exist' Agnosticism - Affirms neither claim You can similarly capture each position in terms of...

Yeah it's for real (internal email - so it wouldn't be up on a public internet domain). I thought it was a pretty poor effort.

Favouring of policy which enhances financial income over quality of education and student life, e.g.: - Shortening semesters in order to fit in more summer courses (i.e. more $$) - Placing a general blackban on most of the small (< 20 people) seminar courses in the arts fac because of the...

Ok, well, firstly it's great that you brought in a proper study. However, you would need to cite the mean age of participants in the study in order to make it relevant. If it is populated with people > 12yo (or similar) then of course they are going to have a strong sense of before/after. The...

Look, it's not that far out a hypothetical. Firstly you can have severe burns (in terms of appearance) which, after the initial stages, do not impeed the function of limbs/airways/eyes (etc) to any significant extent (I'm not counting sweat glands as being functionally significant). Secondly...

Why does 'change' alter how we should view a situation? E.g. consider a hypothetical in which you compare a) a burns victim who is somewhat disfigured but without any functional losses and b) a child born with the same disfigurement as the result of a genetic anomaly. What is the significant...

Totally. I heart first world guilt.

Depo-Provera has its benefits in certain situations. People with really irregular lifestyles will sometimes find the routine of the oral contraceptive pill difficult (I can imagine pilots, flight attendents and international business women, among others, having difficulty here). Also, 3 monthly...

That depends on the nature of the kind of society required for stability. Certainly stability and equilibrium with regards to the environment is an attractive ideal, i.e. featuring sustainable agriculture and zero population growth (or similar). On the other hand, if the only realistic means of...

Ahh, that's fair enough. At the end of the day I guess the efficacy of minor surgery is likely to depend on the features of the individual child. Also, I realise now that we were arguing at crossed purposes. I was making a more general case for aesthetically driven surgery, including facial...

If you don't think that people can suffer hardship as a result of their appearance then that's that if you're going to be unmoveable - though I really do think you're quite mistaken in thinking this. Why? because you have to deny so much of what goes on around us: attacks on appearance in...

Of course people with Down Syndrome wont get picked on universally, but it happens. I've seen primary aged kids on the street laugh at a young adult with Down Syndrome because they 'looked funny'. For all their deficits I'm sure a great number of them can work out the directedness of laughter.

Sure, perhaps the main component of Down Syndrome is the associated mental disability (and the other biological health problems they face like leukaemia and congenital heart disease). However, this doesn't mean that the aesthetics of their appearance don't play a role in constructing the overall...

Yeah, that's more than fair enough. If anyone perceives a difference in the situations I suspect it might be based on a concept of 'normality'. E.g. treating burns / fixing a cleft palate / repairing bone damage (etc.) are probably seen as returning a person to how they 'should be', to what is...

No significant purpose really. It just seemed like there was more you could say if prompted and I was curious to hear your views. I also wanted to bring out the 'humanity' issue because I often see things like that (and rights discourse, and similar) brought out as unquestionable 'conversation...

Whether or not cosmetic surgery makes a difference will largely depend on the kind of neighbourhood the child is brought up in. If it is tolerant and understanding then it might not make much of a difference. On the other hand, in an environment in which 'funny looking kids' get teased and...