Today's interviewee is Theaetetus, who has been a member on the forum since June 2008.
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So what about you? Most of the forum knows you through the profile at the top of every post you make. Tell us about your profile.
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Q1: So tell us a little about your name, why you chose it, what it means, etc.
Quote: I chose the user name because it was Plato's dialogue I was reading at the time, and my next semester in school I was to begin studying ancient Greek. If I could, I would change it because it is a total pain in the ass to type. I would change it to Queue because it is the first letter of my name and it seems that life is all about waiting in a queue line.
Q2: Tell us a little about your avatar. Does it mean anything special to you?
Quote: I like brains! Mmmm....brrrainssss
Q3: Explain to us the significance of your user title (if you have one) and/or signature. Where does it come from? What can this small tidbit of info tell us about you?
Quote: My user title came from the can of the Oskar Blues Gubna beer I was drinking. It had disestablishmentarian written on the top of the can. It reminded me that the longest word that I knew was antidisestablishmentarianism.
As to my quote, I love Alan Watts, and the quote sums up much of my life philosophy. If you want to plan for a better future, you must be able to live in the present. Otherwise, future plans are little more than wishful thinking. And just in case I change my quote, which I will eventually, here is the quote --"No valid plans for the future can be made by those who have no capacity for living now." ~ Alan Watts
Q4: What made you join the forum?
Quote: I had gotten totally fed up with this other stupid philosophy forum that degraded into retardedness that I used to be a member of, thus, I needed to find a new place to stretch out my inner philosophy beyond myself. Other forums I tried out were o.k., but from day one, this one seemed to be headed in the right direction even if it was rather young.
Q5: Can you tell us anything more about your stats, like the volume of posts, your thanks/thanked ratio, and your rep power?
Quote:I used to post more, but that was when I was actually taking philosophy classes for my undergrad philosophy degree. Now I tend to participate in the forum more as just a moderator and sometimes I will interject something that has not been said yet on a thread. I will probably post more book reviews in the near future of some of the excellent works related to, but not in the field of philosophy. I also plan to go on an Emerson kick over the summer so I will probably expand that subforum greatly.
I have always tried to thank posts that have either started a good discussion or added to one in some substantive way. I have also tried to thank posts that add substance to the threads I have started. I have no set guidelines, but I usually only thank posts in threads I participate in other wise I would reach my limit daily due to the large volumes of posts I read as a function of my moderation.
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Tell us a little bit more about you in general.
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Q6: If you could describe yourself in one short sentence, what would it be and why?
Quote: I am an improvement waiting to happen. This is fitting because I am never totally satisfied with myself in any aspect in life, so I always strive to improve.
Q7: Do you have any other interests other than philosophy (i.e. hobbies, work, etc.)?
Quote: I am a musician that sings and plays guitar. I am not as ambitious with music as I would like, but as I free up more time, I will pursue it more with a bit more passion. I am also a cook by trade and love. I also try to write frequently, although I do less than I would like outside of this forum. I also love to bike. I just bought a new Gary Fisher Zebrano that I am currently in the process of breaking in.
Q8: Do those interests coincide with your affinity for philosophy?
Quote:My lyrics tend to be philosophical, and cooking to me is very much an expression of being.
Q9: Can you tell us anything more about yourself?
Quote: I graduate with an undergrad in philosophy in December. I plan to go to school for either grant writing or head off to law school depending on how ambition I feel. Either way, I will probably end up writing grants and/or lobbying for non-profit organizations.
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Tell us about philosophy forum and you.
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Q10: What are your favorite areas of the forum? If you have more than one, give us your top five.
Quote: Social and political philosophy, ethics, book reviews, creative writing (I need to do more!), philosophers forums
Q11: Do you blog? What are some of the topics you discuss?
Quote: Sometimes, and when I do, I try to critique society in aphorisms. They are fun to write, and they allow me to use my creative writing a bit more than a dry passage or essay would.
Q12: If you could describe philosophyforum.com in one word, what would that word be?
Q13: How would you describe your posts and the style/structure you use?
Quote:I just write. I don't edit my posts much, so I usually forget a comma here and there. I just try to be both clear and creative when possible, or academic when appropriate.
Q14: What would you do to make philosophy forum a better/more interesting place?
Quote: As a moderator, I continually try and usually help make this a better place by donating my time. Maybe I should harass Robert (the new owner) to accelerate the adoption of the new software that he has mentioned. I think it will do wonders around here in improving the community by empowering members. Then, maybe I would get fewer emails of unnecessarily reported posts.
I would also get rid of some of the unused forums littering the main screen, and do a better job of grouping forums together in a more coherent structure. I would also add a literature forum. Sure, the book review forum exists, but that suggests that the only thing that can be talked about pertaining to books is the review of them, and the response to the reviews. I would love to see more discussion about novel that deal with philosophical themes. The General Discussion forum is not a good place to discuss stuff of this nature because the discussions would be buried too easily.
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Tell us a little about your perspective of philosophy in general.
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Q15: What first got you interested in philosophy?
Quote: Can't remember. As long as my memories go back, I have always asked the question why.
Q16: Explain how philosophy is important to you.
Quote:It is the backbone of my existence. I am not religious, but I am philosophical. It is what helps keep me grounded and continuously improving into the future.
Q17: What keeps you interested in philosophy?
Quote: Definitely not academic philosophy.
Q18: If you could define you own particular philosophy in one short sentence, what would it be?
Quote: Philosophy is not about who is right, but who is best at synthesizing a world view from different vantage points.
Q19: What do you think the benefits of philosophy are?
Quote: Sanity, disestablishmentarianism, bullshit detector
Q20: What do you think the drawbacks to philosophy are?
Quote: Academia, professionals, collective societal views on philosophy, sometimes its annoyingly easy to see bullshit that others miss.
Q21: What is your favorite subject in philosophy (i.e. ethics, logic, etc.)?
Quote: social and political philosophy, ethics, philosophy of literature
Q22: What is your least favorite subject in philosophy?
Q23: Who is your favorite philosopher and why?
Quote: Plato - I love his style, and I love that I can translate the texts in their original language with a dictionary and grammar for myself. As for philosophers that wrote in my native tongue of English I have to go with Ralph Waldo Emerson. I think the world would be a much better place if they read and seriously considered his work.
Q24: Who is your least favorite philosopher and why?
Quote: Thomas Aquinas. History's greatest plagiarist. All he did was rip off Aristotle and align him with the Catholic Church by bastardizing his philosophy.
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Lightning Round!!! Answer either or!
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Q25: Global warming or Global fooling?
Q26: Conservative or liberal?
Q27: Formal or informal?
Q28: Smart or ignorant?
Quote: Neither - Intelligent. Smart is often what ignorant people think they are.
Q29: Mac or PC?
Quote: Mac if I could build my own, so by default, PC
Q30: Awesome or Phenomenal?
Quote: Neither - Excellent