You are browsing the forum as a guest. Please log in or register to access additional features.
Online reading group and book discussion forum
  HOME ABOUT BOOKS TRANSCRIPTS LINKS BLOGS DONATE CONTACT  

     Log in   Register 


Links & Resources

Community Rules & Tips
For Authors & Publishers
Link to our old forum
Books we've ordered
Book Suggestions
Donations to BookTalk.org
Rationally Speaking
BookTalk Forum Statistics
Games


BookTalk.org News
• By popular demand we will be reading "Our Inner Ape" concurrently with "Your Inner Fish." A new forum is up and awaiting your comments.
• Four free books have already been awarded as part of the "Explore BookTalk" contest. There is still time to win free books by participating in this simple contest.
• Professor Neil Shubin has agreed to do a live author chat with us where we will discuss his book, "Your Inner Fish."

Featured Member Blogs

Theomanic's blog
Lawrenceindestin's blog
Penelope's blog
Frank 013's blog

- All Member Blogs
- Blog News


Chat Room

Enter Chat Room


Author Interviews
& Chat Transcripts

Noam Chomsky
    Interventions
Eugenie C. Scott
   Evolution vs. Creationism
A.C. Grayling
   What is Good?
Lee Harris
   Civilization and Its Enemies
Ann Druyan
   Pale Blue Dot
Michael Shermer
   How We Believe
Matt Ridley
   The Red Queen
Stephen Pinker
   The Blank Slate
Massimo Pigliucci
   Rationally Speaking
Richard Dawkins
   Unweaving the Rainbow

• Howard Bloom
   Global Brain
• Howard Bloom
   The Lucifer Principle

Index of Transcripts

Show us where you live!
BookTalk.org Member Map

Support BookTalk.org!
Last 10 Donors

lawrenceindestin(USD100.00), Theomanic(USD20.00), Anonymous(USD60.00), Anonymous(USD20.00), Anonymous(USD20.00), Anonymous(USD10.00), Chris OConnor(USD300.00), Mr. Pessimistic(USD20.00),
 Please help us to develop!

Display Pagerank


Karma

Goto page 1, 2  Next
 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    BookTalk.org Forum Index -> BookTalk Announcements & Feedback
Author Message
Mr. Pessimistic Mr. Pessimistic has been starred
Assistant Professor
Silver Contributor
Silver Contributor

Avatar

Joined: 16 Jun 2004

Posts: 3382
Location: NJ - www.myspace.com/mrpessimistic
us.gif


Items



PostPosted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 1:02 pm    Post subject: Karma Reply with quote
Whats all this Karma stuff and why do only certain people have it?
Back to top
Google
AdSense





Gender:


Items


PostPosted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 1:02 pm    Post subject: Please help to support this site



Back to top
Penelope Penelope has been starred
Senior
Silver Contributor
Silver Contributor

Avatar

Joined: 02 Oct 2007

Posts: 387
Gender: Female
Location: Cheshire, England
ee.gif


Items



PostPosted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 2:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Here, Here Mr. P. Well said that man - have a fruit gum!! What are those Karma Points?

I believe in Karma - you reap what you sow.....

Who feels adequate enough to endow points?

Mr P. We all have Karma! Let us all go sit in a corner and examine our motives.....or not.
Back to top
Ophelia Ophelia has been starred
Almost Awesome
BookTalk.org Moderator
Silver Contributor
Silver Contributor

Avatar

Joined: 25 Nov 2007

Posts: 936
Gender: Female
Location: France
ee.gif


Items



PostPosted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 8:04 am    Post subject: karma and Zimbardo's lucifer effect. Reply with quote
I just noticed that my BT karma had reached +2 today and I must say I've been feeling cheerful all day.

So, I went back to Zimbardo's Lucifer Effect, chapter 12: Creating Nazis in an American Classroom (p 281 in my copy).

In an experiment with school students (probably from the 70's, it would never have passed modern parents), blue-eyed pupils were told they were good (I'm blue-eyed, by the way), and brown-eyed pupils were told they were bad (with depressing effects, as always in Lucifer Effect).
Then, things were reversed, and they studied the results when brown-eyed pupils were given star status.


So, I suggest negociating the following with Chris ( God being always involved with things like karma):

For a given period of time, karma will be attributed in a purely arbitrary fashion (instead of the excellent method in use now).
Each BT member will appoint a member of his family to the task of studying the evolution of their moods (from despair to bliss) according to the karma they receive on their monitors.

At the end of the period, all data will be collected (and attribution of karma points will return to previous criteria).

The results will be analyzed by a study and writing committee.
Then the results of the Karma Effect Experiments will be published, and the money we get will go to meeting Booktalk running costs.

Expect a visit from your local policeman to tell you when things are starting.
Back to top
Penelope Penelope has been starred
Senior
Silver Contributor
Silver Contributor

Avatar

Joined: 02 Oct 2007

Posts: 387
Gender: Female
Location: Cheshire, England
ee.gif


Items



PostPosted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 8:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Ophelia - you deserve all the good karma available, in my book.

My Karma in reality must be good because I met you just when I most needed to.

Also a very kind and considerate Dentist!!!

Let's us two just finish off the fruit gums shall we Mr.P?
Back to top
Mr. Pessimistic Mr. Pessimistic has been starred
Assistant Professor
Silver Contributor
Silver Contributor

Avatar

Joined: 16 Jun 2004

Posts: 3382
Gender: Male
Location: NJ - www.myspace.com/mrpessimistic
us.gif


Items



PostPosted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 9:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Penelope wrote:
Ophelia - you deserve all the good karma available, in my book.

My Karma in reality must be good because I met you just when I most needed to.

Also a very kind and considerate Dentist!!!

Let's us two just finish off the fruit gums shall we Mr.P?


I love fruit gum...Juicy Fruit, Fruit Strip Gum, Bubble Yum Tropical...

Mr. P.
Back to top
Penelope Penelope has been starred
Senior
Silver Contributor
Silver Contributor

Avatar

Joined: 02 Oct 2007

Posts: 387
Gender: Female
Location: Cheshire, England
ee.gif


Items



PostPosted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 9:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Ah No!! Not the same thing in England.

A Fruit Gum is a small hard jelly-type sweet for little kids.

Advertising Jingle went:- Don't Forget the Fruit Gums Mum!!! Very Happy
Back to top
Chris OConnor Chris OConnor has been starred
Rhodes Scholar
BookTalk.org Owner

Avatar

Joined: 20 Oct 2000

Posts: 6218
Gender: Male
Location: Florida
us.gif


Items



PostPosted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 10:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
You all should be able to assign Karma points to each other at the rate of one point total per day. This is a new feature installed and how we use it has yet to be determined. Karma points = good. If someone assigns a Karma point to you they are saying you are making them happy in some way - perhaps they loved your post or contribution, but don't have much to say in a follow-up post about it. They can simply click the Karma button and assign Karma to you.
Back to top
Chris OConnor Chris OConnor has been starred
Rhodes Scholar
BookTalk.org Owner

Avatar

Joined: 20 Oct 2000

Posts: 6218
Gender: Male
Location: Florida
us.gif


Items



PostPosted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 10:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
So help me test this system! You should only be able to assign one point total....not one point per person. I think. Test it out. Post the results here.

There are actually a ton of new features added that we have yet to start to use. While I am dealing with some personal issues I won't have the time to learn how to use them, but in time you'll seee all sorts of new stuff appearing.

Help me learn how this Karma feature works! I can change the settings, but I'd like some feedback before I try to adjust settings. Cool
Back to top
Mr. Pessimistic Mr. Pessimistic has been starred
Assistant Professor
Silver Contributor
Silver Contributor

Avatar

Joined: 16 Jun 2004

Posts: 3382
Gender: Male
Location: NJ - www.myspace.com/mrpessimistic
us.gif


Items



PostPosted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 12:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Chris OConnor wrote:
So help me test this system! You should only be able to assign one point total....not one point per person. I think. Test it out. Post the results here.

There are actually a ton of new features added that we have yet to start to use. While I am dealing with some personal issues I won't have the time to learn how to use them, but in time you'll seee all sorts of new stuff appearing.

Help me learn how this Karma feature works! I can change the settings, but I'd like some feedback before I try to adjust settings. Cool


Well, yesterday I assigned Ophelia a +. She was the ONLY person I was able to assign anything. And before that and after that one time, everyone else seems to be 'greyed out', meaning I cannot assign either Karma to anyone.

I like the idea. So lets make it work. I think only ONE per day is too little and not worth it at that point. One per member maybe, or at least a few a day each.

Mr. P.
Back to top
Penelope Penelope has been starred
Senior
Silver Contributor
Silver Contributor

Avatar

Joined: 02 Oct 2007

Posts: 387
Gender: Female
Location: Cheshire, England
ee.gif


Items



PostPosted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 2:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I just did the +Karma thing. I think it is a good idea Chris and one a day is OK by me.

Can you click - negative Karma as well as +Karma? Not that I would want to give anyone negative Karma, but it might show one, if one had trodden on some one's toes.

I often wonder if I am offending anyone, but I still think it is important to be honest and upfront. So if I got negative karma points I would know to be a little less forthright.

A little less waffle!!! Did I hear you say?

<img src=http://www.asweetpea.btinternet.co.uk/smile/sterb.gif>
Back to top
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    BookTalk.org Forum Index -> BookTalk Announcements & Feedback All times are
Goto page 1, 2  Next
Page 1 of 2


 
Editor's Pick

Our Inner Ape
By Frans de Waal

Our Inner Ape by Frans de Waal

Editor's Pick
Current Non-Fiction
May & June 2008

Book #49
Join the discussion!



BookTalk.org Suggests

Recent Topics
» Who are your favorite authors?
by ralphinlaos on Tue May 13, 2008 4:14 am

» Literary trivia . . . name that book!
by ralphinlaos on Tue May 13, 2008 4:02 am

» Despair!!!!
by ralphinlaos on Tue May 13, 2008 3:53 am

» June & July 2008 Fiction Suggestions & Selection
by Chris OConnor on Tue May 13, 2008 1:28 am

» Ch. 2: Getting a Grip
by Saffron on Mon May 12, 2008 9:35 pm

» Camacho gets a Job
by President Camacho on Mon May 12, 2008 8:53 pm

» Poetry?
by Saffron on Mon May 12, 2008 8:38 pm

» The scourge of the Burmese military.
by Saffron on Mon May 12, 2008 8:19 pm

» General discussion....
by Audrey on Mon May 12, 2008 12:29 pm

» Stephen Paine: A Crisis in America
by DWill on Mon May 12, 2008 10:27 am


Search for Books

Poll
Did you know that all new polls appear in the sidebar?

Yes, I know everything about BookTalk [3]
I had no idea [0]
Wow, this is convenient [3]

You must login to vote


MAIN NAVIGATION

HOMEABOUTBOOKSTRANSCRIPTSOLD FORUMSLINKSBLOGSFAQDONATECONTACT

BOOKS WE HAVE DISCUSSED

Our Inner Ape: A Leading Primatologist Explains Why We Are Who We Are by Frans de Waal • Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year-History of the Human Body by Neil Shubin • No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy • The Age of American Unreason by Susan Jacoby • Ten Theories of Human Nature by Leslie Stevenson & David Haberman • Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad • The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window Into Human Nature by Stephen Pinker • A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini • The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil by Philip Zimbardo • Responsibility and Judgment by Hannah Arendt • Interventions by Noam Chomsky • Godless in America by George A. Ricker • Religious Expression and the American Constitution by Franklyn S. Haiman • Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future by Phil McKibben • The God Delusion by Richard DawkinsThe Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal by Jared DiamondThe Woman in the Dunes by Abe KoboEvolution vs. Creationism: An Introduction by Eugenie C. ScottThe Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael PollanI, Claudius : From the Autobiography of Tiberius Claudius, Born 10 B.C., Murdered and Deified A.D. 54 by Robert GravesBreaking The Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon by Daniel C. DennettA Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East Peace by David FromkinThe Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey NiffeneggerThe End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason by Sam HarrisEnder's Game by Orson Scott CardThe Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark HaddonValue and Virtue in a Godless Universe by Erik J. WielenbergThe March by E. L DoctorowThe Ethical Brain by Michael GazzanigaFreethinkers: A History of American Secularism by Susan JacobyCollapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared DiamondThe Battle for God by Karen ArmstrongThe Future of Life by Edward O. WilsonWhat is Good? The Search for the Best Way to Live by A. C. GraylingCivilization and Its Enemies: The Next Stage of History by Lee HarrisPale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space by Carl SaganHow We Believe: Science, Skepticism, and the Search for God by Michael ShermerLooking for Spinoza: Joy, Sorrow, and the Feeling Brain by Antonio DamasioLies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right by Al FrankenThe Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature by Matt RidleyThe Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature by Stephen PinkerUnweaving the Rainbow: Science, Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder by Richard DawkinsAtheism: A Reader edited by S.T. JoshiGlobal Brain: The Evolution of Mass Mind From the Big Bang To the 21st Century by Howard BloomThe Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the Forces of Nature by Howard BloomGuns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared DiamondThe Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl SaganBury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West by Dee BrownFuture Shock by Alvin Toffler

OTHER PAGES
Baloney Detection KitBanned Book ListBook OrdersMassimo Pigliucci Rationally SpeakingOnline Reading GroupTop 10 Atheism Books

Copyright © BookTalk.org 2002-2008. All rights reserved.
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group