Cyril O

Apr

2024

How to Shut Down Anyone’s Argument

Conspiracy Theories Are Evil

The Best Way to Shut Down An Argument

I love the phrase ‘conspiracy theory’. If you don’t like someone else’s stand on a topic, you no longer have to explain your side or tell them factually why you think they are wrong.

Simply refer to the other person’s information or point of view as a ‘conspiracy theory’ and you no longer have to justify yours.

It’s freaking brilliant!

You no longer have to do proper research on:

Climate Change

Drug Side Effects

Government Intervention or Spying

Russian Interference In USA Elections
Chinese Interference in Canadian Politics and Elections

Did One Man Kill John F. Kennedy?

Chem Trails

9/11 Attack on the Twin Tower/USA

Biden’s Connections to China

Voting Fraud

MK Ultra

Flat Earth

Wrestling is Fake

Aliens, Extraterrestrials and UFOs

All you have to do is figure out how the majority of people are leaning on a subject and tell anyone with a differing opinion that their idea is a conspiracy theory. And voila! - you win. Any discussion or argument.

You don’t have to ‘define your terms’ or have facts to back you up or any such thing.

Life is so much easier that way.

Apr

2024

Debate Team… Or Home School?

Learn Both Sides of Subject

Or At Least Try To…

Home School? Or can this be done in public or private schools?

I was a Youth Group sort of conference recently. A number of the students spoke on the subject of Climate Change.

I have pretty strong views on the subject. But that is not the point of this essay.

Three students were speaking on how important it was to do something about climate change. Got me thinking back to my school years.

Way back when… we had debate teams. Now, if you are a late comer then you may not know how this sort of thing worked. I won’t go into all the rules, and there were lots. There would be a suggested subject such as ‘climate change’.

Students were assigned to one side or the other of the argument. As a student, you might be assigned to the opposite side which you felt was right. It was pretty random.

Screenshot

That, for me, at the time, really sucked. I had no idea how to think like that. How to take the other view and properly research it. And defend it…!

There would be some sort of point system and one side or the other would win based on this. For me, looking back I wish I could have thunk through this. Now, on the other hand, I’d have a great time with it.

It was effective in getting students to look at the other side of an argument.

I read a lot and encourage others to do the same. Research. If you send your student to search the internet, Wikipedia, etc., they will get a very one-sided view of pretty much any important subject.

Take climate change as one example. Do any internet search and the first fifty listings will pretty much tell you that we are all gonna die. If you go someplace like Amazon even or search some other databases, you very likely will find some scientists that disagree with what is commonly promoted about climate change. There are just as many scientists that disagree with the idea that ‘we are all gonna die’. Or at least any changes do not have anything to do with humans. Or maybe they aren’t as harmful as most think. All things that should be investigated.

I’m not going to put forth any arguments against these common agreements on the subject of climate change. My point here is that students are fed one side and are not encouraged to discover if true or not. Lots of information on both sides.

I would love to have each of the students that spoke on the subject research data on the ‘other side’ and make an argument that way.

What an exercise that would be!!

I’m a huge proponent of Home Schooling. Most home schoolers will at least attempt to have their children decide for themselves what is true and what works for them. The whole point for many parents is to have their children able to think for themselves and not just regurgitate what the teacher tells them.

If you had two teachers in a public school that had complete opposite views on important subjects, taking turns teaching the same class, this, to me, would be ideal.

Imagine how beautifully confused some students would get!

I mean, ideally, a teacher would not be wanting to import his or her beliefs onto a student. The ideal teacher would help a student evaluate information for him or herself to the truth of it. Is it true for me? Does this make sense? Or am I just aiming to please my teacher or whomsoever is running the show here.

But if you home school your kids, you don’t have to deal with all this.

Authors/Books on the subject:

Anything by John Taylor Gotto

Anything by John Holt

And for sure check out Classical Learner https://classicallearner.com/

Feb

2024

Adult Swimming Lessons – Masters Swim

Adult Swimming Lessons - Teach The Basics

I was at the pool a couple of days ago working out. Saw a guy get in the slow lane and kind of go back and forth in the slow lane. He was there for a fair bit.

I completed my laps and headed for the sauna. There is a window that over looks a short bit of the shallow end of the pool where this fellow was struggling.

After my twenty minutes sweating, I just couldn’t withhold myself any longer. I went out and over to him as he was standing against the end of the shallow end of the pool debating what to do next.

I went over and told him that it was painful to watch him suffer like that. Would he like some help. I asked him what he did for a living. He is a software programmer. I pointed out to him that he had likely learned that skill by at first learning the language and learning parts of the skill. That is was unlikely that he sat down the first day and just started in full tilt.

The same would go for a plumber or carpenter or a doctor. A carpenter would have to learn how to measure and cut first. You would not want to start building a house without learning some basics or parts of the activity first.

He was trying to do the whole stroke and being very unsuccessful. No progress.

I gave him two basic drills. Then a third. I told him to do these drills at least twenty times first thing in the pool every time he entered.

When children are learning, we teach them the ‘dead man’s float’, gliding and such things.

First drill: Push off the side and glide. Arms out in front, legs stretched behind. Thread the needle. Go as far as you can like this. Stand up. Come back. And do it again. And again.

Second Dril: Stand against the side of the pool. Feet on the bottom, bent over with arms on the sides of the pool. Face in the water to start. Turn your head and body to the breathing side slowly. Lift that arm a bit if you need to as you turn your head and body. Breath in. Turn your face back into the water. Lowering your arm back to level. Breathe out under water. Repeat twenty times.

Key here is to turn sideways, not to lift your head frontwards.

My new friend in the pool told me that I was a much better teacher that the person that he was taking lessons from. Much simpler.

If the person that you are working with is not winning, having wins at swimming, then, you, the coach or teacher, are doing something wrong. Not the person.

Always one thing at a time.

More: Swimming

Jan

2024

From Whom Do You Take Advice

Advice

I was in Costco the other day and walked by a mother and daughter standing at one of the little food kiosks that are sprinkled about that store. Everyone getting their snack fix on their walk about the store.

I heard only a snippet of the conversation - was really hard for me not to hear - as I was coming around the corner.

The daughter was anywhere from 17-22, I can’t tell anymore. The employee was advising the young lady on the subject of men it appeared.

I might have slowed down a bit when I heard some of what she was saying.

First thing I heard was “You don’t need a man young lady. You can do everything yourself.” She continued to sound derogatory but I missed the rest of the next sentence. It was pretty obvious to me that this woman did not like men. Was so difficult for me staying silent.

I have no real issue with the employee stating her opinion. It is her opinion from her experience and her right to communicate. It is pretty obvious that her opinions are not those of the store so I’m not worried about that argument at all.

My hope is that the young girl will look elsewhere for advice or in some way keep her own counsel on this.

Again, if you are going to take advice from someone, where do you go for it?

If I’m looking to get my car repaired, do I go to someone that is good at repairing cars. Do they actually like the work of car repair? Is that evident in the fact that they are good at their job? If you were going to learn how to swim, would you learn from someone whose students end up drowning consistently?

I think not.

If I had seen this young lady and her mother in the store again, I might have stopped them and suggest that if she really wanted or needed some advice that she find someone, or better still a number of people, that had a fairly successful relationship for a period of time.

If she asked a bunch of people, and was wise about dissecting the answers, she might be lucky enough to glean some of the more successful aspects of a relationship.

You want to learn photography, you learn from a number of successful photographers. Then take what you can from that to make it work for you. That would go for any skill or profession, I would think.

And no less for relationships.

Oct

2023

Haunt Manor Niagara Falls, Ontario – Some Photos

Haunt Manor Actors

Check out my other website for a bunch of Haunt Manor photos. I've been having a blast taking photos of the actors and actresses with make up and costumes. Using Photoshop to plug in some background photos. Mostly using pics from my travels in Amsterdam and Prague. Some local from Clifton Hill, Niagara Falls. This is the last weekend of the even this year but if you can make it for next year, it's a blast.

A couple of pages and a couple of blog posts: Here is a 'Haunting' One