A questionnaire of 10 (ten) random (non-political) statements.

[CaptainF]

I tried to make them as random as possible. Answer them in no more than three sentences:

1.Humanity is by its very nature evil.

2.Spiritual enlightenment/wisdom can only be obtained through suffering.

3.The 21st Century will be the most tumultuous century in history.

4.People are essentially the same.

5.Mental illness is the worst kind of illness.

6.True peace can never be obtained.

7.God loves everyone. Atheist, criminal, different religion, doesn't matter.

8.There is little or no difference between adults and children.

9.The good die young.

10.Emotions are a hindrance to intelligence.

EDIT 1- Changed the wording of question #5.

 

[History_Buff]

1.Humanity is by its very nature evil.

Disagree; first, evil is a relative term, secondly, I don't believe human nature compels us to do anything. Society can force us to behave differently than we would in a jungle.

2.Spiritual enlightenment/wisdom can only be obtained through suffering.

I've never really thought about this one. I don't put too much weight in the wisdom of spirituality though.

3.The 21st Century will be the most tumultuous century in history.

Human events have been accerating constantly since Ancient Greece. The 21st century will be more tumultuous than all the centuries before it. The 22nd will be the same way, as will the 23rd, etc.

4.People are essentially the same.

True. Biologically, there is very little that separates one human from another.

5.Mental illness is the worst illness.

I'd agree with this one. Quite frankly mental illness scares me.

6.True peace can never be obtained.

Depends on your definition of Peace. People will always disagree, and it's unlikely that people will abandon violence in the near future. But I don't believe it out of the question.

7.God loves everyone. Atheist, criminal, different religion, doesn't matter.

I don't believe in an all powerful, involved God. If I was all powerful though, I could see me loving all my creations.

8.There is little or no difference between adults and children.

Strongly disagree. There are such huge differences in maturity between someone in thier 40's and someone in thier teens or younger.

9.The good die young.

Disagree. If anything, logic would imply the bad would die young. Statistics show niether side holds a monopoly on death.

10.Emotions are a hindrance to intelligence.

Without emotions, we would feel no urge to investigate and question our world. Emotions enable intelligence. But when we refuse to believe something scientifically proven for emotional reasons, then we only harm ourselves.

 

[ummmm........]

FFFTFTFFFF

So all false but four and six . . .

 

[Erik Mesoy]

1.Humanity is by its very nature evil.

True; where else should evil arise from? No atheist will accept 'Satan whispers in our ears' and I have argued to my own satisfaction that relative morality is no morality.

2.Spiritual enlightenment/wisdom can only be obtained through suffering.

True for certain values for those words.

3.The 21st Century will be the most tumultuous century in history.

True.

4.People are essentially the same.

Uncertain; people distribute themselves along a bell curve, with all the outliers that that implies, so the great majority will be the same, whereas "lunatics and tyrants are the price we pay for geniuses and heroes".

5.Mental illness is the worst illness.

There is no 'worst illness'.

6.True peace can never be obtained.

Uncertain leaning towards false.

7.God loves everyone. Atheist, criminal, different religion, doesn't matter.

True.

8.There is little or no difference between adults and children.

False.

9.The good die young.

If they do, it tends to be in a way that inspires to further good.

10.Emotions are a hindrance to intelligence.

True for some values of emotion, it must be distinguished from opinion.

 

[The Last Conformist]

1.Humanity is by its very nature evil.
False.
2.Spiritual enlightenment/wisdom can only be obtained through suffering.
False.
3.The 21st Century will be the most tumultuous century in history.
Maybe.
4.People are essentially the same.
I'd say no, but depends on how much difference still counts as "essentially the same",
5.Mental illness is the worst illness.
Meaningless question - there are many mental illnesses of various severity.
6.True peace can never be obtained.
What's "true" peace?
7.God loves everyone. Atheist, criminal, different religion, doesn't matter.
There is no God.
8.There is little or no difference between adults and children.
False.
9.The good die young.
No more often than the bad.
10.Emotions are a hindrance to intelligence.
Oftentimes, yes.

 

[Lotus49]

1.Humanity is by its very nature evil.
-Humanity is by it's very nature is neutral, but unfortunately tends to be weak, unwise, and easily deceived.

2.Spiritual enlightenment/wisdom can only be obtained through suffering.
-Only for the stubborn.

3.The 21st Century will be the most tumultuous century in history.
-Highly doubtful. Don't underestimate previous centuries.

4.People are essentially the same.
-Not even close.

5.Mental illness is the worst illness.
-Spiritual illness is worse; as anyone who has experienced it can tell you, so - no.

6.True peace can never be obtained.
-Incorrect.

7.God loves everyone. Atheist, criminal, different religion, doesn't matter.
-Yes.

8.There is little or no difference between adults and children.
-In many ways, they are similar.

9.The good die young.
-But the truly legendary continue on, dominating their field for a considerable amount of time. The "good, that died young" are only thought of as legends in a sense, because no one knows whether they would have truly been, or not. Ah, the tragedy.

10.Emotions are a hindrance to intelligence.
-All thoughts are founded on some degree of emotion. It's impossible to achieve a total emotional vacuum when forming thoughts, unless you are a machine.

 

[Corlindale]

1.Impossible to answer without a good definiton on "evil". AS the term is commonly used, probably a no.

2.Disagree

3. I hope not. Certainly I hope we won't see another 2 World Wars.

4. No. There are more than 6 billion different kinds of people.

5. Generally, yes. But depends on the severity of the illnesses compared.

6.Disagree. True peace may eventually be achieved, even if it won't be everlasting.

7.I'm inclined to believe that She doesn't exist. But if She did, I assume She'd love all her creations.

8. There's a great difference, but adults are not necessarily wiser than children. Children experience emotions in a more pure way.

9. No more often than the bad and the ugly

10.Disagree. Lack of emotions are a hindrance to living, but emotions do not hinder intelligence, though strong emotions might temporarily distort rational thinking a bit.

 

[ComradeDavo]

1.Humanity is by its very nature evil.
No. Some humans are 'evil' but essentially it is not an over-riding feature.

2.Spiritual enlightenment/wisdom can only be obtained through suffering.
No. It can be obtained through various methods.

3.The 21st Century will be the most tumultuous century in history.
I dunno, the 20th century was pretty messed up what with 2 world wars, ethnic cleanising on a huge scale, the cold war, the space race and all kind of crazy stuff.

4.People are essentially the same.
No, people are individuals.

5.Mental illness is the worst illness.
I don't think I know enough to answer this one.

6.True peace can never be obtained.
We shall see.

7.God loves everyone. Atheist, criminal, different religion, doesn't matter.
God doesn't exist.

8.There is little or no difference between adults and children.
Not true, there are alot of differences, and not just pyhsical.

9.The good die young.
Nah.

10.Emotions are a hindrance to intelligence.
No, emotions can drive intelligence to whole new levels in many cases.

A questionnaire of 10 (ten) random (non-political) statements
False, many of those questions had political overtones

 

[Mise]

1.Humanity is by its very nature evil.
We have the capacity for great evil, yes, and that capacity is certainly natural. I wouldn't say that human nature is solely evil though.

2.Spiritual enlightenment/wisdom can only be obtained through suffering.
No...

3.The 21st Century will be the most tumultuous century in history.
Probably not.

4.People are essentially the same.
Yup.

5.Mental illness is the worst illness.
I think ass cancer is pretty bad.

6.True peace can never be obtained.
Not unless everything dies

7.God loves everyone. Atheist, criminal, different religion, doesn't matter.
He doesn't exist, but if he did then I should hope so.

8.There is little or no difference between adults and children.
There's a huge difference -- experience, intelligence, physical ability... Some adults act like children though.

9.The good die young.
I'm sure lots of *******s died younger than Jesus, so no.

10.Emotions are a hindrance to intelligence.
Emotions are a hindrance to many things, but if you live your life without emotions, then you can't enjoy it.

 

[Grisu]

1.Humanity is by its very nature evil.

disagree, humans aren't good or evil. acting good or evil is a choice, not some inherent trait.

2.Spiritual enlightenment/wisdom can only be obtained through suffering.

disagree, suffering can leed to wisdom, but it's far from the only way

3.The 21st Century will be the most tumultuous century in history.

it's hard to pick a specific tumultous century...most centuries had their tumults

4.People are essentially the same.

...to a degree. people are the same, but different as well.

5.Mental illness is the worst illness.

depends on the illness. illness that leads to a lot physical pain can be very bad too, i presume.

6.True peace can never be obtained.

maybe, maybe not. it's hasn't been achieved so far, but who knows?

7.God loves everyone. Atheist, criminal, different religion, doesn't matter.

I don't believe in God, so no. Something that doesn't exist cannot love

8.There is little or no difference between adults and children.

disagree

9.The good die young.

some do, some don't

10.Emotions are a hindrance to intelligence.

disagree, without our emotions, intelligence becomes pointless.

 

[Bozo Erectus]

1.Humanity is by its very nature evil.

Humanity is by its very nature human. Humans are capable of both good and evil.

2.Spiritual enlightenment/wisdom can only be obtained through suffering.

For the most part, yes.

3.The 21st Century will be the most tumultuous century in history.

In recorded history, probably.

4.People are essentially the same.

Yes.

5.Mental illness is the worst illness.

Depends on the sort of illness, and the sort of person involved.

6.True peace can never be obtained.

Agreed.

7.God loves everyone. Atheist, criminal, different religion, doesn't matter.

Overly simplistic, but I'll say yes.

8.There is little or no difference between adults and children.

There are differences, but not as profound as we often think. The primary difference is that adults are responsible for the care of children.

9.The good die young.

Maybe more good people die young from a broken heart, but I doubt its a statistically significant amount.

10.Emotions are a hindrance to intelligence.

They can be when emotions overpower the intellect, but most of the time, no they arent.

 

[colontos]

1.Humanity is by its very nature evil.

Agree, more or less. Want evidence? Try the entire 20th century.

2.Spiritual enlightenment/wisdom can only be obtained through suffering.

Disagree.

3.The 21st Century will be the most tumultuous century in history.

False. It will be a century of Pax Americana. Look at the pattern: America first defeated two huge militaristic empires (Germany and Japan), then one empire (USSR) who we defeated without having to shoot, and now it's fighting a bunch of guys in tents. It's WINNING.

4.People are essentially the same.

True, across cultures, national borders, language barriers, etc.

7.God loves everyone. Atheist, criminal, different religion, doesn't matter.

True, though it makes me uncomfortable.

8.There is little or no difference between adults and children.

False. At least, it should be false, but a lot of adults running around are still pretty childish.

9.The good die young.

Why would this be true? Billy Joel, not my cup of tea.

10.Emotions are a hindrance to intelligence.

Often, yes.

 

[warpus]

1.Humanity is by its very nature evil.

Nothing is inherently evil.

2.Spiritual enlightenment/wisdom can only be obtained through suffering.

No. Making mistakes is how you learn - and that sometimes leads to suffering - but not always.

3.The 21st Century will be the most tumultuous century in history.

I doubt it.

4.People are essentially the same.

Maybe in a physical way, but not in any sort of psychological way.

5.Mental illness is the worst illness.

I disagree - there are other types of illnesses that lead to more suffering.

6.True peace can never be obtained.

The western European nations are at peace - somehow.

7.God loves everyone. Atheist, criminal, different religion, doesn't matter.

First of all - it's impossible to determine if he exists or not.. If he does - he might not even be capable of human emotions.

8.There is little or no difference between adults and children.

Err? No.

9.The good die young.

errrr? No.

10.Emotions are a hindrance to intelligence.

Sometimes.

 

[JohnRM]

1.Humanity is by its very nature evil.

I disagree. Humans are to be taken one individual, at a time.

2.Spiritual enlightenment/wisdom can only be obtained through suffering.

I disagree, but I would agree that suffering can greatly strengthen spiritual enlightenment and wisdom.

3.The 21st Century will be the most tumultuous century in history.

I disagree. I believe that the 21st Century will be a new period of enlightenment as the old ways are found to be unsustainable and self-destructive. I believe that humanity will climb out of the pit and bring about new technologies and change that will revolutionize our race. I do believe, however, that it will require a massively destabilizing event to trigger this.

4.People are essentially the same.

Biologicially, this is true. Spiritually, this is not true.

5.Mental illness is the worst illness.

I would have to agree.

6.True peace can never be obtained.

I disagree. Peace is possible to obtain, I just think that it is pretty damn hard.

7.God loves everyone. Atheist, criminal, different religion, doesn't matter.

I agree. I believe that every individual is given the opportunity to be forgiven, at any time (even beyond death), and God will forgive them.

8.There is little or no difference between adults and children.

This is biologically false. Children have larger heads and tongues in proportion to the body. They have faster respiratory and pulse rates, and higher blood pressure. Among other biological differences...

There are also massive differences in mentality and ability to reason. The brain is not fully developed until the ages of 16 - 18. Children do not have the life experience to make good judgements.

In the adolescent years, a child's brain function is literally crippled by massive biological changes involving the horomones and other chemical processes.

9.The good die young.

Not true. My Mother is the most 'good' individual that I know, and she still lives. I think that there are many good people that live a long life. The most notable that comes to mind is Mother Teresa.

However, there is a tendency for good individuals involved in social or political leadership to be murdered. Among them, JFK, Martin Luther King, Anwat Sadat, Yitzhak Rabin, Ghandi, Medgar Evers, and too many others.

10.Emotions are a hindrance to intelligence.

Emotions are symptoms of other things going on in our lives. To an extent, they must be controlled in order not to negatively impact ourselves, but they are unavoidable and usually healthy.

 

[MobBoss]

1.Humanity is by its very nature evil.

Mostly agree. Humanity by its nature is fleshly and sinful. However, we have the ability to rise above our fleshly desires and walk away from sin if we so choose.

2.Spiritual enlightenment/wisdom can only be obtained through suffering.

Agree. Spiritual enlightenment and wisdom is done through growth and you cant grow spiritually without experiencing some type of pain or suffering.

3.The 21st Century will be the most tumultuous century in history.

No idea. I would say the odds are against it.

4.People are essentially the same.

In a lot of ways, yes.

5.Mental illness is the worst illness.

Too many variations of "worst" exist to be sure. Illness of any kind is bad, but I will go out on a limb here and say No.

6.True peace can never be obtained.

Disagree. I think you can achieve it.

7.God loves everyone. Atheist, criminal, different religion, doesn't matter.

Yes/correct.

8.There is little or no difference between adults and children.

Disagree.

9.The good die young.

Sometimes....that is if you equate youth with being good. I am not sure I do.

10.Emotions are a hindrance to intelligence.

Nope/disagree....I would say they could be a hindrance to clear thinking, but you certainly can have very intelligent people who are also emotional.

 

[Truronian]

1.Humanity is by its very nature evil.

If humanity is evil, why does it strive to be good?

2.Spiritual enlightenment/wisdom can only be obtained through suffering.

No, although I suppose the end of a period of suffering could seem like enlightenment, rather than just a return to the norm.

3.The 21st Century will be the most tumultuous century in history.

Not as tumultuous as the 22nd

4.People are essentially the same.

Yes, but as humans we are programmed to notice the subtle differences.

5.Mental illness is the worst illness.

No. Mental illness is subjective, how can a mentally ill person be sure that he is 'wrong' and everyone else is 'right'.

6.True peace can never be obtained.

Yes. No matter how well off you are, there is always something that you cannot obtain.

7.God loves everyone. Atheist, criminal, different religion, doesn't matter.

Then he won't care if he is worshipped or not. I'm inclined to agree with this statement, on the assumption that this God exists.

8.There is little or no difference between adults and children.

Disagree, adults are taller

9.The good die young.

To an extent yes, by the time a good person has reached old age the good values for which he stood have often been surplanted by new values to which he cannot adapt.

10.Emotions are a hindrance to intelligence.

Disagree. Emotions allow you to use your intelligence.

 

[silver 2039]

1.Humanity is by its very nature evil.

There is no such thing as evil it is a human construct. Humans are nataurally greedy and selfish which can be considered a bad thing

2.Spiritual enlightenment/wisdom can only be obtained through suffering.

Maybe, maybe not. Perhaps you can learn some life lessons to suffering.

3.The 21st Century will be the most tumultuous century in history.

Maybe, all centauries are pretty tumlutous there is always change and the shifting dynamics of power.

4.People are essentially the same.

Not really there are a vast amount of diffrences ranging form apperance, views, beliefs, values, morals, actions etc...

5.Mental illness is the worst illness.

I think cancer sufferers and such may disagree, there are plenty of horrible physical illnesses out there.

6.True peace can never be obtained.

As long as the selfish, greedy, agressive human natuare presides, no of course not.

7.God loves everyone. Atheist, criminal, different religion, doesn't matter.

There is no god.

8.There is little or no difference between adults and children.

There is plenty of diffrence in terms of size, mental abalities, personality traits and chartherstics, their psyches are completly diffrnet as well.

9.The good die young.

Good doesn't exist it is a human construct. There is no absoloute good or absoloute evil everyone has a diffrent opnion on who and what is good or evil. Anyway the statement itself is false.

10.Emotions are a hindrance to intelligence.

Certain emotions such as those sourroudning tradition, culture, religon adn reject change are most certainely hinderances to intelliegnece as they blind people to logic.

 

[Will_518]

1.Humanity is by its very nature evil.
Evolution


2.Spiritual enlightenment/wisdom can only be obtained through suffering.
Self harm is suffering, but doesn't lead to enlightenment.


3.The 21st Century will be the most tumultuous century in history.
There's a huge imbalance of power, namely: USA. Imbalance lead to stability and injustice, but not chaos.


4.People are essentially the same.
I certainly hope I'm better than everyone else.


5.Mental illness is the worst illness.
If you're too ill to know you're ill, life would be like a game, that could be fun.



6.True peace can never be obtained.
We gotta keep the population down somehow. Remember: resources are limited, and we always want more.



7.God loves everyone. Atheist, criminal, different religion, doesn't matter.
If it says so in the Bible, you'd better believe it!



8.There is little or no difference between adults and children.
hmm, sex?



9.The good die young.
Yes, but at least their lives meant something. The "bad" guys add negative value to society, their lives are completely worthless.


10.Emotions are a hindrance to intelligence
Yes. But without emotions, what is the point in being clever? You ain't never gonna make happiness with intelligence, it comes from the heart.

 

[Narz]

I tried to make them as random as possible. Answer them in no more than three sentences:

Ok.

Do I paid for this survery?

1.Humanity is by its very nature evil.

FALSE. I answered these questions from bottom to top and this is the one I feel most strongly about. Humanity (like any other species or organism) does the best it can for itself based on it's beliefs and skills. Most humans are fearful and obsessed with self-preservation at the expense others but if they could truly feel and understand (on a gut level) the reality of karma their actions would be good and compassionate. If, when you hit your brother in the face you felt it yourself no one would act that way (except those who'd become ill thru abuse but of course in such a world such illnesses would never develop). Evil exists (like suffering) because people say it does (and ostrisize and give reality to the "evildoer", cementing his self-image and giving him more fuel for his seperation fueled hatred).

2.Spiritual enlightenment/wisdom can only be obtained through suffering.

False. Certainly suffering can give a person compassion but it is not the ONLY path to wisdom. Look at a child at play. This child is certainly gaining wisdom and it can even be said he/she is enlightened and joyous in the moment. Would you say this child needs to be beaten or suffer to become better? This attitude drives much of human behavior and (IMO) the idea that people "need to suffer" is the ONLY reason suffering even exists (not pain which of course is biological, but mental suffering).

3.The 21st Century will be the most tumultuous century in history.

Definitely. It'll be quite a ride!

4.People are essentially the same.

False. People are essentially very different. Otherwise this forum (and all of social life) would be quite dull. People have similar needs but the way they aim to satisfy those needs differs wildly.

5.Mental illness is the worst illness.

Edit : I missed this one.

I would agree. Physical illness is comparable to a software problem whereas mental illness is more like a hardware problem. It is easy to be objective about one's arm or pancreas but much harder to be objective about one's mental processees. Having suffered from severe depression I can say I'd rather be punched in the face daily, hourly even, than have to go thru that again.

6.True peace can never be obtained.

True. There will always be distribence and that is the beauty of life (making meaning of that distrubence). The only peace one will find on Earth is in a graveyard.

7.God loves everyone. Atheist, criminal, different religion, doesn't matter.

N/A

8.There is little or no difference between adults and children.

I'll say true. The main difference is that adults are duller, more bitter, more repressed and less energetic (for the most part)

9.The good die young.

False. Those who are truly good will try to stay around to enjoy life and help those who will struggle after them. I would say the reckless and resigned die young. Them and the unfortunate.

10.Emotions are a hindrance to intelligence.[/I][/B]

False. Without the thrill of accomplishment and the enjoyment of the process scientists (and the rest of us solving everyday problems with our minds) would lose their greatest source of motavation.

 

[Moss]

1.Humanity is by its very nature evil.

Not true, we have the capacity for great evil, and great good, but remember, good and evil or not concrete terms...

2.Spiritual enlightenment/wisdom can only be obtained through suffering.

Wisdom, by it's nature comes with experience, and the ability to grasp and understand and use those experiences (which not everyone can do, or wants to do)...suffering is not required, but it's inevitable because I have yet to meet a person who has not suffered in some form or in some way.

3.The 21st Century will be the most tumultuous century in history.

No, I think the 21st Century has the possiblity to be the least tumultuous.

4.People are essentially the same.

In many ways yes, but in many ways, not even close.

5.Mental illness is the worst illness.

No...

6.True peace can never be obtained.

It's possible, but I think most people have trouble finding peace in their own, singular lives, much less trying to find peace in a world full of billions of those lives combined together.

7.God loves everyone. Atheist, criminal, different religion, doesn't matter.

On a very simple, not going deep into anything level, agree.

8.There is little or no difference between adults and children.

There's a huge difference...

9.The good die young.

Sometimes, yes, and sometimes the good stay around for a long while. Death doesn't discriminate, it take the good with the bad, whenever it feels like it.

10.Emotions are a hindrance to intelligence.

Emotions can certainly hinder judgment, but not in all cases, and even in the cases it does, it is not always a bad thing.