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Re: Shaquille O'Neal believes that the earth is flat
« Reply #120 on: March 27, 2017, 05:34:51 PM »
It's not really that complicated. Shaq made two statements. Only one of them was under duress.

That is conjecture at best, Thomas.  Any evidence of duress?

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Why should we think the statement made under duress is better than the one which was not?

Does not follow from the premises.  As soon as you can show that the statement was made under duress, then we can entertain the possibility.

Surely you know me well enough to know that I'm a pretty neurotic person.

*hugs*


Yes. What he said in the first place is still valuable, though, and we should milk it as hard as we can. The quotes have been really helping us out on social media.

Then we good.
« Last Edit: March 27, 2017, 05:37:34 PM by Rama Set »

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Offline Boots

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Re: Shaquille O'Neal believes that the earth is flat
« Reply #121 on: March 27, 2017, 05:41:45 PM »
I'm going to let you stay in the belief that you've won this argument, not pointing out that the majority is laughing at you trying to defend your way out the fact that you got played. Everybody wins!

The sun is out, I'm in a good mood, and your online characters are making this day even better. I'm a nice guy like that.

Have a good one! :)

This. (The first sentence does seem to contain a contradiction but this seems like the type of thread where you just LOL and go with it.)

P.S. This is my new favorite thread.

And this.

LOL!
« Last Edit: March 27, 2017, 05:49:29 PM by Boots »
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Offline Jura-Glenlivet

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Re: Shaquille O'Neal believes that the earth is flat
« Reply #122 on: March 27, 2017, 08:39:42 PM »


Yeah that must be it, we're not seeing the evidence that is right in front of our eyes.
Oh, you're seeing it all right. That's why you were unable to say much more than the above.

No, that was me winding down with a bit of gentle irony.

So where are we on this? Shaq says he backs some other basketball player in his belief of a flat earth, with anecdotes about his driving and flying across America in a light-hearted podcast, incidentally later in the same podcast when one of the others suggested the the original player wasn't serious but was making a statement about false news Shaq seems to agree, but hey.

FES jumps in with both feet, using the shaky argument that his doctorate (in an unrelated discipline) gives weight to his casual musings, whereas doctors in more relevant fields (astronomy, physics etc) are ignored, nothing new there.

Then Shaq drops the bomb, and FES goes into full paranoid mode, instead of taking him at his word this time it presses the conspiracy button and suddenly we find Sexpest & Tom are secret Shaqologist's and at heart the giant millionaire is a pussy who folds at the slightest pressure and not as some (admittedly not Shaqologist's) think, that he although he wasn't aware of the amount of furore, he didn't particularly care.

I will let you don your tin-foil hats and mount your soap boxes now, but leave you with a paraphrase from probably the biggest expert in what Shaq thinks, the man himself, he was joking you idiots. 
Just to be clear, you are all terrific, but everything you say is exactly what a moron would say.

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Offline Tom Bishop

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Re: Shaquille O'Neal believes that the earth is flat
« Reply #123 on: March 27, 2017, 09:11:51 PM »
So a statement which was made under duress is more credible than one which was not?

I listened to Shaq's second statement again. He clearly communicates that he does not like the criticism and ridicule that is transpiring and that it is a point of contention for him. But according to what I'm reading here I thought he doesn't care about public opinion and loves being mocked as a dumb dumb.  ???
« Last Edit: March 28, 2017, 01:33:32 PM by Tom Bishop »

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Offline Boots

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Re: Shaquille O'Neal believes that the earth is flat
« Reply #124 on: March 27, 2017, 09:55:24 PM »
But according to what I'm reading here I thought he doesn't care about public opinion and loves being mocked as a dumb dumb.  ???
I'm not sure I understand your sentence correctly, but it seems like you're saying that according to what you're reading here, Shaq loves being mocked as a dumb dumb.

What has anyone written here that implies that Shaq loves being mocked as a dumb dumb?

Another question, given Shaq's superior qualifications how is it that he did not foresee what the results of his statements would be?

Intikam foresaw that it would take strength for Shaq to maintain his position. Here is his quote:

Shaq is Strong enough to carry our flag. And it suits him. Go shaq!

I guess he wasn't strong enough after all.  :'(
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Offline Tom Bishop

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Re: Shaquille O'Neal believes that the earth is flat
« Reply #125 on: March 27, 2017, 10:30:57 PM »
I'm not sure I understand your sentence correctly, but it seems like you're saying that according to what you're reading here, Shaq loves being mocked as a dumb dumb.

What has anyone written here that implies that Shaq loves being mocked as a dumb dumb?

It is directly argued here that Shaq likes to make the entire world think that he is a dumb dumb for the lulz. It is argued that he doesn't care about being mocked and ridiculed.

But according to what he says in the second statement, he does care about public opinion. How can that be?

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Another question, given Shaq's superior qualifications how is it that he did not foresee what the results of his statements would be?

Well, the RE position on this matter seems to be that this was all premeditated and designed by him, to trick the world into thinking that he was an idiot... which he apparently does not like.

It makes a lot more sense if his statements were off the cuff and honest, and this was the unintended result.

Re: Shaquille O'Neal believes that the earth is flat
« Reply #126 on: March 27, 2017, 11:09:26 PM »
Tom, I'm going to do you a favor and link you three videos an acquaintance of mine did. There's no magical flat earth explanations for what you see in these videos.

Filming Turning Torsoe in Malmö from different distances.


Flat surface meets observing from ground level


Proof that the horizon is below eye level


Have fun!
Ignored by Intikam since 2016.

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Offline Boots

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Re: Shaquille O'Neal believes that the earth is flat
« Reply #127 on: March 27, 2017, 11:56:01 PM »
It is directly argued here that Shaq likes to make the entire world think that he is a dumb dumb for the lulz. It is argued that he doesn't care about being mocked and ridiculed.

But according to what he says in the second statement, he does care about public opinion. How can that be?

Arguing that Shaq did this for a joke is not the same thing as saying Shaq loves being mocked as a dumb dumb.

According to what he says in the second statement it was a joke.


Well, the RE position on this matter seems to be that this was all premeditated and designed by him, to trick the world into thinking that he was an idiot... which he apparently does not like.

It makes a lot more sense if his statements were off the cuff and honest, and this was the unintended result.

An educated celebrity of his superior qualifications should surely be aware of the likely results of making such a statement publicly, even when he's doing it "off the cuff."
« Last Edit: March 28, 2017, 01:58:27 AM by Boots »
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Offline markjo

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Re: Shaquille O'Neal believes that the earth is flat
« Reply #128 on: March 28, 2017, 03:36:27 AM »
It is directly argued here that Shaq likes to make the entire world think that he is a dumb dumb for the lulz. It is argued that he doesn't care about being mocked and ridiculed.

But according to what he says in the second statement, he does care about public opinion. How can that be?

Arguing that Shaq did this for a joke is not the same thing as saying Shaq loves being mocked as a dumb dumb.

According to what he says in the second statement it was a joke.
Can you really blame Shaq for no one else getting the joke?
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Offline Tom Bishop

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Re: Shaquille O'Neal believes that the earth is flat
« Reply #129 on: March 28, 2017, 05:01:48 AM »
It is directly argued here that Shaq likes to make the entire world think that he is a dumb dumb for the lulz. It is argued that he doesn't care about being mocked and ridiculed.

But according to what he says in the second statement, he does care about public opinion. How can that be?

Arguing that Shaq did this for a joke is not the same thing as saying Shaq loves being mocked as a dumb dumb.

According to what he says in the second statement it was a joke.


Well, the RE position on this matter seems to be that this was all premeditated and designed by him, to trick the world into thinking that he was an idiot... which he apparently does not like.

It makes a lot more sense if his statements were off the cuff and honest, and this was the unintended result.

An educated celebrity of his superior qualifications should surely be aware of the likely results of making such a statement publicly, even when he's doing it "off the cuff."

So does Shaq like being called an idiot or not? If not, why would he deliberately try to leave people thinking that he was one?

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Offline Boots

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Re: Shaquille O'Neal believes that the earth is flat
« Reply #130 on: March 28, 2017, 05:37:12 AM »
It is directly argued here that Shaq likes to make the entire world think that he is a dumb dumb for the lulz. It is argued that he doesn't care about being mocked and ridiculed.

But according to what he says in the second statement, he does care about public opinion. How can that be?

Arguing that Shaq did this for a joke is not the same thing as saying Shaq loves being mocked as a dumb dumb.

According to what he says in the second statement it was a joke.


Well, the RE position on this matter seems to be that this was all premeditated and designed by him, to trick the world into thinking that he was an idiot... which he apparently does not like.

It makes a lot more sense if his statements were off the cuff and honest, and this was the unintended result.

An educated celebrity of his superior qualifications should surely be aware of the likely results of making such a statement publicly, even when he's doing it "off the cuff."

So does Shaq like being called an idiot or not? If not, why would he deliberately try to leave people thinking that he was one?

I doubt he cares what you and I think of him. But he'd probably get a good laugh if he read this thread.  ;D
“There are some ideas so absurd that only an intellectual could believe them.” - George Orwell

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Offline Tom Bishop

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Re: Shaquille O'Neal believes that the earth is flat
« Reply #131 on: March 28, 2017, 12:04:36 PM »
I doubt he cares what you and I think of him. But he'd probably get a good laugh if he read this thread.  ;D

You are not making very much sense. In some posts you seem to be saying that Shaq does not like to be called an idiot. Shaq seems to agree with that through what he said in his second statement.

In other posts you seem to be saying that Shaq wanted the world to think that he was an idiot with his first statement. He gets off on that and doesn't care about public opinion.

You are being pretty contradictory. Please clarify.
« Last Edit: March 28, 2017, 05:03:06 PM by Tom Bishop »

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Offline markjo

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Re: Shaquille O'Neal believes that the earth is flat
« Reply #132 on: March 28, 2017, 01:17:51 PM »
I doubt he cares what you and I think of him. But he'd probably get a good laugh if he read this thread.  ;D

You are not making very much sense. In some posts you seem to be saying that Shaq does not like to be called an idiot. Shaq seems to agree with that through what he said in his second statement.

In other posts you seem to be saying that Shaq wanted the world to thing that he was an idiot with his first statement. He gets off on that and doesn't care about public opinion.

You are being pretty contradictory. Please clarify.
Maybe Shaq wanted to see how many people are gullible enough to believe that he's dumb enough to think that the earth is flat.
Abandon hope all ye who press enter here.

Science is what happens when preconception meets verification.

Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge. -- Charles Darwin

If you can't demonstrate it, then you shouldn't believe it.

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Offline Tom Bishop

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Re: Shaquille O'Neal believes that the earth is flat
« Reply #133 on: March 28, 2017, 01:30:09 PM »
I doubt he cares what you and I think of him. But he'd probably get a good laugh if he read this thread.  ;D

You are not making very much sense. In some posts you seem to be saying that Shaq does not like to be called an idiot. Shaq seems to agree with that through what he said in his second statement.

In other posts you seem to be saying that Shaq wanted the world to thing that he was an idiot with his first statement. He gets off on that and doesn't care about public opinion.

You are being pretty contradictory. Please clarify.
Maybe Shaq wanted to see how many people are gullible enough to believe that he's dumb enough to think that the earth is flat.

Why are you avoiding the question? It's either Shaq doesn't care about public opinion and being called an idiot or he does care about public opinion and doesn't like being called an idiot.

In his second statement he is clearly saying that he didn't like what people were saying about him. So, an explanation please?

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Offline Jura-Glenlivet

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Re: Shaquille O'Neal believes that the earth is flat
« Reply #134 on: March 28, 2017, 03:19:47 PM »

Can you really blame Shaq for no one else getting the joke?

Not if the overliteral, humour oblivious, irony deficient autistic’s here are representative.
Just to be clear, you are all terrific, but everything you say is exactly what a moron would say.

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Offline Boots

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Re: Shaquille O'Neal believes that the earth is flat
« Reply #135 on: March 28, 2017, 03:48:23 PM »
I doubt he cares what you and I think of him. But he'd probably get a good laugh if he read this thread.  ;D

You are not making very much sense. In some posts you seem to be saying that Shaq does not like to be called an idiot. Shaq seems to agree with that through what he said in his second statement.

In other posts you seem to be saying that Shaq wanted the world to thing that he was an idiot with his first statement. He gets off on that and doesn't care about public opinion.

You are being pretty contradictory. Please clarify.

I can't clarify it to you because you don't seem to know what a joke is.

One way people joke around is to say something that people will think is outrageous just to get a re-action(people wondering if they are crazy) . A short time later they laugh and say they were just joking. If they did it right, everybody laughs. Revealing that you were just joking is part of the joke. If you leave it hanging nobody laughs. This may sound silly, especially to someone as dry and humorless as yourself but it happens all the time.


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Offline Tom Bishop

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Re: Shaquille O'Neal believes that the earth is flat
« Reply #136 on: March 28, 2017, 04:29:12 PM »
I doubt he cares what you and I think of him. But he'd probably get a good laugh if he read this thread.  ;D

You are not making very much sense. In some posts you seem to be saying that Shaq does not like to be called an idiot. Shaq seems to agree with that through what he said in his second statement.

In other posts you seem to be saying that Shaq wanted the world to thing that he was an idiot with his first statement. He gets off on that and doesn't care about public opinion.

You are being pretty contradictory. Please clarify.

I can't clarify it to you because you don't seem to know what a joke is.

One way people joke around is to say something that people will think is outrageous just to get a re-action(people wondering if they are crazy) . A short time later they laugh and say they were just joking. If they did it right, everybody laughs. Revealing that you were just joking is part of the joke. If you leave it hanging nobody laughs. This may sound silly, especially to someone as dry and humorless as yourself but it happens all the time.

What are you talking about? Does Shaq care about public opinion and everyone calling him an idiot or not?

If no, he doesn't care, then why does he communicate that he does care?

If yes, he does care, then why did he deliberately leave everyone to think that he was an idiot?

Re: Shaquille O'Neal believes that the earth is flat
« Reply #137 on: March 28, 2017, 04:38:22 PM »
Why are we still arguing this?
why wouldn't i want to argue about shaq with the preeminent flat earth theorists of the 21st century? 

People whose job is literally to know Shaq's character
not really.  those articles were written by sports beat writers, and their only job is to write about sports.  these columns amount to the opinions of some well-informed sports fans.

We also know that some analysts are perfectly clear that the money+pressure mixture was involved:

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/shaq-was-apparently-trolling-everyone-when-he-made-his-flat-earth-comments/

your source does not indicate that shaq lost any sponsors.  he's speaking in generalities, and he doesn't at all indicate that he believe shaq was pressured or coerced into retracting his statement.  he describes it as an intentional duplicity emblematic of the way athletes relate to media outlets generally.

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The only time this gets straightened out is if money is involved, if a player is at risk of losing a job or endorsement money. Then all of a sudden, the jokes stop. But there’s a little bit of a duplicitous, and honestly, at times, patronizing tone taken by a lot of players. If they don’t take the media seriously, if they make them look like fools, then they can then disregard and diminish anything that the media reports. And the media is handcuffed because all they can do is report on what the players say. And if they sound serious when they say it, it has to be reported that way. Is much of this the result of a sensationalistic news environment driven by an ever-demanding and ever-evolving audience dynamic? Absolutely.

But it makes trying to figure out what players really say and don’t say an almost-impossible task.

Anyway, there you go. Shaq believes the Earth is round.

the imagery that tom is playing up where shaq is being laughed out of the gym simply isn't accurate.  y'all are vastly overestimating how much anyone in sports cares about an athlete having weird opinions or saying weird things.  for example: the question about the flat earth takes place at the very end of an hour-long podcast. precisely none of the sports podcasts i consume even brought it up.

one of your sources even describes it as a potential marketing ploy.  and kyrie is still moving shoes.  i don't see what evidence there is that anything negative happened to shaq as a result of him saying he thinks the earth is flat.

also, shaq has a phd.  i think it's safe to say that he is smart enough to know that curvature can't be confirmed or rejected by driving across the country in a car.  he was clearly joking the first time.
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Offline Boots

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Re: Shaquille O'Neal believes that the earth is flat
« Reply #138 on: March 28, 2017, 04:58:37 PM »
I doubt he cares what you and I think of him. But he'd probably get a good laugh if he read this thread.  ;D

You are not making very much sense. In some posts you seem to be saying that Shaq does not like to be called an idiot. Shaq seems to agree with that through what he said in his second statement.

In other posts you seem to be saying that Shaq wanted the world to thing that he was an idiot with his first statement. He gets off on that and doesn't care about public opinion.

You are being pretty contradictory. Please clarify.

I can't clarify it to you because you don't seem to know what a joke is.

One way people joke around is to say something that people will think is outrageous just to get a re-action(people wondering if they are crazy) . A short time later they laugh and say they were just joking. If they did it right, everybody laughs. Revealing that you were just joking is part of the joke. If you leave it hanging nobody laughs. This may sound silly, especially to someone as dry and humorless as yourself but it happens all the time.

What are you talking about? Does Shaq care about public opinion and everyone calling him an idiot or not?

If no, he doesn't care, then why does he communicate that he does care?

If yes, he does care, then why did he deliberately leave everyone to think that he was an idiot?

I don't know whether he cares or not. (And neither do you) It is irrelevant.

(Possibly he cares if the world thinks he's an idiot in the long term but doesn't care so much if it's just for a few days)

He did it for a joke, according to him. Like I said, you will not understand it because you don't understand humor. Also, I guess it doesn't help that you're desperately trying to save face. ;D
« Last Edit: March 29, 2017, 02:27:50 AM by Boots »
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Offline Pete Svarrior

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Re: Shaquille O'Neal believes that the earth is flat
« Reply #139 on: March 28, 2017, 06:11:04 PM »
the rest of us enjoy what he did for what it is
It's not "the rest of us". It's a handful of people here (coincidentally, it's the same handful as usual - the peanut gallery, if you will) who reject the expertise of virtually all media analysts and who desperately try to play it down (see garygreen's post if you don't want to indulge in too much self-reflection).

i don't see what evidence there is that anything negative happened to shaq as a result of him saying he thinks the earth is flat.
So, why did you decide to ignore Shaq's own words? Why is only part of his "haha I was joking" statement valuable, and why is the remainder of it non-existent?
« Last Edit: March 28, 2017, 06:20:28 PM by SexWarrior »
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