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Offline markjo

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Re: Shaquille O'Neal believes that the earth is flat
« Reply #140 on: March 29, 2017, 03:15:44 AM »
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?
Do you mean like the part where he said that he isn't serious 80% of the time?  Or the part where he said:
This world we live in, people take things too seriously, but I’m going to give the people answers to my test. Knowing that I’m a funny guy, if something seems controversial or boom, boom, boom, you’ve got to have my funny points on, right? So now, once you have my funny points on, that should eradicate and get rid of all your negative thoughts, right? That’s what you should do when you hear a Shaquille O’Neal statement, OK? You should know that he has funny points right over here, and what did he say? Boom, boom, boom, add the funny points. You either laugh or you don’t laugh, but don’t take me seriously. When I want you to take me seriously, you will know by the tone of my voice that I’m being serious.
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Offline Pete Svarrior

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Re: Shaquille O'Neal believes that the earth is flat
« Reply #141 on: March 30, 2017, 01:52:54 AM »
Do you mean like the part where he said that he isn't serious 80% of the time?  Or the part where he said [other stuff]
No. It would take a particularly unintelligent person to think that's what I meant, and I know you better than that, markjo.
Read the FAQ before asking your question - chances are we already addressed it.
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Offline markjo

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Re: Shaquille O'Neal believes that the earth is flat
« Reply #142 on: March 30, 2017, 02:39:10 AM »
Do you mean like the part where he said that he isn't serious 80% of the time?  Or the part where he said [other stuff]
No. It would take a particularly unintelligent person to think that's what I meant, and I know you better than that, markjo.
Then please point out exactly which part(s) you do mean.
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

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Offline Pete Svarrior

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Re: Shaquille O'Neal believes that the earth is flat
« Reply #143 on: March 30, 2017, 07:55:26 PM »
Then please point out exactly which part(s) you do mean.
One would have thought you'd be capable of listening to the podcast, or reading a transcript, by yourself.

Oh well, here's one example:

Quote
There’s too much going on, so if somebody says something and they title it and they send it out, by the time it gets to another guy and another guy, it’s all messed up, so people actually really believed I was serious when I said that. We actually had people call into the office.

On an unrelated note, he dropped a nice hint in his "retraction":

Quote
When I want you to take me seriously, you will know by the tone of my voice that I’m being serious.
;)
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Offline markjo

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Re: Shaquille O'Neal believes that the earth is flat
« Reply #144 on: March 30, 2017, 08:22:44 PM »
Then please point out exactly which part(s) you do mean.
One would have thought you'd be capable of listening to the podcast, or reading a transcript, by yourself.

Oh well, here's one example:

Quote
There’s too much going on, so if somebody says something and they title it and they send it out, by the time it gets to another guy and another guy, it’s all messed up, so people actually really believed I was serious when I said that. We actually had people call into the office.
I think that you highlighted the wrong part.  Fixed that for you.  ;)

On an unrelated note, he dropped a nice hint in his "retraction":

Quote
When I want you to take me seriously, you will know by the tone of my voice that I’m being serious.
;)
Yes, I quoted that, but you snipped it out as "[other stuff]".  :-*
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.

Re: Shaquille O'Neal believes that the earth is flat
« Reply #145 on: March 31, 2017, 02:25:40 AM »
reject the expertise of virtually all media analysts

not quite.  i simply don't agree that a beat writers and columnists are experts on the psyches of the players they write about.  that isn't part of the job.  sure, i would expect these authors to be experts on shaq's basketball career; but, the notion that all sports writers are experts on the personality traits of all/most/many/whatever noteworthy athletes is absurd.  very few sports writers are themselves noteworthy enough to have the opportunity to establish personal relationships with celebrities like shaq.

tbh i think this is exactly the sentiment that your third source is trying to convey: athletes are disingenuous in their relationship with the media, making their genuine personality traits and beliefs difficult to discern from their public interactions.

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?

i agree that the entire statement is relevant, but i don't hear anything in there about anything negative happening to shaq beyond receiving some phone calls of the form "does shaq really..."  he sounds more annoyed than threatened or defensive.  i was thinking more along the lines of losing an endorsement or getting fired or something.  something materially negative.

the leap from that podcast, to 'shaq definitely believes the world is flat but was forced to recant by his business associates in order to save his career from ubiquitous mocking,' is pretty large.
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Offline Roundy

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Re: Shaquille O'Neal believes that the earth is flat
« Reply #146 on: March 31, 2017, 05:56:57 PM »
I myself will continue to believe that Shaq believes the Earth is flat.  One would have to think that he rises above the Tila Tequilas of the world in that his influence might have convinced the Conspiracy that they needed to take measures to keep him in line.  That's all the rationality I need.
Dr. Frank is a physicist. He says it's impossible. So it's impossible.
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Offline markjo

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Re: Shaquille O'Neal believes that the earth is flat
« Reply #147 on: March 31, 2017, 06:37:52 PM »
So it doesn't matter to you that Shaq admits that he like messing with people who take things too seriously?
Abandon hope all ye who press enter here.

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

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Offline Roundy

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Re: Shaquille O'Neal believes that the earth is flat
« Reply #148 on: March 31, 2017, 11:44:59 PM »
So it doesn't matter to you that Shaq admits that he like messing with people who take things too seriously?

Who doesn't?  ???
Dr. Frank is a physicist. He says it's impossible. So it's impossible.
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Offline Pete Svarrior

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Re: Shaquille O'Neal believes that the earth is flat
« Reply #149 on: April 01, 2017, 04:21:59 PM »
I think that you highlighted the wrong part.  Fixed that for you.
Hmm, if you really think I meant that part, then perhaps I should stop giving you the benefit of the doubt. Let's go back to basics, direct you to http://www.rif.org/, and continue talking among adults while you're busy, shall we?

Yes, I quoted that, but you snipped it out as "[other stuff]".
I mean, yes, that's what "unrelated" means...

i simply don't agree that a beat writers and columnists are experts on the psyches of the players they write about.
In comparison to the people here? Come on, now.

i was thinking more along the lines of losing an endorsement or getting fired or something.  something materially negative.

the leap from that podcast, to 'shaq definitely believes the world is flat but was forced to recant by his business associates in order to save his career from ubiquitous mocking,' is pretty large.
There's no leap. I provided a source which very strongly hints that this happened. Combine that with Shaq's statement that could (at a push, I admit) be interpreted the same way, and there you go.

In short:
  • There is some evidence - not the strongest evidence, but evidence nonetheless - that he was pressured. People who watch his career closely felt the "joke" was extremely out of character, and I maintain they're much closer to being experts on the matter than you are, even if you disagree that they are experts at all
  • In contrast, there is very little evidence to corroborate the "Shaq really was just kidding" narrative. The media doesn't buy it, and Shaq's statement itself is surrounded by hints that it shouldn't be taken at face value. All the RE brigade here can do is rely on is personal incredulity - which is exactly why they've done it in so many posts now.
« Last Edit: April 01, 2017, 04:32:31 PM by SexWarrior »
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Offline Flatout

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Re: Shaquille O'Neal believes that the earth is flat
« Reply #150 on: April 01, 2017, 04:55:51 PM »
I think Shaquille caved into pressure.  We already know he doesn't have a lot of backbone.   
« Last Edit: April 01, 2017, 04:57:29 PM by Flatout »

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Offline Roundy

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Re: Shaquille O'Neal believes that the earth is flat
« Reply #151 on: April 01, 2017, 06:07:40 PM »
Just look at his free throw percentage.  He is pathetic under pressure.
Dr. Frank is a physicist. He says it's impossible. So it's impossible.
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Offline Flatout

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Re: Shaquille O'Neal believes that the earth is flat
« Reply #152 on: April 02, 2017, 03:06:28 AM »
And he settled for an Ed.D in humor.

Re: Shaquille O'Neal believes that the earth is flat
« Reply #153 on: April 04, 2017, 05:25:18 AM »
i simply don't agree that a beat writers and columnists are experts on the psyches of the players they write about.
In comparison to the people here? Come on, now.
you're vastly overestimating these folks expertise.  for real the nba columnist for yahoo is basically just a blogger.  and no one dreams of writing sports columns for business insider.  i'm not saying that their opinions aren't probably well-informed, but they really aren't that much better informed than anyone else you know who really loves the nba.

There is some evidence - not the strongest evidence, but evidence nonetheless - that he was pressured. People who watch his career closely felt the "joke" was extremely out of character, and I maintain they're much closer to being experts on the matter than you are, even if you disagree that they are experts at all
tbh none of them mention his character.  they just say they found it confusing.  both yahoo pieces indicate that they do believe he was joking, and the first entertained the possibility from the start:

https://sports.yahoo.com/news/shaquille-oneal-isnt-a-flat-earther-after-all-im-joking-you-idiots-183258371.html
Quote
Last we left you with the NBA’s flat-Earth society, we pondered whether Shaquille O’Neal’s theory was as earnest as Kyrie Irving’s appears to be, or if the Pro Basketball Hall of Famer was just trolling us all.
...
That, as a belief, is wild. That, as a joke, is quite elaborate and a bit confusing. It was hard to imagine a guy with a doctorate degree in education actually thought the Earth was flat. It would be hilarious if he actually believed that theory. That he just said a bunch of stuff he doesn’t really believe, well, Shaq isn’t too concerned about whether you find it funny.

In contrast, there is very little evidence to corroborate the "Shaq really was just kidding" narrative.
1) shaq said he was kidding.  seems relevant.
2) kyrie irving did the same thing in the same industry at the same time and didn't take it back.  no one even talks about it anymore.  still moving sneakers.
3) shaq does silly shit all the time, like play genies in shitty 90s movies and pretend to be a cabbie for lols.
4) there's no evidence to begin with that anyone really gave a shit beyond a handful of sports columns that are already forgotten.  literally none of the sports-talk media i consume even covered it at all.  anecdotal, sure, but i mean ffs the very podcast in which he 'recanted' had 59 minutes of shit they thought was more important to talk about.  it's difficult for me to reconcile that with the narrative that he was being laughed out of his career.
5) shaq is obviously smart enough to know that driving across the country can't confirm or reject the earth's flatness.  no one with a phd could be so naive.  he was clearly joking.
« Last Edit: April 04, 2017, 05:28:19 AM by garygreen »
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Re: Shaquille O'Neil believes that the earth is flat
« Reply #154 on: April 29, 2017, 01:15:26 AM »
If he believes so strongly that the educational system is so corrupt why would he spend years getting 3 degrees in it?