One of the more amusing (to mind at least) match of wits that I engaged with a leftist was over my handle – specifically that strcpy was not a safe operation and one should use some other function (I do not recall which of the ones that would work that he chose).

My response was that as a conservative I was quite capable of taking care of my own bounds checking and it was just like a liberal to want to put his safety in the hands of someone other than selves. Further that that idea also assumed that ultimately that other person was better than you too – I’m a programmer, if I can’t check bounds on an array I do not need to be programming. This ends up in a feedback loop if everyone thinks this and nothing gets done (and is really an issue in some models – each side defers to the other to “do things right” and no one does – all assuming the other side has taken care of the problems).

He quit the conversation at that point – I didn’t and being the Evil Conservative pressed it 🙂

With respect to production software strcpy isn’t used by me either – but then that has nothing to do with why I chose my name. His making it so opened it up to a battle of wits and extrapolations that make little real sense. I *can* do those existential mental masturbations – I just see them for what they are. He went into the battle with no armaments against a well armed opponent 🙂

I think you are being too hard on the Enlightenment. English Enlightenment thinkers came up with things such as modern economic theory, and the conservative and libertarian theories of politics.

The thing about the Engish Enlightenment is that it started on the ground, with free markets and representative government, and the great thinkers were basically explaining what they saw. The French enlightenment was false, in that it wasn’t “in the streets” but only in the heads of great thinkers. The French then had a more theory based and less grounded Enlightenment, which allowed them to develop radical leftist ideas.

The English / Scottish Enlightement was a great event, the French one was an evil event.

And I can’t resist a final observation: Isn’t it intriguing that, while liberalism is such an “optimistic” doctrine, liberals themselves are nonetheless (statistically speaking) angrier and less happy than conservatives, who themselves adhere to a doctrine that, by comparison to the sunny utopian progressivism of the left, seems bleak and cold by comparison?

It is ironic, but perhaps not surprising.

It seems to me that a world view that is accurate in predicting outcomes makes one happier than one that consistently predicts happier outcomes than are achieved.

As to cremation…funny you mentioned that:
http://www.dustbury.com/archives/11382

Heck, even dead people make a footprint on the environment. I better hush or someone will suggest space shots for all cremated remains. Lol