Rod, at 09:21 on Jun 06 1995, you wrote to Bill Grimsley...

BG> It pisses me off no end that he's quite capable of reciting
BG> the words to most songs, and even fucking TV commercials,
BG> yet STILL hasn't bothered learning his 12X table by rote.

RS> Maybe the first stuff is just automatic, no effort required.

BG> You hear or read something often enough, you learn it.

RS> Yes, and that doesnt happen with the 12X table automatically does it ?

BG> That's what "learning by rote" means.  Nothing to do with
effort at all.

RS> Bullshit. That other stuff he is exposed to and absorbs without
RS> even thinking about it, the 12X table isnt like that, so it doesnt.

No, that requires a bit of mental application, something of which he is
clearly incapable.  Maybe it's genetic?  His paternal grandmother was a
half-caste, which makes him part abo after all.  All he's good for is a 3%
home loan IMO.

RS> Presumably he cant see the point in the 12X and he is right too.

BG> Bullshit, he (and you) are dead fucking wrong about that, and if you can't 
BG> see that, there's no point arguing with you.

RS> Pity he cant either, and just ignores you nutty ideas |-)

Like I said, there's nothing to be gained by arguing this point with you.

BG> Read the next bit again...

RS> No thanks, read it fine the first time.

Perhaps you read it, but you certainly didn't comprehend it properly.

BG> Yeah indeed!  He failed maths BECAUSE he didn't learn the fucking basics 
BG> when he should have.

RS> Pity thats not the 12X table tho Bill.

Of course it is, and it's just one of many basic rules and formulae which
he failed to grasp when he should have.  Everybody else appeared capable.

BG> Can you imagine anybody gaining an electrical engineering degree
BG> without first learning and understanding Ohm's Law?  I sure can't.

RS> Pity that says SFA about the 12X table tho.

It's a perfectly valid analogy Rod.

BG> Dunno, I'd have hoped he would respect our examples considerably
BG> more than those of his peers, but it would appear not.

RS> Its an unusual teenager who does. Thats what teenagers do mostly.

Which is precisely why they should all be fucked and burned.

BG> Yeah, I know.  I was a teenager once, in case you've forgotten.

RS> So you silly claim has gone bang hasnt it ?  Its NOT just lazy.

Nope, I rebelled, just like any teenager would, but still had the
intelligence and nous to realise that unless I did well at school, I would
be fucked in later life.  And this was when you could get a job anywhere,
mid '60s.

RS> And which they have an almost automatic tendency to do the exact opposite.

BG> So whose fault is that then?  It sure ain't ours.

RS> Never said it was, its just the way most teenagers operate. 

Shows just how stupid they all are then, doesn't it.

RS> It part of distancing themselves from their parents and flaunting 
RS> their right to make decisions for themselves, which are often 
RS> pretty stupid decisions, precisely because they are usually in no 
RS> position to make decent ones. That the  way the vast bulk of 
RS> teenagers operate Bill. Its just another manifestation of the old 
RS> saw about teenagers thinking they know everything. Humans beings 
RS> evolved that way basically.

You're talking about learning by experience, which in this day and age, is
totally unnecessary.  They have more educational material available than at
any other time in history, yet they still don't want to know about it.

BG> Then they lack respect for their parents and their opinions.

RS> They do indeed. Have you only just noticed that ?

No, but I'd hoped I was wrong.

RS> Positive peer pressure to NOT do what you want done.

BG> I can see that, but don't really understand why.  Never will either.

RS> It really is a very basic part of how humans have evolved. Its 
RS> what gets kids moving away from their parents and operating 
RS> independently. Yes, that usually does see some ludicrous stuff coz 
RS> they are essentially still operating with trainer wheels, but 
RS> there aint no other way to do it, the only way to be able to make 
RS> decisions for yourself is to fuck some up.

Sure, that applies just as equally to adults, but we at least have the
intelligence to learn from the mistakes of others.

RS> Part of the reason they eventually get to notice that they dont
RS> actually know everything is the stuff they fuck up. There aint
RS> no other way for most of them.

So a goodly proportion of them become statistics.  Did you know that the
greatest killer of teenagers is alcohol, followed by car accidents?  I
heard that on the ABC news tonight, and was appalled.

RS> Sometimes their are so damned obnoxious they basically get 
RS> chucked out when the parents cant stand them any longer. Thats 
RS> also a very fundamental part of how humans have evolved. You wont 
RS> be changing that stuff just by howling about it.

Pardon me while I change my toga then.  |-)

RS> And they are right too on spelling anyway |-)

BG> Nope, and you'll never convince me otherwise.

RS> I cant help your closed mind Bill |-)

Don't worry Rod, I'll still buy my shoes from Speed's.

BG> Sure, but he's a public figure, and has a bigger ego to feed.
BG> I don't agree with everything that he says either, but I still
BG> respect his right to express that opinion, regardless.  And
BG> unlike most, he's far more often right than wrong anyway.

RS> The think I like about it is imagining the rage
RS> that those he is sledging must be experiencing |-)

Backfired severely this week though.  Did you catch the 2 minute public
apology after Media Watch on Monday?  I have to admit that I agreed with
the tribunal's decision to uphold the appeal against Stew.  Oh well,
nobody's perfect.  |-)

RS> Ditto for his pontification that Aust doesnt
RS> need anything other than free to air TV.

BG> He's possibly right.  We don't NEED it at all.

RS> I think he is being a dork on that bit. People
RS> said the same thing about TV at one time too.

There are good reasons, but I don't have time to go into that now.  I'm
trying to clear as many replies as possible, as I may well have to piss off
to Sydney a bit earlier than first expected.  A family death is imminent. 
No joke.

BG> I look upon the English language as a very powerful tool,

RS> Which says sweet fuck all about whether the language is changing or not.

Sure it changes, but not just because some illiterate cunts are too lazy to
learn how to spell properly.  Big difference from simple evolution.

BG> and I don't normally abuse my tools (Bob, you stay right away 
BG> from that!), and those who do so are simply showing their own 
BG> pig-ignorance IMO.

RS> Its a nice theory Bill, pity most of what he howls about aint 
RS> actually 'abusing my tools', its just a living language changing. 

Yeah, I'm aware of your nutty ideas about the English language.  |-)

RS> With some stuffed shirts like Stew having a good old howl about it.

And a fucking good thing too, if I may say so (I will anyway).

Regards, Bill
@EOT:

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