Poll: Have Public Forums Made You A Smarter Person?

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  1. #41
    Scarab Lord DEATHETERNAL's Avatar
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    I would hope that I have made others smarter, but I do not think I have become smarter. I have probably become even better at arguing, but not smarter.
    And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him.
    Revelation 6:8

  2. #42
    Mechagnome Rec's Avatar
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    No. What they have taught me is that people can be extremely intolerant and myopic.

  3. #43
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    Even though I sometimes read unbelieveable crap, that infuriate me and awaken primal animalistic instincts inside me involving ripping, shredding, clawing, crunching, breaking and tearing...


    ...they've let me discover wonderful video games, movies, shows and books, that I feel priviliged to have experienced.


    Above all, this very forum, here on mmo-champion, introduced me to anime(well kind of re-introduced, since I've watched before durig childhood, but that doesn't count). That changed me forever, and I'll be forever grateful for that.

  4. #44
    No. What am I even doing here?
    Rincewind: Ah! We may, in fact, have reached the root of the problem. However it's a silly problem and so I am suddenly going to stop talking to you.
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  5. #45
    Legendary! Wikiy's Avatar
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    Since smartness is about knowledge and not intelligence, I'd have to say yes. I've become politically interested because of this forum and this is why I know a shit ton about politics, probably more than my parents. I'd also say this forum taught me about humility, logical thinking and how to argue without descending to the level of a douchebag.

  6. #46
    Public forums can't make you smarter.

    They can, if approached right, make you less ignorant, they can also help you get better at supporting your ideas, and they can definitely mentally toughen you up when it comes to dealing with trolls.

  7. #47
    Stood in the Fire Dragonix80's Avatar
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    I've learned three things in public forums.

    1. People think they can say whatever they want or like online because they know there's no consequence. (Getting infracted or banned does not consider as "serious" consequence). Too often people here wouldn't be saying those stuff in real life person.

    2. Public forums are very biased, usually liberals' because they're usually the group of people who like to voice their opinions loudly.

    3. People on public forums are very intolerance and seek entertainment through attacking and flaming against other people who their opinions and beliefs differ from their own.

    So in some sense, yes I've became a smarter person because now I know what to expect out from people online. How to argue and when not to.

  8. #48
    The Undying Wildtree's Avatar
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    Grab a seat. here it comes..........

    ANYONE who votes YES, is dead wrong... Right from the start wrong.... And why?
    Smart and knowledge are only remotely related.
    The question Have Public Forums Made You A Smarter Person? is therefore always NO...
    The correct question would be: Have Public Forums Made You A More Educated Person?

    To get educated you need a level of smartness/intelligence to take up the input and keep it. Being smart is basically just the requirement to learn properly.
    If you aren't smart, you won't learn a thing. Or at least you learn only slow.
    Using platforms like public forums will definitely educate you further, given you are smart enough to begin with.

  9. #49
    Quote Originally Posted by Dragonix80 View Post
    2. Public forums are very biased, usually liberals' because they're usually the group of people who like to voice their opinions loudly.
    That sound you hear is the sound of thousands of people laughing themselves to death. You should probably check any news source ever if you think only liberals are the group of people who like to loudly voice opinions.

  10. #50
    The Insane draynay's Avatar
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    no not smarter, the opposite one

  11. #51
    Quote Originally Posted by Wildtree View Post
    Using platforms like public forums will definitely educate you further, given you are smart enough to begin with.
    Do you not believe that, along with natural maturation (how you think, specifically), that you can develop new learning and analytical skills as you go on?

    Is this not intrinsically linked with intelligence in some way, shape, form? Are there not clearly distinguishable differences?

    My opinion is that you can learn from any medium. You can change your perspective. You can craft multiple evaluations through the mental "rolodex" or references and experiences you have gone through.

    It may (and hopefully should) happen without a public forum, but it's certainly possible for an individual to get it from one.

    I think to say that a forum can not make you smarter is, inherently, a limited perspective. Just because some people are more intuitive naturally does not mean that there is a maximum intelligence for everybody.

    You can argue certain genetic/biological data for certain traits that may limit a person's intelligence, but you can never fully understand how how or what makes a person who may - figuratively speaking - have a near maximum capacity to learn due to an extremely gifted intellect. (I.E. = There is a second way to look at it.. Not everyone reaches potential, and it has nothing to do with "smartness." Some "dumb" people may have learned better than people who, genetically, should be "smarter")

    Extra TL;R= If you look at my argument and believe because I acknowledged the theoretical fact that some people do seem to have a greater intellect by luck that I am reinforcing your post, I would argue that it is all relative. You or I will never be able to look at a person and truly guess, so therefore it is a moot point to speak in terms of what may have been. Certainly billions of people have never gotten there in the first place.
    Last edited by Confirm Deny; 2013-02-24 at 03:12 PM.
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  12. #52
    I am Murloc!
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    If anything they aggravate me more than educate.

  13. #53
    The Unstoppable Force DeltrusDisc's Avatar
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    Almost all of my computer knowledge is attributed to the computer forums here on mmo-champion!

    Thus I decided to in turn, turn around and give back to the community and am now one of the big regulars trying to help out over there with peoples' computer issues/builds and talking about new hardware.

    It's all thanks especially to folks like Asera, tetrisGOAT, Cilraaz, llDemonll, Cyanotical, Asmekiel, Marest, Saithes, Haxartus, vesseblah, and others I am forgetting the names of.
    "A flower.
    Yes. Upon your return, I will gift you a beautiful flower."

    "Remember. Remember... that we once lived..."

    Quote Originally Posted by mmocd061d7bab8 View Post
    yeh but lava is just very hot water

  14. #54
    Generally, any new information should be considered knowledge and make anyone more knowledgeable. The important thing is to be able to fact-check and critique if this particular post holds up to those standards. Failure to do so will result in bad knowledge, aka ignorance.

    Overall, I consider myself to have learned a great deal from arguing with people on the Internet. It has even helped my poor confidence (if you check my post history way back, you'll notice I wasn't very active and rarely posted), when I know that facts are on my side I can start to feel a bit more confident in myself.
    I also learn what subjects I should avoid, because I lack the knowledge or interest in them, it's better to remain silent than to speak your mind if you are unsure. And either I keep gathering information by reading posts or scour somewhere else on the web, to gather more.
    "In order to maintain a tolerant society, the society must be intolerant of intolerance." Paradox of tolerance

  15. #55
    Knowledgeable =/= intelligent.

    Have I learned of a few events I otherwise would have never seen? Sure. But overall, forums tend to only make me lose faith in humanity.

  16. #56
    Herald of the Titans theredviola's Avatar
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    Indirectly, yes. They have. By that I mean, by posting on public forums I am more aware of the impact of my words (no matter the topic), and the importance of accurate research. While my schooling taught me which academic resources to use, forums have taught me a few different ways to find and authenticate information on the internet.
    "Do not only practice your art, but force yourself into its secrets, for it and knowledge can raise men to the divine." -- Ludwig Van Beethoven

  17. #57
    Deleted
    Well, I tended to steer away from the general offtopic forum of the old Blizzard site, because of the many unhinged discussions that cropped up there; some of them quite funny, most of them along the "Wow is dying!" or "All hail Blizzard!" lines. I followed this forum to try to see if there were any ideas behind these sweeping assertions, my own experience in Wrath was making me ambivalent about the direction the game was going and I was compelled to find out how other people saw the changes.

    I think I've learned that people tend to muddy the waters in arguments, whether deliberately or unconsciously, which can make it impossible to have a clear and direct discussion. That's a lesson I've learned, I guess, I don't know if it has made me smarter! This is different from other forums I frequent which are more related to my interests rather than hobbies.
    Last edited by mmoc2f7dfebfb1; 2013-02-24 at 08:16 PM.

  18. #58
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    They have not made me smarter, but I now know how cowardly, spineless and biased people can be when they are anonymous.

  19. #59
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    Yes and no.

    It has opened my mind to ideas and beliefs from other countries.

  20. #60
    Epic! Gemini Sunrise's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by RICH1471 View Post
    They have not made me smarter, but I now know how cowardly, spineless and biased people can be when they are anonymous.
    You had to go to a public forum to realize that? I mean, shit, people are like that in real life, why wouldn't they be like that anywhere else?

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