Things it takes most people 50 years to learn

1. The main purpose of a government it to provide entertainment for the people.
2. How bad a movie is has a direct correlation to the number of helicopters in it.
3. The greatest force in the universe is gossip.
4. If you, in one word, were to describe why humanity will never achieve their full potential, that word is "meetings".
5. Nobody cares if you are a good dancer, just go up and dance.
6. Never say anything to a woman which might in the slightest indicate that she is pregnant unless you see the baby exiting her at that very moment.
7. A buck saved isn't worth crap.
8. There is never going to be peace in the Middle East, regardless of how many peace-talks they have. A billion years from now, when the Earth is hurtling towards the sun and the only living things left are microorganism, the microorganism in the Middle East will still be mortal enemies.
9. The one fact that unites all people, regardless of age, sex, religion, economic situation or race, is that, in the back of their mind, the believe themselves to be a better driver than anyone else.
10. There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big thing of you birthday. That time is around the age of eleven.
11. There is not much difference between a hobby and an mental illness.
12. People who want to share their religious experiences with you seldom want you to share your religious experiences with them.
13. Nobody is normal.
14. A least once a year a group of researchers will announce one of the following:
    • The universe is bigger than was previously thought.
    • There are more subatomic particles than was previously thought.
    • Whatever was said about global warming last year is wrong.
15. Do not confuse you career with your life.
16. Somebody who is nice to you, but not to the waitress, is not a nice person.
17. No matter how ridiculous something is, somebody will find a way to take it seriously.
18. As the problems keep piling up and things are starting to look grim, there will be somebody who has a solution and is willing to take charge. That person is usually completely insane.

In defense of Philosophy

As part of my studies I'm required to take a course on holding presentations. It is a small group of people where we hold presentations for each other every week. I'm supposed to hold a presentation where I defend the study of philosophy. With the group of people I am in this is going to be a challenge. I got two students of economy, one veterinary, one paleontologist, one computer scientist and somebody that does something related to viruses. Their opinions of philosophy starts with "a colossal waste of time and resources" and goes downhill from there.

Do you guys have any good ideas about what I might say to get through to this close-minded bunch of, um, people.

Greatest Christmas Songs

For something more seasonal, what are the greatest Christmas songs?

Nordic Humor

A Norwegian decided to do some research into Norway's IT history so he dug a hole ten meters deep and found a copper cable. Based on this he concluded that Norway had networked communication a hundred years ago. A Swede heard about this and decided to do the same experiment. He dug a hole twenty meters deep and also found a copper cable. Based on this he concluded that Sweden had networked communications two hundred years ago. A Finn heard about this and decided to do the same thing. He dug a hole thirty meters deep, but didn't find a thing. Based on this he concluded Finland had wireless communication three hundred years ago.

Deduce God's existence

One of the questions, or tasks, in the admissions test to the philosophical department here was: "Correctly deduce God's existence."

How would you go about doing this?