I am a big fan of fanatics

[Jon Miller]

or at least think that they are neccessary

it is fanatics that make life interesting, and are in some way (directly or indirectly) responsible for much of what is valauble that is in our history (and much which is painful I agree)

just an uninteresting example, without fanatics to opose him, Hitler would have won WW2 and the world would be a much worse place

some of my thinking is colored by the book "Soldier, Ask Not", has anyone read it?

basically, fanatics, of one form or another, are what cause conflict, which allows a competition between ideas

this I think is valuable

so what do others think?

care to join me in celibrating fanaticism?

Jon Miller

[Traianvs]

erm right... If you think fighting wth eachother is more necessary than talking with eachother then that's... your opinion...

PS: Hitler was a fanatic himself, so what if he hadn't been there then hmm?

[BeBMan]

Re: I am a big fan of fanatics

Originally posted by Jon Miller
basically, fanatics, of one form or another, are what cause conflict, which allows a competition between ideas

So everyone is a fanatic now? I mean people holding lots of different views even here at poly, and the debates can count as "competition between ideas" too. But if we're all fanatics the term does not make much sense anymore....

[Jon Miller]

everyone who is interesting is a fanatic about at least one thing

fanaticism does not imply violence

Gandhi was a anti violence fanatic

Jon Miller

[curtsibling]

Fanatics are fun, till you meet one face to face.

,

[Jon Miller]

I'm a fanatic about some things..
.
people who aren't fanatics are boring

and what is a point of life but to be interesting (I think this is the only one that all?? can agree to)

Jon Miller

[curtsibling]

I think you have to check your definition of fanatic.

.

[Jon Miller]

you should check yours

te people who are you are thinking of are just fanatic about things that you find particularly distasteful and counter to your way of life

the fact that you feel strongly abnout them causes me to beleive that youa re a fanatic also

the ACLU is another example of a group of fanatics

Jon Miller

[curtsibling]

Really?

I won't insult you with a dictionary definition, but be my guest and check for yourself.

True, most people feel strongly about various aspects, but you are using a broad brush here.

Compulsive behaviour - Is that a fanatical trait?

You are squandering the word, and using it to describe situations that it does not relate to.

Keyword? Terminology.

[duke o' york]

'Poly's better.

[Bereta_Eder]

fanatics dont change their views even if they're "wrong". that's why they're fanatics i think.
i.e. saying it is night when it is day?
if you take it in the context of war that's different

[Jon Miller]

a fanatic is marked by excessive enthusiasm for and intense devotion to a cause or idea

"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject"--Winston Churchill

I will tell you that a number of scientists are fanatics

and that is sometimes a good thing (Ludwig Boltzmann was a fanatic, he ended up killing himself when he thought that people would not follow his ideas about atoms)

Jon Miller

[Jon Miller]

basically fanatics are true beleivers

everyone else just sways in the wind, it is fanatics that make the wind blow

Jon Miller

[Bereta_Eder]

churchill always had a flair for nice quotes

[Bereta_Eder]

Originally posted by Jon Miller
basically fanatics are true beleivers

everyone else just sways in the wind, it is fanatics that make the wind blow

Jon Miller

again you put in the same pot different things. war, the supernatural (true believers) etc the behaviors of people change from "normal" when they engage in these sort of things.

in "normal" terms a fanatic is (besides an obnoxious person) someone who isn't interested in knowing if what he thinks is right or wrong. or a zealot who will try to convert others etc

i.e. a man with "Strong convictions" isnt a fanatic i think.
there is an hierarchy, different levels of "absolutism" a fanatic is somehwere at the top