Useful knowledge - here on ATS

I think most people will agree with the statement that knowledge is USEFUL.

At the most basic level it helps us to understand the world and helps us to cope with problems accordingly.

If your car won't start, you know that probably something is wrong with the way the machinery usually works. So, you try to fix that, or pay somebody knowledgeble to do that for you.

At another level knowledge gives us the ability to make reasonable predictions. For example: You know that things which are made of glass have high chance of shattering when dropped. So you can predict that the vase you are holding would probably do just that, if you dropped it (you don't need to actually drop it to make this reasonable prediction).

My question is: What topics were actually USEFUL to your everyday life? What knowledge did you gain here, that improved your life in some way, or gave you an edge in a situation?

Well I usually come here for any news that happened during the day. I also learn new words from some very smart people here

My debating skills have vastly improved from being here....

Des

Originally posted by Destinyone
My debating skills have vastly improved from being here....

Des

Well, that's a skill.

I was talking about information.
What useful information did you get here?

reply to post by Xenoglossy


Survival knowledge has been plentiful here. I'm kind of just getting into my "prepper" type plans, and the folks here have been great sources of help and knowledge. Not just for some weird scenario either. Prepping has helped me weather unemployment, a problem with a water pipe, and all kinds of other strange minor scenarios.

Most of the knowledge here in most forums has little or no "practical" application, but I'm glad for it all the same.

Originally posted by Gazrok

Most of the knowledge here in most forums has little or no "practical" application, but I'm glad for it all the same.

Good entertainment, right?

Oh I also learned how to protect electronics from a solar flare!

Originally posted by Xenoglossy

Originally posted by Destinyone
My debating skills have vastly improved from being here....

Des

Well, that's a skill.

I was talking about information.
What useful information did you get here?

Many fine recipes from the food forum. As Gazrok said...some very valuable information from the survival forum, as I'm considered a medium level prepper.

Changes in laws that directly affect me, I've read on ATS first.

Des

reply to post by Xenoglossy


There is an indirect effect that needs to be taken into consideration regarding this question. Sometimes even the most outlandish threads will lead to me using search engines to help gain a bit of education about whatever the specific subject matter might be.

So, even when a thread doesn't really have any internal educational value - they will often have the side-effect of informing by association.

reply to post by Xenoglossy


Well, I pay close attention to the radiation issues that are kept up to date here, because my young children play on beaches and eat fish that could make them very sick if the levels rose dramatically from more events.

I have found useful information in the survival forum as well, and not because I am even a "prepper" but because I spend a good portion of my summers out in the wilderness with 2 young boys.

I am with Des, there are some great recipes in the food and cooking forum, that I have fed my family with.

I watch US politics pretty closely too, they are changing our way of life before our eyes, I feel bad for my kids that they will live in a different world as adults. I also make sure that my son is learning about our literature, science, math and other basic skills so that he has a better chance later on.

I am not out of .22 ammo.

I started a garden thread months ago, and within it, I was informed of plants that will grow better for me, special gardening methods and other ways to improve the food production in my gardens. I also have more reasons to feed my family myself after reading here.

As a mom of 2 young boys with no backup, no gramma's or auntie's around, I have found kindness here as well that affect my daily life. Sometimes all one needs to hear is " It's okay" and a day can change entirely for the better. Just the knowledge that anyone cares is huge.

I could go on still, but I think I have made my point. This is a good community, with good people.
Some thoughts are off the wall, I know I don't come across the way I would like all of the time, but if we can't think out of the box then we may as well just go back to sleep.

Originally posted by Hefficide
reply to post by Xenoglossy

 

There is an indirect effect that needs to be taken into consideration regarding this question. Sometimes even the most outlandish threads will lead to me using search engines to help gain a bit of education about whatever the specific subject matter might be.

So, even when a thread doesn't really have any internal educational value - they will often have the side-effect of informing by association.

This reasoning can be applied to virtually anything. You can read a Duck Tales comic which might lead to you researching about Eldorado, or something.

My point is: if there is valuable knowledge here - especially in the conspiracy area (which is directly intertwined with politics!!!), this should give you some kind of edge, right?

If you know that Microsoft is going to develop Windows 9 and it's going to be awesome - you can profit on the stock market. Especially if you are ONE OF THE FEW who know about this. Now here on ATS people constantly claim to know things that most people (or even established scientists) don't know. Wouldn't this normally put every ATS-reader into a position of advantage - compared to the masses?

One would expect that it should - provided the knowledge is something that is REAL (as opposed to blatant lies and fanfiction).

I guess my knowledge isn't good enough....

Originally posted by woodsmom
reply to post by Xenoglossy

 

...radiation issues ...
...survival forum...
...some great recipes in the food and cooking forum...
...US politics...
...informed of plants...

Interestingly enough, none of these things are the topics which ATS is known for.

Originally posted by woodsmom
reply to post by Xenoglossy

 

This is a good community, with good people.
Some thoughts are off the wall, I know I don't come across the way I would like all of the time, but if we can't think out of the box then we may as well just go back to sleep.

I don't doubt that. And thinking out of the box is why I am here.
But "off the wall" doesn't even begin to describe what is going on in the more prominent forums (not talking about survival and cooking here)

reply to post by Xenoglossy


Even outside of ATS there is a fine edge to walk with regard to this concept. Businesses live and die by their ability to discern trends, evaluate rumors about their competition and the market - all used to assess risk and react pre-emptively.

Sometimes the rumors are wrong and companies lose money. Sometimes the information is right ( or right enough ) and the companies make money.

ATS is the same in that regard. Discernment is a vital part of the process. My personal area of interest is digital freedom. Over the years I have read about many of the upcoming issues in that field here before any other sites carried the news. In a few cases it was here days or even weeks ahead of the journals and watchdog sites.

That is, however, counterbalanced by the fact that I've read things here that never came to be and which turned out to be way off base.

I don't know if I would claim advantage or not, based upon ATS. But I will say that chance does favor the prepared mind and ATS is part of the process I personally use to stay prepared.

Originally posted by Casualboy100
I guess my knowledge isn't good enough....

I feel the same....the OP should have been more specific as to what he considers *knowledge*....

I've posted twice in his thread...not good enough..I guess...

Des

reply to post by Xenoglossy

I can tell a major thread right off the top and without even having to think about it... Not just useful, but profitable.

Dummies guide to gold bullion refining at home

which naturally followed....

Dummies guide to silver bullion refining at home

The Survival forum is a wealth of information for practical knowledge too. A lot of it is horse puckey too, so judgement and discretion is always required ...but I find much of the information here to be as valuable as other examples may be worthless.

I never stayed on a online forum like i did on ATS. Even tho im more of a skeptic, i bet if something happens to me and police are involved, they going to look at my ATS browsing and gonna coin me as a conspiracy nut and add excuses to why i did what i did.

- ATS bring me everyday news, i'm too lazy to look up everyday news manually.
- I used to think every politics in the western country is like Canada, boy was i wrong about America, two opposite side.
- Religion/Origin/Evo0lution debate what actually sold me on ATS, people i encountered in real life seemed to be too ignorant, i guess religious are more common than others, but ATS had like minded people. People that knew why monkeys are still here with humans. Learned more about Christianities and pagan past, no way that's happening in church.
- Learned about crazy conspiracies like Chem trail and reptilians, sorry no offense, i simply can't believe it.
-Rant section taught me, people go thru the same frustration as i do.

Anyway ATS is like bunch of news in one site!

Originally posted by Destinyone
I feel the same....the OP should have been more specific as to what he considers *knowledge*....

I feel that I have specified this well enough, but there you go:

Some kind of information that you can't get on say ... CNN, but which still has an impact on your life and is USEFUL.

For an extreme (and extremely unlikely) example: Somebody on ATS posts that the aliens will start invading the north hemisphere beginning on July 4, 2013. You read this, you freak out and move to Australia. July the 4th arrives and out of nowhere freaking Grays take over the northern hemisphere. Now you could say: "Holy #! ATS really saved my butt. Now that's some USEFUL information I got there."

But nothing of this nature happened, right? Not even on a much, much smaller scale.


I mean the average ATS member might delude himself into thinking that there is lots of potentially important stuff here. You can read about reptilians, secret governments, secret space programs, underground bases - all HIGHLY SECRET of course, but the information still leaks out somehow.

I wonder why nobody leaked something about the financial crisis before it happened. That would have been USEFUL to a lot of people.

reply to post by Xenoglossy


OK...I'm following you, somewhat. How about this. A thread I started last week on very valuable life affecting information. A lot of people posting in that thread, at least seem to think so...does this count?

The title of your thread is *Useful Knowledge*

It's not about UFO's and secret underground bases...but it sure has changed my life. ATS and what people get from it, means many things to many people. That's why we have such a large membership...and readership. The diversity of knowledge here is ever expanding.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Without being on ATS, and learning what I've learned here...I would have never even thought to make such a thread.

Des

Originally posted by Destinyone
reply to post by Xenoglossy

 

OK...I'm following you, somewhat. How about this. A thread I started last week on very valuable life affecting information. A lot of people posting in that thread, at least seem to think so...does this count?

Exactly what I am talking about. Not some lunacy with no consequences whatsoever, but actual information that affects people.