2017 Top Ten of Polemic for Philosophy

Network topology

Network topology is the arrangement of the elements of a communication network. Network topology can be used to define or describe the arrangement of various types of telecommunication networks, including command and control radio networks, industrial fieldbusses and computer networks

Demagogue

A demagogue or rabble-rouser is a political leader in a democracy who gains popularity by arousing the common people against elites, especially through oratory that whips up the passions of crowds, appealing to emotion by scapegoating out-groups, exaggerating dangers to stoke fears, lying for emotional effect, or other rhetoric that tends to drown out reasoned deliberation and encourage fanatical popularity. Demagogues overturn established norms of political conduct, or promise or threaten to do so

Power politics

Power politics is a theory in international relations which contends that distributions of power and national interests, or changes to those distributions, are fundamental causes of war and of system stability

Honesty

Honesty or truthfulness is a facet of moral character that connotes positive and virtuous attributes such as integrity, truthfulness, straightforwardness, including straightforwardness of conduct, along with the absence of lying, cheating, theft, etc. Honesty also involves being trustworthy, loyal, fair, and sincere

Subjective idealism

Subjective idealism, or empirical idealism, is a form of philosophical monism that holds that only minds and mental contents exist. It entails and is generally identified or associated with immaterialism, the doctrine that material things do not exist. Subjective idealism rejects dualism, neutral monism, and materialism; indeed, it is the contrary of eliminative materialism, the doctrine that all or some classes of mental phenomena do not exist, but are sheer illusions

Qaisar

Qaisar is the Arabic version of the name Caesar and it is used as a given name in Arabia. The Roman and later Byzantine emperors were called Qaisar-e-Rum by the Arabs and Persians. The Ottoman Sultans also took the title Kayser-i Rum after conquering Constantinople, modern Istanbul, on May 29, 1453. The British monarchs also used the title Kaisar-i-Hind or Emperor of India during the late 19th and early 20th-century

Meme pool

A meme pool is the sum total of all memes present in a given human population. The term is analogous to gene pool. The meme pool is in essence the matrix of the whole of the culture of a population. Because the memes of instruction of production of material culture are included, then the entire culture, including material culture and interactions between individuals is determined by information held within the meme pool. The state of a meme pool determines what sort of memes will be reproductive, and in

World's Biggest Liar

World's Biggest Liar is an annual competition for telling lies, held in Cumbria, England. Competitors from around the world have five minutes to tell the biggest and most convincing lie they can. Competition rules bar the use of props or scripts. Politicians and lawyers are not allowed to enter the competition, because "they are judged to be too skilled at telling porkies

Trypophobia

Trypophobia is an aversion to the sight of irregular patterns or clusters of small holes or bumps. It is not officially recognized as a mental disorder, but may be diagnosed as a specific phobia if excessive fear and distress occur. Most affected people mainly experience disgust but not fear when they see trypophobic imagery. A minority of people experience the same level of fear and disgust, and a few express only disgust or fear

Stereotypes of Americans

Stereotypes of American people can today be found in virtually all cultures. They are often manifest in America's own television and in the media's portrayal of the United States as seen in other countries, but can also be spread by literature, art, and public opinion. Not all of the listed stereotypes are equally popular, nor are they all restricted towards Americans; and although most can be considered negative, a few actually assign neutral or even positive or admiring qualities to the stereotypical U