Lars

@dansnell Dang,  it always amazes me that the Christians believe not only that there is a god, but also that the god is good.  What if the god is capricious, or spiteful?  No no no, they say.  On what do they base this?  Certainly not on the Old Testament- the New Testament might try to show god as the Cuddly One, but it fails over and over.  If,…[Read more]

@simonpaynton Simon, if you think I’m riding roughshod over statistical analysis, you do not understand statistical analysis.  You as an individual do not provide sufficient variety to form a statistic.  You need to combine a lot of people to reach statistical data requirements – the more people, the more likely a statistical finding is useful.  …[Read more]

Almost certainly is not certainly.  Tell me about this supernatural power as you see it (him?).  How is it not a coincidence that you needed that money and found it?  How many other times have you needed it and not found it?  People tend not to remember non-events in the same way they remember unusual coincidences.

Dang, thanks for the Hitch fix!

@simonpaynton Say what you mean, Simon.  What are you insinuating?  That there’s a supernatural entity affecting your life purposefully?

@simonpaynton Simon, please don’t tell me you are suspecting supernatural forces of working in your favour.  Please don’t.

@dansnell Dang, I’ve only just friended you.  I’d be really disappointed if you were to cease to exist just yet.  I’m looking forward to reading more from you.

Isaac Asimov once wrote a short story on this.  He had a scene where a super super computer had built a super super super one, until they had a huge (of course, size mattered in those days) computer with a huge ‘On’ switch and television cameras everywhere poised to record the first human GiantComputer interaction.  They switched it on.  Lights bl…[Read more]

The only difference between the purple pigs theory and the God/jesus theory is the number of people who believe some form of the latter.  Numbers do not equate to evidence.

You say you see tons of evidence.  Evidence that there is a supernatural force, or evidence that a bloke called Jesus was really god slumming it with the masses?  All the ‘m…[Read more]

Yes I saw, Belle. Once people get hung up on the term ‘universal’, I’ve noticed they like to apply it as often as possible.  On this planet, we have no automatic rights, as there is no autonomy to provide or police them.  In different communities, people can create rights as a part of their community only if they have a form of policing and a f…[Read more]

Maybe one day we will evolve to see through the trickery that carries the label, “free will”.

That’s the thing though, Dang.  Some people we used to have things in common with, have lead a life that shaped their perspectives until you no longer have whatever you used to have in common.  I’m always happy to let people slide away when we no longer talk much.  Some awesome friends have enriched my life and continue to do so.  Others were fab…[Read more]

He forgot to exist

It seems to me that ‘rights’ are a part of ‘club membership’. If you sit around a Kava bowl with a Fijian tribal family, you will discover that your local ‘rights’ are far different from what you have come to expect in your western domicile.  If you spend any length of time in any place other than your own, this becomes apparent very quickly.

In…[Read more]

@Diane beautiful post, thank you 🙂

Now mention Venezuela and that’s a different situation – one in which Triggger-happy-Trump has no business messing in.

Trump threatens Venezuela with ‘military option’
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-venezuela-military-idUSKBN1AR2GR

I’d be more comfortable if I could atheise at people.  ‘ism’ and ‘ist’ are very unsatisfactory verb fodder.

Belle – Russia is poised to attack who?  Are you saying Russia is an ally of North Korea?  Or are you envisioning Russia just attacking the USA without preamble?  I’m mystified as to why you mention Russia and how you feel they are integrated with the North Korea situation.

In any event, I don’t believe this will lead to a world war – I do think it’s possible that we have a contained war, but China has already stated that that if North Korea initiate aggression against the USA, and the USA retaliates, they will remain neutral.