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Social Discussions / Science and Technology / Re: Social effects if Aliens were confirmed?
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on: April 25, 2008, 04:22:41 PM
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wasn't there a twilight zone episode about this? aliens had invaded a town, and caused a power outage and people grew fearful of the unknown, which led them to turn on each other. the aliens were able to destroy the town without actually attacking anyone. I guess the moral was that we're just so brutish by nature, that in times of peril, we'll just kill ourselves or each other because of prejudices ... or something along those lines. The episode was titled, "The monsters on maple street" (one of the best episodes!) http://youtube.com/watch?v=LzAGZHOqH74&feature=relatedDamn straight. Like many people, I believe that the Twilight Zone is the foremost resource on human nature. |
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Social Discussions / Philosophy and Religion / Re: Guided Evolution?
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on: March 09, 2008, 07:58:18 AM
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I believe evolution to be wrong, if there is evolution then why to we not see the transgression. Now some people say it is slow and happens over thousands of years so we do not see it. My argument is we should still see the morphing progress, I mean we should see different species in different stages for eg. going to gorilla to man. We do not stay one species for thousand of years and then just leap into a completely different species. People who support the pro-evolution also state how similar or genetic make up is to that of primate, and the house cats to the likes of a tiger. Well all I can say to that is it is just similar, it does not mean one evolved from one to the other. I just want to ask those who are pro-evolution why are there no species walking around in a sort of in between stage. Or does a pregnant gorilla just pop out a human child at some stage.
I urge you to educate yourself on the mechanisms of evolution by natural selection before presenting an opinion on the topic - no one will take you seriously otherwise. |
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Social Discussions / Philosophy and Religion / Re: How my (ahtiest) view of religion has recently changed
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on: March 09, 2008, 07:52:37 AM
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But to deny that those who saw it for themself....would be so willing to be tortured and sacrificed for what they KNOW to be a lie is quite a stretch.....
Why be tortured and die for a peasant from Nazareth if it was all a lie?
Why would you die a horrible death from poison all for the sake of some sunglasses-wearing monkey salesman? What kind of example is this supposed to be? The moments before the final decision to die brought resistance from a few, but armed guards who surrounded the room shot many of them. Of the estimated 1100 people believed to have been present at “Jonestown” at the time, 913 died, including Jim Jones; the rest somehow escaped into the jungle. It is not certain whether Jones shot himself or was shot by an unknown person.No ability to recant without being shot? How does this mirror what martyed Christians endured? Many of them drank the poison willingly. Some mothers even knowingly fed it to their children. And you yourself admitted that many Christians denouced their faith when faced with torture... seems like Christianity and the People's Temple are pretty much on even ground. Furthermore, the psychotic devotion (it seems that, depending on what faith you follow, it's either "psychotic fanatacism" or "brave martyrdom") of ancient Christians prove nothing other than that Christianity fits neatly into the definition of a cult, albeit a widely-accepted cult. How can you say that the Christian martyrs are holy, courageous, and of a true faith while the numerous Muslim suicide "martyrs" and comet-riding cultists all worship false idols and so on? I struggle to see how your argument makes any damn sense. |
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Social Discussions / Philosophy and Religion / Re: Philosophy Collides with Maths Homework
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on: March 08, 2008, 10:49:31 PM
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There are five equally sized discs, two identical red discs and one each of blue, green and white. In how many ways can these discs be stacked if the two red discs must be together on the top or on the bottom? This was a rather poorly worded question that appeared on the Irish Maths Leaving Cert. a few years ago. It caused an argument (essentially between me and my maths teacher) in our class that reminded me very much of a philosophical debate we had here a while ago about Star Trek and identity and zombies (Callum will remember). The answer I got was: 2*2*3! My reasoning: 2 ways to arrange the two red discs * 2 for top and bottom * 3 factorial for the other 3 discs. However, he disagreed with the first two. The two discs were identical, he said, hence order did not matter. So the answer was 2*3! The argument was about identity: I argued that there are two ways to stack two objects, even if they happen to look the same. Similarly, I would say that with a Star Trek transporter, what you have is two separate individuals. Spock et al do not teleport, they are killed and a copy of them is created elsewhere. (If you are lost it is because I'm talking about an old thread that most people weren't involved in.) You were (of course?) correct. The disagreement comes from an equivocal use of 'identical' and I am suprised that a mathematician din't see it. The two red discs are not 'mathematically' identical. They are similar: they have identical properties IN MOST RESPECTS, but not all their properties are identical - notably their location in timespace. By contrast, the planet Hesperus is identical to the planet Phosphorus (and both are identical to Venus). One plus one is identical to two. Personal identity is another matter. Mathematically speaking the person who began writing this sentence is not the same as the person who typed this full stop -> . I am spatially displaced from that entity, the compostion of part of my blood is different, some skin cells have decayed and fallen off, etc. Identity-through-time is quite a challenge to define. Locke came up with psychological continuity. That seems to cover the Star Trek disjunction IF (BIG if) you can accept the break in spatial continuity..... I imagine our theist friends would be divided on that as the philosophical community. Max seems to be having it both ays by using 'replica'. I'm simply remarking upon the absurdity of the whole Star Trek teleport thing - you don't actually teleport, you die, game over, insert coin. It's a completely different being that walks out the other end, albeit one with all your memories and genes and cool blue shirt. |
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Assistance and Feedback / The Lobbyist (Off Topic) / Re: My new remote
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on: March 08, 2008, 11:41:05 AM
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Why would there be a "-" for boobs?
Maybe it is for the man  I must admit, I did ask that question myself. Its not a button that I would ever wear out through over use, but everyone has their own taste  BTW good to see you Max. What have you been up to? What is news in the life of Max? Nothing, really. My boss is still a phenominal idiot, my classmates are still hugely annoying, and I still get called a sociopath on a daily basis. The usual. Anything new here I should know about? A recent influx of /b/tards or Stormfront posters I should know about? |
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Political Discussions / Global and Other Regions / Re: Part of the world is starving to death...
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on: March 07, 2008, 08:16:41 PM
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Here's an idea - cannibalism.
In theory, it would work fine, and if the hungry people around the world don't develop a taste for human flesh, then at least we got rid of the obese people and drastically lowered the price of tallow, soap and lard.
I, for one, subsist on a diet of Nutella, green apples, and crepes, and consume about 30% less than I should. I'm doing my part.
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Social Discussions / Philosophy and Religion / Re: How my (ahtiest) view of religion has recently changed
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on: March 07, 2008, 07:54:51 PM
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The minds of our ancestors attempted to find answers to questions which were beyond their understanding and they created stories, myths and religion to create a world that made sense, a world that helped them to survive. This doesn't account for eyewitness testimony of the Apostles or anyone else who witnessed Christ, or the fact these people were tortured and crucified upside down for their belief in Him....all they had to do was recant...unless of course, you believe people are willing to be tortured to perpetuate what they know in their heart to be a lie. They certainly didn't think it was a lie - they just made it up as they went along, and scarfed down their own stories like a freshly-fried churro. It's called self-delusion. All cults have it. |
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Social Discussions / Philosophy and Religion / Re: Philosophy Collides with Maths Homework
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on: March 07, 2008, 07:52:39 PM
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Well, for a start, you're correct, obviously.
Secondly, I've always wondered about that Star Trek thing - didn't they realize they were walking to their deaths? It's not like it's all "oh, you'll be fine, a slight tingle is all, that's just the atomization. But you'll be fine, because there'll be a replica of you on the other end!"
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