I used to play SMAUG based muds, the one I played the most was called The Seventh Circle at mud.oro.net. I miss it, it was very fun. Also played Legend of The Red Dragon a lot on the BBS age.
Being addicted to muds was the main reason for me not touching WoW ever, if I was addicted to something that was text only, I wonder what would happen with something so cool as WoW. I'd probably loose my family, friends and job.
I agree low probabilities are meaningful, but we don't have enough facts to base the probability on this matter. Anyway, we could go on forever with this and never agree with each other. I understand your point, but it's not enough to change my beliefs in the existence of a "god", even if Occam's razor say it's less probable.
Probability means chance, and if there's chance anything can happen. So we are back in the beginning. You can tell me "yeah but there's a chance of only 0.000001%", still that doesn't prove it didn't happen.
I think Evolution is an undeniable fact, and it's also a little obvious, we are hairless monkeys with bigger brains. The Big Bang too I believe could have happened, and when I say "could" that's because I can't be sure about something that happened 13 billion years ago, but it sure makes more sense than God creating things out of nowhere.
But I also believe there's a God, and by God I don't mean "an oversized white male with a flowing beard, who sits in the sky" (borrowing some of Carl Sagan's words), but an immensely higher consciousness. The existence of that God does not go against Evolution. The laws of nature applies to everything, everywhere: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080517.html
That's my opinion, based on scientific facts and personal/philosophical beliefs.
A creationist who almost don't disagree with evolution? I'd really like to know more about your creational beliefs, could you explain it in more details?
Disclaimer: I don't want to argue with you or anything, I'm just interested in hearing other people beliefs, that's great to open the mind and evolve your thinking.
The problem is americans must always be the pioneers in every field, if they are not, then they think it's bullshit. Of course that kind of thinking wouldn't last forever, and now they're pioneers on financial crisis.
I agree there's no good or bad, those are just concepts created by men. Think of the death of a star, it kills all planets orbiting it and anything living on them. That's good or bad? It's just the way things are, good or bad depends on the point of view. It is bad for any living beings habitating a planet, they will cease to exist. But it's good for the other solar systems that will be created by this event. And that's just my point of view, you could come up with an infinity of different points, and you probably wouldn't be wrong.
'Self' and 'external reality' are not the same thing, self is an aspect of reality, but not the same thing. Again, 'self' and 'external reality' are concepts and it all depends on points of view. 'Self' or 'will' cannot be separated from reality, nothing can, by definition everything is included in reality.
We created words when the gestures and screams became too ineffective to communicate, but reality is so complex that it is impossible to describe it for good with words. Words are vague and subject to interpretation, of course they do a much better work than gestures alone, but even so it's so far away from a perfectly description of reality. This process of looking for new ways of doing something when the old way is not effective anymore, we chose to call evolution. We are not better than animals, but by definition we are certainly more evolved, that's what I meant in my past reply.
Anyway, that's my point of view and it's not immutable, hearing (reading in this case) other person's point of view is a good way to learn. But if the sense of self is just another track in the movie, who is the movie?
This was no more right or wrong than a rat eating its babies, or a lion killing an antelope. Shit happens. We punish transgressions like this not because the act is wrong or bad, but because it is ineffective, it doesn't work for society, and we are programmed to uphold what is right.
I agree with almost all you've typed, but not on this. You're putting humans in the same level of rats. Murder may be ok for animals, but it clearly isn't for humans.
Consciousness and intelligence come with responsibility, we don't see rats flying probes to Mars.
I fail to see the connection between being a spammer and being a murder-suicide in the making. Basically, we're all self-centered. Do I care about your wellbeing? Not really. Do you care about mine? I doubt it. Does that mean we will leap at each other's throat the moment we spot each other? Dunno about you, but I won't. Usually, people don't care too much about people they don't know.
Sad but true, that's one of the world's worst problem.
It's so easy to criticize behind computer screen. No one knows what he's been through. Nothing justifies the killing of his wife (maybe she agreed?) and daughter (this one has no maybes), but we just don't know what really happened, and never will. So I prefer not to judge.
Slashdot Mirror
"... until Mars is full and we start making wars there too"
I didn't post an anti-MS comment. The story is about an operating system, it's natural for questions about operating systems to arise.
Ok, I'm not offended by your post.
I'm not throwing punches at Microsoft, I'm just curious. Anyway, I didn't know you read Slashdot, Bill...
I wonder how many lines of code Windows has
They should make a Monkey Island MMO. I miss the good old days of Lucasarts.
I used to play SMAUG based muds, the one I played the most was called The Seventh Circle at mud.oro.net. I miss it, it was very fun. Also played Legend of The Red Dragon a lot on the BBS age. Being addicted to muds was the main reason for me not touching WoW ever, if I was addicted to something that was text only, I wonder what would happen with something so cool as WoW. I'd probably loose my family, friends and job.
So do you really believe that god created the universe in 6 days?
Recorded sightings in the Bible? Please exemplify.
I'd say in the galaxy's core, because of the older stellar population.
I agree low probabilities are meaningful, but we don't have enough facts to base the probability on this matter. Anyway, we could go on forever with this and never agree with each other. I understand your point, but it's not enough to change my beliefs in the existence of a "god", even if Occam's razor say it's less probable.
Probability means chance, and if there's chance anything can happen. So we are back in the beginning. You can tell me "yeah but there's a chance of only 0.000001%", still that doesn't prove it didn't happen.
I think Evolution is an undeniable fact, and it's also a little obvious, we are hairless monkeys with bigger brains. The Big Bang too I believe could have happened, and when I say "could" that's because I can't be sure about something that happened 13 billion years ago, but it sure makes more sense than God creating things out of nowhere.
But I also believe there's a God, and by God I don't mean "an oversized white male with a flowing beard, who sits in the sky" (borrowing some of Carl Sagan's words), but an immensely higher consciousness. The existence of that God does not go against Evolution. The laws of nature applies to everything, everywhere: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080517.html
That's my opinion, based on scientific facts and personal/philosophical beliefs.
Occam's razor is also an assumption.
A creationist who almost don't disagree with evolution? I'd really like to know more about your creational beliefs, could you explain it in more details? Disclaimer: I don't want to argue with you or anything, I'm just interested in hearing other people beliefs, that's great to open the mind and evolve your thinking.
Look, a beautiful sunspot is going on today: http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/data/realtime/eit_284/512/
The problem is americans must always be the pioneers in every field, if they are not, then they think it's bullshit. Of course that kind of thinking wouldn't last forever, and now they're pioneers on financial crisis.
Quoting the article: "with over 200 days so far with no observed sunspots" That's wrong.
I agree there's no good or bad, those are just concepts created by men. Think of the death of a star, it kills all planets orbiting it and anything living on them. That's good or bad? It's just the way things are, good or bad depends on the point of view. It is bad for any living beings habitating a planet, they will cease to exist. But it's good for the other solar systems that will be created by this event. And that's just my point of view, you could come up with an infinity of different points, and you probably wouldn't be wrong.
'Self' and 'external reality' are not the same thing, self is an aspect of reality, but not the same thing. Again, 'self' and 'external reality' are concepts and it all depends on points of view. 'Self' or 'will' cannot be separated from reality, nothing can, by definition everything is included in reality.
We created words when the gestures and screams became too ineffective to communicate, but reality is so complex that it is impossible to describe it for good with words. Words are vague and subject to interpretation, of course they do a much better work than gestures alone, but even so it's so far away from a perfectly description of reality. This process of looking for new ways of doing something when the old way is not effective anymore, we chose to call evolution. We are not better than animals, but by definition we are certainly more evolved, that's what I meant in my past reply.
Anyway, that's my point of view and it's not immutable, hearing (reading in this case) other person's point of view is a good way to learn. But if the sense of self is just another track in the movie, who is the movie?
This was no more right or wrong than a rat eating its babies, or a lion killing an antelope. Shit happens. We punish transgressions like this not because the act is wrong or bad, but because it is ineffective, it doesn't work for society, and we are programmed to uphold what is right.
I agree with almost all you've typed, but not on this. You're putting humans in the same level of rats. Murder may be ok for animals, but it clearly isn't for humans. Consciousness and intelligence come with responsibility, we don't see rats flying probes to Mars.
I fail to see the connection between being a spammer and being a murder-suicide in the making. Basically, we're all self-centered. Do I care about your wellbeing? Not really. Do you care about mine? I doubt it. Does that mean we will leap at each other's throat the moment we spot each other? Dunno about you, but I won't. Usually, people don't care too much about people they don't know.
Sad but true, that's one of the world's worst problem.
Yes, I'm new on posting comments, been reading them for some time. But I'm also judging, not him, you.
It's so easy to criticize behind computer screen. No one knows what he's been through. Nothing justifies the killing of his wife (maybe she agreed?) and daughter (this one has no maybes), but we just don't know what really happened, and never will. So I prefer not to judge.