.....What is it that distinguishes hardware and software?........
Ultimately, both hardware and software are from a mind. A human mind or minds in the case of computer technology. Our body hardware is determined by the software program stored in the DNA. We know that all computer programs, not matter where they reside or manipulated, come from a mind. The compiler originated in a mind. The universe is finite, both in time and space and so you cannot build an infinite anything. Infinity is a mathematical construct that has no counterpart in any measurable reality we know about.
(....We make poop,....)
But your mind decides it is time to go to the toilet, based on your the prompting of the bowels and the training your mother gave that mind when you were still in diapers.
(....Everything I make is temporary; must this also be true of the universe?.....)
Indeed everything, including the universe, has a beginning and an end. The universe has structure and operates by certain laws and principles, just as the machines we build. Why should that not be? We conceive of designs and build them with a purpose in mind. Why should this not also be true of the Universe? There is no such thing as random or chance if you have all information.
(....Calling something God....)
This article is about the existence of a Creator. It does not address who He might be or what He is like. That is something we can only know by faith if this Creator has chosen to reveal anything about Himself. I happen to BELIEVE that the Bible is God's revelation of Himself. You do not believe. Someday we'll both find out who was right.
.....In any case, consider the possibility that the matter and energy in the Universe have always been here......
First off, let me say that it is nice of you to take the time to make a thoughtful reply. For a long time it was an accepted theory that the universe is eternal. Einstein and many subsequent experimental tests of his math showed that the universe was finite both in time and space.
(....What is information? How do you prove it exists?....)
We know what information is. The is a branch of science called Information Science. In our modern contexts it most often associated with computers. You computer has hardware and software. It is the software, a product from the mind of a programmer that makes the hardware "come alive" and fulfill its purpose. The real you is eternal, complex software running on fragile, mortal hardware. Theologians call this software a "soul" or "spirit".
(.....So, are you telling me that gravity did not work until Newton formalized a law about it?......)
The laws of physics exist and we are still discovering them and using them for our own purposes. We did not formulate them, they are what they are. All human laws are products of human minds and all laws of physics are the product of a great Mind that transcends anything we can imagine. There is no faith there, just a logical extension of what we know and experience. Our minds make laws and so does the divine mind. As far as we know, gravity works the same way throughout the universe. The Bible, a book that you and many others despise, does indicate that one day the same Creator will make new rules for a new universe.
(....Also not true. I make poop. I make tracks when I walk in wet mud.....)
So then you have filled your pants since you did not first decide or perceive in your MIND that you had to take care of that bodily function and take a walk to the toilet?
(.....But in any case, all the atoms in my body are not identical......)
All atoms are composed of electrons, protons and all but hydrogen also have neutrons. These particles are all respectively identical. It is the selection and arrangement of these atoms that is controlled by information.
(....it's just the firing of some neurons in our brain....)
That is like saying the software in a computer is nothing more than the timing of the clock pulses in the CPU.
(....But our backups are subject to entropy.....)
Only the material media are subject to entropy. In computer and system design great effort of mind is expended to minimize this data loss. Jesus said that every man will one day have to account for every bit of information that each human mind has generated. You may not want to believe him, but I believe that anyone who can come up with a complex system such as the human brain-mind we have, can do such backups easily. One cupful of pure DNA can store more information than humanity has generated and might produce in the next 10,000 years. Pure information can be transmitted to and stored in multiple places and can be made safe from entropy. We do off-site backups to safeguard information against a local disaster.
(....we still have no proof that the Bible is true...)
This article is about the existence of a Creator. Discussing the nature of this Creator is another topic which you broached, but is really beside the point here. I do believe that the God of the Bible is the Creator and Yeshua is both for Jews and Gentiles, but that is a matter of faith. You obviously don't hold this faith right now.
Maybe, if you are truly honest, you can pray to this God. Tell him exactly how you feel, about Him. Tell him how disillusioned you are by all the hypocritical religiosity all around you. Tell Him frankly that you are angry at Him to the point of rather wanting to go to hell than to Him. Give Him all the reasons why you feel this way. Also tell Him in all honesty, that if He does reveal Himself to you, as He did to your ancestor Abraham, you will want to get to know and love Him with all your heart and being just like Abraham did. Try it. After all what have you got to lose?
....but based on those laws the brain is able to wire itself......
The brain is a very sophisticated hardware (wetware?) device. Just as the hardware and software in a computer are distinct, so are the brain and the MIND distinct. Your brain executes software put there by a programmer. It is this software that determines the real conscious you. In a computer it is the same. It is the software that determines the "personality" and activity of the computer. You can boot OSX or Windows XP on a piece of hardware that is made by Apple. The same physical computer has very different qualities, only depending on the software, a product of human minds.
All our experience demonstrates that software arise only by the activity of mind. This true of everything we are and make and it is true of the whole cosmos. It all begins in a mind and goes out from there. Physics and chemistry arose from processes in a mind, not the other way round. All human laws arise in human minds and all natural laws originated in a great mind. I call this mind Jesus Christ.
....We do quite a bit better when we work together.....
I guess we agree after all. Government (all my neighbors) is needed to protect me from this other muscular human who might want to us his weapons for selfish purposes. The panther however is still not in the equation.
....They certainly do. It's called natural selection.....
Natural selection can only work for IMPROVING the functionality of something that already exists. If there is nothing to select for, the very real Darwinian principle of natural selection is insufficient. Natural selection is not wrong but insufficient by itself. Materialistic atheists forget about the existence of information. Nobody has ever shown how information is anything other than the product of MIND. Matter and energy alone cannot make anything. They operate by laws, which are products of mind. Your brain operates by the laws of physics, first formulated within the mind of the Creator. An oil refinery or anything else we make is also first conceived in a human mind. Is it so inconceivable to you that a great mind first thought up the cosmos and all life? It may be unpleasant to contemplate the idea that you are responsible to this mind that thought you up. All atoms in your body are identical. It is information that makes you special. Information, if properly backed up is forever. It can be copied and re-created and is not subject to entropy. Calling this great Mind the Flying Spaghetti Monster changes absolutely nothing. You WILL answer to Him. I call Him Jesus Christ.
By the way, name calling is not a sign of intelligence and not a good use of your mind.
.....The fact that the matter that makes up my body will continue to exist......
You are right about that, but are leaving out the most important part. All materialists consider only matter and energy, but are neglecting to mention the immaterial part: INFORMATION. Just as a book is more than ink molecules and paper, so you are more than a carbon-chemical protoplasmic water bag. Everything you do and make first begins in your MIND. Being on/. likely has it that you earn your living by coming up with products of mind, such as software. The real you is software that happens to run in a CPU we call "brain". Just like we can load software into different hardware, so can the divine programmer keep a backup of you and someday load the real you into some new, better hardware. All atoms in your body and mine are identical. It is their arrangement, as determined by information (such as carried by DNA) that makes us different. Information in and of itself is immaterial and not subject to the constraints of matter and energy. One of these constraints that information is exempt from is entropy and by extension death. That information, the real you, your conscious self, will one day be loaded into a new pile of atoms and face the MIND that created it all. With the correct backup procedures, information is forever, even if a temporary carrier thereof is destroyed. Theologians have dubbed this information "soul" or "spirit".
Because there can be only one truth. Something is either true or not. Either there is a God or there isn't. There is either light or darkness. The universal religiosity of humans does not fit into the Darwinian paradigm of the survival of the fittest. Religions sap energy from survival rather than contribute. Building a Cathedral or going on religious wars confers a negative survival advantage. Spending time in prayer and meditation puts no bread on anybody's table, but consumes bread that others have worked for and might feed to their children. These are then well fed and survive to carry on human life. Mankind is incurably religious and this religious bent cannot be explained by naturalistic Darwinan philosophy.
I have been given the ultimate weapon against that Panther. That weapon is a brain with which I can devise weapons that will keep any number of Panthers at bay. No government is needed to keep me safe from a Panther, but it is needed to keep me safe from other humans and to keep them safe from me. If people observed the golden rule, governments would only be needed to allow us all to agree upon which side of the road to drive on.
.....our ancestors playing around with dinosaurs......
I don't imagine you'd play around with a Tyrannosaurus Rex either. More likely, you'd just frantically avoid becoming an afternoon snack for such a creature. In ancient times, in many cultures, they called these critters "dragons". Read last few chapter of the book of Job (part of the Bible) sometime to find out how a dinosaur might have impressed a human.
....anyone stupid enough to believe in creationism over evolution.....
Why does it have to one or the other? Darwin certainly made some valid points in his ideas of natural selection. However natural selection has to have working functions to select for and gradually improve over time. Natural explanations work for certain mechanisms of life, but cannot show how these arose through nothing more than the laws of physics. The interactions of ink on a page do not explain a poem or musical score on that paper. Why is it so hard to accept the idea of a mind wherein arose the laws by which everything operates. Darwin only discovered one of these laws. Everything we humans do first begins in someone's mind.
I'd like to see that proof. The fact is that all life struggles against death. That's why we have ambulances and ER departments and the entire medical establishment. The various conservation laws of physics all point in the opposite direction of your assertion. Nothing ever goes out of existence, but only changes form. Neither will you simply go out of existence when you die, but you will face the One who brought everything into existence. The real you is an information generator and neither you nor the information you generate every moment of your life will go out of existence. There WILL be a final judgment:
Revelation 20:11-13 And I saw a great white throne, and Him sitting on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And a place was not found for them. And I saw the dead, the small and the great, stand before God. And the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead in it. And death and hell delivered up the dead in them. And each one of them was judged according to their works.
.....since you seem to think that the only "family" that counts is a married heterosexual couple.......
You are getting some good exercise jumping to conclusions. Whether you like it or not, the human species happens to come in two flavors, male and female. Therefore is it so unreasonable to say that children require the input and discipline from both sexes as well? Historically, the marriage relationship between one male and one female has provided the best working model we know. Now that this model is beginning to crumble, education and our society as a whole is creaking and groaning and is beginning to crumble also. It is best if the male AND female involved are the mother and father, but it could also be grandparents or aunt and uncle. The point is, children need stable, loving input from a male and a female.
....The odd thing about the materialist is this: the materialist who wants to be rational has already departed from his materialism.......
It goes back at least one more level. A materialist is someone who ignores the most important component of the universe, the existence of information. Before anything can come into being, whether an airplane, computer or grass shack, someone has to WILL to want to make it and think about how to actually do it. The laws of ink and chemistry do not explain the arrangement of symbols that make up a play from Shakespeare or a symphony score from Beethoven. The laws of physics do not explain the arrangement of the DNA programming inherent in all living organisms. Indeed, the laws of physics determine how our world works. The materialistic matter-energy components do not determine these laws, but are governed by them. Therefore, the laws were laid down first in the mind of God and eternally operate the components of the universe. We also follow this procedure in everything we do. We think, imagine, conceptualize and plan with a goal in mind. We, unlike God, must use existing parts to assemble the products that begin their existence in our minds.
......Constitutions are normally used to keep governments in check and to GIVE rights to the people, not take them away.....
You are wrong. All that constitutions do is put down on paper rights that all humans already have. These are the inalienable rights given by our CREATOR. The founders of the USA knew that rights do not come from any government or from any other human source. Rights cannot be given by anyone who also cannot give life. Governments have always TAKEN both life and rights from people, because that is all they can do. No government anywhere on earth has ever given rights to anyone, anywhere at any time. Ever so slowly, our government is steadily taking away the God given rights people once had. It is thereby following the path that every government has ALWAYS gone.
.....This country's downfall will be its education system, mark my words....
No, it goes back another level, to the decay of the family. It doesn't take a village to raise a child, but it does take a mother AND a father. When two people bring children into this world and then BOTH of them don't take their full responsibility to raise said child the the fate of the nation is sealed if there too many such irresponsible people. Any child that doesn't get loving care and discipline from a mom AND a dad will be at a disadvantage over one that does, not matter how much tax money is thrown into so called "education". Without an intact family, everything else falls apart, mark my words.
.....Often, especially in the case of books of gospels, they were edited in an effort to keep them in the current idiom. Today, we struggle to find the earliest works so that we can know more about the original author's intent.........
What is interesting about the Bible and what surprised scholars when the Dead Sea scrolls were compared with existing copies of the same material, was the amazing agreement of these with the existing multiply copied ones. In the case of the Bible at least, the copying errors were much smaller than might be expected. None of the errors that did creep in affected the message in a material way.
Any technology that needs more than our human's built in senses to convey information would have to be used to keep that information current and accessible to our brains. Symbols on paper or other durable medium do not face this hurdle. The problem of deciphering the symbols remains however. We cannot read ones and zeroes, let alone make sense out of them. Conclusion: Print stuff out you want to keep for future generations. Doing this forces us to decide what to keep and what to forget. The sordid e-mails of Mr. Clinton need no print outs.
.....That's not an assumption, that's an observation....
The red shift is a primary observation. That was and is still INTERPRETED to be due to the familiar doppler effect, which implies motion. Interpreting the red shift as caused by motion is the primary cause for much of the difficulties currently accepted cosmology is having in trying to make sense out of some of the other observations made. There is also evidence from discoveries such as the fact that the red shift is "quantized", that negate the still "accepted" notion that the galaxies are moving away from us and from each other at astounding speed. In some cases the "speeds" are as much as 70% of the speed of light. The quantization of the red shift is observational evidence that the doppler explanation of its cause is just plain wrong.
We know that electromagnetic energy propagation speed is strongly affected by the medium it travels through. If we theorize that the red shift is caused by the changing electromagnetic properties of free space and this affects the speed of light and related "constants" then many of the problems and conundrums facing cosmology evaporate. Dark matter and energy are among them. Intrinsically, the electromagnetic interaction is many orders of magnitude greater than gravity and certainly was the predominant force acting upon the components of the early universe. We humans get rather uncomfortable at change, especially in what has long been considered not subject to change.
(.....Cosmologists are not stupid; the current paradigms are accepted because they work better than the alternatives you propose, not because prejudices have prevented them from considering such alternatives........)
No, they are very smart, but still human. Nobody likes their life work demolished and they be proven wrong. It took 50 years for "accepted and established" scientists to believe Danish astronomer Olaf Roemer's measurements of the finite speed of light, rather than the instantaneous travel time dogma of that time. More often than not, the early pioneers of science made observations that went very much against what was accepted dogma by "reputable" scientists of their day.
Light is produced by moving charge. Such motion cannot be continuous, but is quantized. The resultant light will therefore also be quantized. If this light has slowed down greatly since it left is source, the quantization steps become observable. The doppler effect simply is NOT the reason for the red shift and cannot explain its quantization.
Accepting the interpretation of the red shift as being due to electromagnetic phenomena and great changing of the various "constants" associated with them has some very unpleasant philosophical implications for all who insist believing in the vast time scales involved in the origin and evolution of the cosmos and all life within it. That in fact is the primary reason why Tift's observations were received with great skepticism. However if you looked at the link I gave and other's you can Google for, you will learn that Tift's work has been confirmed and strengthened by further explorations.
....Apparently the whole dark energy fiasco in astrophysics arises only because astronomers don't study the physics surrounding plasma and electricity enough.......
It's more likely that the cosmologists make some basic assumptions to fit the preconceived evolutionary philosophy of immense periods of time for all cosmological processes. Another assumptions made is that gravity was and is the dominant force controlling the formation and operation of the universe on the large scale as well as it small beginning. Another assumption is that certain "constants", such as the permittivity and permeability of free space have never changed much if at all, since the so called big bang. If that assumption is thrown out, then convoluted fictional constructs such as dark matter and energy also disappear. If the properties of free space have changed greatly over time, other 'constants' such as the speed of light and others derived therefrom must of necessity also be vastly different now than when the universe first began. Theories that allow these "constants" to vary and postulating that gravity is NOT the dominant force, especially in the beginning, will make for a lot simpler, more elegant explanations of current observations.
If a theory or whole body of theories has to resort to phenomena and processes that cannot be observed today, then perhaps it is time to examine the assumptions that make it necessary to resort to nebulous constructs, such as dark matter and energy. Any explanation of current observations that provides for a huge reduction of the time to bring the universe into completion, much as we observe it today, is automatically discounted, because it is philosophically repugnant. A young, quickly formed universe flies in the face of current scientific dogma and beliefs just as much as Galileo and Kepler's assertions irked the religious establishments of their day.
....I'm holding out for the phone that translates my voice directly into voice the other party can hear.......
I'm holding out for a phone I talk or text into in my native language and the person on the other end hears whatever I say in theirs. If they are not able to answer, it will leave a voice and/or text message in their language.
......Yes Singapore may have draconian laws and restricted freedoms, but I cant forget that little girl in perfect safety in a city......
What is the reason for having *any* government, as opposed to anarchy? Is it not the number one job of a government to keep those living in the jurisdiction thereof safe from one another? If draconian laws and punishments are the only way to keep people from hurting others, then that's what a good government will do. It would be better if such laws were not needed, but human nature is such that that most people, if not everyone will tend to do whatever they wish, if they think they can get away with it. It would be nice if a little girl could ride any public transit in any American city with such assurance of safety. I don't think we'd have to trade away any of our basic freedoms for this, except for the freedom of some to take advantage of others.
...... While I'm in favor of utilizing an open wifi network as long as its residential, I make no mistakes about the ethics of the action. It is wrong......
Why is it wrong? When I copy a piece of music from a friend it is wrong, only because it violates a law, copyright law. When I use a neighbor's open WAP it is NOT illegal, at least not in the US. When friends come over with their laptops to play games or use the net, why should anyone have to go to all the hassle of assigning passwords or MAC restrictions to each computer. A business should definitely secure their network to safeguard their customer's information. Securing a residential WAP is probably a good idea in some cases but should not be mandatory. One advantage an open WAP gives its owners is plausible deniability if some bad activity is traced to their router's IP.
......Makes them a bitch to pick. They are also resistant/immune to other attacks like bumping, ice picking, etc........
So then is your door/frame made of thick steel that with withstand a BIG sledgehammer and crowbar? How about the walls next to the door?
The only real hope you have is that the thief will go somewhere else easier. That's why ordinary locks are good enough for 99%+ of home owners. Same is true for wireless access. There are enough unsecured APs in a city, so anyone can always find one in a few minutes. I wouldn't be bothered at all if someone piggybacks onto my AP, especially if I am not using my computer anyway.
My sister-inlaw still uses dial-up and has no wireless on her computer. One time, while on a visit I brought my laptop in to show pictures. Its wireless software showed 3 available networks. The computer picked the strongest one and automatically connected and downloaded my email, just like at home. I have no idea which neighbor provided the service, but I'm sure he wouldn't have missed the bits that traveled through his connection.
....So if you leave your door unlocked on accident does that mean that anyone has the right to come in and sit down on your couch?.....
Well, that might depend on who it was that was sitting on my couch. Maybe I'd make her a cup of coffee or tea and join her? On the other hand I would not want to see him go to jail if all he did was sit on my couch. I might ask why he picked my couch and not the guy down the hall. Probably after that I'd ask him nicely to leave.
.....A lot of data is accumulated, but really, what does a terabyte of online storage cost these days......
The idea of immense data storage and its implication for all humans, especially evil doers, is nothing new. DNA can store a lot of information. If we humans can develop low cost data storage, is it so far fetched that the One who came up with the DNA data storage machinery can and will do exactly what he has promised to do in revealing ALL of man's thoughts and deeds? This was written centuries ago in the Holy Scriptures:
Luke 8:17 For nothing is secret that shall not be revealed; nor secret which shall not be known and come to be revealed.
Luke 12:2 For there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, nor anything hidden that shall not be known. 3 Therefore whatever you have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light. And that which you have spoken in the ear in secret rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.
Rev 20: 11 And I saw a great white throne, and Him sitting on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And a place was not found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the small and the great, stand before God. And the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead in it. And death and hell delivered up the dead in them. And each one of them was judged according to their works.
Germany is not alone in the idea that everything that is not expressly permitted is automatically forbidden. It's just like in many things German, the Germans are more thorough and methodical about it.
Slashdot Mirror
.....What is it that distinguishes hardware and software?........
....)
Ultimately, both hardware and software are from a mind. A human mind or minds in the case of computer technology. Our body hardware is determined by the software program stored in the DNA. We know that all computer programs, not matter where they reside or manipulated, come from a mind. The compiler originated in a mind. The universe is finite, both in time and space and so you cannot build an infinite anything. Infinity is a mathematical construct that has no counterpart in any measurable reality we know about.
(....We make poop,....)
But your mind decides it is time to go to the toilet, based on your the prompting of the bowels and the training your mother gave that mind when you were still in diapers.
(....Everything I make is temporary; must this also be true of the universe?.....)
Indeed everything, including the universe, has a beginning and an end. The universe has structure and operates by certain laws and principles, just as the machines we build. Why should that not be? We conceive of designs and build them with a purpose in mind. Why should this not also be true of the Universe? There is no such thing as random or chance if you have all information.
(....Calling something God
This article is about the existence of a Creator. It does not address who He might be or what He is like. That is something we can only know by faith if this Creator has chosen to reveal anything about Himself. I happen to BELIEVE that the Bible is God's revelation of Himself. You do not believe. Someday we'll both find out who was right.
.....In any case, consider the possibility that the matter and energy in the Universe have always been here......
First off, let me say that it is nice of you to take the time to make a thoughtful reply. For a long time it was an accepted theory that the universe is eternal. Einstein and many subsequent experimental tests of his math showed that the universe was finite both in time and space.
(....What is information? How do you prove it exists?....)
We know what information is. The is a branch of science called Information Science. In our modern contexts it most often associated with computers. You computer has hardware and software. It is the software, a product from the mind of a programmer that makes the hardware "come alive" and fulfill its purpose. The real you is eternal, complex software running on fragile, mortal hardware. Theologians call this software a "soul" or "spirit".
(.....So, are you telling me that gravity did not work until Newton formalized a law about it?......)
The laws of physics exist and we are still discovering them and using them for our own purposes. We did not formulate them, they are what they are. All human laws are products of human minds and all laws of physics are the product of a great Mind that transcends anything we can imagine. There is no faith there, just a logical extension of what we know and experience. Our minds make laws and so does the divine mind. As far as we know, gravity works the same way throughout the universe. The Bible, a book that you and many others despise, does indicate that one day the same Creator will make new rules for a new universe.
(....Also not true. I make poop. I make tracks when I walk in wet mud.....)
So then you have filled your pants since you did not first decide or perceive in your MIND that you had to take care of that bodily function and take a walk to the toilet?
(.....But in any case, all the atoms in my body are not identical......)
All atoms are composed of electrons, protons and all but hydrogen also have neutrons. These particles are all respectively identical. It is the selection and arrangement of these atoms that is controlled by information.
(....it's just the firing of some neurons in our brain....)
That is like saying the software in a computer is nothing more than the timing of the clock pulses in the CPU.
(....But our backups are subject to entropy.....)
Only the material media are subject to entropy. In computer and system design great effort of mind is expended to minimize this data loss. Jesus said that every man will one day have to account for every bit of information that each human mind has generated. You may not want to believe him, but I believe that anyone who can come up with a complex system such as the human brain-mind we have, can do such backups easily. One cupful of pure DNA can store more information than humanity has generated and might produce in the next 10,000 years. Pure information can be transmitted to and stored in multiple places and can be made safe from entropy. We do off-site backups to safeguard information against a local disaster.
(....we still have no proof that the Bible is true...)
This article is about the existence of a Creator. Discussing the nature of this Creator is another topic which you broached, but is really beside the point here. I do believe that the God of the Bible is the Creator and Yeshua is both for Jews and Gentiles, but that is a matter of faith. You obviously don't hold this faith right now.
Maybe, if you are truly honest, you can pray to this God. Tell him exactly how you feel, about Him. Tell him how disillusioned you are by all the hypocritical religiosity all around you. Tell Him frankly that you are angry at Him to the point of rather wanting to go to hell than to Him. Give Him all the reasons why you feel this way. Also tell Him in all honesty, that if He does reveal Himself to you, as He did to your ancestor Abraham, you will want to get to know and love Him with all your heart and being just like Abraham did. Try it. After all what have you got to lose?
....but based on those laws the brain is able to wire itself......
The brain is a very sophisticated hardware (wetware?) device. Just as the hardware and software in a computer are distinct, so are the brain and the MIND distinct. Your brain executes software put there by a programmer. It is this software that determines the real conscious you. In a computer it is the same. It is the software that determines the "personality" and activity of the computer. You can boot OSX or Windows XP on a piece of hardware that is made by Apple. The same physical computer has very different qualities, only depending on the software, a product of human minds.
All our experience demonstrates that software arise only by the activity of mind. This true of everything we are and make and it is true of the whole cosmos. It all begins in a mind and goes out from there. Physics and chemistry arose from processes in a mind, not the other way round. All human laws arise in human minds and all natural laws originated in a great mind. I call this mind Jesus Christ.
....We do quite a bit better when we work together.....
I guess we agree after all. Government (all my neighbors) is needed to protect me from this other muscular human who might want to us his weapons for selfish purposes. The panther however is still not in the equation.
....They certainly do. It's called natural selection.....
Natural selection can only work for IMPROVING the functionality of something that already exists. If there is nothing to select for, the very real Darwinian principle of natural selection is insufficient. Natural selection is not wrong but insufficient by itself. Materialistic atheists forget about the existence of information. Nobody has ever shown how information is anything other than the product of MIND. Matter and energy alone cannot make anything. They operate by laws, which are products of mind. Your brain operates by the laws of physics, first formulated within the mind of the Creator. An oil refinery or anything else we make is also first conceived in a human mind. Is it so inconceivable to you that a great mind first thought up the cosmos and all life? It may be unpleasant to contemplate the idea that you are responsible to this mind that thought you up. All atoms in your body are identical. It is information that makes you special. Information, if properly backed up is forever. It can be copied and re-created and is not subject to entropy. Calling this great Mind the Flying Spaghetti Monster changes absolutely nothing. You WILL answer to Him. I call Him Jesus Christ.
By the way, name calling is not a sign of intelligence and not a good use of your mind.
.....The fact that the matter that makes up my body will continue to exist......
/. likely has it that you earn your living by coming up with products of mind, such as software. The real you is software that happens to run in a CPU we call "brain". Just like we can load software into different hardware, so can the divine programmer keep a backup of you and someday load the real you into some new, better hardware. All atoms in your body and mine are identical. It is their arrangement, as determined by information (such as carried by DNA) that makes us different. Information in and of itself is immaterial and not subject to the constraints of matter and energy. One of these constraints that information is exempt from is entropy and by extension death. That information, the real you, your conscious self, will one day be loaded into a new pile of atoms and face the MIND that created it all. With the correct backup procedures, information is forever, even if a temporary carrier thereof is destroyed. Theologians have dubbed this information "soul" or "spirit".
You are right about that, but are leaving out the most important part. All materialists consider only matter and energy, but are neglecting to mention the immaterial part: INFORMATION. Just as a book is more than ink molecules and paper, so you are more than a carbon-chemical protoplasmic water bag. Everything you do and make first begins in your MIND. Being on
.....Why limit yourself to one?.......
Because there can be only one truth. Something is either true or not. Either there is a God or there isn't. There is either light or darkness. The universal religiosity of humans does not fit into the Darwinian paradigm of the survival of the fittest. Religions sap energy from survival rather than contribute. Building a Cathedral or going on religious wars confers a negative survival advantage. Spending time in prayer and meditation puts no bread on anybody's table, but consumes bread that others have worked for and might feed to their children. These are then well fed and survive to carry on human life. Mankind is incurably religious and this religious bent cannot be explained by naturalistic Darwinan philosophy.
....Just you and that panther over there......
I have been given the ultimate weapon against that Panther. That weapon is a brain with which I can devise weapons that will keep any number of Panthers at bay. No government is needed to keep me safe from a Panther, but it is needed to keep me safe from other humans and to keep them safe from me. If people observed the golden rule, governments would only be needed to allow us all to agree upon which side of the road to drive on.
.....our ancestors playing around with dinosaurs......
I don't imagine you'd play around with a Tyrannosaurus Rex either. More likely, you'd just frantically avoid becoming an afternoon snack for such a creature. In ancient times, in many cultures, they called these critters "dragons". Read last few chapter of the book of Job (part of the Bible) sometime to find out how a dinosaur might have impressed a human.
....anyone stupid enough to believe in creationism over evolution.....
Why does it have to one or the other? Darwin certainly made some valid points in his ideas of natural selection. However natural selection has to have working functions to select for and gradually improve over time. Natural explanations work for certain mechanisms of life, but cannot show how these arose through nothing more than the laws of physics. The interactions of ink on a page do not explain a poem or musical score on that paper. Why is it so hard to accept the idea of a mind wherein arose the laws by which everything operates. Darwin only discovered one of these laws. Everything we humans do first begins in someone's mind.
....Even in the face of overwhelming proof......
I'd like to see that proof. The fact is that all life struggles against death. That's why we have ambulances and ER departments and the entire medical establishment. The various conservation laws of physics all point in the opposite direction of your assertion. Nothing ever goes out of existence, but only changes form. Neither will you simply go out of existence when you die, but you will face the One who brought everything into existence. The real you is an information generator and neither you nor the information you generate every moment of your life will go out of existence. There WILL be a final judgment:
Revelation 20:11-13 And I saw a great white throne, and Him sitting on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And a place was not found for them. And I saw the dead, the small and the great, stand before God. And the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead in it. And death and hell delivered up the dead in them. And each one of them was judged according to their works.
.....since you seem to think that the only "family" that counts is a married heterosexual couple.......
You are getting some good exercise jumping to conclusions. Whether you like it or not, the human species happens to come in two flavors, male and female. Therefore is it so unreasonable to say that children require the input and discipline from both sexes as well? Historically, the marriage relationship between one male and one female has provided the best working model we know. Now that this model is beginning to crumble, education and our society as a whole is creaking and groaning and is beginning to crumble also. It is best if the male AND female involved are the mother and father, but it could also be grandparents or aunt and uncle. The point is, children need stable, loving input from a male and a female.
....The odd thing about the materialist is this: the materialist who wants to be rational has already departed from his materialism.......
It goes back at least one more level. A materialist is someone who ignores the most important component of the universe, the existence of information. Before anything can come into being, whether an airplane, computer or grass shack, someone has to WILL to want to make it and think about how to actually do it. The laws of ink and chemistry do not explain the arrangement of symbols that make up a play from Shakespeare or a symphony score from Beethoven. The laws of physics do not explain the arrangement of the DNA programming inherent in all living organisms. Indeed, the laws of physics determine how our world works. The materialistic matter-energy components do not determine these laws, but are governed by them. Therefore, the laws were laid down first in the mind of God and eternally operate the components of the universe. We also follow this procedure in everything we do. We think, imagine, conceptualize and plan with a goal in mind. We, unlike God, must use existing parts to assemble the products that begin their existence in our minds.
......Constitutions are normally used to keep governments in check and to GIVE rights to the people, not take them away.....
You are wrong. All that constitutions do is put down on paper rights that all humans already have. These are the inalienable rights given by our CREATOR. The founders of the USA knew that rights do not come from any government or from any other human source. Rights cannot be given by anyone who also cannot give life. Governments have always TAKEN both life and rights from people, because that is all they can do. No government anywhere on earth has ever given rights to anyone, anywhere at any time. Ever so slowly, our government is steadily taking away the God given rights people once had. It is thereby following the path that every government has ALWAYS gone.
.....This country's downfall will be its education system, mark my words....
No, it goes back another level, to the decay of the family. It doesn't take a village to raise a child, but it does take a mother AND a father. When two people bring children into this world and then BOTH of them don't take their full responsibility to raise said child the the fate of the nation is sealed if there too many such irresponsible people. Any child that doesn't get loving care and discipline from a mom AND a dad will be at a disadvantage over one that does, not matter how much tax money is thrown into so called "education". Without an intact family, everything else falls apart, mark my words.
.....Often, especially in the case of books of gospels, they were edited in an effort to keep them in the current idiom. Today, we struggle to find the earliest works so that we can know more about the original author's intent.........
What is interesting about the Bible and what surprised scholars when the Dead Sea scrolls were compared with existing copies of the same material, was the amazing agreement of these with the existing multiply copied ones. In the case of the Bible at least, the copying errors were much smaller than might be expected. None of the errors that did creep in affected the message in a material way.
Any technology that needs more than our human's built in senses to convey information would have to be used to keep that information current and accessible to our brains. Symbols on paper or other durable medium do not face this hurdle. The problem of deciphering the symbols remains however. We cannot read ones and zeroes, let alone make sense out of them. Conclusion: Print stuff out you want to keep for future generations. Doing this forces us to decide what to keep and what to forget. The sordid e-mails of Mr. Clinton need no print outs.
.....That's not an assumption, that's an observation....
The red shift is a primary observation. That was and is still INTERPRETED to be due to the familiar doppler effect, which implies motion. Interpreting the red shift as caused by motion is the primary cause for much of the difficulties currently accepted cosmology is having in trying to make sense out of some of the other observations made. There is also evidence from discoveries such as the fact that the red shift is "quantized", that negate the still "accepted" notion that the galaxies are moving away from us and from each other at astounding speed. In some cases the "speeds" are as much as 70% of the speed of light. The quantization of the red shift is observational evidence that the doppler explanation of its cause is just plain wrong.
http://www.npl.washington.edu/av/altvw68.html
We know that electromagnetic energy propagation speed is strongly affected by the medium it travels through. If we theorize that the red shift is caused by the changing electromagnetic properties of free space and this affects the speed of light and related "constants" then many of the problems and conundrums facing cosmology evaporate. Dark matter and energy are among them. Intrinsically, the electromagnetic interaction is many orders of magnitude greater than gravity and certainly was the predominant force acting upon the components of the early universe. We humans get rather uncomfortable at change, especially in what has long been considered not subject to change.
(.....Cosmologists are not stupid; the current paradigms are accepted because they work better than the alternatives you propose, not because prejudices have prevented them from considering such alternatives........)
No, they are very smart, but still human. Nobody likes their life work demolished and they be proven wrong. It took 50 years for "accepted and established" scientists to believe Danish astronomer Olaf Roemer's measurements of the finite speed of light, rather than the instantaneous travel time dogma of that time. More often than not, the early pioneers of science made observations that went very much against what was accepted dogma by "reputable" scientists of their day.
Light is produced by moving charge. Such motion cannot be continuous, but is quantized. The resultant light will therefore also be quantized. If this light has slowed down greatly since it left is source, the quantization steps become observable. The doppler effect simply is NOT the reason for the red shift and cannot explain its quantization.
Accepting the interpretation of the red shift as being due to electromagnetic phenomena and great changing of the various "constants" associated with them has some very unpleasant philosophical implications for all who insist believing in the vast time scales involved in the origin and evolution of the cosmos and all life within it. That in fact is the primary reason why Tift's observations were received with great skepticism. However if you looked at the link I gave and other's you can Google for, you will learn that Tift's work has been confirmed and strengthened by further explorations.
....Apparently the whole dark energy fiasco in astrophysics arises only because astronomers don't study the physics surrounding plasma and electricity enough.......
It's more likely that the cosmologists make some basic assumptions to fit the preconceived evolutionary philosophy of immense periods of time for all cosmological processes. Another assumptions made is that gravity was and is the dominant force controlling the formation and operation of the universe on the large scale as well as it small beginning. Another assumption is that certain "constants", such as the permittivity and permeability of free space have never changed much if at all, since the so called big bang. If that assumption is thrown out, then convoluted fictional constructs such as dark matter and energy also disappear. If the properties of free space have changed greatly over time, other 'constants' such as the speed of light and others derived therefrom must of necessity also be vastly different now than when the universe first began. Theories that allow these "constants" to vary and postulating that gravity is NOT the dominant force, especially in the beginning, will make for a lot simpler, more elegant explanations of current observations.
If a theory or whole body of theories has to resort to phenomena and processes that cannot be observed today, then perhaps it is time to examine the assumptions that make it necessary to resort to nebulous constructs, such as dark matter and energy. Any explanation of current observations that provides for a huge reduction of the time to bring the universe into completion, much as we observe it today, is automatically discounted, because it is philosophically repugnant. A young, quickly formed universe flies in the face of current scientific dogma and beliefs just as much as Galileo and Kepler's assertions irked the religious establishments of their day.
....I'm holding out for the phone that translates my voice directly into voice the other party can hear.......
I'm holding out for a phone I talk or text into in my native language and the person on the other end hears whatever I say in theirs. If they are not able to answer, it will leave a voice and/or text message in their language.
......Yes Singapore may have draconian laws and restricted freedoms, but I cant forget that little girl in perfect safety in a city......
What is the reason for having *any* government, as opposed to anarchy? Is it not the number one job of a government to keep those living in the jurisdiction thereof safe from one another? If draconian laws and punishments are the only way to keep people from hurting others, then that's what a good government will do. It would be better if such laws were not needed, but human nature is such that that most people, if not everyone will tend to do whatever they wish, if they think they can get away with it. It would be nice if a little girl could ride any public transit in any American city with such assurance of safety. I don't think we'd have to trade away any of our basic freedoms for this, except for the freedom of some to take advantage of others.
...... While I'm in favor of utilizing an open wifi network as long as its residential, I make no mistakes about the ethics of the action. It is wrong......
Why is it wrong? When I copy a piece of music from a friend it is wrong, only because it violates a law, copyright law. When I use a neighbor's open WAP it is NOT illegal, at least not in the US. When friends come over with their laptops to play games or use the net, why should anyone have to go to all the hassle of assigning passwords or MAC restrictions to each computer. A business should definitely secure their network to safeguard their customer's information. Securing a residential WAP is probably a good idea in some cases but should not be mandatory. One advantage an open WAP gives its owners is plausible deniability if some bad activity is traced to their router's IP.
......Makes them a bitch to pick. They are also resistant/immune to other attacks like bumping, ice picking, etc........
So then is your door/frame made of thick steel that with withstand a BIG sledgehammer and crowbar? How about the walls next to the door?
The only real hope you have is that the thief will go somewhere else easier. That's why ordinary locks are good enough for 99%+ of home owners. Same is true for wireless access. There are enough unsecured APs in a city, so anyone can always find one in a few minutes. I wouldn't be bothered at all if someone piggybacks onto my AP, especially if I am not using my computer anyway.
My sister-inlaw still uses dial-up and has no wireless on her computer. One time, while on a visit I brought my laptop in to show pictures. Its wireless software showed 3 available networks. The computer picked the strongest one and automatically connected and downloaded my email, just like at home. I have no idea which neighbor provided the service, but I'm sure he wouldn't have missed the bits that traveled through his connection.
....So if you leave your door unlocked on accident does that mean that anyone has the right to come in and sit down on your couch?.....
Well, that might depend on who it was that was sitting on my couch. Maybe I'd make her a cup of coffee or tea and join her? On the other hand I would not want to see him go to jail if all he did was sit on my couch. I might ask why he picked my couch and not the guy down the hall. Probably after that I'd ask him nicely to leave.
.....A lot of data is accumulated, but really, what does a terabyte of online storage cost these days......
The idea of immense data storage and its implication for all humans, especially evil doers, is nothing new. DNA can store a lot of information. If we humans can develop low cost data storage, is it so far fetched that the One who came up with the DNA data storage machinery can and will do exactly what he has promised to do in revealing ALL of man's thoughts and deeds? This was written centuries ago in the Holy Scriptures:
Luke 8:17 For nothing is secret that shall not be revealed; nor secret which shall not be known and come to be revealed.
Luke 12:2 For there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, nor anything hidden that shall not be known. 3 Therefore whatever you have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light. And that which you have spoken in the ear in secret rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.
Rev 20: 11 And I saw a great white throne, and Him sitting on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And a place was not found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the small and the great, stand before God. And the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead in it. And death and hell delivered up the dead in them. And each one of them was judged according to their works.
.......are prohibited that are allowed ......
Germany is not alone in the idea that everything that is not expressly permitted is automatically forbidden. It's just like in many things German, the Germans are more thorough and methodical about it.