I believe Microsoft took the $1B that the new warranty program will cost and applied it to fiscal year 2007. So, 2007 is an extra billion dollars in the hole, but since they don't have that baggage hanging on them in 2008, it's still possible that they might turn a profit in 2008.
To say the same thing in a more cynical way, if you play with the numbers enough, you can make whatever year you like profitable.
Well, you mention Pascal, who made (in my estimation) one of the most idiotic statements on religion, ever. From the Wikipedia entry you linked to:
"Before entering the criticisms of the Wager, one fair and important thing to note is that Pascal hoped that if the wager doesn't convince unbelievers to become Christians, then it would at least show them, especially the "happy agnostics", the meaning, value, and probable necessity of considering the question of the existence of God."
The Wager is often taken out of context as a reason to believe that God exists. In the context of the rest of his Pensees, it is more charitable to think that Pascal saw it as a reason to consider whether God exists. In that light, the Wager isn't nearly so ridiculous: if one of my beliefs really could mean the difference between infinite loss and infinite gain, maybe I should indeed give very careful thought to the matter of that belief!
Actually some costs already have changed due to the increase in copper. Have you called an electrician or a plumber lately? Last summer I was told by several electricians that due to the fact that the cost of copper wire had tripled, they had increased their estimates for typical rewiring jobs by 50%.
The author (Jon "Hannibal" Stokes) of the linked article is a graduate student at the University of Chicago. He's not a 20-year-old, but he's not your father's age either.
From my own experience, two members of my extended family recently bought new TV sets. Neither are techies--one is a farmer and the other works in a bank. Both bought those "new flat-screen TVs." When they walked into the store, they couldn't have known less about HD--they were only interested in the screen size and form factor for their family room.
This isn't unheard of in the legal world. I don't have any references at hand, but my brother-in-law (who is presently in law school) has shown me several creative decisions like this: a judge who included hundreds of movie titles in his decision, decisions in rhyming verse, etc.
Beliefs are not of objects, they are of prepositions. It is possible to believe that a given proposition is true and it is also possible to believe that the negation of that proposition is true. Also, it is possible to not hold a belief regarding a given proposition, either because you are withholding assent or because you haven't considered the proposition in question. Thus, all of the following are possible mental states regarding religion:
(1) I believe that 'There is a God' is true. (Theism) (2) I believe that 'There is not a God' is true. (Strong Atheism) (3) I have no belief regarding the proposition 'There is a God'. (Weak atheism) (4) I believe that 'The truth value of "There is a God"' is not knowable. (Strong agnosticism) (5) I believe that 'There is a God' and 'There is not a God' are equally likely and thus endorse neither. (Weak agnosticism)
"Theistic evolution" is the phrase usually thrown around in Christian philosophical circles for this belief. It denotes someone who accepts the broad outlines of evolutionary theory but believes it was guided by the will (and perhaps outright intervention) of a monotheistic deity.
Among the notable Christian theologians/philosophers who espouse(d) this view are C.S. Lewis, Richard Swinburne, and the official teaching of the Roman Catholic Church.
I would be hesitant, even if only for PR reasons, to lump theism (the belief that a God created the universe and guided the development thereof) with Intelligent Design, which fancies itself as an alternative to evolution.
"Theistic evolution" is a legitimate view of the origins of the world. "Intelligent Design-istic evolution" is a contradiction, assuming the normal denotation of those terms.
I'm not sure where you've heard the 2200 B.C. date for the flood. Most of the evangelical and/or fundamentalist Christians that study such things usually put Abraham in the neighborhood of 4000 B.C. The flood was considerably before Abraham's time, so I would think that they would date Noah's flood sometime prior to 4500 B.C.
Of course, IANAOldTestamentScholar, so take this for what it is worth.
From the article you linked:
A year later at age 32 Lewis spent an evening discussing mythology and Christianity with some intellectual friends who were Christians, one of whom was the writer, J.R.R. Tolkien. They challenged him as he had never been challenged before to think critically about Jesus. After the meeting broke up, Lewis could not go to sleep. He continue to wrestle with the concept of Jesus as God in the flesh. By 3:00am he had decided to accept Jesus as his Savior. Twelve days later he wrote these words to Tolkien: "I have passed on from believing in God to definitely believing in Christ -- in Christianity."
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I believe Microsoft took the $1B that the new warranty program will cost and applied it to fiscal year 2007. So, 2007 is an extra billion dollars in the hole, but since they don't have that baggage hanging on them in 2008, it's still possible that they might turn a profit in 2008.
To say the same thing in a more cynical way, if you play with the numbers enough, you can make whatever year you like profitable.
Actually some costs already have changed due to the increase in copper. Have you called an electrician or a plumber lately? Last summer I was told by several electricians that due to the fact that the cost of copper wire had tripled, they had increased their estimates for typical rewiring jobs by 50%.
People robbed while waiting in line at Best Buy in Indiana: http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti cle?AID=/20061117/News01/611170325
The author (Jon "Hannibal" Stokes) of the linked article is a graduate student at the University of Chicago. He's not a 20-year-old, but he's not your father's age either.
From my own experience, two members of my extended family recently bought new TV sets. Neither are techies--one is a farmer and the other works in a bank. Both bought those "new flat-screen TVs." When they walked into the store, they couldn't have known less about HD--they were only interested in the screen size and form factor for their family room.
This isn't unheard of in the legal world. I don't have any references at hand, but my brother-in-law (who is presently in law school) has shown me several creative decisions like this: a judge who included hundreds of movie titles in his decision, decisions in rhyming verse, etc.
Beliefs are not of objects, they are of prepositions. It is possible to believe that a given proposition is true and it is also possible to believe that the negation of that proposition is true. Also, it is possible to not hold a belief regarding a given proposition, either because you are withholding assent or because you haven't considered the proposition in question. Thus, all of the following are possible mental states regarding religion:
(1) I believe that 'There is a God' is true. (Theism)
(2) I believe that 'There is not a God' is true. (Strong Atheism)
(3) I have no belief regarding the proposition 'There is a God'. (Weak atheism)
(4) I believe that 'The truth value of "There is a God"' is not knowable. (Strong agnosticism)
(5) I believe that 'There is a God' and 'There is not a God' are equally likely and thus endorse neither. (Weak agnosticism)
"Theistic evolution" is the phrase usually thrown around in Christian philosophical circles for this belief. It denotes someone who accepts the broad outlines of evolutionary theory but believes it was guided by the will (and perhaps outright intervention) of a monotheistic deity.
Among the notable Christian theologians/philosophers who espouse(d) this view are C.S. Lewis, Richard Swinburne, and the official teaching of the Roman Catholic Church.
I would be hesitant, even if only for PR reasons, to lump theism (the belief that a God created the universe and guided the development thereof) with Intelligent Design, which fancies itself as an alternative to evolution.
"Theistic evolution" is a legitimate view of the origins of the world. "Intelligent Design-istic evolution" is a contradiction, assuming the normal denotation of those terms.
I'm not sure where you've heard the 2200 B.C. date for the flood. Most of the evangelical and/or fundamentalist Christians that study such things usually put Abraham in the neighborhood of 4000 B.C. The flood was considerably before Abraham's time, so I would think that they would date Noah's flood sometime prior to 4500 B.C.
Of course, IANAOldTestamentScholar, so take this for what it is worth.
It looks like it's legit: there's a write up and link about it on Amazon's developer site: http://www.amazon.com/gp/browse.html/ref=sc_fe_c_1 _3435361_1/104-2932488-4463107?_encoding=UTF8&node =15879911&no=3435361&me=A36L942TSJ2AJA
From the article you linked:
A year later at age 32 Lewis spent an evening discussing mythology and Christianity with some intellectual friends who were Christians, one of whom was the writer, J.R.R. Tolkien. They challenged him as he had never been challenged before to think critically about Jesus. After the meeting broke up, Lewis could not go to sleep. He continue to wrestle with the concept of Jesus as God in the flesh. By 3:00am he had decided to accept Jesus as his Savior. Twelve days later he wrote these words to Tolkien: "I have passed on from believing in God to definitely believing in Christ -- in Christianity."