I have no problem with people liking things because they're pretty, but when I believe in something I stand up for it. I used to be a Christian, and while I believe it's a bunch of hokum now, I have no respect for those that don't really take seriously the things that they purport to believe..
The point is that they are taking things that originated from other religions. The bible does warn against that kind of thing (yes, I've read it through, even all the obscure old testament books), as can be seen from the above passage. I just think it's hypocrisy. Of course they're not really dishonouring any god, but it's still kind of pathetic.
Squirm, squirm, squirm.. I'm already aware of all of that. It's okay to adopt fertility eggs, bunnies and trees from pagan celebrations as long as you call them "decorations"..
What if they ended up becoming popular and actually making decent money? It sounds like it should be spread around a few different groups, no matter how much it is. I use Mint and have donated, but I think it's not really fair for them to take all the donations from a group project.
If everyone else is doing it, it must be okay! Clearly most people didn't learn anything from Noah's ark. 95% of my family is Christian (I used to be, but am no longer) - I'm wondering about showing them this cartoon and seeing how they squirm their minds around it just so that they can keep their shiny tree..
Yep I was just being kind of snarky. I thought it was funny that you would talk of not risking your life when you've already risked it by travelling to Mars.
I suspect there are a few people out there who would gladly take the risk just to visit Mars. I'm not one of them though - I don't really find the idea of space travel that interesting compared to life on Earth. Zero G would be a lot of fun for a while, but that's about it for the up sides.
You do realise that manned spacecraft tend to be rigorously tested first?
Yes I do. I also realise that people make mistakes, and that even the tiniest mistake becomes a very big deal when you're surrounded by vacuum, with no AAA to dial for help.
I don't have any claim to the likelihood of a deity, but there is a very high likelihood that all the ones people on Earth believe in are made up. It's pretty simple. I'm not sure if you're replying to the wrong place here, since you made that quote about a choice text, which I didn't write, and it doesn't really have any relevance here as I've not quoted any text, just expressed my own ideas/opinions.
If things like the multiple universe theory had any merit, there could be identical versions of our universe with a deity, and one without. Maybe he's popped out to get some milk for the last few million years.
Yes, we've had messageboards etc since the start of the internet, but a lot of people didn't use them or know about them, and often would be talking to strangers rather than friends. I don't see your definition of social networking disappearing either. There are many things that we could lose and "life will still go on", but that doesn't mean people are going to stop doing them. I've never seen the point in things like keeping a blog, having a MySpace page or using Twitter, but I actually find Facebook useful.
The fact that we were social networking before the internet ks not why social networking will die, it's exactly why it will keep on going in whatever form. The internet is the most convenient form for large groups to interact though.
Social networking itself is not the bubble. Facebook might die out, but it needs a real competitor first. Saying social netsorking will die out is like saying word processing applications will die out. Sure, they may turn into digital scribes with us just speaking what we want to write or something, but the basic function they provide is something that lots of people find useful, and will continue to find useful. Even Slashdot itself is a kind of social network, all web forums are. People like to share news and ideas.
Some result are just obvious. I don't have the mathematical grounding to write a formal proof, but a bunch of lifeless atoms mixing and forming molecules, and then some molecules being self replicating, eventually forming life as we understand, definitely is more statisically probable than a fully formed self-replicating organism just happening to be already assembled. Just as in poker there are many more mixed hands than there are four of a kind hands.
And when I say "more likely", I mean it's simpler, ie Occam's Razor. I'm kind of agnostic in that I don't think that anyone knows or can know the nature of existence, but some things are just more obviously wrong/lies.
Because a complex system evolving from a simpler one is more likely than a complex being with human-like intelligence and ideals spontaneously coming into existence.
Even if the probability is infinitesimal, it only has to happen sometime, somewhere, and boom, here we are asking the questions. It's a lot more likely that "DNA just evolved" than "the magic man in the sky just appeared and was smart enough to create DNA".
I'd definitely agree that it's worth the time cultivating your viewpoint such that you have some perspective on your problems. It's not worth letting problems get you down, it's better to focus on how you can best manage the situation. I'm not a particularly jolly person as such, but then again I'm a lot more resilient when I have problems due to the things I've gone through in the past, and I seem to be good at helping others handle stressful situations too.
First, why be scared if it's in a suitable enclosure? They're not that much different from elephants, and people have been doing that fine for ages. Elephants aren't carnivorous nor particularly aggressive in general either.
Even if it did chase you, you'd probably want to vary the direction you're sprinting too when dealing with such a large and heavy animal that can run as fast as an olympic sprinter in a straight line..
Slashdot Mirror
I have no problem with people liking things because they're pretty, but when I believe in something I stand up for it. I used to be a Christian, and while I believe it's a bunch of hokum now, I have no respect for those that don't really take seriously the things that they purport to believe..
The point is that they are taking things that originated from other religions. The bible does warn against that kind of thing (yes, I've read it through, even all the obscure old testament books), as can be seen from the above passage. I just think it's hypocrisy. Of course they're not really dishonouring any god, but it's still kind of pathetic.
Squirm, squirm, squirm.. I'm already aware of all of that. It's okay to adopt fertility eggs, bunnies and trees from pagan celebrations as long as you call them "decorations"..
Hehe. The funny thing is that most 4channers and Slashdotters will probably be in the top 5% or so when you take the world population into account..
What if they ended up becoming popular and actually making decent money? It sounds like it should be spread around a few different groups, no matter how much it is. I use Mint and have donated, but I think it's not really fair for them to take all the donations from a group project.
If everyone else is doing it, it must be okay! Clearly most people didn't learn anything from Noah's ark. 95% of my family is Christian (I used to be, but am no longer) - I'm wondering about showing them this cartoon and seeing how they squirm their minds around it just so that they can keep their shiny tree..
Yep I was just being kind of snarky. I thought it was funny that you would talk of not risking your life when you've already risked it by travelling to Mars.
I suspect there are a few people out there who would gladly take the risk just to visit Mars. I'm not one of them though - I don't really find the idea of space travel that interesting compared to life on Earth. Zero G would be a lot of fun for a while, but that's about it for the up sides.
It would make sense to run tests first of course.
Don't forget Idon'treadthesubtext-fu.
You do realise that manned spacecraft tend to be rigorously tested first?
Yes I do. I also realise that people make mistakes, and that even the tiniest mistake becomes a very big deal when you're surrounded by vacuum, with no AAA to dial for help.
Indeed. It's not exactly a very Christian celebration anyway. Though it is nice to celebrate every once in a while.
But unless it had a track record, I'd be wary of risking my life on the assumption that fuel could be extracted.
Which is just one of the reasons that you're not an astronaut. They risk their lives just to get out into space in the first place.
True, I think both Dell and HP asked for their batteries back when we needed replacements.
Geez, do you really have to apply the latest groupthink to everything you say? Blah blah 1% 99% blah blah waaaah somebody give me some money.
I don't have any claim to the likelihood of a deity, but there is a very high likelihood that all the ones people on Earth believe in are made up. It's pretty simple. I'm not sure if you're replying to the wrong place here, since you made that quote about a choice text, which I didn't write, and it doesn't really have any relevance here as I've not quoted any text, just expressed my own ideas/opinions.
If things like the multiple universe theory had any merit, there could be identical versions of our universe with a deity, and one without. Maybe he's popped out to get some milk for the last few million years.
Yes, we've had messageboards etc since the start of the internet, but a lot of people didn't use them or know about them, and often would be talking to strangers rather than friends. I don't see your definition of social networking disappearing either. There are many things that we could lose and "life will still go on", but that doesn't mean people are going to stop doing them. I've never seen the point in things like keeping a blog, having a MySpace page or using Twitter, but I actually find Facebook useful.
The fact that we were social networking before the internet ks not why social networking will die, it's exactly why it will keep on going in whatever form. The internet is the most convenient form for large groups to interact though.
Social networking itself is not the bubble. Facebook might die out, but it needs a real competitor first. Saying social netsorking will die out is like saying word processing applications will die out. Sure, they may turn into digital scribes with us just speaking what we want to write or something, but the basic function they provide is something that lots of people find useful, and will continue to find useful. Even Slashdot itself is a kind of social network, all web forums are. People like to share news and ideas.
Some result are just obvious. I don't have the mathematical grounding to write a formal proof, but a bunch of lifeless atoms mixing and forming molecules, and then some molecules being self replicating, eventually forming life as we understand, definitely is more statisically probable than a fully formed self-replicating organism just happening to be already assembled. Just as in poker there are many more mixed hands than there are four of a kind hands.
And when I say "more likely", I mean it's simpler, ie Occam's Razor. I'm kind of agnostic in that I don't think that anyone knows or can know the nature of existence, but some things are just more obviously wrong/lies.
Because a complex system evolving from a simpler one is more likely than a complex being with human-like intelligence and ideals spontaneously coming into existence.
Even if the probability is infinitesimal, it only has to happen sometime, somewhere, and boom, here we are asking the questions. It's a lot more likely that "DNA just evolved" than "the magic man in the sky just appeared and was smart enough to create DNA".
I'd definitely agree that it's worth the time cultivating your viewpoint such that you have some perspective on your problems. It's not worth letting problems get you down, it's better to focus on how you can best manage the situation. I'm not a particularly jolly person as such, but then again I'm a lot more resilient when I have problems due to the things I've gone through in the past, and I seem to be good at helping others handle stressful situations too.
I fail to see how trying to link everything back to MS and Facebook makes for "more interesting discussions".
Oops, turns out elephants do eat animals too, but I still think you're being a baby :p
Why?
First, why be scared if it's in a suitable enclosure? They're not that much different from elephants, and people have been doing that fine for ages. Elephants aren't carnivorous nor particularly aggressive in general either.
Even if it did chase you, you'd probably want to vary the direction you're sprinting too when dealing with such a large and heavy animal that can run as fast as an olympic sprinter in a straight line..
I'd say it's a valuable trait, but I don't see how you can think of it as a skill without it turning into something fake.