1101. Religion: Bound to believe?

Comment #275948 by Wosret on October 31, 2008 at 11:02 pm

28. Comment #275942 by Brian English

...Let me get this straight...so he stole someone's parcel? Committing a federal offense, and claimed divine permission for doing it?

...
...
...
...

Only a theist could rationalize theft in that way.

God probably forgot to mention that at each stop an inventory is taken. If the parcel was actually missing the address, that does not mean that it could not be identified. Unless a number of the parcels were missing addresses, a quick process of elimination would reveal whose parcel it is.

He likely just ripped it off himself though.

1102. Religion: Bound to believe?

Comment #275941 by Wosret on October 31, 2008 at 9:43 pm

19. Comment #275923 by askin

When we study the living organisms with our sciences, we notice an incredibly complex and working order. It is impossible that this complex
and harmonious working order has come to existence
by itself and without a creator, as a result of "coincidences".

How can you possibly justify this assertion? On what grounds do you assert that it is "impossible"? That is a charlatan assertion.

1103. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #275931 by Wosret on October 31, 2008 at 8:32 pm

10158. Comment #275927 by Frankus1122

I only read yuri manga. I occasionally watch non-yuri anime, but yuri is my main interest. There is already enough yuri manga for it to be an almost part time job just to read. Especially when I decide to start translating my own, which I plan to start doing in the next couple three months.

I get online scanlations of manga currently. I plan to subscribe to some magazines as soon as I can translate them. I do buy tankoubons when they are made available, but I feel bad reading the manga without having bought the magazines.

1104. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #275920 by Wosret on October 31, 2008 at 8:05 pm

10150. Comment #275915 by Frankus1122

The live-action one? Nah...I saw the live-action version of the series made into a movie...it was terrible. Japanese live-action is sub-soup opera.

Talk about a lame costume though. A sweat shirt and jeans does not constitute a costume.

1105. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #275907 by Wosret on October 31, 2008 at 7:29 pm

10143. Comment #275905 by Frankus1122

There were actually a few girls dressed as their favourite animae characters at the dance.

Which characters?

Rofl! Anyone dressed like L from Death Note?

Let's not make it all about me or liberals, we know we are bad.
We have self knowledge.

Speak for yourself. My self-knowledge reveals how awesome I am.

1106. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #275904 by Wosret on October 31, 2008 at 7:27 pm

10138. Comment #275899 by DarwinsPitbull

Gotta go so I dont want anyone to think I am dodging questions or anything. I will answer anything you post later with sophisticated and intellectual answers that your minds can not handle.

Yes, and after you do that, I'll buy everyone new cars, give up anime and manga, and then go hunting.

1107. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #275902 by Wosret on October 31, 2008 at 7:24 pm

10133. Comment #275893 by Titania

I thought you were hinting that you were sick of it, and I'm not ready to replace it yet. Making a new one will be hard work.

I thought that the best thing to do would be to ignore you.

1108. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #275887 by Wosret on October 31, 2008 at 7:08 pm

10127. Comment #275886 by Frankus1122

You are arguing from ignorance here.

His favorite position to argue from.

1109. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #275879 by Wosret on October 31, 2008 at 6:53 pm

10117. Comment #275875 by DarwinsPitbull

That is dependent on value judgments. It depends on how one defines "evil".

Though if what you are trying to say is that sometimes an ad hominem is relevant, then that it true, but you would need to outline its relevance in the case in which you are using it.

1110. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #275870 by Wosret on October 31, 2008 at 6:44 pm

10110. Comment #275868 by DarwinsPitbull

You can say they are full of shit since they don't do it.

No you can't you imbecile. Argumentum ad hominem is not a valid form of argument. Someone being a hypocrite doesn't make them wrong.

1111. Teaching hate in UK schools

Comment #275866 by Wosret on October 31, 2008 at 6:38 pm

113. Comment #275857 by Titania

*BAM*

1112. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #275864 by Wosret on October 31, 2008 at 6:35 pm

10105. Comment #275861 by DarwinsPitbull

That is poor reasoning.

Is eating right and exercising not a good idea if a person who doesn't eat right or exercise says it?

1113. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #275851 by Wosret on October 31, 2008 at 6:12 pm

10097. Comment #275847 by DarwinsPitbull

Who do you think creates and advances society?

The people within it.

The reason we are where we are is because of corporations and companies.

Oh, they invented infrastructures by themselves? They do not require to be maned? They do not require power? Roads? Agreed upon systems of barter and exchange? A populous to build demand? They do not require regulation? A justice system? They could have done this without any of those things? If you think so, then you are an ignoramus, of gigantic proportions.

The government did not invent TV's, refrigerator, cars, planes, telephones, sneakers, electricity, etc.. Its those things that have advanced society, not government.

"The Government" is not an entity, it is an establishment to promote the people's agendas, and set in place systems, and establishments to achieve these goals. At least a democratic government is supposed to be. We the people made it possible.

Your problem is that you have simplistically demonized "government" as this thing that is necessarily out to get you.

1114. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #275840 by Wosret on October 31, 2008 at 5:48 pm

10088. Comment #275830 by DarwinsPitbull

Fuck 'em. They don't have to contribute to society, they can go live in a cave if they want.

They certainly can't reap the benefits of society and then opt out of giving the decided upon contribution. They don't have the right to demand an unfair gain to loss ratio.

If they want to live in society, and reap its benefits, then they are required to contribute to its upkeep.

1115. Teaching hate in UK schools

Comment #275769 by Wosret on October 31, 2008 at 3:17 pm

85. Comment #275764 by JAMCAM87

Of course I'm sure someone will now accuse me of communism

That's probably because you're a communist.

1116. Children need to be sprinkled with fairy dust

Comment #275766 by Wosret on October 31, 2008 at 2:50 pm

214. Comment #275705 by PERSON

Now now, Mitchell. He's just saying that's when your argument is valid. He's not making assertions about your intentions.

He doesn't even seem to grasp what my argument is, so he isn't in a position to be saying that.

Is this directed at me at all?

...Clearly it's not.

1117. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #275748 by Wosret on October 31, 2008 at 2:11 pm

10060. Comment #275747 by al-rawandi

I hope not too many people come to my house, and I do live out in the sticks. Then I keeps the candy!

1118. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #275746 by Wosret on October 31, 2008 at 2:07 pm

10056. Comment #275742 by Titania

That was me! Revenge for the mouse!

Sic semper evello mortem Tyrannis!!

1119. Swatting attacks on fruit flies and science

Comment #275744 by Wosret on October 31, 2008 at 2:04 pm

4. Comment #275622 by Richard Dawkins

...Are you sure that isn't sarcasm? Seems somewhat sarcastically worded to me.

That probably isn't the whole letter though.

1120. Teaching hate in UK schools

Comment #275738 by Wosret on October 31, 2008 at 1:55 pm

Pretty bad, definitely promoting hatred. Not really racist though, is it? Jews are often thought of as a race, but they aren't really, and Christians definitely aren't.

"Faith school"... what a sad set of words to be placed beside each other. Teaching kids to belief nonsense without evidence.

1121. Children need to be sprinkled with fairy dust

Comment #275681 by Wosret on October 31, 2008 at 11:15 am

207. Comment #275335 by Mark Barratt

You didn't "give examples" of events, you didn't even give ONE example! You just asserted that such events occur. In contrast I gave loads of examples of the kind of things I was talking about.

Yes I did. Life, the universe, and consciousness. I then went on to say "things that we don't have natural explanations for". Our knowledge of natural is anything but complete...if you didn't realize.

STAGE 1: A supernaturalist, Alan, claims that he posesses the power of telekenesis and that this is evidence of the "supernatural" (or paranormal, or magic, or Enki the Sumerian Penis god, whatever takes his fancy). Alan draws huge crowds and makes a very impressive living from demonstrations of his talent.

And this is where my argument kicks in. This is when you explain that the concept of the supernatural is meaningless, and his assertion that it is supernatural is a charlatan assertion. You explain that it is impossible that he could rationally make that assertion. This is where my epistemic argument begins. This is what I've been trying to get you to understand.

STAGE 2: Tests conducted using reliable methodology establish that Alan can indeed move objects with his mind. RD, Randi, Penn & Teller and a thousand others all check him out and can find no evidence of trickery.

If they have accepted his assert as presented in stage one without dissent, then they have tacitly accepted his premise, and thus they have failed to refute his assertion, and millions will take state two as conformation of the entirety of his assertion, because it was not stopped at the gate.

STAGE 3: Scentists from all over the globe can find no naturalistic explanation for this telekenesis. They can't even propose a hypothetical explanation.

This is highly, highly unlikely. Of course someone could come up with a completely hypothetical explanation. I could right now for telekinesis: quantum entanglement allows hyper-conscious trickle down effect of directed chemical reactions to sub-atomic reactions, which then effect the particles in other objects in the desired way.

That is of course nonsense, but it is a hypothetical explanation. Anyone can pull an explanation out of their ass. I find it pretty difficult to believe no one could invent an explanation for anything. I don't know what I'm talking about, so those that did could likely even invent a cogent one.

STAGE 4: Alan has successfully proved the existence of "the supernatural".

This is impossible. By even having this as a "stage" implies that it is achievable, and shows the confusion I warned you would be breeding with your argument.

Now your argument would apply to the situation where Stages 1 to 3 have been realised and Stage 4 is under dispute. In that case, even though Stages 1 to 3 had been fulfilled it would still not be appropriate to consider Stage 4 to have been reached for the reasons you've eloquently put forward, with which I have no disagreement.

I'm the one forwarding my argument, so I don't believe that you are in a position to be telling me when my argument applies. Thanks.

Now, when you talk about events that DO occur which are claimed as evidence for the supernatural, I don't think you're talking about the claims made by supernaturalists that I'm talking about. I think you're talking about phenomena that have been discovered by scientists or theories proposed by scientists to explain the results of scientific investigations which are currently not fully understood or explained naturalistically.

No, I'm talking about both. As I said specifically that I was talking about both. Numerous times. I am becoming annoyed that you are consistently misrepresenting my argument, and then telling me how it should be used and when...despite seemingly not even understanding what it is my argument entails. Perhaps before you do that, you could at least try to understand what it is I'm saying.

In summary, my original point refers exclusively to Stage C given above. Even now you've not managed to show that it would be inappropriate in this situation.

Mine applies to stage A, that is why yours is inappropriate. Yours undoes the work of mine. You try to cut them off at the finish line (i.e. denying them stage four), while I stop them at the gate (i.e. denying them stage one). You have to let them by my far better argument to get to yours. It isn't entirely my argument of course, it is largely David Hume's. He developed it to refute the argument from design, which was (you should know) an attempt to explain life. He had no alternative explanations, and this was anything but hypothetical. He destroyed their very foundations for asserting a supernatural explanation.

Not to be a dick, but if you choose to reply, can you keep it more concise? I don't have hours to read a seventy five thousand word post. I don't think I'll continue if you cannot be more considerate of my time. Thanks.

1122. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #275641 by Wosret on October 31, 2008 at 10:38 am

10023. Comment #275633 by Steve Zara

Decameron is a word I learned recently, while learning the Kanji. There are a few words I didn't know that I have learned Kanji for. Funny that.

The word isn't in the FireFox dictionary either, it appears.

1123. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #275631 by Wosret on October 31, 2008 at 10:34 am

Decius...

Thought you weren't into the number significance thing...

That is just something he says when the celebration isn't about him. Then he steals the birthday presents and runs.

1124. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #275625 by Wosret on October 31, 2008 at 10:33 am

Everyone's avatar has display issues except for mine. I think we all know why that is. Because I have a sufficient level of fantastitude to offset the issue.

1125. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #275617 by Wosret on October 31, 2008 at 10:31 am

How anti-climatic

1126. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #275588 by Wosret on October 31, 2008 at 10:25 am

Or! OR, he's like forrest Gump, because he's half retarded.

1127. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #275575 by Wosret on October 31, 2008 at 10:21 am

I likely won't be here for the moment. I'm washing cloths and I need to manually tern the water on and off and make sure that the washer doesn't overflow, because it is a piece of shit.

1128. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #275570 by Wosret on October 31, 2008 at 10:19 am

Looks like the time is upon us!

1129. Sarah Palin's War on Science

Comment #275194 by Wosret on October 30, 2008 at 11:31 pm

185. Comment #275186 by Bonzai

Yeah, I had to wait three weeks for a surgery that wasn't important. They called me and asked if I wanted to come in a week earlier, because a spot opened up, but I was busy.

The average wait time to see a doctor? Half hour sounds right. fifteen-twenty minutes in the large waiting room, and then about five-ten minutes in the room waiting for the doctor to get to you.

1130. Sarah Palin's War on Science

Comment #275172 by Wosret on October 30, 2008 at 10:15 pm

177. Comment #275168 by DarwinsPitbull

Fuck, you're stupid.

Bonzai was refuting the assertion that hard work determines earnings. Pointing out that not every poor person works as hard as every rich person corrects a point no one made, and is irrelevant to the point that was being make.

1131. Sarah Palin's War on Science

Comment #275169 by Wosret on October 30, 2008 at 10:10 pm

173. Comment #275164 by Bonzai

In the U.S. medicine is a business, you cater to those who can pay for expensive procedure. Based on health statistics the U.S. is not doing particularly well. So get off your high horse and admit that pay scale is mostly artificial.

This is so true. Currently the pharmaceutical industry is content on making medications that people take for months or years, but they haven't produced a new anti-biotic that one would only take for a couple weeks in thirty years.

They're a business, and they are in it to turn a profit, not produce the best possible products.

1132. Sarah Palin's War on Science

Comment #275165 by Wosret on October 30, 2008 at 10:06 pm

169. Comment #275157 by DarwinsPitbull

You're point is immaterial at best then.

170. Comment #275159 by Kmita

Bonzai is stuck in a world where the poor are trampled under foot while the rich are elevated to great heights arbitrarily.

I live in that world too. Kinda blows, actually.

The rest of you -- to put it kindly -- "points", were also immaterial, and just hand waving after having the absurd assertion that "harder work = more pay" completely obliterated.

The inanity of such an assertion. Do you think that CEOs work harder than sweatshop workers? If you say yes, then I have a contingent follow up question: Are you insane?

1133. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #275141 by Wosret on October 30, 2008 at 9:05 pm

9866. Comment #275140 by root2squared

I fail to see the connection with the quoted text.

1134. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #275136 by Wosret on October 30, 2008 at 8:59 pm

9860. Comment #275132 by Bonzai

No, but I am going to dress up like a bum with no life...but I do that everyday.

1135. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #275133 by Wosret on October 30, 2008 at 8:48 pm

9859. Comment #275130 by Titania

It is an adorable dance. This, and the Hare Hare Yukai dance from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mljdpRp41I4

You would be astonished at how many otaku attempt to preform the dance. I'm not one of them though...I swear...

1136. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #275128 by Wosret on October 30, 2008 at 8:37 pm

Well, we can at least agree that sports are lame, Titania. Except for golf and women's volleyball.

1137. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #275127 by Wosret on October 30, 2008 at 8:34 pm

9851. Comment #275117 by MaxD

Looks kind of like Alexander Anderson to me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLzHYpzhn88

1138. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #275120 by Wosret on October 30, 2008 at 8:17 pm

9840. Comment #275092 by Caudimordax

This isn't entirely true. From my old avatar, Yoruichi is at least a thousand years old, and Soi Fon is at least one hundred and twenty. Shizuru and Natsuki it depends, in Mai Hime they're 19 and 18, and in My Otome they are in their mid to late twenties. Nanoha and Fate are 9 and 10 in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, 10 and 11 in Magical girl Lyrical Nanoha A's, and 19 and 20 in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS. Utena and Anthy are probably about 17 or 18, I'm not sure. Chikane and Himeko are the youngest at both 16, born on the same day.

LuckyStar is just a comedy though, it isn't the normal perverted stuff I'm known for.

For the record however, I do prefer adults for yuri, but there is just very little available. Most of them take place at high schools.

1139. Turek vs. Hitchens Debate: Does God Exist?

Comment #275059 by Wosret on October 30, 2008 at 5:05 pm

158. Comment #275047 by Bonzai

Nah, dude. It isn't enough knowing that you're awesome (believe me, a dilemma I face daily). What is the good of that unless there are other people to appreciate it?

Would you write books if no one was around to appreciate them? If you saw something really cool what good would it be if there was no one to describe it to?

It isn't that the godly need their greatness affirmed (we know we're great already). It is that there is no sense being great if there is no one around to appreciate your greatness, or to be greater than by comparison.

This is obvious to anyone at the zenith of excellence.

Can I get a "what, what"?

1140. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #275015 by Wosret on October 30, 2008 at 4:00 pm

9835. Comment #275007 by Bonzai

The kind that enjoys cute dance sequences.

1141. Turek vs. Hitchens Debate: Does God Exist?

Comment #274976 by Wosret on October 30, 2008 at 3:15 pm

Not only does the concept of "free moral agency" conflict with god's supposed omniscience, but it also conflicts with the concept of absolute morality.

This is why. Generally theist will merely claim that it exists, and not claim to be able to identify it. This means that we can't be certain whether something is objectively moral or not. Thus I put it to you that free moral agency cannot truly exist if one is ignorant of what is actually moral. If I hand you two pills, one will save your life, and the other will kill you, and you don't know which leads to which, then in what sense is your choice free?

Until everyone agrees on what is and isn't moral, and we all know with certainty what is good, and what is evil, free moral agency is nonsense.

Check and mate theists! This is like formidable opponent with Stephen Colbert.

1142. Turek vs. Hitchens Debate: Does God Exist?

Comment #274947 by Wosret on October 30, 2008 at 2:43 pm

127. Comment #274939 by Peacebeuponme

Oh, I got this.

Without absolute morality, you can't say that murdering children is objectively wrong. Are you saying that you don't think that murdering children is wrong? If you do, what justifies this?

For me, it's simple. God says so, so that makes it true, because everything god says is true by virtue of his perfect being.

Check and mate Atheists!

1143. Premier debates with Dawkins

Comment #274941 by Wosret on October 30, 2008 at 2:37 pm

409. Comment #274934 by Sciros

You ever do something like that? I actually have. When I was in telemarketing for awhile I found that I got better sales with either an feigned English accent, or southern accent, than with my goofy maritime Canadian one.

Although when I talked normally I got asked where the hell I was from the most. Americans don't hear maritime Canadians very often I guess.

1144. Premier debates with Dawkins

Comment #274931 by Wosret on October 30, 2008 at 2:30 pm

402. Comment #274153 by Bonzai

What is with your avatar? These girls look under age, sicko.

Yup, I'm a sicko. Cute though, aren't they? It is actually a really funny anime. Extremely clever and cute.

"Darling, darling please."

407. Comment #274927 by Sciros

He's only joking.

1145. Turek vs. Hitchens Debate: Does God Exist?

Comment #274907 by Wosret on October 30, 2008 at 2:06 pm

113. Comment #274886 by Steve Zara

The idea of "something from nothing" is still not supported by physics, from what I understand, the closest thing to "nothing" in physics is a field of quantum instability.

I had it described to me like this: Imagine "nothingness" and then imagine a box encapsulating this nothingness. Shine a beam of light inside this box, and you see that there are particles. Where did there particles come from? They were already there, and merely required some form of energy to "bring them out" as it were.

I don't pretend to understand that, but that is what I'm told is the closest thing to "nothing" there is.

1146. Turek vs. Hitchens Debate: Does God Exist?

Comment #274902 by Wosret on October 30, 2008 at 1:57 pm

107. Comment #274857 by Sciros

Epic.

1147. A slow but certain demise

Comment #274855 by Wosret on October 30, 2008 at 1:00 pm

13. Comment #274840 by Frankus1122

Does "deeply" make any difference to the 'truthiness'?

It actually does. That is the nature of the definition of "truthiness".

1148. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #274841 by Wosret on October 30, 2008 at 12:28 pm

9830. Comment #274839 by decius

Then I misunderstood your original wording.

I think that your "artificial importance" was a very misleading way of putting it. Celebratory events are important in the subjective sense of the word. "Artificial" was needless and misleading, in my opinion.

1149. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #274836 by Wosret on October 30, 2008 at 12:17 pm

9828. Comment #274835 by decius

You're obfuscating the word now. The original context was about celebrating events, and the importance of doing this. Importance of this case clearly can't mean consequences or after effects, as you have now changed the context to refer to.

Celebrating or not celebrating an event has zero impact in that sense.

1150. A slow but certain demise

Comment #274834 by Wosret on October 30, 2008 at 12:13 pm

7. Comment #274805 by PaulEmecz

Those are not rational reasons. Those reasons appeal to me emotionally as well. Something having emotional appeal isn't a rational reason to accept it.

They may be intelligent people, but they are not rational people.