TimB

Douglas Adams was one of the greatest satirical writers of our times.  He was pretty constantly presenting things in a way that points out how ludicrous much of our beliefs and actions are.  And he did it in a very funny way.  You might enjoy his books, like  The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1979), <b>The Restaurant at the End of the Uni…[Read more]

“…I loved God, I worshiped him (itself a really weird thing for a being to demand)…”

It occurs to me that this God may have a narcistic personality disorder.  And we know that “God” is a concept created by humans.  So I wonder why the humans that created this concept of God, made such an imperfect deity?

Nice. The 1st sentence in the thread comes back around:

“You kinda either get it or you don’t.”

“Though the bit about emotions not mattering without free will I think might have something.”

Wrong. Emotions are important among deterministic factors.

Re: Pompeo.  He has gone the way of Bill Bahr and the DOJ.  Bahr has made the Dept of Justice just a Defense Attorney team for Trump.  So, in effect, we have lost our Dept of Justice.  Now, the same thing with the State Department, which has become an extension of T rump’s campaign efforts.

Lev and Igor helped and supported Rudy in und…[Read more]

We do have a strange society.  Girls grow up being conditioned to make themselves appear sexually attractive.  This is ingrained so deeply, that most women will not go out in public without carefully applied makeup.  The girls in the pictures above, who are being told they must have zero sexuality, all appear to be wearing make up. And have th…[Read more]

That makes very good sense.  I wonder if the ACLU would take on these women as clients to, at least, sue the state of Missouri and the officials involved.  And to also file rape charges with the police.

And if re elected, he will eventually become Dotard the DOTUS.

Well they did not have group predation in their phylogenetic background (like we did as hunters where cooperative communication was a major advantage in survival, with some prey).

If Mary was Catholic, maybe she kept her vaginal virginity intact, but did oral and anal with Joseph.  But really what does it matter?

I bet that behavior analysts, if there are any who work with Bonobo groups, could individually teach them to ask for assistance from one another, at least in specific tasks. With enough tasks in which asking for assistance was learned, the skill might eventually generalize.  Maybe they could, subsequently, even learn this skill from other…[Read more]

As far as inspiring life lessons, I think the advantage goes to LOTR over Star Wars.  e.g.:

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.
“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

I guess you did not read the Tolkien books as a young person.

I couldn’t open it.  But if our leaders won’t listen to Greta Thunberg, they probably won’t care what 11,000 scientists have to say.

It is difficult for me to believe that the T rumpists, and Repub hangers-on, do not recognize their own and T rump’s inherent dishonesty.  I just think that honesty doesn’t mean much to them. (Which is fundamentally worse for society.  At some point trust cannot be sustained in a society where truth is optional.  And a society without trust ca…[Read more]

Oh wow.  8 genders in the Talmud.  Talk about lost knowledge.  I never knew that.

Anyway, I am not bothered by people’s sexuality.  Whatever it is, it is between them and whatever adult consenting  partners that they have in sexual relationships.  I do admit to being a bit irked by gay guys who act super-prissy, but that’s about it.

Cool.

Good input.  I am not asking anyone to try to do lucid dreaming, just asking about the experiences of those who have.

That’s the spirit CC.  Keep hope alive!

I think that Faith, (believing without evidence) is  a decision, in a way.  Once one decides evidence is necessary in order to accept something as true (or at least highly probable), faith can no longer cut it.