What’s the difference between a politician and a flying pig? The letter 'F'.

Fernapple comments on Jun 4, 2022:

Oh, I love spelling jokes. Did you ever here the advice against making shallow judgments. "Assume, makes an ass of you and me both."

I just created a portmanteau for people averse to religious indoctrination...

Fernapple comments on Jun 4, 2022:

Not being in favour of not liking being unknowing ? Or something like that.

Hi all im new to this, just left my church to become an unbeliever not a nice experience but hey ho ...

Fernapple comments on Jun 4, 2022:

Hello and welcome, enjoy the site, and do fill out your bio to let us know who you are.

Wife: Are you having another sleepless night?

Fernapple comments on Jun 4, 2022:

That sadly can be the cycle of insomnia. Being sleep deprived means you can not cope with small problems so easily, and that you get annoyed more easily by small failings, then you are wound up and that means can't sleep, and so on. Been there bought the tee-shirt.

Some prize idiot is trying to convince me that the existence of God is a fact that is self-evidently...

Fernapple comments on Jun 3, 2022:

Oh. You can string them along forever. There is a guy on here, who is quite convinced he understands the motives of every single biblical author, and you can get unlimited fun out of him.

My fav breakfast

Fernapple comments on Jun 3, 2022:

So if nothing goes into your butt accidentally, where do you insert the blueberries ?

I read somewhere that it takes a village to raise a child.

Fernapple comments on Jun 3, 2022:

The main powers in the world do not want you to raise children anymore. Keeping people perpetually immature, as needy children who always want more stuff, is much more profitable. So sorry, the worlds institutions killed the village, because it was teaching people to be self reliant, supportive of each other, and to value real things, like the place where they live. ( For those of you who never benefited from a village upbringing. This is called dark irony, and should not be taken too literally. )

Mom planned to name her baby after an STD [newsweek.com]

Fernapple comments on Jun 3, 2022:

Perhaps she thought all babies are an STD.

Had had had had HAD HAD

Fernapple comments on Jun 2, 2022:

Good ones.

Well 2 things have come to light since yesterday.

Fernapple comments on Jun 2, 2022:

Whats to bet, he comes knocking on your door wanting to borrow stuff ?

Hard to imagine how people in Flint, MI suffered

Fernapple comments on Jun 2, 2022:

Maybe some of them affect the brain. Could explain a lot.

Sperm donor partitions court for custody of baby boy [wfla.com]

Fernapple comments on Jun 2, 2022:

Yes the big difference though is that a medical sperm donor does not have a relationship with the mother. ( I often wonder if science will soon find a way to fuse the DNA from two egg cells, so that lesbians can have babies of their own. )

.. and things are still shrinking. (especially on my body!) 😂

Fernapple comments on Jun 1, 2022:

Yes but I can't get my big stubby old fingers, to work the buttons anymore, and I can't see the display without a magnifier.

Why the Golden Rule is overrated.

Fernapple comments on Jun 1, 2022:

Yes, but get this, religion can not solve those problems either. Every single one of those problems is unresolved by religion too, nearly every one of those problems gets different answers from different religions. To solve those problems you need to think, and while the golden rule can not find you an answer, it does give you a good reason to start thinking.

Both are just fairy tales

Fernapple comments on Jun 1, 2022:

Yes but LOTR is a much better read and it makes sense.

The sedum is blooming now all over the rock walls - along with several other things.

Fernapple comments on Jun 1, 2022:

Great colour, you must be a few months in front of me.

"And of all the things you do, Wayne LaPierre (director of NRA) thanks for your thoughts and ...

Fernapple comments on Jun 1, 2022:

What I really like is that, they have obviously booked a big hall for the, I think, big national conference, and it is only about four or five percent, at best, full. No wonder the prankster got to speak.

Well... in his defense, he didn't have GPS

Fernapple comments on Jun 1, 2022:

Some people say that "Forty" in those days, just meant a lot. In the same way that we use "thousands", "millions" today. So it could have been a lot longer, even whole life times, Moses being several people.

question about the Christian Bible: Hi - I was raised Jewish and don't claim to know that much ...

Fernapple comments on Jun 1, 2022:

They like having a big book which has many different views, because then you can find whatever you want in it. And it should not be forgotten that even the new testament splits into several quite distinct parts. The writings of saint Paul which probably were written first, the Gospels, Acts, and the Revelation. Generally speaking the Christians tend to prefer, and only know, the gospels, because the stories are easy to understand, and most christians wrongly assume that the Gospels came first and inspired the others.

What if there was no god?

Fernapple comments on Jun 1, 2022:

No, you are quite correct. Whatever evils there are coming from religion, they certainly do not come from god, but can only come from the cultural traditions, whether that is because god, does not exist, does not communicate, or does not support evil, it does not matter. Religion is clearly a human cultural construct, and whatever harm it does, it is human culture that is to blame. What religion is however is a powerful, cultural weapon, having great power to influence, and itself very easy to manipulate. And let me think. What sort of people want a powerful weapon, which is easy and cost free to use ....... ?

Religion without belief — Most Japanese reject religious belief while embracing multiple forms ...

Fernapple comments on Jun 1, 2022:

They are half way between. Japan is not noted for always being a particularly happy country, and a lot of the unhappiness is usually ascribed, by people who know it better than me, to an over great respect for certain traditional cultural norms. But on the other hand they have abandoned many cultural norms, including things like the Emperor's divinity, because those are seen as things which caused disasters in the past.

My darkest secret is that I'm a fan of polka music.

Fernapple comments on Jun 1, 2022:

Even worse, Fado.

And that's part of the plan folks.

Fernapple comments on Jun 1, 2022:

And they would prefer it, if you did not get the education needed to even ask difficult questions.

The murderer couldn't legally buy alcohol, but he could purchase assault weapons with no problem.

Fernapple comments on May 31, 2022:

Yes but if he got drunk, he could be sick on the carpet, while the blood is on a wipe clean school room floor. ( Sorry, sometimes I feel that dark irony is the only thing left. )

The owner recieved noise complaints, so they set up a nanny cam [youtu.be]

Fernapple comments on May 31, 2022:

I want a dog now more than anything. The trouble is, I don't know if I can afford a grand piano as well.

Ask Abigail for advice

Fernapple comments on May 31, 2022:

Let me see. Was not that God fellow the one who got a teenage girl, who was betrothed to another man, pregnant, and then disappeared, leaving her without income or support, having to rely on the mercy of the other guy, and then arranged it so that she had to leave town on foot days before the birth, and then give birth homeless in a stable ? Some good family planning there. Yep he certainly should be in charge of every countries sex education, health and welfare.

All 13.7 billion light years of it 😂

Fernapple comments on May 31, 2022:

Every day I address my cells and say. Thank you DNA for another day of life on this planet.

10 things most Americans don't know about most of America [markmanson.net]

Fernapple comments on May 31, 2022:

Yep perhaps. But I still like you.

Ive been trying to grow peppers indoors for about a year and finally i have 2

Fernapple comments on May 31, 2022:

Hello and welcome, enjoy the peppers and the site.

A little Spinoza for your Memorial Day from Will Durant’s “The Story of Philosophy” ...

Fernapple comments on May 31, 2022:

Fortunately, things, including education, have moved no rather a lot since Spinoza's day. (Perhaps not in the U.S. but US exceptionalism is a special failing, not a universal. ) Spinoza may not have been a snob and a narcissist by the standards of his own day, but was certainly a victim of the attitudes of his day, and could not have envisioned the advances possible in education, and human aspiration, that would one day render the term "the masses" unacceptable. And sadly scripture still fails, even if taken as metaphor. Since metaphor, even where you can discern its probable original meaning, still leaves a trite, banal, limited and sometimes quite evilly intended text. Which is open to lend its fake authority to almost any interpretation. Spinoza is guilty of falling for the Golden Age fallacy, if he thinks that he discerns especial wisdom in it, and not that he sees, merely a picture image of his own understandings which he is projecting on to it. Which is most likely, since it is almost impossible with a metaphorical view of a text, to ever discern the original meaning anyway, and it is always the case of getting from it what you bring to it, which is invariably at least banal therefore, but almost always also the favourite go to, for the lover of the confirmation bias fallacy. He certainly rightly discerns that the basic text of the bible, is vulgar, crude and full of errors, and destined to have its main appeal to the most basic and shallow of human understanding, but fails to see that the better wisdom he thinks that he sees in it, is his own thoughts that he brings to it. Nor is he in line of course with the most modern of historical and textural thinking, which fails to find any single consistent unified genre or style in the text. Rather discerning that not only was Pentateuch not written by Moses, but that it was probably not even written even by a single group of authors working together for a single purpose, but was brought together by a number of editors, all with different agendas from numerous existing scraps over long period. And that therefore, the mere idea that the bible is a single genre, whether true history, imaginative fiction, propaganda, poetic metaphor, or folklore, is simply childish, in the light of todays learning. Though to be fair to Spinoza, he was probably intending his statements to be only in the most general and overall of terms, yet it is not possible not to look deeper without giving up on progression and learning.

Fernapple comments on May 30, 2022:

My ambition. What could be better ?

“Never explain - your friends do not need it, and your enemies will not believe it ...

Fernapple comments on May 30, 2022:

No, but your students may be a little disappointed.

Sometimes we are the mice on the running wheel. ;-)

Fernapple comments on May 30, 2022:

If you truly want companionship, then perhaps the best way to find it is not the web. Especially for women. You have to remember that men are easy. Yes really they are. Most of us would happily role over and play dead with our ears pricked up, for any woman who could flutter her eyelids at us. So that, it follows, if a really good man becomes available, say he is widowed, then you may rest assured that he is already targeted by half a dozen of his female acquaintances. ( I speak from experience I am a widower. Only three females in my case, but then I am not a really good man.) So good men never get as far as the web. If you want my probably really bad, and trite advice, then personally I would say. If you really want to meet good men, then the best way, is probably to do something real that makes a contribution, outside of work, because that is where the "good" men are anyway. Do some charity work for example, or get involved in unpaid local government, your local animal rescue etc. several things, there are things for every taste. That way you will vastly widen your social network, not only meeting more men, but increasing your social standing as well, giving you a much better chance of finding, the one. While maybe one day, as often happens, a co-worker will probably bump your arm and say. "Have you met." Because there is nothing people enjoy more than match making, its a real rush that few can resist. And even if at the end of the day that does not help you find a mate, since nothing sadly is ever certain. Then at least you will still have met a lot of new friends, had some fun, shed a few tears, saved all the money wasted on dating other womens rejects, and have the satisfaction that you have achieved something worthwhile and made a contribution with your time.

Atheist? omg! - a blog on authortedgresham.com

Fernapple comments on May 30, 2022:

Reading your blog, you should be "proud" to be an atheist, for you at least it sounds like the end point of a long hard journey. Not proud perhaps in the shouty way, but certainly in the, feeling that I have achieved, way.

Firearms were the leading cause of death in children in 2020, researchers say : NPR

Fernapple comments on May 29, 2022:

I did not know that although bad it was anything like number one. That is sad indeed. And I have read that of all gun deaths, mass shootings although they make the biggest news, are but a small portion compared with the huge number of pure accidental deaths, in both children and adults.

So I have a friend, he is not on here but he is one of the most knowledgeable when it comes to ...

Fernapple comments on May 29, 2022:

Most of them have been done, but to be topical. Why not ask if religion is not in part responsible for the promotion of the fear and hate culture which seems to be afflicting the US today ? As in. Religion needs to fill pews, it does that by promoting fear, fear of chaos, fear of sin, fear of sinners, fear of foreigners with different values, fear of death, fear of losing tradition etc. But fear breeds hate, and that breeds distrust, which breeds more hate, which makes more fear, which sends people back to church and temple to be impregnated with more fear, in a never ending cycle. Break the fear cycle, is a new topical angle. ( I like this, I hope you wont mind if I post it. )

Just a small amount of protein supplement helps control type 2 diabetes. [scitechdaily.com]

Fernapple comments on May 29, 2022:

I wonder if just whey itself would have the same effect ?

Does love exist?

Fernapple comments on May 29, 2022:

Yes. Since, at least in the most basic forms of, for example, pair bonding and care for offspring, it evolved at least three different times, ( probably many more ) in three different groups of animal, at least, mammals, birds, and fish. Which would be strong evidence that it is caused by quite a strong underlying natural law. That is the science so far, now merely my speculation. It is interesting, that it never seems to have evolved in amphibians or reptiles, at least not the modern ones, perhaps because it does seem, that even the pair bond type of love, is related to, and only evolves, in species which exhibit continuing care for offspring. It could be that pair bonding is a needed adaption in species that exhibit care for offspring, but it could also be, that it is at the same time a useful spin-off from parental love. Since nature is always thrifty with adaptations, often making one mechanism serve many roles. ( We use noses to breath, smell, taste and elephants even use them to manipulate, birds use feathers to fly, keep warm and display etc. ) And while therefore love may have evolved to serve the use of parental care, the same mechanism may also have co-evolved, at the same time, to enable pair bonding and other useful social bonds such as love of mutual supporters. ( Friends and allies. ) All of which would be useful to animals giving long term care to offspring. And there is some evidence that you are looking at one mechanism, since love often expresses itself in the same ways for different groups. We don't notice that, because it seems banal and obvious so we never give it a thought, but it is a notable thing that we actually express different forms of love/affection in the same ways. For example, we kiss our children, our sexual partners and our friends. Where if we are dealing with three separate mechanisms it would be at least plausible to expect different expressions. Which is even more powerfully in the case in for example of the fish called Cichlids, many species of which, mouth brood, or in other words keep their offspring safe by holding them in their mouths. Yet it is also a commonplace in the genera to kiss sexual partners, in other words to use the same organ in a similar way, to express interest in both offspring and sexual partners

Respect for the truth comes close to being the basis for all morality. - Frank Herbert

Fernapple comments on May 29, 2022:

Without truth you have no basis for the understanding of anything, let alone morality. And how can you respect anything if you can't even manage truth ?

Further reasons for our national gun crisis lie in the areas of interpretation and defects in ...

Fernapple comments on May 28, 2022:

A very good neat summing up.

Question : Is something morally wrong, reprehensible, because individuals , or a whole society, ...

Fernapple comments on May 28, 2022:

Both, and one other. Some parts of morality are simply cultural, and some are a genetic inheritance, and some are naturally derived logically from the genetic inheritance. So three origins. Generally speaking those aspects of morality which are common to many different species are probably inherent, and those found in all human cultures are most likely logically derived from that, and those which are only found in some cultures are probably merely cultural.

The refusal of the NRA to acknowledge its part in the mass murder of children in the U$A merely ...

Fernapple comments on May 28, 2022:

I strongly suspect that the NRA is basically a trade association, I doubt that it has many prominent members who are not employed in the gun trade.

America’s gun sales are booming. Does faith play a role? - Deseret News

Fernapple comments on May 28, 2022:

Because churches promote fear, to get people in. And fear breeds hate and distrust, which in turn breeds people who turn to violence.

I suspect a number of folks on this site also had been in Sane.

Fernapple comments on May 28, 2022:

Several people have told me that I have frequently been, in Describable, but I don't remember it.

Jordan Klepper Debunks The “Good Guy with a Gun” Argument

Fernapple comments on May 28, 2022:

Sadly it says. "Video unavailable in your country."

Are autistic kids more easily scammed, or.indoctrinated with religion?

Fernapple comments on May 27, 2022:

It really depends on the type of scam. Autistic and Aspergers people, ( I am borderline. ) can be very bad at reading certain social signals, so that we could be caught if the scam is one based on social trust issues, such as a lonely hearts scam. On the other hand there is often an obsessive passion for fact and perfect logic, indeed one way to describe the spectrum is as just obsessive honesty, and unwillingness to accept cognitive dissonance. Illogic makes you uncomfortable at an emotional level. ( Darwin's perfect logic in his natural history, which still stands up very well today, has been ascribed to possible borderline autism. ) So there could be a much reduced risk from gambling and religion related scams.

Gun control is only part of the problem.

Fernapple comments on May 27, 2022:

Good idea. Although here in the UK we have the opposite, you have to be licensed to own a gun and meet strict guidelines, such as, renewing your license often, listing your guns, and keeping the gun always in a locked strongbox which is inspected by the police etc. But one of the qualifications is, that you have to be able to prove, ( receipts from gun shops ) that you are buying ammunition regularly, to prove that you are really using the gun for what are thought to be proper uses, like hunting or practicing marksmanship. And well, it seems to work fairly well for us.

In order to perform marriages in my state, I am a minister of the "Church of Spiritual Humanism.

Fernapple comments on May 27, 2022:

I have read several of these over the years, and that is by far the best one so far. I think that the only thing that I would change, and it is just a personal thing. Is that I would change the vague and woo, "spiritual abilities" in number seven, for the more secular sounding. "Cultivate appreciation of life by application." And two. Base beliefs on reason.

“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our...

Fernapple comments on May 27, 2022:

You make me happy.

Modern day xianity

Fernapple comments on May 27, 2022:

True but there are many who not only still live in the dark ages, but also think that he dark ages are the best place to live.

How the web of lies weaves its way to starve many throughout the world.

Fernapple comments on May 27, 2022:

We all live in the same pool and ripples spread outwards.

If you want to explain the meaning of the word "outlier"

Fernapple comments on May 26, 2022:

A picture paints a thousand words.

Should you wonder what motivation a man can have who kills 20 little children, just like that (not ...

Fernapple comments on May 26, 2022:

And of course in the end they will fail even in their sick intent. Herostratus may be remembered because he was a "first" but who remembers the names of most murderers, even the really famous ones are forgot in a couple of centuries, because they are such a common dish, todays newspaper, tomorrows packaging pulp.

Does love exist?

Fernapple comments on May 26, 2022:

Yes.

Would it be at all possible to persuade ALL or ANY of those who simply want PROTECTION to train to ...

Fernapple comments on May 26, 2022:

That could cause even more deaths. Tazers can be lethal, especially to children and people with heart problems, but the common delusion that they are harmless could get them used frequently in a casual irresponsible, and even joking, way. They are best left to well trained police officers operating within strict guidelines. ( OK, I know a lot of you are going to say that you don't have those in the US, but that's another issue.)

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Fernapple comments on May 26, 2022:

You would think that even the religious know, that they wont bring them back to life again.

Saying what needs to be said that will unfortunately be ignored again. [youtu.be]

Fernapple comments on May 26, 2022:

Your senators are in power, because they need the votes of that small minority to tip the balance in their favour. One of the sad effects of many voting systems is that tiny minorities, with single issues often get to dictate to the majority, simply because their few votes hold the balance.

Spirituality is emotionality.

Fernapple comments on May 26, 2022:

No, that's called morality.

The stubborn refusal of Congress to do anything about guns needs to be called out for what it is: a ...

Fernapple comments on May 25, 2022:

I don't know about a declaration of war, but it certainly shows a level of contempt for their wellbeing way beyond what would be considered even half sane in the civilized world.

Now it’s 18 children and 3 adults….😞

Fernapple comments on May 25, 2022:

To add to all the previous.

I was a member of this church when he was pastor and some of the things he said in church turned me ...

Fernapple comments on May 25, 2022:

The trick is to persuade him to increase his vacation time by a factor of twelve.

Why do we have outbreaks of things like monkey pox?

Fernapple comments on May 24, 2022:

We did, and the putrid Putin seems to be the worst symptom so far.

I am not a Conservative (at least not in the American meaning of this word), but I have to ...

Fernapple comments on May 24, 2022:

The left certainly do make a big mistake. They see the threat to people from uncontrolled capitalist institutions, and think that the solution lies with the state, but that forgets that the state is also an institution, which can just as easily be manipulated to create wealth and privilege for a spoiled few, as any private company. And the state is not always under even as much democratic control as a private company, a company has ultimately to sell its product to gain wealth, where the state can, and does usually enforce the sale of its products, whether wanted or not. (And to some degree the left are blind to the problems of the state, because they indulge in the same tribal cognitive dissonance that religious people do. That "people like us" who believe in good things like us, can not do any harm. ) However a large degree of power always exists with the greater number of the people, because they can and do, at least in a mixed economy, decide where they obtain their products, employment and services, by voting with their feet. If used thoughtfully ( A big ask. ) that can be used to enforce democracy, in ways that extend far beyond the ballot box, manipulating the institutions one against the other for the peoples gain. Which is I think, is the one value the religion always offered, by being a third institutional block to give another device for the population to manipulate and obtain a voice through. However the optimist in me, thinks that secular charities can fill that gap, and certainly there are many political and human rights charities that seem to be stepping up to do the job as religion fades, in fact perhaps even better, since they do not have complex additional issues to muddy the waters. Which may be one of the many reasons why social health improves as religion fades. The one real threat which creates the greatest wealth and power divisions and social injustice, is disinformation and deceit. Which usually results from everybody, singing from the same song sheet, so that therefore whoever can write something in to the song sheet gets their way. Human diversity is not just useful because it is kind to the minorities, but because it creates debate and fuels questioning, which makes it much more difficult for a corrupt few power brokers to manipulate public opinion. Someone on this site recently asked why European culture became so dominant in the world by the nineteenth century, and I suspect that it did so because Europe was such a divided continent, with many different competing factions and states, and could not therefore become so trapped and immobilized by totalitarianism as the great empires did. ( However cynical and criminal the motivation, there is still a large grain of truth in Harry Lime's cuckoo clock argument. )

I am not a Conservative (at least not in the American meaning of this word), but I have to ...

Fernapple comments on May 24, 2022:

That is very true to a degree, but the reverse also applies. Of what use is power if you have nothing to do with it ? ( Certainly not hedonism, since that is easy to obtain with only moderate power, and the effort required to obtain power and hold it, only wastes time if you only want hedonism, while too much hedonism will only make you miserable anyway. ) Ultimately we are all under the control of our ideals, even the powerful have no freedom from their own thinking, and therefore, if the collective ideas are good the powerful will always be moderated.

I just came back from a two week vacation in Cancun.

Fernapple comments on May 24, 2022:

Hello and welcome, enjoy the site, and do check out the groups. A perfect example of self promotion, well spotted. If the Bible says that it is the word of god, it must be true, because the bible is the word of god. How do we know because the bible says so.

Well said...

Fernapple comments on May 24, 2022:

Religion can be used as an excuse to promote anything, therefore if you want to promote something vile, what is your first go to ?

Nothing makes sense anymore.

Fernapple comments on May 24, 2022:

If you wait for logic, you will miss a many thousand buses.

For those who have only wonderful things to say about the time when whites settled here from England...

Fernapple comments on May 23, 2022:

Freedom of religion was not really an issue for the early religious migrants, it was more the freedom to impose there own religion which they sought.

Christianity Has An Unfair Advantage:

Fernapple comments on May 23, 2022:

And don't forget the pork scratchings.

“It takes less time to do a thing right, than it does to explain why you did it wrong”……….

Fernapple comments on May 23, 2022:

It also takes longer to refute and explain why an argument is wrong, than it does to state an argument. Which is why the Gish gallop, also known as "spreading" was invented, by a religious apologist of course. It is when a debater confronts an opponent with a rapid series of many specious arguments, half-truths, misrepresentations, and outright lies in a short space of time, which makes it impossible for the opponent to refute all of them within the format of a formal debate.

What was Newton's 1st law?

Fernapple comments on May 23, 2022:

Every action causes an equal and opposite reaction. Not sure if that was the first, but it was certainly one of them.

Old Park Slope, Brooklyn 1976. They should have named this shop "Reboot".

Fernapple comments on May 22, 2022:

The word reboot did not I think exist then, at least not in popular culture, it is amazing how things change so quickly when you are not looking.

After decades of pains-taking digging and research, Archaeologists have finally found the reason why...

Fernapple comments on May 22, 2022:

Ah yes. Potus Trump was indeed a master strategist.

Just had a most lovely bath.

Fernapple comments on May 22, 2022:

Do you ever share ?

This seemed like a very busy schedule to me, I don't know where I would find the time to add all of ...

Fernapple comments on May 22, 2022:

Have you been spying on me ?

Nowadays it is fashionable to constantly pillory white people and to put Western culture in the ...

Fernapple comments on May 22, 2022:

It is true that as Western culture has made some wonderful contributions to the world, but, it should be remembered that most of those contributions were made exactly because of "systematic self-criticism". Just as with people, only societies and cultures which can admit and own their faults, ever move forward. Perhaps the greatest strength of western, especially European culture in the past was that its diversity enabled it to ask and reply to questions, in a way that more totalitarian cultures could and did not.

17 Sex Tricks Men Learn From Porn That Women Wish We Could Wipe From Your Brain

Fernapple comments on May 22, 2022:

Why would anyone think that porn was a good guide to sex ? That's like thinking that sitting and watching sport on TV is a way to get fit. ( Oh wait though. People do do that, and we live in a world where there are people who think that having the Bible read in church, is a good way to learn about science and the universe. )

Wonderful.

Fernapple comments on May 22, 2022:

I don't know anything about Australian politics, but I do know that when one party has been sitting in power for a long time, in any country, then it is well time for a change.

The key to growth is the introduction of higher dimensions of consciousness into our awareness.

Fernapple comments on May 22, 2022:

No sorry. Those who flatter themselves that they can achieve higher dimensions of consciousness, are just narcissists heading down a rabbit hole, to a dead end so narrow, they can not ever turn round or escape their narcissism.

A study examines the perception of atheists and agnostics, a child is killed in California during ...

Fernapple comments on May 21, 2022:

Poor little kid probably woke up crying and screaming in the night, because she knew her relationship with her mother offered her no safety anyway.

They are cute helping each other 🥰 [instagram.com]

Fernapple comments on May 20, 2022:

Facinating behavior, I guess they must respond to the splashing.

That's why I'm proud to be a Wiccan

Fernapple comments on May 20, 2022:

Funny how, what glorifies god, always seems to be very like what they wanted to do anyway.

I can tell if a person is judgmental just by looking at them.

Fernapple comments on May 20, 2022:

Sometimes just by reading their posts, even.

"Naturally being a migrant wanting to outdo American bullying & anarchic behaviour it follows that ...

Fernapple comments on May 19, 2022:

That is very insulting, and I am sure that any reasonable sites guidelines should preclude that level of misbehavior.

It is getting colder and colder -1C 33.8 F during the night. So happy to have a warm bed.

Fernapple comments on May 19, 2022:

Sorry to be a pedant, but, 33.8 F is nearer to plus one C.

Okay, let's REALLY get to know each other.

Fernapple comments on May 19, 2022:

My first thought is, that, at my age I could probably not find the time or energy to deal with a huge amount of money anyway, what the heck could I do with it ? Poor sad old bloke, with little interest in the obvious things that money can buy, like houses and cars, that I am. But then I thought. Well you could always give it to charity, where it may do more good. You could even just put it back in a bank, but this time, into an ethical lending bank with a record for supporting good causes. But then the first bank would probably claim on its insurance, and the insurance companies would recoup the money they lost, by putting everyones premiums up. Which would hit the poorest and most vulnerable people who are finding it hard to pay their premiums most. So would there be a net gain in human wellbeing ? And that is the problem with most crime, we all swim in the same economic pool, but who pays the most for crime and everything else as well, is always the poorest and most vulnerable because they are the main direct and the final producers of all the wealth. And it is they who have to pay as well for all the policing and security, and suffer most from the bureaucracy which are the indirect costs of crime and distrust. ( The bank decides that it must cut costs, so it closes some smaller branches. Then Mom and Pop, who are very frail and can't cope with doing everything on line, have to get on to a bus and pay for an extra half hour ride, just to go to the bank, every couple of weeks. Can you picture them ? Trying to save money by going to the shops at the same time, and she wants him to help her get the shopping cart up the step of the bus, but he is too frail to manage it, so she loses her temper, and the driver looks grumpy and only grudgingly helps out with a rude remark. And they can't even get a free bus pass anymore, because the banks who have clout demand extra policing, and welfare is easy to cut. ) Which is why the old excuse that many criminals give. "I only stole from the rich who can afford it." Does not really work. So. No I would not.

Jellyfish's stinging cells hold clues to biodiversity: [sciencedaily.com]

Fernapple comments on May 19, 2022:

So they probably started by having two different types of neuron, determined by the single mutation, which then went in different directions as evolution progressed.

I wrote "Don't blame women for men's bad behavior." Got blocked.

Fernapple comments on May 18, 2022:

Most failed relationships, not just marriages, started with the false premise. I will change them. Which is about the hardest thing in the world to do, even for trained therapists, with the full cooperation of the person involved.

This is such a wholesome little story.

Fernapple comments on May 17, 2022:

Its cold outside.

Just a comment this time.

Fernapple comments on May 17, 2022:

Then god did it again after Noah.

I'd like to explore stoicism more in depth. Any comments regarding stoicism?

Fernapple comments on May 17, 2022:

You may also find it profitable to study the Epicureans as well, they are often misunderstood and misrepresented as by a member below. But it is incorrect to think that the Epicureans were mere hedonists saying. "Do as you please and everything will work out fine." Quite the contrary, the Epicureans said that success and happiness comes from learning to curb and regulate the pleasure impulse. Since they saw misfortune as coming from uncontrolled desire. As in. If I drink too much I will get a hangover, if I have too much sex, I will get more children than I can support, whereas if I drink very moderately, I will make social bonds more easily, and moderate sex will get you a supportable family, of well provided for children, who will then support you in old age. The big difference with the Stoics came about, because the Stoics believed that misfortune alone was the main cause of suffering, and that morale behaviour had little effect on that, so that a degree of nihilism was needful to face the inevitable unhappiness. The misassociation of the Epicureans with hedonism, comes from early Christian propaganda, and was at least philosophically quite untrue, though of course any large scale movement is bound to have some corruption. And is ironic in at least one way, because the early Christian monastic tradition probably got a lot of its inspiration from the Epicurean communities, where the followers of Epicurus lived lives of austerity and simplicity following the teachings of the philosopher. It is little doubted by historians that most of the portrayal of Epicureanism as mere hedonism is an invention of the propagandists. Perhaps in part, because, as well as being a rival cult, the Epicureans also treated men and women as equals, which made it easy in the misogynistic mindset of many people then , to portray the Epicureans as sexually immoral. It is sad that such misunderstandings and strawmanings of the movement still persist to this day, when there is no good reason not to understand the truth, but the Christian sub-culture still passes on its own version of history untouched by mainstream history, and it is very pervasive.

If atheism is a religion...

Fernapple comments on May 16, 2022:

That is a mistake that religious apologists often make, because they think that they can prove that atheism is a belief, which is quite correct, it can be, ( Not always but sometimes.) but the mistake is in thinking that a belief is the same things as religion. But it is not. A belief is something we hold as probably true without supporting evidence, where a religion is something we hold true without evidence but support with fake authority. As in. "Because my holy book says so." "Because my tradition says so. " " Because my God says so. " Etc. Religion in short is the same thing as the fallacy of proof by authority. And is quite different from honest belief, which accepts that it is belief.

A thought experiment: Let's imagine a utopian society that wants to abolish all differences ...

Fernapple comments on May 16, 2022:

Yes they would, for them not to there would have to be no genetic determinism at all, and we know without any but the most technical of scientific doubt that there is a lot.

I’ve pretty much been single since my ex wife wandered off in 2009.

Fernapple comments on May 16, 2022:

There are many countries in the world my friend. And a lot of them are civilized and friendly, why not try travel, you may not find "the one" but it does give purpose to life and is perhaps the most fulfilling thing to do with your life after being in a relationship, or founding a charity.

“I cannot forecast to you the actions of Russia.

Fernapple comments on May 16, 2022:

Or the interest of whatever tweerp is leading at the time.

The happiest nations on Earth are strongly secular

Fernapple comments on May 16, 2022:

Also compare with this. https://rsf.org/en/index?year Perhaps some countries are just moving forward on all fronts, and of course some are going backwards. ( USA is at forty nine. )

7th Russian oligarch to die this year dies of toad venom.

Fernapple comments on May 16, 2022:

Could make him unique, the first person poisoned in Russia for years, who did not first fall out with Putin.

It's enough to make a person wonder if this whole Roe vs Wade thing isn't just about patriarchical ...

Fernapple comments on May 16, 2022:

Another way of looking at it, especially from the point of view of the evangelicals, less so the Catholics. Is that. If you want to boost your public image, political standing and earn a reputation as moral crusaders, then the unborn are the perfect political choice. Since they are the only ethnic group that have no agenda of their own, and will never turn round on you and say. "No don't want that." And they are the only group you can make into victims and back who are not already supported by at least some of the hated liberals, forcing you to side with them. The choice to support the, so called, rights of the unborn, may therefore be seen as a cynical political propagandists move, albeit a mostly unconscious one. "Why should the liberals get all the moral high ground, we want a share of that. Who can we champion ? What nobody wants us. Well who can we force ourselves on to then ?"

I'd like to explore stoicism more in depth. Any comments regarding stoicism?

Fernapple comments on May 16, 2022:

No comments any better than those already given below, but you will I am sure find the journey rewarding. One of the great things about philosophy, is that the early philosophers did the big core things, and they are still as valid today as they always were.

THE SKELETON FLOWER, WHOSE PETALS TURN FROM WHITE TO TRANSLUCENT WHEN IT RAINS.

Fernapple comments on May 15, 2022:

I have never met with that one, it is truly beautiful, but sadly it sounds like it would not like my chalk soil.