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The best revenge is success, wouldn't you say?
Fernapple comments on May 29, 2021:
No happiness. But success is a good second.
Former Muslims where you at?!
Fernapple comments on May 29, 2021:
Hello and welcome. There are a few on here, though the site tends to be dominated by former Christians, because of its USA geographical centering.
Maybe we can all get some sleep now...
Fernapple comments on May 29, 2021:
I once stayed in a small guest house, for one night. The couple in the next room kept the bed banging against the walls and the floor popping, on and off all night. At breakfast in the morning they were nowhere to be seen, sleeping it off, I guess. But the hotels owner had obviously heard it, even at the other end of the building. She told me she was very sorry about the noise. Which I said, was sweet, since it was hardly her fault. She said. "Yes but I should have known, when they said they had come for a party, but they were not dressed for going out."
OK you sort-of religious...answer me this;
Fernapple comments on May 29, 2021:
Because he likes to see things die, pointlessly and in frustration, thats how he gets his kicks. Come on, you have known god long enough to know that, read your buybabble. LOL
Here's your guaranteed smile for the day!
Fernapple comments on May 29, 2021:
OK I smiled. You obviously have the power.
Yesterday got the second dose of the Pfizer Covid vaccine, so far so good...
Fernapple comments on May 29, 2021:
Sad to say, I had a second dose eight days ago, and it took about four days for the side effects to arrive, but they are very mild so you could be lucky.
Every religious group that I know of has some kind of weird dogma that to me is beyond reason.
Fernapple comments on May 29, 2021:
And you intend to solve this how ?
Recently I have seen some discussions on this site claiming that it is human nature to always want ...
Fernapple comments on May 29, 2021:
There is little doubt that human nature can be hugely subverted and manipulated by human culture, and the fact that there are so many different cultures, which produce so many differing attitudes to so many different aspects of life, proves that, without any further evidence. That of course does not mean that human nature is unimportant, only that it is flexible, which to a degree is what you would expect, a nature which was inflexible would not serve the purposes of survival very well. One aspect which people have noted before, is that the level of human on human aggression, may depend inversely on the degree of threat from the physical environment. Where the environment is extreme, ( food widely scattered, and its supplies unpredictable, high danger from cold etc. ) such as that of your Inuit example, while the human population is thin meaning that the threat from strangers is rare. It repays people and their culture to show a high level cooperation. While in situations where there is a good food supply, high population and only a few avoidable threats from the environment, the threats from humans may well assume a greater relative proportion. (Including disease of course, a threat greatly lessened by hostility to strangers.) And that of course, is the state brought about by civilization. Especially in environments rich in resources, such as the Fertile Crescent, the Indus Valley the Yellow River etc. While the threats from humans will become even greater as technological advances, including the technology of government, and increasing material inequalities and weapons inequalities both within cultures and between different cultures. And it is certainly observable that organized warfare, and genocide are at least only possible for advanced civilizations. Human nature is adaptable, yes. And human culture is a very powerful agent for changing it.
Today's hike: discovered new wildflowers blooming.
Fernapple comments on May 29, 2021:
Envy, it has been a cold spring here and the roses are still a month away. Do you get many annoying insect types, in those woods as s the summer goes on ?
Qwop? dop? or cj!
Fernapple comments on May 28, 2021:
Mine would not exist at all.
“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, it is the parent of all ...
Fernapple comments on May 28, 2021:
I always though about, appreciation, the same way. But I suppose that they are actually synonyms in many ways.
Christians and kink/BDSM I keep reading about "real" Christians and how sex is determined by ...
Fernapple comments on May 28, 2021:
I wonder if there is one called sacrilege sex ? You know, wanting to have sex in a church, preferably on the altar, or in the aisle. Asking for a friend. LOL
Cancer-causing chemical found in 78 sunscreen products The independent lab that made the finding is...
Fernapple comments on May 28, 2021:
Costs next to nothing to wear a hat. Saves money, saves time slapping it on, prevents sticky residues, and now it seems prevents cancer.
Good morning to everyone.
Fernapple comments on May 27, 2021:
Welcome, enjoy the site.
Morning walk.
Fernapple comments on May 27, 2021:
Sunshine. I sometimes think that sunshine is all that is needed for happiness, you were very lucky.
“The greatest tragedy in mankind’s entire history may be the hijacking of morality by ...
Fernapple comments on May 27, 2021:
If you are shameless about making fake claims, then you may as well claim everything.
Who else misses this guy’s humor?
Fernapple comments on May 27, 2021:
For once I think that it is possible to improve on George. It should be. The 'FIRST AND' last refuge of a man with no answers and no arguments.
Is it better to stay silent?
Fernapple comments on May 27, 2021:
You have to remember that C. D. trained for the church, and was always shy of challenging the status quo. However great as a thinker and a naturalist, he was still at the bottom a Victorian country parson.
I used spot remover on my dog. Now I can't find him.
Fernapple comments on May 27, 2021:
Reminds me of he story about the youth, who covered himself in invisible ink, and then went out to rob a bank.
'Elections have consequences': Biden officials unrepentant after purging Trump cronies ...
Fernapple comments on May 27, 2021:
Another broken link.
Why the Sun’s Atmosphere Is Hundreds of Times Hotter Than Its Surface – 80 Year- Theory Finally ...
Fernapple comments on May 27, 2021:
Sorry, broken link.
I love this photo!
Fernapple comments on May 26, 2021:
Clever metaphor, raining under the brollies, yes that could stand for a lot of things.
U gonna have to hear me out , Sorry friends , But here we are 🙄😂 I moved back to ED/ ...
Fernapple comments on May 26, 2021:
People often think. WELL done. But hardly ever bother to rouse themselves and say it, so if they do, you can be sure it is really well meant.
The Ring of Fire Ivanka Trump Thinks Playing Stupid Will Save Her From Investigators ...
Fernapple comments on May 26, 2021:
Ugh.
Today's hike: "Where's Kathleen?" Worried, they searched my home.
Fernapple comments on May 26, 2021:
Hiking with a group, and walking alone or with just one friend, are all quite different experiences, but all three are very rewarding. I usually walk alone, but there is nothing I like better, than going out with a club I belong to. It is a botany group, so I sometimes get impatient, because they do not go very fast and they stop every few hundred yards, but you can have wonderful fun in just five miles, and it is great to walk with an objective.
“Never be a spectator of unfairness or stupidity.
Fernapple comments on May 26, 2021:
That is a good one. The first part is a fairly common sentiment, that you have heard in many different forms before, but the grave metaphor, lifts it quite out of the ordinary, and brings a real originality to it. (Plus it gives me an excuse to carry on being the worlds biggest bore. LOL)
And a quote: ”A poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no ...
Fernapple comments on May 26, 2021:
Yes I have always thought that that was the best explanation of the Fermi paradox. And we may not even be that safe, just counting existing threats, is not enough, you also have to think about as yet undiscovered technologies. There only needs to be one, just one, undiscovered technology which is both planet destroying, and whose dangers can not be foreseen before hand, out there. Waiting for every technically advanced species to discover it, and every planet with technology is fated to end in with a great sad accident, and no way to escape it.
LOL, made me giggle
Fernapple comments on May 26, 2021:
They forgot to add the stat about. Over a hundred times , more people were taken to hospital in America last year with things stuck in their throat, than starved to death. They like a good stat, do the antivaxxers.
Flowers surviving our monsoon Spring.
Fernapple comments on May 26, 2021:
Great photos, and it looks like things have survived even if damaged. I have heard about your rains this spring, we have had an exceptional spring in the UK, with very cold weather and frosts every night for a month longer than usual. And now it rains. Still there is still time for some summer yet.
I think that good aim would be an important factor.
Fernapple comments on May 25, 2021:
As far as I know, plants don't urinate ?
I am so worried about a family of crows that live at my office.
Fernapple comments on May 25, 2021:
Leaving food is doing an awful lot. Young birds often fly into cars and windows, but they do usually recover especially if the parents are still there. Don't be temped to pick it up though, because not only will it perhaps do more harm than good, but also because crows can recognize individual humans, and pass the knowledge on culturally, so if you touch a young one you are marked for life.
If someone has already posted this, sorry for the repeated info.
Fernapple comments on May 25, 2021:
If you are into religion, you are into fake claims, so whats to stop you.
To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one’s family, to bring peace to all, one must ...
Fernapple comments on May 25, 2021:
Not sure that is possible, by nature the mind is undisciplined. While if it was not, then it would cease to be creative and original. Certainly human mental culture, taken collectively, if undisciplined, will fail to produce effective and truthful models of reality, and there is a clear benefit to using systems of research with disciplining frameworks, when attempting to formulate public models of reality. It was after all, the conspicuous failing of undisciplined, human cultures, such as religion, to produce good models of how the world works, which drove people to create, first philosophy, which attempted to bring thinking within the framework of mathematical logic, and then to invent natural philosophy, (now known as science) which added the experimental method and the use of experimental evidence as extra safeguards. But of course those only apply to public thought. While if you are refer to thought crime and thought sin, they are almost certainly impossible to prevent, and rather pointless to do so. Since there is no discredit to me in thinking of doing something wrong, if I then immediately decide, it is wrong, and refrain. But of course imposing that injustice, is of course the whole point of the religious trick. By setting up impossible targets to ensure that people must fall short, religions ensure that there is a never ending demand for their services as forgivers, and the great con trick rolls on.
I am speechless
Fernapple comments on May 25, 2021:
Stick around, sooner or later someone here will push your start button.
Fake prophet says Good will Punish Doubters and Disbelievers With Insanity
Fernapple comments on May 25, 2021:
He is good at what he does, he manages to speak without actually saying anything specific for a long time, and when he has to, he drifts off into the vague realms of metaphor. So that the believers will lap it up, and every one will go home thinking. "His thoughts agree exactly with mine, great guy." When in reality apart from vague metaphorical threats, about what god may do, which can be interpreted many ways, he says nothing.
that suspension of disbelief thing is way out of hand for many, but most all of us have tried it.
Fernapple comments on May 25, 2021:
Nobody is perfect at anything, not even sceptics, but the important thing is to keep on trying.
Generation X more loyal to religion
Fernapple comments on May 25, 2021:
Quite likely, that was the the time of a big down turn in educational standards, before the modern reforms began to kick in.
10 Reasons Why Walking in Nature Will Make You Happier • Calmpreneur®
Fernapple comments on May 24, 2021:
Also, it helps you get away from all those annoying bipedal apes, for a while.
Sunday morning early I was driving home from Saratoga County.
Fernapple comments on May 24, 2021:
Eating porridge, and reading maps while driving, also not recommended. Passing on information from a friend. LOL
I was greatly relieved this evening when i was very concerned that my night vision was fading out ...
Fernapple comments on May 24, 2021:
Empathy. Given the age range on this site, I think we have all been there.
"What are you supposed to do with all the love you have for somebody if that person is no longer ...
Fernapple comments on May 24, 2021:
Yes I think you should try to keep it alive, even though it may sometimes hurt. It is complex and I would have to give it thought and get back to you perhaps, the only thing that I can do for now is tell you my personal experience. My wife to whom I was only married a short while, died when we were still quite young and very passionately in love. But in one way I have been quite lucky, because my wife's biggest life's passion was for her work in caring. She worked out of the local doctors surgery looking after elderly people, and was very pleased to tell me often, just how wonderfully rewarding she found that work. Since then as it happens quite by chance, it occurred that I gained a best friend who is quite elderly, so that our friendship involves me in some caring tasks. I take her shopping, to the doctors, cut her grass take things to the waste tip, see that she gets a social life, etc. I also do a few other things for the older community in my area as well, though none of this was planned. I sometimes think that, fortune has given made me continue my wifes mission, and that maybe she would look over my shoulder with a smile if she were still here. My friends main interest was in travel, it was the great passion of her life, until she became too frail in the last couple of years. But she reawakened my interest in travel, which had lapsed because for a long time, while I was busy building my business, and had persuaded myself that I did not need it. But I now realize that it is my greatest passion too, and I guess that therefore she has given me a living legacy which will last.
At the stream’s edge.
Fernapple comments on May 23, 2021:
Lovely, simple shots of a complex environment.
The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.
Fernapple comments on May 23, 2021:
No. I think that both can work and also that they can be complimentary. Though I do appreciate where Proust is coming from, and it is true, just not the whole truth.
I guess limitations should be a study in itself.
Fernapple comments on May 22, 2021:
The more knowledge we acquire the smaller our brains get in proportion. So we long passed the point of knowing everything. But there are many forms of knowledge. Look at it this way. The the earth is only 24,000 miles round aprox, so you could walk round it in a couple of years, or at least do the equivalent, since there is no continual land mass, so you could quite easily do the mileage many times in one lifetime. But, because of the square law, the land area of the earth is about fifty five to sixty million square miles, which means that if you wanted to walk though the centre of EVERY SQUARE MILE, doing just a single one mile length, and thus view every square mile at first hand. It would take you five thousand years. Quite impossible. And at that you would only have walked through the centre of each one, which means that you could not say that you knew it well, there would be whole masses of stuff down side streets ( a million bars you may never have a drink in ) in hollows on the moors, ( billions of flowers you would not see at that speed ), or hidden in woods, creatures living out their whole lives, you would never have seen. While it is said that in every spadeful of earth you care to dig up, you could in theory, ( its a bit complicated ) with care, find three new species. And that is just the surface of this tiny planet, which is only one millionth the size of its sun and only the fifth largest planet in the solar system. The realms for even physical exploring therefore, are just vast beyond imagining. Yet is not that exciting, rather than depressing, because it means that not only could we never come to the end of our personal learning, and the joy of finding new things, the challenge is just too vast. But also that, we need never come to the end of finding things which no one else has ever known or appreciated, or will do again. Go out into a wild meadow and find a flower, note where it is, what it does, if it has strange marks on any leaves, or find a wild mouse in the woods and watch what it does of five mins, or sit in a bar one night and list the names of all the people there, uniquely on that one night. None of those things will happen again, and a year later perhaps, maybe less, things will have changed so they never could happen again. Which means that each of those experiences is unique to you, an piece of knowledge nobody else will ever have, and that you have given appreciation to some wonder of life, that without you, would never have been appreciated or known by anyone. I think that makes ordinary life a wonderful chance to be special. And think perhaps on this, the other day you made a post in which you said you were lost to hope. Well this is a very long post, perhaps too long you would say. But consider...
If some men are doctors and some doctors are tall, does it necessarily follow that tall doctors are ...
Fernapple comments on May 22, 2021:
Are but. If rabbits live in rabbit holes, and a rabbit's hole is its anus. Does that mean that a rabbit lives in its own anus.
The 12 Stages of a Book Hangover
Fernapple comments on May 22, 2021:
All the really good books I ever read, always repaid me with a second read, so no. Though I do tend to read too fast the first time perhaps, ( find out where it goes,) so I need a slower second read to take it in.
The Church of Scientology is not really a church.
Fernapple comments on May 22, 2021:
It is a pretty low brow church maybe. But it all depends on how you define the word church. I would define it as. Any organization which promotes itself by claiming, authority based only on faith. That fits.
A new 2.4 acre park on the Hudson River off the shore of Manhattan has just opened. Kind of neat
Fernapple comments on May 22, 2021:
Cool. It looks like a giant dumped her unwanted high heals, and stuff grew in them.
How do theists determine which messages should be taken literally and which should be taken ...
Fernapple comments on May 22, 2021:
The whole point is, that there is no method. You may use whatever method you like, including just mindless prejudice, to decide which bits you take literally, which metaphorically, and which bits you ignore altogether. And what makes books like the bible, and the religion it founded so popular, is that, since it is such a shambolic scrapbook cobbled together by many different editors sourcing many hundreds of authors, that you can find in it anything you want in it. So that whatever idea you have, however mad, prejudiced, inhuman, selfish, corrupt, or baseless, you will find support for it in the bible or some christian sect. And having done so, you can then make the fake claim that your ideas have the support and authority of god and sacred tradition. It is the old politicians trick of, if you stand for nothing, you can sell yourself as standing for everything, and a non existent god is the best politician you could possibly get on your side. He never asks you questions, never questions your motives, but always freely lends his vast authority, and that of his writings, to any con-trick you choose. Which accounts for christianities popularity, it is all things to all people, but especially good at being a prop for the fake, phony and dishonest.
Some men appear to be terrified of menstrual blood, and I fail to understand why.
Fernapple comments on May 22, 2021:
Sadly some of it may still be a Hang over from the beliefs of the Abrahamic religions, which regarded women as tainted, by Eves sin. And saw menstruation as Gods punishment, and proof that females are unclean. Fortunately very few sects still practice the old ritual of, confining women to a special womens house/prison, outside the village, during their period. But some of the attitude perhaps still persists in fundamentalist groups and spreads into the mainstream community. That is probably not helped in strongly religious communities who try to keep the sexes apart, and ban anything to do with sexuality, from conversation, so that many men grow up thinking that the opposite sex, and anything to do with them, are alien and frightening anyway. Which helps to feed misogyny in religious communities, and which in turn feed the separation of the sexes, feeding more mistrust, and so on in a never ending cycle, so much so, that some religious communities even bar female animals from the houses. In part it may be all another thing that you can blame religion for.
From 1999 to 2015 my organic veggies at Brook Glen Farm kept me healthy and happy.
Fernapple comments on May 21, 2021:
Beautiful. What could be more lovely than a plot lush with veg.
Artwork Ruined By Couple Who Thought It Was Interactive
Fernapple comments on May 21, 2021:
The artist is just jealous, because their additions are better than his original bits.
Adorable Viral Video Shows Dog Doing Yoga With Her Owner
Fernapple comments on May 21, 2021:
Magic. But not a dog, she is a collie, they are a breed above.
Albert Einstein's belief
Fernapple comments on May 21, 2021:
It is perfectly logical, and as far as I know nobody was ever harmed by it. Gods are only dangerous, when the people who claim to work for them, start telling you what they think.
Veggie seedlings in my greenhouse with a space heater at night.
Fernapple comments on May 21, 2021:
Lush. Fresh food all summer, but what do you do in the winter ?
This is interesting.
Fernapple comments on May 21, 2021:
AH. CHRISTIAN PORN. As she knelt down deeply to pray, her bonnet slipped forward, revealing a perfectly smooth half inch of her neck, glowing golden in the light from the altar candles. ( Skip twelve paragraphs. ) "Oh vicar." She said. "That has left my asshole feeling really sore." "Our true faith in the lord, will remove all of our pains and discomforts." He replied. "And what about the marks the altar cloth has left on my belly and breasts ? What will I tell my husband ? " She asked. "Tell him you were praying really hard. Its not a lie. At least that is what it sounded like to me." The end. And the lesson from this story is. If you are washing the altar cloth, make sure the dyes are fast before you fold it, don't try to pray and do housework at the same time, and don't shut the washer door with your butt while your hands are full. ( Why ? What did you think happened ? )
Which is why the "Magisteria" are not even in the same ballpark, let alone 'overlapping'...
Fernapple comments on May 21, 2021:
Sadly the magisteria can never be none overlapping. Since as faith wishes to deny observation, it is forced to invade sciences space in order to suppress observation.
“It is a thousand times better to have common sense without education than to have education ...
Fernapple comments on May 21, 2021:
And sometime the whole purpose of education is to suppress sense. One persons education is another persons indoctrination, and a third persons brain washing. Who gets to decide where the lines are drawn ?
Hello there! New on this App.
Fernapple comments on May 21, 2021:
Hello and welcome. You will find that the idea of, moral absolutes, handed down to you from an old book, by some people who claim to interpret it, ready made, for you, is widespread. And is fundamentally fueled by laziness and fear, the wish to avoid the need for difficult thinking, which you may get wrong, and the unwillingness to address nuance, while treating each new moral question, with respect and care. It is much easier just to follow mindlessly the teachings of your book and church, then blame the victim if it goes wrong, (because the book and church are perfect, so can't be wrong. ) Sadly I don't think that you will get very far with theists, by pointing out that laziness and cowardliness are included among their own list of sins anyway, and that therefore this is all painfully ironic. But you will find lots of people who agree with you here, so welcome again.
Man I think I need to find a new line of work.
Fernapple comments on May 20, 2021:
No I have got them here.
It's easy to look human... just do something we do with abandon 😂 (VIDEO LINK) [instagram.com]
Fernapple comments on May 20, 2021:
Cute. I know a lot of humans who I would be less likely to invite to a meal.
Holy fuck, if I weren’t already atheist, I’d be asking where to sign up! 10 Rules of Sex for...
Fernapple comments on May 20, 2021:
The other nine rules are no better. (I did follow the link sadly.) So what makes me amazed is, this woman married a complete asshole, and she is so proud of it, she wants to publish the details ?
What is the appropriate response?
Fernapple comments on May 20, 2021:
Use the site in whatever way suits you best, there are no rules except, enjoy.
Wow. This exists!!
Fernapple comments on May 20, 2021:
Hello and welcome. Yes and do check out the groups, there is something for everyone, ( and no one).
Throughout history, people have always understood how important having a ‘Third Place’ in your ...
Fernapple comments on May 19, 2021:
Sadly in the UK for the last eighteen months we have been forced to stay put in our first, and if we are lucky second places, that's it. But I do have a garden, and a bicycle so the country roads are there for me. Just no social third places allowed.
Victims Say a Church Ministry Promoted Body-Shaming, Fighting, Cruelty, and More | Hemant Mehta | ...
Fernapple comments on May 19, 2021:
He must have taught them how to make a lot of money by selling s##t, what more of a leadership lesson do you need ?
About time.
Fernapple comments on May 19, 2021:
The longest journey often starts with the smallest step, and you never know where that small step will lead.
Good one. Don't be a militant...
Fernapple comments on May 19, 2021:
Lets not be so sweet. While ever an evangelist is able to take an old persons life savings, to spend on private jets, and fancy cars, for telling them fairy tales, while ever a child is being mutilated with a dirty knife, while ever a depressed person is taught to feel guilt just for being alive, while ever people are taught that they should be ashamed of their sexuality and while ever the honest search for truth about the world, is being belittled because fairy stories sell better. I shall be F#####g militant and proud of it.
If a Rocket Falls on Your House, Space Law Protects You – But There Are No Legal Penalties for ...
Fernapple comments on May 19, 2021:
Probably no one had thought of that when they first framed the laws.
Non-Theistic Groups Met With White House Staff, And This Christian Nationalist Just Can’t Deal ...
Fernapple comments on May 19, 2021:
Fun, do you think he will give himself a hernia.
Day 12. Might have to bulid an addition on that nest.
Fernapple comments on May 19, 2021:
Getting cosy in there.
Alien life looks more and more likely. Catholics are ready.
Fernapple comments on May 19, 2021:
I think that alien life is almost a certainty. But that they come to earth, having the technology to cross interstellar space, but do not have the technology, and planning, to fully hide from our primitive detection systems, since hide is what they seem to want to do. That seems doubtful. And yes, there is a lot of evidence, but amounts of evidence, if it is weak evidence like vague, and only occasional sightings by eye witnesses and blurry photographs, however many, does not amount to much. Indeed, there is even more of that sort of evidence for, ghosts, fairies, and Christian saintly miracles, so if I took the evidence for alien visitors on trust, instead of suspecting optical illusions, software faults, freak electric storms, and hallucinations etc. (It is a long list.) then I would have to believe in those three things too. Possible but far from proved.
If a humanist (or other) believes in evolution then they are eating cousins, brothers and distant ...
Fernapple comments on May 19, 2021:
Vegans are also eating cousins, since we are also related to plants as well, though not quite as close. And there is no proof that plants are not to a slight degree sentient. Indeed a live plant is arguably a lot more sentient than a tranquilized animal, which has been drugged, say, before slaughter.. We may think that degree of closeness is the key, and would say perhaps that. I will not eat human flesh. Or I will not eat apes, or I will not eat primates, or mammals etc. But the problem with that is that none of these groups, apart from the first, has a hard edge, and animal life and plant life merge virtually seamlessly, the groupings are largely artificial. All life, lives by killing other life. Even green plant life which is forced to smother many rivals in order to reach and gain their share of the sunlight. While many species only avoid extinction because humans ate them. (e.g. Chinese Mule Deer.) And finally a hypothetical to complicate your friends life further. Supposing you are shipwrecked on a tiny island. You may have to survive weeks until rescue, but there are only a few species of plant on the island, only one of which is edible, and if you eat all of those, as you easily could, you will wreck the islands ecosystem for good. However the body of one of your shipmates has washed up on the shore. So what are you going to do ?
“All our knowledge begins with the senses, proceeds then to understanding, and ends with reason.
Fernapple comments on May 19, 2021:
No, I think that it is not that simple, sometime our senses and understanding may overrule our reason. For example when experimental evidence (e.g. science ) overrules the results achieved by pure reason. (e.g. philosophy). I suspect that Kant is showing his weak underbelly and his prejudice here.
This is too good not to share! [vm.tiktok.com]
Fernapple comments on May 18, 2021:
It is very sad, but I can remember when the first version of that came out.
It's a drag...
Fernapple comments on May 18, 2021:
I know. Even in our village, the parish council funded a security fence around the school, but it is nothing like high enough, I still think the little monsters can climb out.
“True ignorance is not the absence of knowledge, but the refusal to acquire ...
Fernapple comments on May 18, 2021:
And it can be a very stubborn refusal sometimes.
Mmmmm,,, yeah,, you know it's true! "The following are 2 Simple Truths, 5 Rules of Life, and 3...
Fernapple comments on May 18, 2021:
Actually. Milk can make you fat.
Responding to a Franciscan Priest’s Question About “Good” Atheists | Hemant Mehta | Friendly ...
Fernapple comments on May 18, 2021:
Yes I have seen this before, it seems to be very popular, and it, plus many people giving answers to it are circulating widely, Google it or look on Youtube you will find plenty. There are therefore only a couple of things that I would add. Firstly that of course. The whole premise is the basic old theist mistake of thinking that atheists/agnostics have just another belief system like their own, requiring proof and justification. But not believing is not itself a belief, it is the default position, of 'none belief' which does not have a burden of proof. You can be a none believer for any reason you like, or more importantly, for no reason at all, if you wish. And you are under no obligation to justify yourself to anyone, least of all someone with an agenda. So that if you do, even to a tiny degree choose to debate with theists, you are being very kind and charitable, and those, like him, who receive kindness, should not, look the gift horse in the mouth. It is like asking someone why they don't go swimming in the winter, and then belittling them for not trying to talk you out of it, hard enough. As for why we don't answer the good theist arguments, this just shows that he is not familiar with atheist writings himself, in exactly the same way, since he would soon find that all his so called, good arguments, are well answered. While at the same time I am quite sure that he is an atheist with regard to, Allah, Vishnu, and Buddha, yet I am also pretty sure that he has not made himself familiar with the writings of all the best Hindu and Islamic theologians etc., or he would find it hard to cling to his absolutism.
Imagine throwing a Book of Mother Goose nursery rhymes on the table in front of a kid .
Fernapple comments on May 18, 2021:
Try looking up the arguments of Epicurus, made two and a half thousand years ago, but it still asks a question that religions like that can not answer.
what do the big brains say about information being an object, but not matter nor energy?
Fernapple comments on May 18, 2021:
I think that there may be more than one form of information, at least two forms. The physics form, which means (roughly) any complexity which may be subject to degrading by entropy, and the human cultural form which means any complexity which can be decoded into a human brain, to create a unit the human brain can control. The second type may exist in many forms outside of the human brain, and indeed may encompass the whole of the observable universe. Which means that it differs from the first type, in that the first type also includes the non observable universe. Go on, now have some fun with that.
Every day I drive by a sign in someone's yard that says "one way" and it has an arrow pointing up.
Fernapple comments on May 18, 2021:
If you think that you have an invisible friend in the sky, who dwells in an invisible realm which you will be able to access after death, who does not mind you drinking his blood and eating his flesh, and will change himself into bread and wine so that you can do so, how hard is it to believe the earth is flat ?
Tom Scott I promise this story about microwaves is interesting. [youtube.com]
Fernapple comments on May 18, 2021:
Wonderful if somewhat nasty story. I really do hope this does not start people doing this at home, and maybe it is a good thing that it can not be scaled up to creatures the size of humans.
"Say what you will about the ten commandments, you must always come back to the pleasant fact that ...
Fernapple comments on May 18, 2021:
Actually in some translations there are eleven, and the two different versions given in the bible differ slightly.
Ok.
Fernapple comments on May 18, 2021:
Come on show a little sceptical backbone. How could you be sure, that it is not, two thousand nine hundred and ninety nine Donald Trumps. Prove me wrong ?!
Bible was written in Hebrew.
Fernapple comments on May 17, 2021:
The buybable does say that the followers of Jesus were given the power to understand and speak in all tongues yes. So the real question is, at what point did his anointed followers lose the power, since they don't seem to have it today.
The irony of religious people is that they hate people of other religions but also believe that ...
Fernapple comments on May 17, 2021:
Good point. Though I think that theists will just put their fingers in their metaphorical ears, and pretend they don't understand it, fall back on faith, or produce some incredible logic chopping long trail of an argument, in the hopes that everyone will get lost along the way and not spot the logical failings when they come up.
How do you think the first one invented the first God?
Fernapple comments on May 17, 2021:
I think that animism certainly came first. People believed in spirits, which were found in everything, and were more or less all the same. A few of the spirits gradually got promoted however, especially as controlling heirachies grew up, in the early days of civilization, then some spirits had to become more powerful than others, to reflect the growing inequalities in human society. Until eventually some of the spirits had been promoted so far, that they were in a new class altogether, promoting in their turn, of course, the interests of the rich, powerful and nationalistic, who were now making a deliberate bid to control and modify human culture.
Oh, shit.
Fernapple comments on May 17, 2021:
We will certainly bear with you. Take care of yourself, first and most.
Folks, especially knowing I won't meet my Mom, who just passed earlier tonight, in the "great ...
Fernapple comments on May 17, 2021:
All of our times are short, it is not the quantity of our time that counts but its quality. And if she had joy in her son, then, no one gets more. If you made her pleased with you, then you did all that you could, and remember no life is perfect, so don't beat yourself up over trivial mistakes, if she loved you then that is the last thing she would want. And if someone loves us, then the best thing that you can do for them when they are gone, is to try as hard as you can to be happy, and to remember them with happiness. Happy is not easy, but it is what those who love us most want for us.
“The Christian religion not only was first attended with miracles, but even at this day cannot be...
Fernapple comments on May 17, 2021:
I love me, some Hume.
Most of the atheists that I meet are what I think of as recovering Christians.
Fernapple comments on May 17, 2021:
Unlike you I was raised in a basically none religious, (Not atheist just not bothered.) family. My first real contact with religion came in my later days at school, since many UK schools are religious, and I realized at that point just what a threat to things I already by then knew I valued; truth, knowledge, honesty, science, and logic, that religion really was. The shock of that, and above all the pity I have for those trapped by it, will probably never leave me, because they hit me at the age when I was at the most sensitive.
[sciencenews.org] It never appeared difficult for me to see fake news is fake.
Fernapple comments on May 17, 2021:
It never appeared difficult to you. Good. That probably shows that you have reached the stage of maturity in life, where you no longer confuse, "I want." with, its true. Which used to be a stage most people reached at about seven or eight years old, but it seems that the commercial/religious culture of today has managed, to find ways to keep people below that stage of development, though their whole lives. And with it of course comes the negative, "I don't want to make the effort. No thinking please, its difficult. Just tell me I will get my ice-cream for clapping my hands when I am told to."
News Alert: Some in the Republican party have announced formation of a new party.
Fernapple comments on May 17, 2021:
That will never work.
Two prison guards are changing shifts in the morning.
Fernapple comments on May 16, 2021:
I am told that the only reason that Adolf Hitler started writing Mien Kampf, was because a prison guard told him that, the other prisoners were complaining about the noise he made practicing his speeches.
Putting aside all other issues: if atheists are right, why does anything matter at all?
Fernapple comments on May 16, 2021:
If I bite into a hot chilly pepper, it matters, and I spit it out. At that level most things matter, to some degree. It is however very arrogant to assume that the universe owes us an explanation of any higher meaning, whether one be there or not. Maybe we will never have an understanding of meaning, but also maybe there are more intelligent species out there in the universe, to whom the issue of meaning and why things matter, is a simple problem.
Putting aside all other issues: if atheists are right, why does anything matter at all?
Fernapple comments on May 16, 2021:
There could be great cosmic meaning without god, we don't know, the existence of meaning, and humans knowing that meaning are two different things.
Outside prepping for some planting and went to fill up watering can when I came across this Grey ...
Fernapple comments on May 16, 2021:
You wonder sometimes if animals who use camouflage are mentally programmed to look for things to sit/ stand on, which look like me. The same way that it is said cuckoos are programmed to lay their eggs, in nests which have eggs, that look like mine.
How would you solve this math problem?? My solution was 47 + 30 - 2 = 75
Fernapple comments on May 16, 2021:
Yep I would do it the same way as you. Or I would go. 28 + 40 = 68 and seven plus eight always takes you to the next five up, so 75.
Just 12 People Are Behind Most Vaccine Hoaxes On Social Media, Research Shows [npr.org]
Fernapple comments on May 16, 2021:
As the saying goes. It only takes one bad apple, to spoil the barrel. But that was in the days before bad apples were gifted a ready made network for spreading spores.

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