Should there even be the concept of a "billionaire"?

Gareth comments on Apr 14, 2018:

Buckle up. This will bring the Ayn Rand-ites out in hives.

How does music effect you...?

Gareth comments on Apr 14, 2018:

This--> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDAkIlZyWfw At 1.36 I tear up

What is your conspiracy fear that seems like nobody else thinks about?

Gareth comments on Apr 14, 2018:

Whatever method we eventually decide to screw up the moon with, changing its mass will be the least of our worries. The moon is a very, very, very large rock and has a corresponding gravitational field. Getting anything onto or off the moon will be an expensive and energy-consuming business - changes to its mass will be negligible.

How many of you have heard of "The Electric Universe " theory?

Gareth comments on Apr 14, 2018:

I wasn't familiar with this theory, and having checked it out on google, I don't want to be.

Has everyone pumped up the economy with the tax reduction you received.

Gareth comments on Apr 13, 2018:

Put your savings in a piggy bank and hope you never get sick.

A beautiful warm Florida day ? Thought I'd share for some of y'all northern folk

Gareth comments on Apr 13, 2018:

Lucky you :

What do you miss about being a kid?

Gareth comments on Apr 13, 2018:

I miss someone paying all my bills, doing my laundry, cooking and cleaning and giving me pocket money while I just goof around with my mates.

How do misanthropes find one another?

Gareth comments on Apr 13, 2018:

Agnostic.com

My mother died last evening of cancer. Though we were estranged to some degree I am terribly sad ?

Gareth comments on Apr 13, 2018:

Take your time to grieve; we'll still be here when you want to reconnect, hopefully to make you smile and help you through.

Does anybody else here think that your atheism/agnosticism is actually a pretty uninteresting part ...

Gareth comments on Apr 13, 2018:

I once was a member of a vegetarian dating site, not because I was building my identity around not eating meat, but just to filter out some of the people who would find me incompatible (clearly not all of the people - my defects are far too diverse for that). I suppose it's the same here. I've never yet met anyone who has built their identity around being an atheist though.

The lessons of the Bible

Gareth comments on Apr 13, 2018:

What is incomprehensible to me is that if I really believed there was a book containing information that would make the difference between spending eternity in either bliss or torment I would make sure I knew that book inside out and upside down and teach myself to read it in the original. Maybe those people exist and they either come out as zealots or sceptics, but most Christians don't fit the bill. I assume they're just intellectually lax.

It's never too late for ________ (fill in the blank).

Gareth comments on Apr 13, 2018:

....someone you've hurt to forgive you.

Whats your dream date
?

Gareth comments on Apr 12, 2018:

A heterosexual version of you.

Do you have compassion for the believers?

Gareth comments on Apr 12, 2018:

Without compassion we are no better than them.

Does this remind you of anything?

Gareth comments on Apr 12, 2018:

I guess there's a boilerplate design and each user just tweaks it to their own spec. No point in re-inventing the wheel.

I am 56 years old.

Gareth comments on Apr 11, 2018:

I think your situation is not uncommon. I'm not lonely but I don't know if I'd know how to admit it if I was. I think you're tremendously courageous just to post this and put it out there. There must be millions of people who feel as you do and you only need to connect with one or two and you're going about it in an honest way. It takes work and it may never happen but I hope you find that special connection.

Chronic Pain.

Gareth comments on Apr 11, 2018:

Luckily, I've dodged life's worse bullets but if it gets too bad and my green light's on, call me, We'll talk.

So, the other night I lost a long-time friend who essentially helped me to get where I am, ...

Gareth comments on Apr 11, 2018:

Had a friend I loved very much. He was ex-Mormon but we were on the same page by the time I got to know him. Some years on he met a lovely French woman but she was a committed Christian and decided the relationship couldn't work because of the difference. 'Miraculously', he found he had suddenly rediscovered God. Of course, I pulled his leg about it and he dropped me like a stone. They married and were missionaries somewhere the last I heard. I met his wife quite by chance at a dance many years later and she said I should re-establish contact with him and I thought "he's supposed to be the Christian".

My quick blurb on Pascal's Wager (one side of the argument)

Gareth comments on Apr 11, 2018:

My reversal of Pascal's Wager is this: If there is no God and you believe in him, you'll have wasted the only life you'll ever have in a fantasy world of mystical nonsense and arbitrary guilt-trips and you'll get squat-all at the end of it. If there is a God and you don't believe, and he's just as much a jerk as the Bible says he is, well you'll get eternal life at least, and even if you have to dodge a few pitchforks on the way, you'll make the best you can of it, just as you do here on earth. Of course the Christian thinks that you will be sore thinking about him sitting on a cloud sipping ambrosia but the truth is you won't give a monkey's about that smug tosser.

Understanding vegans

Gareth comments on Apr 11, 2018:

As a vegetarian for nearly 40 years I've come to see most of these dietary arguments being instigated by meat-eaters who don't wish to change their eating habits and feel that by imputing some sort of fraudulence or inconsistency in what they imagine my position must be they can pre-emptively defend their own. I've no interest in these hair-splitting arguments except as a social phenomenon. Everyone lives the best life they can, according to their abilities and each has different abilities. If you choose to cultivate compassion you will more-or-less come naturally to certain decisions and try to adapt your life and diet accordingly. If not, that's fine; you're under no obligation; live your life as you want and let others do the same. Instead of asking "how many insects is a cow worth?" try asking "why do I really care?".

What is your knowledge of religion?

Gareth comments on Apr 11, 2018:

I know more about Christianity than most Christians, mainly because it annoys them.

How to possibly tell your parents that you do not follow there religious beliefs?

Gareth comments on Apr 11, 2018:

Do you really need to tell them? Maybe they haven't accepted that you're at an age where you're thinking for yourself and finding your own path in life. Eventually they will have to accept that - unless you need to force the issue, time will probably do the job for you.

Is abortion morally objectionable?

Gareth comments on Apr 11, 2018:

At what point did men decide they got any say at all in a choice only women have to make and live with the consequences of? If anyone finds anything 'morally objectionable' then they should stop or refrain from doing it. What other people do is none of their damn business unless and until it actually impacts on them. Personally, I find taking a calf from its mother, stealing her milk and killing and eating her child is pretty morally questionable. So I don't eat meat. I don't go around saying how terrible people are who do.

So I had my account on another website 'permanately suspended' because I had the audacity to post ...

Gareth comments on Apr 11, 2018:

I'd say you misjudged your audience. No biggie.

I finally told someone that I'm starting to not believe in God anymore.

Gareth comments on Apr 11, 2018:

Lisa, I'm so proud of you. Nothing anyone could throw at you would be worse than living a lie.

I am a former atheist, but after using psychedelics I have come to believe there is some form of ...

Gareth comments on Apr 10, 2018:

You're on the wrong forum. You need to find one with a credulous, gullible and, preferably, solvent readership and start your own religion by peddling your experiences to them.

A cosmology question.

Gareth comments on Apr 10, 2018:

I think it would be nearly black. There would be a scattering of star-like galaxies - more than we see from earth because there would be no light pollution save only the lights of our spaceship, or atmosphere. The eye is sensitive enough to detect a single photon and cosmic rays can also trigger the light-sensitive cells in our retina, so we would probably also experience tiny, evanescent flashes.

Have you ever experienced a moment of clarity where you know that everything is about to change in ...

Gareth comments on Apr 9, 2018:

I was 23. I was soon to leave the college town I had lived in for the last 5 years to go travelling overland to India. It was a cold winter's evening and the sun was setting in a maelstrom of watery yellows and greys. My whole life stretched before me and I had no plan, but as I watched the light fade I felt to my very core that the world was not hostile to me, that I carried everything I needed within me, and that my life would turn out just fine, all of its own accord. What an idiot.

Is it possible for you not to judge people based on their appearance?

Gareth comments on Apr 9, 2018:

Totally off-topic - is that Highbury Fields?

Who rides a bicycle everyday, every other day, weekends?

Gareth comments on Apr 9, 2018:

I cycle as much as I can. It's the nearest thing to being able to fly.

Follow up to "A Major Milestone" post.

Gareth comments on Apr 9, 2018:

Clumsy. Inept. Inappropriate. He's quite the catch.

What are your dealbreakers?

Gareth comments on Apr 9, 2018:

I can't afford to be picky.

Do you believe all children are naturally born Atheist?

Gareth comments on Apr 9, 2018:

Atheism is the default state of the mind. When you stop pushing it somewhere else, that's where it will rest.

I want to explore a touchy topic.

Gareth comments on Apr 9, 2018:

Intra-species violence is virtually universal among mammals. If you want to understand why male humans exhibit it more than females you would have to look at the biochemical differences between the two genders, specifically hormone levels such as testosterone, and how they relate to reproductive advantage. Arguments from psychology or sociology are generally circular or vapid but they make good fillers if you're going to press with a newspaper or magazine and don't have enough copy.

The Milky Way Galaxy Is Growing Faster Than the Speed of Sound... [space.com]

Gareth comments on Apr 8, 2018:

From the figures in the article, the expansion rate would be about 1,450 x the speed of sound. So, a pretty meaningless comparison or, more likely, someone didn't do their maths properly.

Do you think that some atheists have the same blind devotion to science as they do to religion?

Gareth comments on Apr 8, 2018:

Science is a method, not a body of facts. Devotion to it is not blindness - it's the most clear-headed way of living we have ever come up with. We look at events and try to explain them. If the explanation doesn't fit, we reject it.

Is Buddhism a religion?

Gareth comments on Apr 8, 2018:

Buddhism itself is no more a religion than existentialism or psychotherapy. However, throw in some men in robes, buildings with statues, bells and candles, et.....voila.

Have I just invented a new word or remembered it from elsewhere?

Gareth comments on Apr 8, 2018:

I once invented a new word - "dismerable", as in "it was another dismerable day". I think it's self-explanatory.

New here and very curious how everyone crossed the line so to speak to your current level of belief ...

Gareth comments on Apr 8, 2018:

I think I was seven years old. The Catholic nun at my Sunday school said "Jesus was a little lamb". I 'knew' at that point that I was being spoon-fed drivel, and I've never, ever, doubted it for a moment since.

What's your critique for commoners trying to understand 4D space-time?

Gareth comments on Apr 8, 2018:

Full disclosure - I studied physics for a year and a half at uni. Unless the OP has a least a doctorate in physics I would regard the question as a maldigested grab-bag of buzz-words. If a thing is worth saying it can generally be said clearly. That said, he may be genius, whose words have gone straight over my head. I doubt it, but I am ready to retract everything I've said if I turn out to be wrong. To approach an understanding of 4D space-time, I would suggest the following: Consider a particle of light (a photon) - all observers 'see' it travelling at exactly the same speed (the speed of light, natch) however they are moving in relation to it. If I'm running away from it at a million miles a second it will still hit me at exactly the same speed as someone who is running towards it at a million miles a second. When you have digested that amazing fact, and if it interests you, go to the library or Youtube - you have taken the first step to wanting to understand spacetime.

Do you trust the Mainstream Media?

Gareth comments on Apr 7, 2018:

I trust myself, but the quality of information obtainable from the mainstream media is better than anywhere else. They and their news feeds such as Reuters and AP pay real journalists to do real research and investigation. If there's a better way of being informed, I've yet to hear of it.

Quantum physics proves that there IS an afterlife, claims scientist | Daily Mail Online

Gareth comments on Apr 6, 2018:

My forum name should be comment enough.

I don't believe my life has purpose, per se.

Gareth comments on Apr 6, 2018:

It seems kind of arrogant to suppose that your own life is some big deal in the universe with a great cosmic meaning. I'm as egotistical as the next man but, come on.

I've been exploring the idea that we do not have free will and it's kind off fucking with my mind.

Gareth comments on Apr 6, 2018:

I don't believe in free will but it doesn't bother me. All the important decisions in life are made for me by pre-conditions. I am not free to fall in love, or out of love, to quit my addictions or to become addicted, to sleep on demand or likewise wake up, to remember or forget, to be happy or sad, gay or straight. Life just happens and our consciousness is its product. Sure, we can kid ourselves that, say, we can raise our right hand or our left but that's the sort of decision that involves the infinite spiral of self-reflection - all we really experience is the uncertainty of knowing in advance how the 'choice' will play out.

I mentioned on a comment string on Facebook - started by an actual Jewish friend of mine who ...

Gareth comments on Apr 6, 2018:

Well, those "Christians" certainly showed their true colours. Probably the same ones who would vote for an adulterous, mammon-worshipper as long as he hated the same people they did.

are you afraid of death?

Gareth comments on Apr 6, 2018:

When I was young, sometimes the inescapability, duration and finality of death would overwhelm me in a surge of panic. When I woke up in the night I would sometimes have to fight not to think of it. I'm more resigned to death now, but I can still remember the terrified feeling I experienced and sometimes I wonder if it has gone for good or is just lying dormant. Billions of people have died before me and mostly they seem to have coped with it, so I hope when my time comes I will manage.

Can anyone think of a good disclaimer or warning label for the Bible and other religious texts?

Gareth comments on Apr 5, 2018:

"May contain traces of nuts."

So.

Gareth comments on Apr 5, 2018:

Any decent relationship has to be based on mutual respect. Instead of telling her what you think, why not ask her what she thinks and why she believes what she does? Listen respectfully and keep asking until you feel you really understand her position. Then decide in your own time if you can respect that.

True or False: How we think is determined by the mind, not how things really are.

Gareth comments on Apr 5, 2018:

That's not a well-formed question. You are positing that there is something called "the mind" which stands in opposition to "how things really are" and asking which determines "how we think". I don't even accept the premises, never mind that all the terms are vague.

DON'T BE AN ATH-HOLE.

Gareth comments on Apr 4, 2018:

If you read the comments on Youtube videos about politics, religion, social issues, philosophy etc. you will know that a large number are critical, confrontational and abusive. A lot of electronic communication is needlessly combative and disrespectful. I'm new here but his website doesn't seem to me to be more-than-ordinarily antagonistic. In fact, I'm pleasantly surprised that there seems to be no religious trolling. Maybe the mods kick 'em off.

Men, do you agree with this quote from Christopher Hitchens?

Gareth comments on Apr 3, 2018:

Projection.

"Everything happens for a reason". What are your thoughts on this one.

Gareth comments on Apr 3, 2018:

That goes with "it wasn't meant to be" on my list of meaningless utterances.

Would you date a woman that had sex on the first date?

Gareth comments on Apr 3, 2018:

As long as the sex was with me. I'd be fine about it. If it was with someone else, I'd say she was a crummy date.

I thought I was an atheist till I went to an atheist service.

Gareth comments on Apr 3, 2018:

This is how your post reads to me: "I went to a coffee morning and the people there were racists, so I stopped drinking coffee"

So why do people assume that there was only one big bang in the universe?

Gareth comments on Apr 3, 2018:

I studied physics and your question makes no sense to me. Please explain how you think the current model is inconsistent with observed data.

For my birthday, I had a coworker give me a bible and a couple of books on Jesus.

Gareth comments on Apr 1, 2018:

I would say "thanks", bin them and never mention it again. Alternatively, you could wait till his birthday comes round and give him a book on science.

Do you find tattoos attractive?

Gareth comments on Apr 1, 2018:

Once upon a time it was original and non-conformist to have a tattoo. Now the opposite seems to be the case - there's even a tattoo parlour on my local high street. It just seems a very vanilla thing to do these days.

Hi All! I am finally on a track to get my first ever tattoo.

Gareth comments on Apr 1, 2018:

Tattoos seem to be a modern fashion. When I was young they were the preserve of sailors, criminals and circus exhibits. Now it seems no more exotic than having your ears pierced. Bear in mind that your decision will be for life and that fashions change. Personally, I don't see the point, but then I feel that way about jewellery too. I just hope you don't regret it, whatever you decide to go with.