Do you remember where you were when the Challenger exploded?

Druvius comments on Feb 7, 2018:

Yes ... I think so. Interestingly enough, at least to science nerds like myself, a psych professor distributed questionaires to all his first year students that day asking them to describe exactly where they were, who they were with, what they were doing etc when they heard the news. Then a couple years later gave them all the exact same questionaire. And it turns out so called "flashbulb" memories are no more accurate than other memories. A little surprising, but memory is memory, so not really.

The Ukraine Conflict... [youtube.com]

Druvius comments on Feb 6, 2018:

I stopped when it said "Russia sent its military into Crimea." Neglected to mention that the US supported neo Nazi coup that overthrew the elected government of Ukraine made its first order of business passing laws making ethnic Russians second class citizens. A minor detail they left out. Something like 95% of the population of Crimea is ethnic Russian. (Crimea was only given to Ukraine in the 1950s.) The government and people of Crimea voted overwhelmingly to ask to be a part of Russia again. Self determination and democracy in action. To claim that Russia seized Crimea is a gross distortion of what happened. This is simply a western propaganda video.

“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.”

Druvius comments on Feb 5, 2018:

Passive aggresive shit like this doesn't help.

African Panafricanism fanatics and their allies in Africa,are trying very harder to make me believe ...

Druvius comments on Feb 4, 2018:

In other words you are utterly willfully ignorant of both history and the contemporary world.

Ancient Roman "Halftime Shows"... [livescience.com]

Druvius comments on Feb 4, 2018:

Tonight's Score: Lions 40 Christians 0

I notice a lot of atheist groups, particularly "New Atheists" tend to side with apartheid Israel ...

Druvius comments on Feb 4, 2018:

Athiests buy into western anti-muslim propaganda just as much as anyone else.

This was on Godless, the page I follow on Facebook. She's the not brightest crayon in the box. Lol.

Druvius comments on Feb 3, 2018:

A few ants shy of a picnic.

I read somewhere that the native peoples living above the arctic circle didn't have words for rape ...

Druvius comments on Feb 2, 2018:

Current Inuit culture has sexual assault rates among the highest in the world. Just because they didn't have a word for it dorsn't mean it didn't exist. People are people sadly.

Do you let your emotions get in the way of rational thinking?

Druvius comments on Feb 2, 2018:

Anyone who claims their emotions don't influence their thinking is a liar or worse, deluding themselves.

Would you be afraid to spend a few nights in the Amityville horror house?

Druvius comments on Feb 2, 2018:

No problem. The whole ghost thing was a hoax. I've lived in a few "haunted" houses and while a few things scared me, I know nothing actually supernatural was going on.

Never make permanent decisions on temporary feelings.

Druvius comments on Feb 2, 2018:

To me this is one of the secrets of life. Don't burn bridges. Don't make permanent decisions when angry or frustrated. Try to make decisions that keep your options open, or will open up new options. Life is all about choices, the more you have, the easier it is to navigate.That being said, there will be times that hard choices have to be made regardless of the circumstances. And in my experence it gets both easier and harder as one grows older. Sigh.

Visualizing Empires Decline (interesting animated graphic)... [youtube.com]

Druvius comments on Feb 2, 2018:

This has to be the laziest graphic ever made. They couldn't be bothered to include the Russian, Ottoman, Japanese, AustroHungarian, German, Italian, Belgium, and American empires?

The Great Filter... [youtube.com]

Druvius comments on Feb 1, 2018:

My suspicion is that intelligience such as ours is an evolutionary dead end.

The State of Black St, The Daily Show... [youtube.com]

Druvius comments on Feb 1, 2018:

Sadly more than half of Americans think whites are a discriminated against minority now, and worse, we have a major political party who panders to that. So we have a long way to go.

I need some intelligent advice and kind words.

Druvius comments on Jan 31, 2018:

Others gave good advice. You're a genuinely good person, and you are open to learning, so you'll get better at navigating life. Best wishes.

Have you ever been told you look like someone famous?

Druvius comments on Jan 31, 2018:

The closest I got was someone once told me I look like a Hell's Angel on his day off.

Murky world of 'science' journals a new frontier for climate deniers | Graham Readfearn | ...

Druvius comments on Jan 31, 2018:

9/11 Truthers take advantage of these too. What's really frustrating is that these guys will get a paper published, hold a news conference to announce their "findings," and news services will simply publish the story without bothering to check if the journal was reputable.

How many places have you lived?

Druvius comments on Jan 31, 2018:

Ontario(×3,) New Jersey(x2,) New York, Illinois, Iowa, Oregon, Washington, Texas, CA (×4,) and Nevada. In terms of addresses, quadruple that. :)

Soccer, futbol, whatever, I wouldn't get many of these either!... [youtube.com]

Druvius comments on Jan 31, 2018:

Go sportsball!

As far as I know, there is no geological evidence to support the claim that a global flood occurred.

Druvius comments on Jan 30, 2018:

Correct, by 1830 the very devout Christian scientists of the day had concluded there was no evidence of a global flood and the Earth was at least millions of years old. And they had expected to prove the opposite. Hasn't changed since.

Do you think that humans will go to Mars in our life time?

Druvius comments on Jan 30, 2018:

Maybe 50 50. The problem is radiation exposure and long term health in a weightless or low gravity environment. And getting them back is trickier, the first ones to go might be one way.

Russian state TV just celebrated that "Trump is ours again" after he refused to enforce sanctions

Druvius comments on Jan 30, 2018:

Lol, no agenda in this story, nosiree. The liberal press is no different than Fox News these days.

Do you think sometime in the next 50 years or so, A.I. will be running the world?

Druvius comments on Jan 29, 2018:

Robots and AIs are almost certainly about to usher in a period of history as disruptive as the industrial revolution in the early 19th century. Add that to the fact that global wealth has also reached unheard of levels of disparity, IE a tiny number of people pretty much own the world now, and you have a situation where anything can happen. My prediction, no one today has a clue what the world of 50 years from now will be like, but it will almost certainly be nothing like today. Great movie about an AI trying to take over the world btw: http://123hulu.com/watch/JdAmqYdL-colossus-the-forbin-project.html

I'm currently watching the interview of Trump by Piers Morgan.

Druvius comments on Jan 28, 2018:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=W4jWAwUb63c

Remember Apollo I... [space.com]

Druvius comments on Jan 27, 2018:

It was a huge deal at the time. And, like all 3 of NASA's disasters, stupid and preventable.

This is what I was talking about folks! I did not expect it THIS year, but I knew it was coming.

Druvius comments on Jan 26, 2018:

And this was before Trumps cuts to research in the latest budget. China is also going to spend one trillion dollars upgrading infastructure in Eurasia: roads, ports, railways, and a shipping route through the arctic, all leading to China. And here in the US we are apparently planning on being tbe most well armed third world country on the planet. :(

Irreducible complexity... [youtube.com]

Druvius comments on Jan 26, 2018:

Sad how Evolution deniers just keep recycling long discredited arguments. Even Darwin had trouble explaining the human eye, and in the mid nineteenth century this was an argument against natural selection, by the end of the nineteenth century it was well understood. When you don't have any good arguments, all you have left is recycling old ones. And if these guys really understood Evolution, which they clearly don't, the would bring up the evolution of speech, which is one of the big unexplained problems with evolution.

MO Deacon/Lawmaker’s Bill Would Ban “Marriage” Unless It Takes Place In Church – Friendly ...

Druvius comments on Jan 26, 2018:

Distressed privilege is ugly no matter how it dresses itself.

How many of you feel like the Age of Trump is like a really bad Black Mirror episode?

Druvius comments on Jan 26, 2018:

Well, definitely a Black Mirror episode. Witholding judgement about good or bad until we see how it ends. ;)

Dashcam footage shows dramatic Florida shootout - BBC News

Druvius comments on Jan 26, 2018:

America is like Disneyland with guns.

Me and a friend were chatting last night and got onto the discussion of aliens.

Druvius comments on Jan 26, 2018:

Actually, the pinky finger is really important, it provides about fifty percent of your hand's gripping power. It's second only to the thumb in importance. :) Pretty sure that if we ever find aliens they will follow in the same vein as pretty much every other cosmic discovery ... they will be like no one expected. "The universe is not only stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine." JBS Haldane

I dislike living in a highly conservative area.

Druvius comments on Jan 25, 2018:

No, my little Iowa town probably voted 90% Trump, love living here, folks are very friendly. Even when we demonstrated against Trump got almost no negative pushback.

The Trumps asked to borrow a Van Gogh but the Guggenheim offered a solid gold toilet instead.

Druvius comments on Jan 25, 2018:

Brilliant. Way to make sure Trump does everything he can to cut funding and support for the arts the next 3-7 years.

Does science offer enough evidence to dismiss any plausible god options?

Druvius comments on Jan 24, 2018:

I agree, at this point there does not appear to be any evidence of supernatural agency in the universe, nor is there anything that appears to require a supernatural explanation. Doesn't disprove all definitions of God, it pretty much can't, but does mean there isn't anything to talk about in a scientific sense.

A universe from nothing? Anyone knowledgable about Physics?

Druvius comments on Jan 24, 2018:

Some have called it "the bulk," it's got multiple dimensions (more than our three,) extends infinitely in all of them, and has energy density so high as to be inconceivable. Oh, and it's always existed and always will exist. Call it the fabric of reality I guess, space doesn't begin to describe it. And these things called branes in it sometimes collide and spawn a universe, and may well have spawned an infinite number of universes and will spawn infinite more. All pretty speculative, there are all sorts of other ideas, and people far smarter than I will likely be arguing for generations about the nature of the underlaying whatever that spawned the Big Bang. This was my admittedly possibly very flawed understanding of what I can grasp of brane cosmology.

The religious activists on the rise inside Trump's health department - POLITICO

Druvius comments on Jan 24, 2018:

Evangelical extremists, my religious friends and family are as horrified by this as anyone.

4:30 yesterday in Fort Lauderdale, FL immigration agents boarded a bus and asked to see papers of ...

Druvius comments on Jan 24, 2018:

Been this way a long time, ten years ago was on a train 100 miles from Canada, and not going to cross the border, and border patrol went through the train checking documents. Horrifying what this country has become the past few decades.

The virtual afterlife will transform humanity | Aeon Essays

Druvius comments on Jan 24, 2018:

I look forward to being able to post on Facebook forever.

What is the size and age of the Universe?

Druvius comments on Jan 24, 2018:

The observable Universe is about 28 billion LY accross. The Universe itself is believed to be about 92 billion LY "accross." I put it in quotes because the Universe is believed to be finite but unbounded. There is no edge or outside the Universe. 92 billion LY being how far you can travel in a straight line before you find yourself back in the vicinity of where you started. This by the way is just the best best guess now, it is by no means established fact and there are other theories about the size and the shape of the Universe.

The Trump Tragedy As each day of the Trump tragedy passes I keep thinking of the Hillary haters, ...

Druvius comments on Jan 24, 2018:

First time in history someone lost an election ... and blamed their loss on the people that didn't vote for them! That's about as smug snd self righteous as it gets, and why the dems are going to lose again in 2020 cause they sure didn't learn anything from their loss in 2016.

I heard It said that The Donald, has great political instinct, I think that just means he can shovel...

Druvius comments on Jan 23, 2018:

He beat a field of career politicians to win the GOP primaries, and then went on to win the election. Granted the second was more due to a flawed candidate who ran a flawed campagn against him. Nonetheless the man has a certain gift for politics and self promotion or he wouldn't be sitting in the White House.

The Trump Tragedy As each day of the Trump tragedy passes I keep thinking of the Hillary haters, ...

Druvius comments on Jan 23, 2018:

Thank you for demonstrating EXACTLY the arrogant smug attitude that kept millions of people from voting for HRC. Look in the mirror dude, you made the Trump presidency happen.

Where does the discussion of alien life fit in this forum?

Druvius comments on Jan 23, 2018:

It's possible because we are here. We have found no evidence for life elsewhere, no do we have any understanding of how likely abiogenesis is. Until we find other life, or have a better understanding of abiogenesis, we simply can't say what the odds of other life are. We could be alone.

Intelligent design vs idiotic design

Druvius comments on Jan 23, 2018:

Humans have like 2 dozen vestigial muscles, bones, and organs. It would be like designing a modern car with such things as non-functioning oil lamps, ski runners, and a steam engine. What was the designer thinking? ;)

Why Disney's Coco SUCKS No, not because it glorifies superstitious beliefs.

Druvius comments on Jan 23, 2018:

And yet, oddly enough, I still enjoyed it. "De gustibus non est disputandum."

Some say that the earth(modern civilization as we know it) has lived and died before.

Druvius comments on Jan 23, 2018:

Well, if we are talking about a human, or close to human, civilization, that limits it to about a million years or so ago at most. And such a civilization would have left a host of artifactd even after a million years, gold lasts forever. There would also be unmistakable layers of pollution (including radioactive pollution) in things like icecap, ocean sediment, and lake sediment cores. Scientists who study such things would have noticed. The utter absence of any such evidence effectively rules it out. If we are talking about something pre-human, say intelligent dinosaurs, well, still major problems. There is no evidence anything evolving that was approaching human cranial capacity. And no other evidence. The only way you could make such a case would be several layers of special pleading. Say, something evolved very quickly geologically speaking, their civilzation was limited to the Yucatan penninsula, and all trace of it was wiped out by the Chicxulub impactor 66 million years ago. And even then the geologic boundary at that age has been extensively studied, so their civilization would of had to be remarkably free of anything that would have made pollution. So, interesting thought experiment, but all leads to the same conclusion: Unlikely to the point where it can be ruled out.

Do you see Trump getting re-elected after his time in office is up?

Druvius comments on Jan 22, 2018:

It's certainly possible. Depends a lot on who the Dems run against him. If they manage to pick another candidate with no crossover or populist appeal, could happen.

President Donald Trump Imposes 30% Tariffs on Solar Panels | Time

Druvius comments on Jan 22, 2018:

And it is almost certainly going to be overturned by the WTO. So no, not surprised, once again Trump shoots from the hip without consulting legal advice, and regardless of the consequences.

Do you stay current on the latest science?

Druvius comments on Jan 21, 2018:

Science nerd myself. Space exploration, archaeology, paleontology in particular. Biology, zoology, cosmology as well. It's all fascinating.

Are we alone?

Druvius comments on Jan 21, 2018:

We might be, we have no idea how likely it is for beings like ourselves to have evolved. If it's as unlikely as a monkey typing Hamlet by chance, yes, were alone.

If you could wipe 3 words from existence, which would you choose?

Druvius comments on Jan 20, 2018:

Oh yeah, feminazi and libtard can go.

If you could wipe 3 words from existence, which would you choose?

Druvius comments on Jan 20, 2018:

chihuahua

Is this the smartest thing Trump has ever said?

Druvius comments on Jan 20, 2018:

Since he didn't say this, no. The closest I can find is this, so he is still hoist by his own petard: "If there is a shutdown I think it would be a tremendously negative mark on the president of the United States. He’s the one that has to get people together."

What do you think of this so called wanna-be know it all?

Druvius comments on Jan 20, 2018:

Couldn't even get past question one it was just such a painful straw man argument. Assume it went downhill from there. When you provide both sides of a debate, you can get any result you want.

It’s amazing to me that people think that this rock we call Earth they believe is only place were ...

Druvius comments on Jan 20, 2018:

Argument by big numbers. We don't know how likely abiogenesis is, so we don't know what the odds are there is other life out there. If it's about as likely as a monkey typing Hamlet by randomly typing, we are indeed almost certainly alone.

If we ever do confirm the existence of life elsewhere in the universe, do you really think it will ...

Druvius comments on Jan 20, 2018:

Nope, not at all. Most religious people have no problem with science, since it is just showing how grand creation really is. And the Young Earth Creationists and their ilk wouldn't change their thinking if Jesus himself came back and told them they were being silly.

Payday Predators... [youtube.com]

Druvius comments on Jan 19, 2018:

States quietly ended their usury laws decades ago, Trump didn't start this.

Notable Deployments of U.

Druvius comments on Jan 18, 2018:

Started under Clinton and the rest fell in line afterwards. When he got elected there was talk of a peace dividend and cutting the military budget by 50% now that the Cold War was over. Just think if that money had been spent on infastructure, education, and health care. And since 9/11 it's spun mindlessly out of control.

Trump Boasts of ‘Record’ Market, But Only the Richest 10% of Americans Own 84% of All Stocks ...

Druvius comments on Jan 18, 2018:

Yes, people don't understand that the stock market booming just means the rich are getting richer, doesn't mean a damn for the rest of us. And certainly doesn't mean the economy is great.

What about the other planets?

Druvius comments on Jan 18, 2018:

When the Bible was written the idea that the lights in the sky were anything but lights on a celestial ceiling hadn't ocurred to anyone yet. In fact the idea that the Earth, Sun, and planets were travelling through a vast void didn't occur to anyone until the 1500s. So no, nothing about planets in the Bible as we know them.

An Arab Muslim in the Israeli Army - YouTube

Druvius comments on Jan 18, 2018:

I'll stick with this rather than watch Israeli propaganda thank you. Highly recommended: https://www.amazon.com/Generals-Son-Journey-Israeli-Palestine/dp/1531824846

Shut Up About Your Tesla - YouTube

Druvius comments on Jan 18, 2018:

Hydrogen is really tricky to use as a fuel, not surprising it hasn't had the bugs worked out. Has to be stored liquid under really high pressure in big heavy tanks, tanks that can withstand an accident as well. And incredibly leaky to run through pipes and fittings. Big engineering problems.

How did God create the sun on the 4th day?

Druvius comments on Jan 17, 2018:

Logical inconsistancies in a book written by humans refute your belief in a higher power? No offence, but that's a 'Does not follow' argument.

I just watched a program on AHC network that Mussolini is the dictator that gave the Vatican it's ...

Druvius comments on Jan 17, 2018:

The Catholic Church has a lot to answer for. As I am fond of saying, between organised government, organised religion, and organised crime ... at least organised crime is honest about their intentions. On the other hand, Catholics are well represented among The Rightous, people who saved or tried to save their Jewish friends and neighbors from the Nazis. Stauffenberg, the general who tried to kill Hitler, was inspired by his faith to do so.

In North Korea the People are Forced to Listen to Propaoganda..

Druvius comments on Jan 17, 2018:

It's not just Fox News by a long shot, all the mainstream news outlets are owned by corporate America. And tell us exactly what the oligarchs running America want us to think.

Often you hear how civilization started in the crescent valley.

Druvius comments on Jan 17, 2018:

You are conflating the invention of pottery with civilization. While the definition can be a bit fluid, normally we are talking about building cities with urban population, a socially stratified society, and writing. Last I heard that first happened in Mesopotamia, not China.

Koreas to march under single 'united' flag in Olympic Games - BBC News

Druvius comments on Jan 17, 2018:

Why wouldn't it be? Most Koreans would like nothing more than reunification. It's China and the US prolonging this situation. The US because we need enemies and threats to justify our mind numbing military expenditures. And China wants a unified American ally right across it's border about as much as the US would want Canada to be taken over by Russia.

I want to know what you think on the subject of Global Warming?

Druvius comments on Jan 17, 2018:

Thank you for demonstrating the Dunning-Kruger effect. That's my opinion.

Just thought I'd throw this out there in case I can educate some of you and hopefully clear up some ...

Druvius comments on Jan 17, 2018:

The state has no more business telling people they must remain alive against their will as it has telling women they must bear children against their will. Both are the state taking ownership of a person's body, something Nazi's do, not free societies.

What religion has caused the most murders

Druvius comments on Jan 15, 2018:

The Abrahamaaic faith, inspiring murder since Abraham to this day. No other faith holds a candle to it.

Say I'm driving the car at 60 mph, and there is a fly buzzing around.

Druvius comments on Jan 14, 2018:

The fly's miniscule mass and air resistance?

What is with the hatred of police officers?

Druvius comments on Jan 14, 2018:

I don't even know where to start on this example of white privelege illustrated.

Human DNA ‘Was Designed By Aliens’, Scientists Have Researched This is a big boost for alien ...

Druvius comments on Jan 14, 2018:

Well, does appear to be genuine researchers. Still, this came out last March and there doesn't seem to be any follow up. So I doubt it passed scrutiny by other DNA researchers.

OOPS---officials sent missile warning text to residents, false alarm though.

Druvius comments on Jan 13, 2018:

Nothing. It's like getting a warning that there's going to be a lightning strike or a car crash somewhere on the island, useless. This is just fearmongering so we keep pouring money that should be spent on infrastructucture/education/health care down the military rathole.

'This Is Not A Drill': A False Ballistic Missile Alert Shakes Hawaii : The Two-Way : NPR

Druvius comments on Jan 13, 2018:

One has to wonder if it was really an accident, or deliberate scaremongering.

What has the atheist "community" done for anyone lately?

Druvius comments on Jan 12, 2018:

Doctors without borders. Just for starters.

Is evolution a fact or still just a theory.

Druvius comments on Jan 12, 2018:

The debate about the theory of evolution was over by about 1870. That some cultists are denying it because it contradicts their religious dogma isn't debate, it's just denial.

How likely is it that trump would be assassinated?

Druvius comments on Jan 12, 2018:

Let's hope not. Almost certainly nothing good could come of it, and the bad possibilities are horrible beyond belief. Caesar was killed to restore the Roman Republic, look how well that worked out.

Carry on Citizen, nothing to see here

Druvius comments on Jan 12, 2018:

If it was consenual, who cares?

Not new, just more detailed news.

Druvius comments on Jan 12, 2018:

Space exploration is some of the most beneficial spending government can make, the return on each dollar spent is considerable. It's the military and corporate welfare that staggering amounts of money is being pissed away on, socialism for the rich. That being said, human exploration of Mars is still likely some ways off. Long term human health in low gravity is still a pipe dream. The Moon or asteroids are more promising early targets, they both have resources to be mined. Someday Mars, but probably not in our lifetimes.

Is Fox News credible or mostly propaganda?

Druvius comments on Jan 12, 2018:

It's as credible as any mainstream media outlet. Which is to say it is a product aimed for a paricular market. If you rely solely on any mainstream outlet you can be assured that a lot of it is lies, even if lies of omission. They all count on people believing them without actually looking deeper.

Do you have a specific “OCD” trait?

Druvius comments on Jan 12, 2018:

Well, there's this: https://www.bridgestorecovery.com/blog/trivializing-ocd-how-culture-makes-a-serious-mental-disorder-a-punchline/

Do you know a centenarian?

Druvius comments on Jan 11, 2018:

Saw one asked for her secret. She said: "When I works, I works hard. When I sits, I sits easy."

Late night thought before bed.

Druvius comments on Jan 11, 2018:

Well, science is getting some handle on how all this came to be. Long but interesting watch if curious about that sort of thing: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7ImvlS8PLIo As for Pascal's wager, God is going to be able to tell who sincerely believes and who is trying to fake God out. I'll stick with using the brain God (or evolution) gave me to tell right from wrong. Presumably that's what it is for.

In your experience, do you find that people are accepting or unaccepting of your non-belief?

Druvius comments on Jan 11, 2018:

Once and awhile a strong athiest gets their knickers in a twist, otherwise no, hasn't been a problem.

Nobody Likes Feminism: that's what happened, Hillary. - YouTube

Druvius comments on Jan 11, 2018:

Well, her depiction of a modern feminist showed beyond any doubt we weren't going to see any reasoned argument. Made it through about 15 seconds afterwards that included several false arguments before I quit. Assuming this was posted as an example of how to string false arguments together to convince yourself and others who don't engage in critical thinking of whatever of whatever BS you are promoting?

NASA just released these some images of Jupiter taken by the Juno spacecraft, the highest ...

Druvius comments on Jan 10, 2018:

Just love living in a golden age of space exploration. And love how almost every new probe and instrument finds stuff we weren't expecting. What a tine to be alive.

Opposition To GMOs Is Neither Unscientific Nor Immoral

Druvius comments on Jan 10, 2018:

Well, the science is pretty much settled. However, the second point is far more nuanced and important. It's not that there's anything wrong with GMOs, it's what they are being used for. And they are being used to promote factory farming exclusively ... which is a major issue the debate about their safety obscures. Possibly even deliberately.

I just became aware of a brilliant experiment that some 4chan users did one time.

Druvius comments on Jan 10, 2018:

The problem that it plays into the "whites are under attack" or "whites are discriminated against" tropes ... which are very racist expressions of distressed privilege. So it wasn't a neutral statement, it was a deliberately questionable statement at best. It's like claiming "All lives matter" is neutral.

Do you still find yourself praying from time to time? In what circumstances?

Druvius comments on Jan 10, 2018:

Only when a friend or loved one asks for prayers. Otherwise no, got out of the habit long ago.

I just saw this on FB. I may have to cut my eyes out.

Druvius comments on Jan 10, 2018:

An abomination on several levels.

I'm thinking that there are a lot more atheists and agnostics than we know about.

Druvius comments on Jan 10, 2018:

Getting along with your family and friends does make life easier. Certainly known several religious friends/aquaintances who admitted the supernatural aspects of their faith are silly.

Moon landing deniers

Druvius comments on Jan 10, 2018:

We first went to the South Pole in 1911 for the same reason we went to the Moon in 1969. National prestige, in both cases existing technology was pushed to the limit at fabulous risk (people died in both endeavours) to acheive the goal. After it was acheived there was no reason to go back until technology was available to make it safe to do so. In the case of the South Pole, humans didn't return until 1957. 46 years after humans first set foot there. It's only been 49 years since we set foot on the Moon, and it's vastly further away and more dangerous to travel to than the South Pole. And it may well be a few more decades before we return. Nothing strange about the gap at all, when the technology exists for people to SAFELY return to the Moon we will no doubt do so.

Do shows like CSI influence our courts?

Druvius comments on Jan 10, 2018:

Not terribly surprising. First of all, willing to bet that CSI shows are about as accurate in their presentation of forensics as they are about everything else. Secondly the kinds of people committing crimes that require forensic clean up ... are already exhibiting impaired judgement. That also argues against them being able to effectively use forensic countermeasures. Lastly, ones who are serious about forensic countermeasures have much better places to learn them than TV shows. So not surprised by these results. Am curious about juries, have heard their expectation of the kinds of things they see on CSI does have an influence, because frankly few cases have that kind of conclusive forensics. Will have to wait for those studies I expect.

Do you have a favorite hometown restaurant?

Druvius comments on Jan 10, 2018:

Yes, Linda's in Mountain View CA. Sadly long gone now, but their fame lives on.

What was your worst experience flying?

Druvius comments on Jan 9, 2018:

A flight from SF to Australia that was 24 hours late by the time we arrived. A nightmare of sitting in various airport waiting rooms being told to stay where we were cause the flight would leave in 15 minutes ... rinse and repeat.

Will you help me settle this debate with my friend: can a Christian be a freethinker?

Druvius comments on Jan 8, 2018:

I'm an ignostic episcopalian. I'm a free thinker. Happy to answer your question for you.

I want to know what you think on the subject of Global Warming?

Druvius comments on Jan 8, 2018:

No, not political. You're simply wrong. Denying anthropogenic global warming is like denying evolution. There's no debate, you're simply in denial. The other possible causes of global warming have long been ruled out, and anthropogenic global warming has been proved.

It's been pointed out here before I'm sure, technology is advancing faster than our politics because...

Druvius comments on Jan 8, 2018:

Technology has been running ahead of application since at least the Civil War, and it's getting worse. Religion and ideology aren't the problem, it's people exploiting them to control others for evil purposes. And the science of advertising and propaganda is making that ever more effective. I don't know what the answer is, but reason and logic by itself has yet to come up with an answer. Personally I suspect that intelligience like ours might be an evolutionary dead end, it's certainly looking iff right now.

Should we all get a flu shot, barring any allergy to the vaccine?

Druvius comments on Jan 8, 2018:

Unless there is a medical reason not to, or you live in a cave with no human contact, it's like asking people if they should stop at stop signs. :)