Since the word "Evil" seem to be used in many different forms.

Fernapple comments on Aug 29, 2022:

There is no such thing as an absolute evil, there is merely a spectrum of good an bad things, with no dividing lines and most things being in the middle. (The bell curve.) If we like to give the most extreme end of the spectrum a special term, such as, evil. Then well and good, but the big danger ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 29, 2022:

@Betty I would consider evil to be the most extreme of bad things, the point being that a hard and fixed definition would be, and is itself, an evil generally.

There are it is said as many different definitions of what the word “Religion” means, as there ...

Julie808 comments on Aug 28, 2022:

I prefer to define religion and mythology separately. I realize it's not the common way to view spirituality, but it's the way I think about things. For me, religion is my feeling of connection to the source of creation and all that supports my being, physically, and what I understand to be ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 29, 2022:

Really good definition, thank you. My definition is of course mainly for established organized religion and not so generalized as yours. I like the metaphor of glasses, that is very clever.

I and went to visit Woolsthorpe Manor yesterday, the birthplace and home of the scientist Isaac ...

OldGoat43 comments on Aug 28, 2022:

It must have been difficult to heat such a large home with wood as it was back then. I live in central Pennsylvania which seems to have a similar climate as your region but it is coal country here. The things to explore are mostly Civil War exhibits or natural wonders. Thanks for sharing your ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 28, 2022:

@OldGoat43 The Newtons probably had servants and tennants etc. I think that the house was only used by him for much of the time. He was an only child, and shortly after his father died, his mother remarried and left to live with her new husband, leaving only Isaac and his grandmother in the house, since Isaac and her new husband, a vicar of course, did not get on.

Older and more beautiful than a pyramid ?

Robecology comments on Aug 28, 2022:

Wow...Did you actually visit there?

Fernapple replies on Aug 28, 2022:

No, its on the bucket list though.

There are it is said as many different definitions of what the word “Religion” means, as there ...

racocn8 comments on Aug 28, 2022:

Fealty to memes in the hope of gaining special favors. (Superstition) I note your substitution of 'argument by authority' with 'proof by authority'. For religionists, I'm not sure either are really appropriate, and that it might be better with 'persuasion by authority' or 'conversion by ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 28, 2022:

Both argument from authority and proof by authority have existed for a long time. I just chose proof because those within a faith, would not admit to it being merely an argument.

I and went to visit Woolsthorpe Manor yesterday, the birthplace and home of the scientist Isaac ...

OldGoat43 comments on Aug 28, 2022:

It must have been difficult to heat such a large home with wood as it was back then. I live in central Pennsylvania which seems to have a similar climate as your region but it is coal country here. The things to explore are mostly Civil War exhibits or natural wonders. Thanks for sharing your ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 28, 2022:

Yes but they probably only paid the wood cutter in food and beer.

I and went to visit Woolsthorpe Manor yesterday, the birthplace and home of the scientist Isaac ...

Lorajay comments on Aug 28, 2022:

Thank you so much for sharing your photos. I too am full of envy. Do you know the symbolism of what appears to be two Ss above the front door?

Fernapple replies on Aug 28, 2022:

Yes, they are not actually symbols, they are spreader plates. With very old stone and brick houses, sometimes the walls start to sag and bulge, over time. In the old days it was a common practice to put an iron rod through the building, with plates on each end, in various shapes sometimes "S" sometimes round or square. The nuts on the ends of the rods were then tightened, and often the rods were heated so that they expanded, when they cooled and shrank they pulled the wall back in. The "S" shape are probably early ones made by a village blacksmith, round cast ones are most likely later. It shows that the building had centuries of decay and care, what in Japan they call a "Golden repair", meaning it actually makes things even more beautiful.

I and went to visit Woolsthorpe Manor yesterday, the birthplace and home of the scientist Isaac ...

Marionville comments on Aug 28, 2022:

Understated, traditionally is the British way…although creeping “Disneyfication” has turned many of our heritage sites into theme parks sad to say!

Fernapple replies on Aug 28, 2022:

Its National Trust and they can be a bit Disney sometimes, but not too bad here, though a film biography they were showing on a loop, did make me wince and leave that room. They were not to bureaucratic either which is also the British way, especially the National Trust way.

Where can one submit, have peer-reviewed and published articles about living life?

Gwendolyn2018 comments on Aug 27, 2022:

Academic journals are the only works of which I am aware who have peer-review panels. Submissions need to be thoroughly researched and the analyses/conclusions need to be supported by the research. There might be other types of peer reviewed journals, but I am not aware of them. What is your ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 28, 2022:

@Gwendolyn2018 Although it has to be said that both being possibly, and it has been well argued, borderline autistic, Newton especially. They would probably both have been excluded completely from education today, except at the most basic level, and only succeeded because they lived in more tolerant ages. Although the real lose to the world was Henry Cavendish, whose discoveries were mostly all lost and, far later, rediscovered and credited to others. Including, the effects of tidal friction on the earth's rotation, Ohm's law, Dalton's law of partial pressure, Richters Law, Charle's Law of Gases many of the modern understandings of electrical conductivity and much more were all lost because his mental illness prevented him from taking part in the academic life of his time.

Where can one submit, have peer-reviewed and published articles about living life?

Gwendolyn2018 comments on Aug 27, 2022:

Academic journals are the only works of which I am aware who have peer-review panels. Submissions need to be thoroughly researched and the analyses/conclusions need to be supported by the research. There might be other types of peer reviewed journals, but I am not aware of them. What is your ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 27, 2022:

@Gwendolyn2018 Darwin had a minor degree in theology only, he failed medicine, but never published any papers in peer reviewed journals, since like many then, he regarded openly published popular books as more serious. Peer reviewed journals did not exist in Newton's day, and he published only in books, and then only when he was forced and encouraged.

This is just too good not to share.

Gwendolyn2018 comments on Aug 27, 2022:

I didn't have time to watch more than the opening of the video, but geez, of course dragons existed! So did unicorns, behemoths, leviathans, and talking asses (donkeys and people).

Fernapple replies on Aug 27, 2022:

@Gwendolyn2018 Yes it was actualy Tolkien who introduced C. S. Lewis to the idea of returning to the Catholic faith. Sad but true. And then of course you get the shallow and stupid Christian allegory of Narnia, which really does bludgeon you.

Where can one submit, have peer-reviewed and published articles about living life?

Gwendolyn2018 comments on Aug 27, 2022:

Academic journals are the only works of which I am aware who have peer-review panels. Submissions need to be thoroughly researched and the analyses/conclusions need to be supported by the research. There might be other types of peer reviewed journals, but I am not aware of them. What is your ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 27, 2022:

@Gwendolyn2018 Thatr is kind of sad in some ways if you think about it. Because neither I. Newton, nor C. Darwin would get published today.

This is just too good not to share.

Gwendolyn2018 comments on Aug 27, 2022:

I didn't have time to watch more than the opening of the video, but geez, of course dragons existed! So did unicorns, behemoths, leviathans, and talking asses (donkeys and people).

Fernapple replies on Aug 27, 2022:

@Gwendolyn2018 Well at LOTR does have a logical plot, so I always thought that it must be a much better authority than the Buybabble, but I always thought that I was alone in that.

Where can one submit, have peer-reviewed and published articles about living life?

Gwendolyn2018 comments on Aug 27, 2022:

Academic journals are the only works of which I am aware who have peer-review panels. Submissions need to be thoroughly researched and the analyses/conclusions need to be supported by the research. There might be other types of peer reviewed journals, but I am not aware of them. What is your ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 27, 2022:

@Gwendolyn2018 Hardy anyone reads articles in peer reviewed journals, great to check your article but if you think it is important, and you actualy want some people to read it, then you may look for another place to publish.

This is just too good not to share.

Gwendolyn2018 comments on Aug 27, 2022:

I didn't have time to watch more than the opening of the video, but geez, of course dragons existed! So did unicorns, behemoths, leviathans, and talking asses (donkeys and people).

Fernapple replies on Aug 27, 2022:

If it says so in the only book he ever read, then it must be so.

Where can one submit, have peer-reviewed and published articles about living life?

Gwendolyn2018 comments on Aug 27, 2022:

Academic journals are the only works of which I am aware who have peer-review panels. Submissions need to be thoroughly researched and the analyses/conclusions need to be supported by the research. There might be other types of peer reviewed journals, but I am not aware of them. What is your ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 27, 2022:

Maybe he has already got the peer reviews, he just wants to know where he can put them on this site. Which is kind of not good because the longer articles pages have now gone.

Okay, I just joined atheistuniverse.

BitFlipper comments on Aug 25, 2022:

I just joined too, but I didn't get a chance to choose a pseudonym.

Fernapple replies on Aug 27, 2022:

Seems that you can just change your name for anything you like in your profile, when you are up and running. It worked for me anyway.

This is just too good not to share.

Garban comments on Aug 27, 2022:

If dragon eggs weren’t so delicious they wouldn’t be extinct today. 😕

Fernapple replies on Aug 27, 2022:

True like the giant trotoise, in the Anthropocene it pays not to be tasty or well dressed.

I signed up at atheistuniverse.

Fernapple comments on Aug 27, 2022:

You could try FvckMe ? It may work.

Fernapple replies on Aug 27, 2022:

@Petter So what. This is the internet, where everybody expects to be fvcked, at least metaphorically every day.

What's up with camouflage pickup trucks?

RichCC comments on Aug 27, 2022:

That's a good question. Back in the 70s I read a story that they said tested common vehicle colors for visibility. Their number 1 choice was day-glow yellow. The number 2 was bright white. On the off chance you don't know where your truck is, it helps to be able to see it. 😋 BTW... snow isn't a ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 27, 2022:

In the UK grey has for a long time been the most popular car colour, which has to be the worst possible choice, since it is effectively camouflage against tarmac roads, and about the lowest possible visibility. I have long thought that the govenment would stop a lot of crashes if they just made bright yellow or orange the only legal colours, and what would be the cost, since who cares except the truly vain, what colour their car is.

I finally got a day off, and it was warm and sunny so I went for a cycle ride, part of which took me...

Robecology comments on Aug 26, 2022:

The old stone bridge (in the Viking ship art image) is a marvel of construction!

Fernapple replies on Aug 27, 2022:

Yes it carried the road over the railway line, and it still carries the road , though the railway is no longer there.

I finally got a day off, and it was warm and sunny so I went for a cycle ride, part of which took me...

Gwendolyn2018 comments on Aug 26, 2022:

I would love to visit Britain one day! I want to see Stonehenge (of course), but also Newgrange and churches where the Green Man's images are displayed.

Fernapple replies on Aug 26, 2022:

That's a good list, nearly everybody heads for London, but that is not really the UK, its in many ways just another international capital like all the rest. Nice but not the UK. You can also amuse yourself by counting empty disused and reused churches, we don't have many left now in full use.

Okay, I just joined atheistuniverse.

Fernapple comments on Aug 26, 2022:

By the way, what name do you use on that site ?

Fernapple replies on Aug 26, 2022:

@Alienbeing Dhoe ! Me not reading carefully again. Actually read it yesterday, then came back and made the comment today without reading it again.

It is such common knowledge; it is taught at primary (elementary) schools in the UK, yet it ...

Fernapple comments on Aug 26, 2022:

Yep, saw it last night, a great documentary.

Fernapple replies on Aug 26, 2022:

@Ryo1 Tis, in it. The most profound of all Britishisms.

The Babble is the word of God

Fernapple comments on Aug 24, 2022:

Have you got her phone number ?

Fernapple replies on Aug 25, 2022:

@St-Sinner Thanks anyway, that's good same area code as me !!!

Atheists are nicer to Christians compared to the other way around if their religious identity is ...

ToakReon comments on Aug 24, 2022:

Christianity has, as one of its foundations, the 'Faith equals Virtue' concept. That faith in god fundamentally makes you a more virtuous (better, more moral, more noble) person - even for those christians whose actual actions demonstrate their lack of virtue, nobility or decency. This ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 24, 2022:

And it also inevitably attracted arrogant narcissists to join up.

Atheists are nicer to Christians compared to the other way around if their religious identity is ...

Fernapple comments on Aug 23, 2022:

Well we don't have a lecture every Sunday on how important the congregation is, and how superior they are to everyone else, for one.

Fernapple replies on Aug 24, 2022:

@TomMcGiverin Right on.

Atheists are nicer to Christians compared to the other way around if their religious identity is ...

Fernapple comments on Aug 23, 2022:

Well we don't have a lecture every Sunday on how important the congregation is, and how superior they are to everyone else, for one.

Fernapple replies on Aug 24, 2022:

@TomMcGiverin And so modest too. But better honest than modest.

I pose a broad question. What is a god?

anglophone comments on Aug 23, 2022:

A dyslexic dog.

Fernapple replies on Aug 24, 2022:

The old ones are always the best.

This is not about music or religion.

Fernapple comments on Aug 21, 2022:

As long as you don't mind the dusting, you can fill the house if you wish. Its your house.

Fernapple replies on Aug 23, 2022:

@FrayedBear This is England we don't have opening windows, well only tiny ones.

This is not about music or religion.

Fernapple comments on Aug 21, 2022:

As long as you don't mind the dusting, you can fill the house if you wish. Its your house.

Fernapple replies on Aug 22, 2022:

@Spinliesel I use a vac.

This is not about music or religion.

Fernapple comments on Aug 21, 2022:

As long as you don't mind the dusting, you can fill the house if you wish. Its your house.

Fernapple replies on Aug 22, 2022:

@FrayedBear My next big job is getting rid of the clutter I just inherited from my parents, the house is now full, and its a long way from the minimilism I like.

This is not about music or religion.

Fernapple comments on Aug 21, 2022:

As long as you don't mind the dusting, you can fill the house if you wish. Its your house.

Fernapple replies on Aug 22, 2022:

@FrayedBear Well done.

Ever notice people do not “find God “when they are happy?

DenoPenno comments on Aug 21, 2022:

When people find Jesus in prison it relates to their past childhood upbringing.

Fernapple replies on Aug 21, 2022:

Sometimes its just bordom, and the wish to impress the parole board.

Why does this site keep changing the single letter "k" to "think"? What does it "think" it is doing?

Fernapple comments on Aug 21, 2022:

k Works for me, on Windows 10.

Fernapple replies on Aug 21, 2022:

@anglophone Perhaps yes.

Why does this site keep changing the single letter "k" to "think"? What does it "think" it is doing?

Fernapple comments on Aug 21, 2022:

k Works for me, on Windows 10.

Fernapple replies on Aug 21, 2022:

@anglophone Will do. h i j k l m Hey now I see it, that is fun annoying but fun. There have always been quirks with the spell checker on this site, I think that you can switch the spell check on and off in your settings, that could be worth a try.

I don't hate the human species.

Fernapple comments on Aug 20, 2022:

Oh. I love to watch an attractive member of the opposite sex, breath in and out. But maybe I am just funny that way, do you think I should see a therapist ?

Fernapple replies on Aug 20, 2022:

@resserts Good point. I could sit on the couch .... Sorry I have to go google therapists in my area.

Sorry this is a bit long.

puff comments on Aug 18, 2022:

I think those that lack empathy and compassion recognise in themselves they have this flaw. They do want to fit in and be like everyone else so they search for answers about themselves. Which brings us to the question; "What organisations profess to be experts in empathy?' The answer, of course,...

Fernapple replies on Aug 19, 2022:

Well said.

Several people asked me to enlarge on my previous post, [agnostic.

Betty comments on Aug 18, 2022:

I enjoyed this. It fits with my lifestyle and choices. :) Thank you. More please. :)

Fernapple replies on Aug 19, 2022:

Thank you.

Is 54 too old to consider a career change?

Fernapple comments on Aug 18, 2022:

Getting older may one day force a career change on to you. Therefore why not make it now and your own choice. I started a major new hobby at sixty four, and am now looking for my next new career adventure at sixty six.

Fernapple replies on Aug 18, 2022:

@Garban Its twenty years ago now, but thank you.

Is 54 too old to consider a career change?

Fernapple comments on Aug 18, 2022:

Getting older may one day force a career change on to you. Therefore why not make it now and your own choice. I started a major new hobby at sixty four, and am now looking for my next new career adventure at sixty six.

Fernapple replies on Aug 18, 2022:

@Garban I was not really thinking of people forcing you out, but of the inevitable point when health forces a change of direction. Therefore change now while you still have that. Health can let anyone down at almost any time, but just more likely as we get older. My own experience tells me that, I lost my wife to a brain bleed thanks to an undiscovered tumor, when we had only been married three and a half months and we were still planning our futures.

Texas district pulls the Bible, Anne Frank adaptation as schools face more book backlash

Fernapple comments on Aug 17, 2022:

Sorry, it sound interesting but the link does not work in Europe.

Fernapple replies on Aug 17, 2022:

@TheMiddleWay Will try.

Several people asked me to enlarge on my previous post, [agnostic.

racocn8 comments on Aug 17, 2022:

I like the proposal that one may infer that the lack of evidence for a god means that it does not want worship nor even to be acknowledged. That makes much more sense than religionist claims that an god deserves and should be worshiped which confers the worst egomaniac human traits onto an entity ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 17, 2022:

That is it exactly.

"Those who work hard chasing more wealth than they need, make themselves slaves to themselves.

Marionville comments on Aug 17, 2022:

…”and’ a typo for “than” I think….!

Fernapple replies on Aug 17, 2022:

Thank you, will correct.

The FBI is asshoe

anglophone comments on Aug 17, 2022:

Is an asshoe a whore that specialises in anal?

Fernapple replies on Aug 17, 2022:

@FvckY0u Good try, but see above.

My personal contribution to good faith communication is a graceful exit.

FvckY0u comments on Aug 15, 2022:

I'd recommend you start not giving a fuck. Most people are wrong most of the time anyway. That includes you, me and everyone else. Shit, I'm probably wrong in what I'm posting right now. I'm just trying to spur some thought and possibly internal insight. Yet no one probably gives a fuck nor do ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 16, 2022:

Brilliantly put. Does not leave anything left for anyone else to say, but I don't g.a.f.

Salvation/Liberation as Human Transformation “The great post-axial traditions, as we have ...

KateOahu comments on Aug 15, 2022:

And yet, DO these beliefs effect “…the transformation of human existence from self-centredness to Reality-centredness.” I say my observation is “no”, that in fact, religious belief causes more sense of superiority over others than anything else.

Fernapple replies on Aug 16, 2022:

Sorry Kathleen but this is a bit of a long one. The great failing of religion is that it can never lead people away from being self centred and into enlightenment, because it is in essence itself just narcissism organized, all about the self, and the arrogant feelings of self importance. Just read the text in the passage above, which claims, to show religions selfless enlightenment. Here you go paragraph two. "self-committing faith in Christ as one’s lord and saviour; or by the total submission to God which is Islam; or by faithful obedience to the Torah; or by transcendence of the ego, with its self-centred desires and cravings, to attain moksha or Nirvana. " Everything it talks about is "Self -committing", "total submission" or "faithful obedience" it is all about things that you do to gain contact or take part in something greater than that which nature gives. Even Nirvana is about a, greater, death, something to attain because you get to be somewhere and someone special. Yet it is a strange sort of selflessness is it not, to try and escape the narcissistic self, but only by losing your self in something bigger, or to be valued by something greater. That is just a true aggrandisement of the narcissist by proxy. And there are good reasons for that. Not least because truly enlightened and selfless people are not needy, they do not have any use for religion or anything else, only narcissists are needy, so religion must promote narcissism to survive. It offers the pretend carrot of enlightenment, (Hell, guilt and sin, are the stick.) but like the donkey in the story, the follower of religion can never be given it, it must always dangle just a little distance away, to keep them coming back. And they do, again and again, each new sniff of pseudo-enlightenment and wisdom satisfies for a while, but then they must go back again for another fix. The only true selfless enlightenment is secular nihilism, and that was what a lot of the religious thinkers of the ancient world, Jesus, Mohamed, the Buddha were perhaps striving towards, and perhaps some, such as the Buddha almost got there. Though they could not finally reach it, or express it successfully, not because they were stupid, but because they did not then have the understanding and language to express it, that we have today, only the language of religion, which simply was not up to the task.

Are you an empath?

Fernapple comments on Aug 15, 2022:

It would be wise to remember that this is made by a person who has stuff to sell, it is therefore very unlikely that there is anyone who will not get a high score in the test. And if you read it cynically, a lot of the questions are such that you have to ask yourself, would anybody give the ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 15, 2022:

@FvckY0u No I am pretty cynical all the time, it is the way I think. I am also a bit of a nihilist too. But I always say that I am a happy cynic and nihilist, because I work on the old idea that if you expect little, you wont be disappointed, and people always do exceed expectations. As to the test. Well the first thing that I always ask when shown a form or list of questions, is. Does this person have a agenda ? I remember when I was about twelve seeing a test for "artistic" skills, at which I did very well, then I discovered that it came from a company selling art courses and matterials. So I passed it round and it turned out nearly everyone I knew was an artistic genius . LOL

Are you an empath?

Gwendolyn2018 comments on Aug 15, 2022:

This is BS. My pagan friends think that they are "empaths," but they are just sensitive to the feelings of others: they don't actually "feel" what others are feeling. However, I don't need to take the quiz to know that I would be considered an empath. There have been numerous times when I have ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 15, 2022:

@Gwendolyn2018 No. I was talking generally, not about you in particular, I always took you for an empathic person. Mind you, if you did not sense that, then........? LOL But quite, the clueless always do think that they are very good at it, obviously your experience confirms my theory.

Are you an empath?

Gwendolyn2018 comments on Aug 15, 2022:

This is BS. My pagan friends think that they are "empaths," but they are just sensitive to the feelings of others: they don't actually "feel" what others are feeling. However, I don't need to take the quiz to know that I would be considered an empath. There have been numerous times when I have ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 15, 2022:

It may be that there is something like the Dunning-Kruger effect at work. The people who think they have the greatest empathy, often have the least.

Why religion without belief can still make perfect sense | Psyche Ideas

Fernapple comments on Aug 15, 2022:

From a negative view, it changes nothing. All of the evils of religion always stemmed from the exaggerated respect given to its cultural traditions, holy writings, hierarchical structures and rituals. If you take the literal belief in the non existent god, out of the equation, you take away a zero, ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 15, 2022:

@Lorajay The dangers in trying to negate the crazies, by example from within, are manifold. Firstly that having moderates within religion tends to normalize it all, and make it seem respectable, which helps the crazies to justify it to themselves and others. Secondly it creates and recruiting ground and a retreat for them, even if the moderates don't intend that. Thirdly they may win and force the moderates into, leave or join us. ( Which is happening. ) Four, it still justifies anti-intellectual and anti-reason thinking, while setting low moral standards.

If only people would stick to basics, and perhaps start with something like this.

MizJ comments on Aug 14, 2022:

Nullius in verba, the motto of the Royal Society, so important some scientists have it as a tattoo.

Fernapple replies on Aug 14, 2022:

Exact opposite of the proof by authority fallacy. ( Sometimes known as religion.)

If only people would stick to basics, and perhaps start with something like this.

phoenixone1 comments on Aug 14, 2022:

The average person does not read "The New England Journal of Medicine" or "The Harvard Law Review" or any other of the vast repositories of knowledge that this countries best scientific and legal minds contribute to. Granted, being able to understand these articles require someone to be "smarter ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 14, 2022:

Nice rant.

What charges could Trump face for holding on to Top Secret documents? [france24.com]

hankster comments on Aug 13, 2022:

same as always with him.....inappropriate handling of sensitive stuff.

Fernapple replies on Aug 14, 2022:

I think he handled most things inappropriately, perhaps fortunately, not all of them were sensitive. "Birds of a feather."

“Wealth is a means to an end, not the end itself.

Diogenes comments on Aug 14, 2022:

There is a point to be made- money to buy unending, foolish piles of junk is what the brainless most often do--- but the next point is the need to have enough funds to at least "be functional."

Fernapple replies on Aug 14, 2022:

You have to know when you reach enough. It is the same with everything, eat too little you starve, eat too much you get fat, exercize too little you become unhealthy, too much, you end as a freak like a body builder, take too little sun and you wont get enough vit. "D", too much, and you harm your skin, etc. etc.

If only people would stick to basics, and perhaps start with something like this.

Garban comments on Aug 14, 2022:

I watch out for emotionally charged attacks on established science or scientist. This is a sure sign of a dubious motivation of the author and I lose interest very quickly. Also hyperbole is not normally a communication style used by objective scientist. When the first line of an article claims ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 14, 2022:

That is very true. Unfortunately the issues are also compounded, by the respect and glamour given to revisionists, who do indeed deserve rewards when they can show a genuine new view point. But of course that tempts many, even among genuine scientists to reach for the prize and make exagerated claims, even when they have little foundations for doing so. Which of course sadly does science no credit, and only further encourages the pseudo-scientists.

We had the garden open for charity last week, and raise nearly eight hundred pounds for good causes.

Lauren comments on Aug 13, 2022:

How lovely! Congratulations on your great success and generosity.

Fernapple replies on Aug 13, 2022:

Thank you.

We had the garden open for charity last week, and raise nearly eight hundred pounds for good causes.

Garban comments on Aug 13, 2022:

The news in the US reports Europe is suffering severe drought. Are you impacted?

Fernapple replies on Aug 13, 2022:

Yes, we are not the hardest hit, but it is still very dry here. The water companies are talking about banning car washing and hose pipes in gardens, and have been given permission by the government to do so. I am lucky because I have a spring in the garden, which so far, has never been known to dry up, and the government environment agency allows me to have several tons of water each day without a permit, if I want, which is more than enough for my garden.

Here is an interesting question (probably asked by an American person) and a few Brits responded.

TomMcGiverin comments on Aug 11, 2022:

I wish the US was much more like the UK in these ways. It sounds so much more sensible and civilized.

Fernapple replies on Aug 12, 2022:

We are not quite up to the standard of a lot of the scandi countries yet, but we are getting there.

Many of the great cultural shifts that prepare the way for political change are largely aesthetic.

Fernapple comments on Aug 11, 2022:

The arts, is the traditional name we give to our attempts to manipulate culture and achieve mass mind control. Religion is perhaps the most dangerous and powerful of all the arts.

Fernapple replies on Aug 12, 2022:

@MsKathleen There is much good in art and many good artists with the best of intentions. It is simply that the art myth, the idea that all art is aways good, and that the craft works and performances, which we term art, somehow put people into touch with a deeper wisdom which is always good, is a religion and makes a god of art just as dangerous as any theist god. And just as useful as a theist god to those of evil intent.

Many of the great cultural shifts that prepare the way for political change are largely aesthetic.

Fernapple comments on Aug 11, 2022:

The arts, is the traditional name we give to our attempts to manipulate culture and achieve mass mind control. Religion is perhaps the most dangerous and powerful of all the arts.

Fernapple replies on Aug 11, 2022:

@MsKathleen That questioning, enlightening, and intellectually stimulating are not incompatible with mind control, they are also easy to fake, and rarely present in most art. Despite the propaganda most artists are employed by establishments, who have the money, to back them up and support estalished thinking. The art myth which you refer to, itself exists exactly because it is art which is responsible for propaganda, and it therefore while supporting the pejudices of those filling the paycheck, naturally always presents itself in the best light. As in for example. Nineteen thirties Germany, many if not most artists work for the Nazis, after the war is lost by them , the art establishment declares them to be fake artists, and the few who worked against the Nazis "true artists", thus the art establishment remains clean and all powerful within the popular culture. Until next time that is. Religion certainly is an art, pure art, you go to church for the speaking, the story telling, the music, the paintings and the glass windows etc. It is all about using unnatural overstimulation, to promote that which could not be promoted by appeal to reason.

Christian calls atheists "toxic and "fearful." Your thoughts?

Fernapple comments on Aug 10, 2022:

Point out that the word "atheist" does not mean, believe in nothing, just none belief in a sky fairy. In fact most of the atheists I know believe in a lot of things, perhaps more than theists, believing just in one thing alone, and most theists do, is really the rejecting of wider belief. I for ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 11, 2022:

@LiterateHiker Well done. You are welcome.

Antivaxxers Knowledge overconfidence is associated with anti-consensus views on controversial ...

AnneWimsey comments on Aug 5, 2022:

I have no idea what "knowledge overconfidence" means, unless it is foolish credulousness about anything found on the internet

Fernapple replies on Aug 6, 2022:

@AnneWimsey Some people never seem to be able to climb out of the word salad bowl. Sad but true.

Antivaxxers Knowledge overconfidence is associated with anti-consensus views on controversial ...

AnneWimsey comments on Aug 5, 2022:

I have no idea what "knowledge overconfidence" means, unless it is foolish credulousness about anything found on the internet

Fernapple replies on Aug 6, 2022:

It means basically something very like the Dunning Kruger effect, they do mention that in the paper. If you do not know that, here you are. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect

Here is a list of 50 misheard lyrics in songs.

Gwendolyn2018 comments on Aug 5, 2022:

When everyone else sang "Bringing in the Sheaves" in church, my child self was singing "Bringing in the Sheets." I never could figure out why they were singing about wash hanging on a clothesline.

Fernapple replies on Aug 6, 2022:

In the age of the combine harvester, I wonder how many kids know what sheaves are any longer.

I think that the veg plot is looking good now, but sadly it will probably never look like one of my ...

racocn8 comments on Aug 4, 2022:

There's always someone else's garden that looks better. Take it as inspiration, and enjoy your own unique plot.

Fernapple replies on Aug 5, 2022:

I do.

I think that the veg plot is looking good now, but sadly it will probably never look like one of my ...

KateOahu comments on Aug 4, 2022:

Love the cameo wall. Can I come live with you?

Fernapple replies on Aug 5, 2022:

The cameo wall is my neighbours, but they do have a large house with spare rooms..

Imagine a world in which scientists divided themselves according to whether they were sincere in the...

Fernapple comments on Aug 4, 2022:

It exists already.

Fernapple replies on Aug 4, 2022:

@Imran2022 Yes sadly even on this site where you would expect health skeptisim, there are a few pseudo-science and fake science addicts.

Imagine a world in which scientists divided themselves according to whether they were sincere in the...

Fernapple comments on Aug 4, 2022:

It exists already.

Fernapple replies on Aug 4, 2022:

@ChestRockfield Yes. I assumed that the post was retorical. But you know what they say about assume ? A. It makes an ass of you and me. (Spelling joke.)

Do we like our friends because they stink like we do? [bigthink.com] .

Lorajay comments on Aug 2, 2022:

I loved the fact that my husband smelled different than me. I purposely made sure he used a different soap so that would continue. I think that the personal cleaning products that we use affect our odor. That means, I don't understand how modern humans real odor can be sensed.

Fernapple replies on Aug 3, 2022:

Off course it is probable that personal cleansing products are made to enhance the smells we like, not get rid of smells altogether.

This is one of the oldest streets in my town; a street of the Barbican, Plymouth, England to be ...

St-Sinner comments on Aug 2, 2022:

It looks beautiful. Is it Victorian style homes and streets?

Fernapple replies on Aug 2, 2022:

I think some may be even older than that.

Four shades of Hollyhock growing it the garden now.

Garban comments on Aug 2, 2022:

I only see 4 shades. Who else feels cheated?😉

Fernapple replies on Aug 2, 2022:

Amended.

Four shades of Hollyhock growing it the garden now.

KateOahu comments on Aug 2, 2022:

Do they take much tending? This is not something that will grow in the desert.

Fernapple replies on Aug 2, 2022:

Not much tending, but probably not for the desert no. They are a biennial/short lived perennial and grow to about six to seven feet.

Fire at Planned Parenthood in Kalamazoo Michigan.

Fernapple comments on Aug 1, 2022:

Sorry to say, the link does not work, it leads to a "forbiden" page.

Fernapple replies on Aug 1, 2022:

@creative51 Probably not available in Europe.

Is Religion Built In? Noam Chomsky [agnostic.com] .

David1955 comments on Jul 31, 2022:

Is the question here the old one about whether religion is innate or acquired in humans? I have the view that some people are born hard wired to believe in religion, while others are definitely not, and many are kind of neutral but go along with it for reasons of socialisation. I don't like to ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 1, 2022:

@David1955 Could not agree more.

Is Religion Built In? Noam Chomsky [agnostic.com] .

David1955 comments on Jul 31, 2022:

Is the question here the old one about whether religion is innate or acquired in humans? I have the view that some people are born hard wired to believe in religion, while others are definitely not, and many are kind of neutral but go along with it for reasons of socialisation. I don't like to ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 1, 2022:

Yes I agree, but the bits of human nature, which are hard wired for religion are not very specific, some humans may be hard wired to be gullible, and some to over respect authority, we may also be hard wired towards a fear of snakes, and to favour a positive error bias etc.. But none of them lead to any specific religious ideas, if they did we would find more than a few ideas which were common to all religions, which we clearly don't, except perhaps a few trivial ones like a deep awe for snakes. Therefore while the hard wiring may be fixed, but the softwear that we play on it is almost completely flexible, and can be adapted to any, even modern, needs. Many of us are after all, hard wired for overeating, yet it is still possible to regulate diet, and control food consumption, ( Hard but possible.) and the needs that we have for the, so called gifts, of religion are far less strongly hard wired, than our need for food. We do not have to take the first bad effects that spin off our genetic hard wiring, and assume that we are stuck with them, there are many modern religions, such as sport, environmentalism, humanism and internationalism, which can fill all the needs. And the real evidence for that comes from the thriving and happy secular nations where traditional religion is almost gone, and that, happy and thiving, seem to exactly relate to the degree to which it disappears, Skados view is a purely USA based perspective, a view of a world distorted by American lenses.

I have no idea who this Smith fellow is but I have long held his logical argument to be true in my ...

SnowyOwl comments on Jul 31, 2022:

Since I posted this in the first place my take on it as an Atheist is that there is no god and I am therefore correct but as a scientist I allow for the slim chance that new data will present itself that will totally overturn the theory that Atheism is founded upon - There is no proof of a god. The...

Fernapple replies on Aug 1, 2022:

There are many god ideas, they do not all include, omnipotent and omniscient, that is just an Abrahamic view. And if god is to judge us, then it is the duty of god in order to justify that, to provide clear laws and clear views of its wishes, and since it clearly does not do that, since there are even more variations on gods law than there are on god, where would the justification for being judgmental come from ?

I have no idea who this Smith fellow is but I have long held his logical argument to be true in my ...

skado comments on Jul 31, 2022:

The great irony here being that both wagers are from a Christian perspective only. Pascal’s from someone raised in a Christian culture, who guesses it could be true, and Smith’s from someone raised in a Christian culture who guesses it likely isn’t. So in both cases, they are just betting ...

Fernapple replies on Jul 31, 2022:

One. That completely misunderstands the relationship between reason and knowledge, reason is not the same thing as knowledge, nor the same thing as betting on unknown and unmeasurable qualities, perhaps based on value judgement. Reason is the way in which we use the known empirical facts, and then using the rules of logic we narrow down the possibles within the unknown on which to place a bet, sometimes to only one which we usually call certainty, though that is actually rare in practice and may be impossible. At the most basic level it is failing to use reason which results in what we call fallacy. ( Such as gamblers fallacy when placing bets. ) Reason does not address the unknown, it is merely an attempt to differ between the possible unknowns and the impossible, based on what can be inferred from the known. Two. Why should not people coming from a mainly Christian culture address mainly Christian issues ?

I have no idea who this Smith fellow is but I have long held his logical argument to be true in my ...

TheMiddleWay comments on Jul 30, 2022:

Smith's wager fails for the same reason (pun intended) that Pascal's wager fails: They both claim that the logical conclusion to the use of reason is theological determinacy, theism or atheism Given that reason requires objective definitions and there is no objective definition of god, the ...

Fernapple replies on Jul 31, 2022:

@TheMiddleWay I would say that the big issue is not objective or subjective, but defined or undefined, which may be done anyway you wish in terms of a concept which may be material or abstract. I see exploiting that as often as a deliberate ploy, which casts doubt on the moral instincts of many apologists.

I have no idea who this Smith fellow is but I have long held his logical argument to be true in my ...

TheMiddleWay comments on Jul 30, 2022:

Smith's wager fails for the same reason (pun intended) that Pascal's wager fails: They both claim that the logical conclusion to the use of reason is theological determinacy, theism or atheism Given that reason requires objective definitions and there is no objective definition of god, the ...

Fernapple replies on Jul 31, 2022:

@TheMiddleWay Definition is not though always subjective, if a definition is agreed then the agreement is objective. That is particularly so of abstract ideas like god, since being pure imagination they are theoretical absolutes and therefore require no value judgments, excepting where the definition is not agreed. It is though, most important to agree the definition first, since it is the commonest ploy of the, less than honest, snake oils salesman type of religious apologist to deliberately avoid agreeing a definition at the start, so that they can retain an assumption of subjectivity, and thereby switch and jump between definitions as it suits them. For example, defining god as say, the whole universe, and getting an agreement that the universe does indeed exist, then jumping to a purely theist god and hoping that no body will notice the jump. It does not usually take in the better educated, but many innocents can be fooled by it, and it is a danger even to the well informed because it can be dressed up and camouflaged easily. Indeed the idea is so widespread that I would say that it amounts to almost all of apologist culture, in one form or another.

I have no idea who this Smith fellow is but I have long held his logical argument to be true in my ...

skado comments on Jul 30, 2022:

Reason is as useful as knowledge is complete.

Fernapple replies on Jul 31, 2022:

Not at all, if knowledge was complete, then there would be no use for reason. Reason is simply the best tool for addressing problem created by incomplete knowledge.

'Walking sharks' caught on video, astound scientists [livescience.com]

Fernapple comments on Jul 31, 2022:

Lack of the actual video was a little disappointing.

Fernapple replies on Jul 31, 2022:

@Diaco Thank you.

I have no idea who this Smith fellow is but I have long held his logical argument to be true in my ...

TheMiddleWay comments on Jul 30, 2022:

Smith's wager fails for the same reason (pun intended) that Pascal's wager fails: They both claim that the logical conclusion to the use of reason is theological determinacy, theism or atheism Given that reason requires objective definitions and there is no objective definition of god, the ...

Fernapple replies on Jul 31, 2022:

Yes but you do not need an objective definition of god, since both Pascal's wager and this, are not addressing god in general, but only the limited and defined gods of theist religions. The two self define god, for their own use, as a thinking being able to make judgements, since they only address a judgement making god or not.

These are the 4 types of atheism - Big Think

Fernapple comments on Jul 30, 2022:

It comes from a religious apologist source, and reflects their thinking.

Fernapple replies on Jul 31, 2022:

@racocn8 Their experiment, if it deserves that name, is invalid, since it contained no control to test if atheists, just felt uncomfortable using the word god. Such as for example they could have asked everyone to make a positive statement including the word god.

Any place online if this place goes down?

Fernapple comments on Jul 28, 2022:

Not found one no.

Fernapple replies on Jul 29, 2022:

@yvilletom Have you got a personal recommendation ? I tried a couple that looked promissing, the Redit Atheist Forum, and the Atheist Zone, but they both seemed to have little but the equivalent of the boring single issue posts that you sometimes get on here, and a lot of the activety was months old.

Any place online if this place goes down?

Fernapple comments on Jul 28, 2022:

Not found one no.

Fernapple replies on Jul 28, 2022:

@yvilletom Thanks will look at those, though are they just web sites or social media like this one?

The Dance Many atheists’ interest in science and critical thinking appears to extend only far ...

Pralina1 comments on Jul 23, 2022:

Ok . Can u come to the main dish pls , bcz too much things going on at this table for my pea size brain . So what’s your point ? That religions do not intent to harm , that religions were not builded w criminal intent in minds ? Is that is ? First of all . Who cares . How that point even if ...

Fernapple replies on Jul 24, 2022:

First, Scado says. "My point is that figuring out that there’s no god is no great intellectual achievement. Many twelve year olds are capable of that." And it would not take a very bright twelve year old, to work out following that conclusion, that all of the harm in religon therefore must come from religious culture regardlees of the existence or non existence of a god. Second he says. "We would then need to know what causes religion. One way to do that is to study its evolutionary roots." All things have evolutionary roots, that is irrelevant to whether they are good or not, and even if things were good in the past, that is irrelevant to whether they are useful today. Third. " I spent my whole life blaming religion. For the same reasons you do. It sure looks like religion is to blame. It isn’t." This is the rifle association pro-guns argument. "It is not guns that shoot people." Just reworded. It is not religion that does harm, it is just the people using it. He then goes on to say that religuions role was to. "curb the animals instincts" Just after saying that it is itself a product of evolution. I could go on, but to tell the truth addressing someone's arguments, when their every sentence contains logical contraditions and fake evidence, just gets tedius, if you want more just ask.

Is it wrong that I once considered moving west and pretending to be a Mormon so I could have a ...

Fernapple comments on Jul 23, 2022:

Maybe it is wrong to waste a lot of time and money, just to discover that you could not attract a harem ?

Fernapple replies on Jul 23, 2022:

@Buck No greater gift than a sense of fun, women should be beating at your door.

The Dance Many atheists’ interest in science and critical thinking appears to extend only far ...

Normanbites comments on Jul 22, 2022:

Ummm so..... you still don't have any evidence any god exists .... right?

Fernapple replies on Jul 23, 2022:

@skado It will get worse whether you ignore it or not, that is it destiny. Theist religion may have done wonderful things in the past and still does today, but its future is completely dark, and that is driven by forces of history far beyond any human control.

Is it wrong that I once considered moving west and pretending to be a Mormon so I could have a ...

Fernapple comments on Jul 23, 2022:

Maybe it is wrong to waste a lot of time and money, just to discover that you could not attract a harem ?

Fernapple replies on Jul 23, 2022:

@Buck But I like unattractive men, they make me feel less ugly.

The Dance Many atheists’ interest in science and critical thinking appears to extend only far ...

David1955 comments on Jul 23, 2022:

It's a pity atheists worry you so much... oh well, now, what next on my agenda today.....?

Fernapple replies on Jul 23, 2022:

@skado Then you should be very very very worried about yourself.

The Dance Many atheists’ interest in science and critical thinking appears to extend only far ...

Normanbites comments on Jul 22, 2022:

Ummm so..... you still don't have any evidence any god exists .... right?

Fernapple replies on Jul 23, 2022:

@skado If it is "an enormously complex field, difficult to summarize quickly. then why make this post ?

When I moved up to Alaska over 30 years ago I always carried this 35mm film camera everywhere.

Fernapple comments on Jul 22, 2022:

The big advantage of digital, is that you can take hundreds of photos, for the same cost in money, time and effort that you only took two or three back then. And among those hundreds there are bound to be some good ones, you just have to learn the art of deleting.

Fernapple replies on Jul 23, 2022:

@FrostyJim Back then I could not afford the film sadly. But still that made you work hard at it, and learn to get it right first time.

Whoa, look at it now!

glennlab comments on Jul 22, 2022:

Is that a giant rhubarb?

Fernapple replies on Jul 23, 2022:

Yes, Gunnera.

...cuz I am smarter than you?

Garban comments on Jul 22, 2022:

At least the Greco-Roman Norse and other ancient gods had exciting stories!

Fernapple replies on Jul 22, 2022:

And they did not pretend to be perfect.

I'm new here , anybody there?

Fernapple comments on Jul 22, 2022:

Hello and welcome. Yes there area few here, especially us aliens.

Fernapple replies on Jul 22, 2022:

@Alienbeing England, where we are ruled by the Royal lizard person family.

In Harvard study of Jan. 6 rioters, top motivation is clear: Trump.

MizJ comments on Jul 20, 2022:

Was there a gullible and/or stupid option?

Fernapple replies on Jul 21, 2022:

Guess not. Doubt there was an, " I am a selfish ass, who just wants to be nasty and get away with it." option either.

Is scientific progress a 'good' thing?

Fernapple comments on Jul 20, 2022:

But finally you have to ask in the end, is it even possible to put the cat back in the bag. If you truly want a world where reason and logic are paramount. Then it is inevitable that if people want to use reason and logic, and set high standards, then they will want to use the best form of those ...

Fernapple replies on Jul 20, 2022:

@Imran2022 Could not agree more. Morality and a responsibility to education as well. That is why I would like to see more apolitical state funded science, science is too dangerous and powerful to be in the hands of unaccountable, for profits corporations.

Is scientific progress a 'good' thing?

Mcflewster comments on Jul 18, 2022:

@Fernapple @imran2002 My opinion (1) is that science can never be harmful .It is necessary to realize that knowledge produced in answering one question eventually leads to other questions which for other situations need answers Q where can I get a material that easily releases energy with a small ...

Fernapple replies on Jul 20, 2022:

@Imran2022 Very good. It was a fun debate and I enjoyed it, thank you. Not to be boring but I just added another last comment at the top, which may amuse you.

Christian values.

racocn8 comments on Jul 20, 2022:

Nothing in nature proves, or even gives evidence of God. Even if a god existed, the natural world demonstrates neither wisdom and certainly not benevolence (unless you happen to be a privileged White male). #2 is just schizophrenic gibberish.

Fernapple replies on Jul 20, 2022:

The point was to make plain the logical gibberish, of holding the two views at the same time.