How do you deal with muscle cramps?

Fernapple comments on Sep 12, 2019:

If hiking in hot weather especially salt is good, alway take a packet or two of potato crisps, or a high salt snack like that, with you, but don't keep doing it if you are having a rest day in the cool.

Just looking for rational friends.

Fernapple comments on Sep 9, 2019:

Yes certainly, this site has a map feature.

How do we know when something is true?

Fernapple comments on Sep 9, 2019:

We never do, but we can do our best to seek out the best evidence, and put it to the best tests we can think of. At which point we can be confident we have done our best. The real enemies of truth are not lies but fear, self interest, and laziness.

Child marriage. Should there be an minimum age limit for marriage?

Fernapple comments on Sep 9, 2019:

In an ever more complex world, where many are kept unnaturally immature for longer, in education especially, I can see a good reason for raising the age limits on everything.

How many here never had religion or never was a believer?

Fernapple comments on Sep 9, 2019:

Was never really introduced to religion except in a very token way as a child. But I did grow up in a village and was aware of it going on around me, and was aware of the differences over religion from the start, because I knew that my grandmother, who was the only true believer in the family, stayed away from the parish vicar since she was a different faith, she died young so I am not sure which. My first real contact with faith came therefore at school age, and knowing nothing much of Christianity I had assumed that the stories about the goodness of Christians were basically true. The discovery therefore that some of the most evil people I met, were among the faithful, came as quite a shock which has never left me.

One thing that I have noticed is that people seem to be a lot less DIY these days than when I was a ...

Fernapple comments on Sep 9, 2019:

Keep on doing it, you are not alone there are at least two of us. I too grew up working class, and will never forget how to be thrifty and look after things. In the future if this planet has one, we will be seen as being at the cutting edge, the names have changed, we called it thrift and make do and mend, now they call it being environmentally aware and recycling. But its the same thing really, and the extra pleasure you get from something you repaired is just the same.

Since there has been some discussion lately regarding profile pics.

Fernapple comments on Sep 9, 2019:

Fills me with wonder.

I'm going to expose myself here, but I've never been known to withhold the truth: most poetry I've ...

Fernapple comments on Sep 9, 2019:

P.S. here is a link to one of my not very good ones, for the curious. https://agnostic.com/post/399595/maybe-this-describes-your-views-on-things

I'm going to expose myself here, but I've never been known to withhold the truth: most poetry I've ...

Fernapple comments on Sep 9, 2019:

You might like to think about this. If someone has something important and worthwhile to say, which they truly wish people to hear, would they not try to make it as clear and plain as possible ? Good poetry may be plain or it maybe difficult, if you are interested in poetry for its own sake, but poetry with something worthwhile to say will always be plain, or the poet is incompetent, and if you are not into poetry for its own sake why would you be interested in the other sort ? Except to earn your geek badge.

How is the concept of "business days" relevant anymore?

Fernapple comments on Sep 9, 2019:

In the UK several government departments, companies and quangos started to use easy method of payment when banking began to modernize. Many of them however have back tracked on that in recent years, despite the fact that easy payments must be better for them to administer. For example the government no longer sends out tax reminders to new car owners in the first year, and no longer collect some taxes by direct debit as it used to in the past. Could it be that they want more work, that they profit by fines on defaulters, or both.

Would the discovery of living beings on other planets make earth's religions irrelevant?

Fernapple comments on Sep 9, 2019:

I once heard a priest say that. " The only interesting thing about finding alien life on other planets, would be to discover how god had chosen to reveal himself to them." The fact that believers are well able to close their minds and eyes to, not only the beauty of the real world and science but also the existence here on earth of many conflicting religious beliefs, in their faith that only their own religion is true, and that the world can only be seen through that lens, means that they can close their minds to anything. The proof of which is in the priest's statement itself, which went straight to the assumption that life meant, intelligent life with its own culture, because no other form of life had any meaning or value to him, and he had no understanding of the anything except received culture.

Old saying in diplomacy, "Keep your promises & your threats"

Fernapple comments on Sep 9, 2019:

Use a lot of words but say nothing. LOL

Winston Churchill is quoted as saying that “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for ...

Fernapple comments on Sep 8, 2019:

Good summing up.

Some that have meaning to me:

Fernapple comments on Sep 8, 2019:

Good ones, especially the last.

I joined a course in logical and critical thinking last week, it's free and highly recommended.

Fernapple comments on Sep 8, 2019:

Link does not work sorry.

A pretty good list to live by

Fernapple comments on Sep 8, 2019:

Yep they will do. Not the only ones but they will do.

Basis for families in many societies

Fernapple comments on Sep 8, 2019:

Except perhaps just caring for someone you owe nothing to, just because you can.

Hello all, here again needing info! This lily just has stems with flowers on the ends, it has no ...

Fernapple comments on Sep 8, 2019:

Think it may not be a Lilly, have you thought that it may be a crocus for example, several of those have that sort of life history. And it looks a lot like one though the flowers are not open.

A picture from the beautiful town in Guimaraes, where Portugal was born

Fernapple comments on Sep 8, 2019:

Envy. I am stuck here in dismal Britain, with the winter coming on, and I would give almost anything to stand on that paving and look at that blue sky for just ten mins.

The Music of All Time is a Duet Between Order and Disorder - Aeon Essays

Fernapple comments on Sep 8, 2019:

Woo. It says. "Somewhat surprisingly, nature not only requires disorder but thrives on it. Planets, stars, life, even the direction of time all depend on disorder." No neither correct nor a surprise.

How can someone religious argue this.

Fernapple comments on Sep 8, 2019:

Yep. I have heard them argue it. "God does not have a beginning god is eternal." "But that is just an assertion, if you can assert that god is eternal then I can assert that the universe, a multiverse, or a cheese sandwich, is eternal." " No it is not just an assertion , it is in the BIble/Koran and that proves it."

I know someone (I have been distancing myself from) who is a Trump supporter.

Fernapple comments on Sep 8, 2019:

The basic illogic of. "Not every stamp collector is in the stamp collectors club, therefore I oppose the stamp collectors club." Should tell you everything you need to know about the true motivations of this person, and the quality of thinking they are usually exposed and accustomed to in the circles they choose to join.

Analog vs digital scale? Which one is more accurate?

Fernapple comments on Sep 8, 2019:

Whichever, it is best to calibrate and/or test your scale for yourself every now and then, by using known weights. As however you seem to be talking about bathroom scales, it is hard to see why great accuracy would be needed, things like the body mass index are only approximate recommendations, and human weight will vary through the day by several pounds, according to many factors such as how hydrated you are, most scales should be more than accurate enough therefore. A better way to ensure greater accuracy if wanted, (Though Why ?) would be to weigh yourself several times during the day and average the results.

The only place anything is called "The Ten Commandments" in the bible bears no resemblance to the ...

Fernapple comments on Sep 8, 2019:

There are at least three different sets of the laws in the Bible that have at different times been defined as "the" ten commandments, possibly more. The only people who really take the bible seriously, are those who have never read it properly.

Albert Einstein, "The difference between genius & stupidity is that genius has its limitations"

Fernapple comments on Sep 7, 2019:

And honesty knows its limitations.

So I just did a count and since the middle of July, 8 young women — all young enough to be my ...

Fernapple comments on Sep 7, 2019:

So don't do Twitter.

A little Amsterdam...

Fernapple comments on Sep 7, 2019:

Amsterdam is lovely a small but perfect gem of a city, the canals are a joy and the street markets are the best in Europe.

Mystery Art ...

Fernapple comments on Sep 6, 2019:

Looks like embroidery, but I would guess, icing on a cake.

[msn.

Fernapple comments on Sep 6, 2019:

If you Americans are lucky Trump will only last to ninety four.

IS DONALD TRUMP EVIL?

Fernapple comments on Sep 6, 2019:

IT says. "A toxic narcissist has an elevated state of grandiosity. A sociopath has no empathy or concern for others & is highly manipulative. An anti social personality is destructive & has no regard for established social norms." So how does that make him different from anyone who runs for public office ? And sadly this is not intended as a joke, not altogether anyway.

At what point

Fernapple comments on Sep 6, 2019:

Move out of the bible belt ?

A question for you lovely gardeners.

Fernapple comments on Sep 6, 2019:

Tackle the basic health of the plant as well as the fungus, which may be just a symptom. Hydrangers like water, cool roots and sun. So move into more light, give more water, a bigger glazed not unglazed pot, and shade the pot, as in stand it among others, a feed with a low nit. fertilizer may also help.

Karate Sensei, "Best defense, don't be there"

Fernapple comments on Sep 6, 2019:

Sadly though, if we never put ourselves in the way of danger, then what sort of a dull life do we have.

One of the things I like best about this site is reading people's bios.

Fernapple comments on Sep 5, 2019:

Do not however read my Bio, not if you value your sanity, grammar or spulling. You have been warned.

One of the things I like best about this site is reading people's bios.

Fernapple comments on Sep 5, 2019:

Must start reading a few, it sounds interesting.

Who is/are the real author/s of the Bible?

Fernapple comments on Sep 5, 2019:

I think that the Bible did not really have authors as such, since it is not a written book, but more of a scrap book of cuttings taken from a whole range of different sources, by different editors and gangs of editors over a long period, (at least 2000 years) moreover most of the pieces used had probably been rewritten several times by unknown scribes even before the editors collected them. Even most of the editors are unknown, and little is known of its early history, or the motives of the early editors beyond the obvious. While if the few later editors that we do know of, who mostly worked for the Catholic and Protestant churches, are anything to go by, then it is safe to assume that they all modified and trimmed the scripts to suit themselves, with an almost total lack of regard for the meanings of the earlier texts.

“I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career.

Fernapple comments on Sep 5, 2019:

So he does not want to contribute then, fair enough, self euthanasia would stop him being a burden on the planet.

Will You Still Love You When You're No Longer Young and Beautiful?

Fernapple comments on Sep 4, 2019:

Always wanted to get old, its better than the alternative, but there are many advantages to keeping fit which have nothing to do with impressing shallow people. For one thing, the longer I am fit the longer I can help others and the less I shall be a burden on others.

For those still troubled by religion.

Fernapple comments on Sep 4, 2019:

I do not need to argue with them or defeat them, since I escaped. My anger with them is not for me, but for all those they did delude and continue to delude, and especially for all those who are still being kept in an unnatural endless childhood without the chance to engage in life's most fulfilling process, that of learning.

Two points from the UK media.

Fernapple comments on Sep 4, 2019:

You can lead horses to water, but you can not make them drink. And it is almost certain that politicians see science as a threat to their power.

Do religious people really believe what they say?

Fernapple comments on Sep 4, 2019:

A few perhaps believe in the real literal truth of it, some go though the motions because they think they gain something from it, some think it puts them in touch with something vague and spiritual, some fake it to con others, and everything in between. The one thing that I have learned about human beings over the years, is that whatever you can think of, there will be someone out there who is living it, and that you can therefore, never pin down single groups with clear idealogical boundaries.

Spring has finally arrived in Australia, the Wattle is in flower.

Fernapple comments on Sep 4, 2019:

If you are trying to make us in the N.H. feel envious you are being successful. Nice photos.

Posting more flower pictures, some I have posted before but felt you might enjoy them anyway.

Fernapple comments on Sep 4, 2019:

Lovely. The pale blue flower at number seven, do you have a name for that please ?

A little Copenhaguen...

Fernapple comments on Sep 4, 2019:

Very like Amsterdam. Its certainly on my bucket list.

I have long held the position that people use god like a spare tire or switchblade.

Fernapple comments on Sep 3, 2019:

Ugh ! Sorry but the longer I stay on this site the madder the world seems.

I have long argued that we should shift our vehicles to hydrogen power.

Fernapple comments on Sep 3, 2019:

Hydrogen power, like electric is only as green as the energy source you use to make the hydrogen, if you are still using fossil fuels to make your electricity for example, then all you are doing is moving a small amount of carbon off the streets in exchange of a large amount at the power-station.

Does @admin remove posts without notice?

Fernapple comments on Sep 3, 2019:

If there is a limit to server space, why not just have a time cut off point which everyone is informed about.

“Passionate hatreds can give meaning and purpose to an empty life.” Eric Hoffer

Fernapple comments on Sep 3, 2019:

A lot of people have empty lives. Pity an empty life with no meaning can give you passionate hatreds.

Birthday e-card and gift from a man I met 15 years ago. Why?

Fernapple comments on Sep 3, 2019:

You obviously completely underestimate your wonderful charms.

An omniscient god cannot have emotions.

Fernapple comments on Sep 2, 2019:

To be honest I think that sceptics have too easy a shot at Noah's ark, in many ways it is a straw-man construction to think that all theists see it as a literal story, while most know that it is a much earlier myth which predates the bible, even if they do not take it metaphorically. ( And yes I do know that there are a few really stupid/indoctrinated theists out there who do take it literally. )

An omniscient god cannot have emotions.

Fernapple comments on Sep 2, 2019:

Even simpler. If God made all the animals in the first place, why could he not do it again and save Noah the bother ?

Horrors upon horrors from the Catholic Church... will they never end?

Fernapple comments on Sep 2, 2019:

Its not just the burial problem, you have to wonder about the mortality rate as well.

We did a grand total weigh in of the Molokai Purple Sweet Potatoes.

Fernapple comments on Sep 2, 2019:

Nice to see you again, its been a while.

Update on the guy from the dating site: he got back to me twice! Here is our last conversation.

Fernapple comments on Sep 2, 2019:

Funny saying he was well read, because he does not write like someone who is well read. Perhaps he just reads Christian pamphlets.

For anyone who needs this little reminder.

Fernapple comments on Sep 2, 2019:

Most of what I learned I learned from the things that hurt. Here is a quote from K. Gibran. "The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain. Is not the cup which holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potters oven."

The ONLY consistent factor in ALL of recent years’ mass shootings is the widespread accessibility ...

Fernapple comments on Sep 2, 2019:

In the UK only single shot weapons are legal, no one has ever claimed that the law prevents them from doing any legal and reasonable activity, such as keeping animals away from crops, marksmanship as a sport, etc. .

School taught you many things that favor your nation's agenda while hiding its many crimes .

Fernapple comments on Sep 2, 2019:

Same in every country of the world, except perhaps Switzerland and Iceland, but it will get to them in the end.

The apple is neat, but the second picture is what it looks like

Fernapple comments on Sep 2, 2019:

Photoshopping pictures of plants flowers and fruit, to make them appear to have colours they don't really have, seems to be increasingly common. ( The so called black tulip was that same dark purple colour. ) Perhaps it is because the world wide advertising standards bodies have not yet caught up with it, and it is difficult to prove, but it is very dishonest.

Scary accurate.

Fernapple comments on Sep 1, 2019:

And the Hunger Games may be coming our way soon. Have you seen any "reality" Tv.

I will never understand why African Americans kept christianity after emancipation.

Fernapple comments on Sep 1, 2019:

I just posted a bit more about this which may entertain you. https://agnostic.com/post/396456/some-people-think-that-the-typical-image-of-christ-that-we-have-today-was-originally-modeled-on-cesa

Is everyone alright? I hate reading about these shootings. It must be terrifying.

Fernapple comments on Sep 1, 2019:

Are you alright ? Have not heard from you for a while and know you are having problems.

When someone seriously bases their life on a 2000-year-old Jewish zombie, they are constructing a ...

Fernapple comments on Sep 1, 2019:

No never had a serious relationship destroyed. But I do think that in part they intend to build that wall, in many ways intelligence, the real working kind, I have always thought is more about honesty and as you say, intellectual integrity, than just problem solving, and for many people it is easier to build a wall than to face up to the demands made by honesty.

Not a question

Fernapple comments on Sep 1, 2019:

Welcome to the site. No one knows how to work this site properly, that's part of the fun, just relax and let it wash over you.

"Don't make someone a priority when they treat you as an option." -Sameek Das

Fernapple comments on Sep 1, 2019:

Sadly that is at the heart of the human tragedy. People don't like the needy, so they always end up feeling a need for the people who don't need them. Sorry.

Baked yesterday for French toast today....

Fernapple comments on Aug 31, 2019:

Looks wonderful just with butter when fresh is good enough. Do try to make some wholemeal, that makes the best he best French Toast, really nutty.

What I what shall they do now?

Fernapple comments on Aug 31, 2019:

If you believe that contraceptives are sinful, then guess what happens. They may not have worked out the link yet, they are sometimes preoccupied with the church, and it tend to make them a bit slow on the uptake.

Great news for those of us in the monetary reform movement. What do you think of Public Banking?

Fernapple comments on Aug 31, 2019:

Especially good if they issue credit/debit cards. Nothing has contributed so much to the rich poor divide as the rise of plastic money. Every time you use a card you effectively pay a tax, which goes directly into the accounts of rich capitalists in off shore tax havens. If governments controlled e-commerce the revenue could go to public services, and there would still be a better deal for both retailers and consumers.

GAUTAMA BUDDHA--A GREAT WORLD AGNOSTIC.

Fernapple comments on Aug 31, 2019:

Yes it very much started out as a secular philosophy, as indeed were perhaps the teachings of Jesus, but much of the world including their followers just were not ready for secular philosophy.

Some social media websites finally taking responsibility! Pinterest to direct vaccine searches to ...

Fernapple comments on Aug 31, 2019:

That's fine, though it has to be said that Pintrest is not the most political of social media sites or the one most people would think of first when going for health advice. So this may be a case of another great victory of the Swiss navy.

Incredible photography.

Fernapple comments on Aug 31, 2019:

It is obviously forested country, which I would think is on the borders of a polar bears natural range, it may be therefore that the wolves rarely see one and they were just being curious about something strange. It certainly does not seem that they were attacking it as such.

In need of a good comeback line.

Fernapple comments on Aug 31, 2019:

Another way of looking at happiness is that, possibly in most early societies the idea simply did not exist. Early people simply went after short term goals, in other words pleasure. The idea that you could be in a state of permanent pleasure, i.e. happiness, only begins when organized states and religions begin to promote it as a way to con people into giving them money and power in exchange for an impossible dream.

In need of a good comeback line.

Fernapple comments on Aug 31, 2019:

There is no such thing as happiness, it is just an unachievable goal planted in our brains genetically by evolution to make us run after things, if we ever achieved it, we would stop running, and if that happened it would not work any longer.

There is so much wrong with Christianity, mainly the part where devotees are required to "WORSHIP" ...

Fernapple comments on Aug 31, 2019:

Coming from England also, where practicing Christians are effectively a minority, I have often noticed that they are often among the meanest and least charitable of people, at least towards the larger community. I think that, in part, this is because they are asked to give so much, time, money, thought and effort to the church and the rest of the congregation, that there is little left when they step out of the church door. Or maybe the religion just attracts mean people.

Is it pagan of me to be lighting a fire and being entranced by the flames? Oh well ..

Fernapple comments on Aug 31, 2019:

So they are saying that we get bored by stuff we are familiar with, yes true certainly but very banal. However making the theory that in the case of fire this is special in some way, is really stretching the limit of credibility without good scientific evidence which they don't provide.

Step inside this abandoned old house untouched for 40 years

Fernapple comments on Aug 31, 2019:

Most of that looks even older than forty years.

U.S. Attorney shreds domestic white terrorists in epic speech

Fernapple comments on Aug 31, 2019:

Don't usually comment on US politics here since it is little of my business, but yes a good well thought out speech.

What did Satan do anyway?

Fernapple comments on Aug 30, 2019:

One or two people here have pointed out that Satan/ satan is a title not a name, but the satan is not the same through the bible. In fact several satans appear early on as loyal helpers of god, there is no reason to believe from the bible that the snake in the Garden of Eden is the same thing as any of the others, in fact it seems to be just a snake. Here is quite a good video history you may enjoy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-gbOnWj6Mw

What’s your favorite month on the calendar and why?

Fernapple comments on Aug 30, 2019:

Like you September/October, it is cool not cold, not too dark, the bugs are gone, and for me who works seasonally it marks the start of my off season when I can relax.

Socialism no longer scares people. Has the word lost its power to scaremonger? [twitter.com]

Fernapple comments on Aug 30, 2019:

The right has just come to power with a vengeance in the US, it is bound to generate a counter reaction, which will make the left seem like salvation for a while. But you have to remember that the right swing was itself a reaction to a growing left wing domination of the political establishment. What you have to hope for, among the pendulum swings of reaction and counter reaction, is that the pendulum will one day settle around a consensus, because if the opposite happens, and the swings get ever wider, that way leads to madness and the end of civilizations.

When I was a senior in college, I took a course in geology.

Fernapple comments on Aug 30, 2019:

Travel. An interest like geology can provide a vast number of objectives of interest to justify journeys, while giving them purpose and objectives, but when once you are on the journey, then it is what you find beside the road which you did not go looking for, which adds huge amounts to the richness and wonder of life.

Photo by David Antoja No other description, but lovely!

Fernapple comments on Aug 30, 2019:

Delicate, like a fine lace table cloth that has come to life and is doing magical if sometimes cruel things.

WHAT IS THE NATURE OF REALITY?

Fernapple comments on Aug 30, 2019:

One thing that is perhaps true, (you can say no more for anything ) , is that, we are apes evolved to survive and reproduce on the plains of Africa. There is nothing about that which requires our brains and senses to be able to perceive or understand the greater workings of the universe, especially at much bigger or smaller scales than the human sized objects that are found on those plains. We just were not made for the job of understanding the universe, that we can even begin to get an idea of what may be going on, is itself amazing. And we are not even at a human scale very good at understanding things, I well recommend reading up on chaos theory, if you have any doubts about that.

"Cheeto Christ" - Randy Rainbow video mocks Trump's God complex.

Fernapple comments on Aug 30, 2019:

How much embarrassment can the US take ? Has no one ever thought he may be in need of medical care.

Why were several of my posts on the main page deleted?

Fernapple comments on Aug 30, 2019:

Yes it is plain and obvious here this side of the pond, have you tried visiting your posts by going through your profile page to the list of posts there.

Near Montrose, CO...Live in a trailer; have your own observatory. ❤️

Fernapple comments on Aug 30, 2019:

You can move to where the dark sky is at its best.

Question to ask.... Lol

Fernapple comments on Aug 29, 2019:

The other way that you can look at it is. There are a thousand and one things that can make you miserable, and you need to be free of all of them to be happy. Some chance.

Goodness gracious it's been awhile everyone! Hi! So my friend goes to a private christian college...

Fernapple comments on Aug 29, 2019:

The one thing I like most about the god of the gaps, is that it has kept on getting smaller and smaller all the time, till it perhaps fades away.

Truth is Variable Most “truth” in our lives is variable.

Fernapple comments on Aug 29, 2019:

I drink therefore I fall down.

Goodness gracious it's been awhile everyone! Hi! So my friend goes to a private christian college...

Fernapple comments on Aug 29, 2019:

To be really blunt and hard, I would have been tempted to tell her that there is no such thing as Religious Philosophy its an oxymoron anyway, but I think you did a very good job of being kind, gentle and patient. Well done. It would perhaps have been good however to have added that science is not the only reason why religion is in decline, especially I would have pointed out that religion is by its very nature trying to sell an exclusive access to the supernatural, its the only thing it has to sell. With traditional religions preaching the message that only their own members can receive the benefits, such as salvation. Meaning therefore that in a multicultural world, a religion such as christianity would ask her to believe that ever person she knows and values from a different background, plus millions of others she has never met, are doomed while she is saved. While if it is not offering that, what is it offering, that secular philosophy does not ?

I don't get rabbits.

Fernapple comments on Aug 29, 2019:

I think that the generalization that, prey animals do not need sophisticated mental development and social cooperation, is a bit too wide. It is different for every species, look at ground-squirels for example, they have very sophisticated mental development and social cooperation, exactly to avoid predators. And since jackrabbits and domestic European rabbits are not even remotely related, it certainly does not follow that they are the same in behaviour at all.

If their so-called savior was never married during those 33 years, he was either a pedophile, in ...

Fernapple comments on Aug 29, 2019:

Come on, surely he and his twelve followers were plus female hangers on were a bi-swingers group.

One of the main ideological critiques of modern Communism is that a controlled economy is controlled...

Fernapple comments on Aug 29, 2019:

It does not matter what sort of a constitution or document you have, since in any state, not just communist, you will always have a political establishment, and that political establishment will always find a way to distort the mechanics of government in its favour to redirect wealth and power to itself. All governments are dominated by political establishments, and there are no real differences between political establishments and private corporations in terms of seeking profits, regardless of the costs to the majority of people. Therefore, in any country, any lessening of democracy, (most have very little to start with) or the giving of more responsibility to government, is the exact equivalent of selling your country to a private company; as though you were to sell the US to Monsanto or Google. This is the great logical failing at the heart of communism, taking the worst possible nightmare they could think of and proposing it as a solution, which most pro-communists and extreme socialists fail to see or address.

"With reasonable men, I will reason; with humane men I will plead; but to tyrants I will give no ...

Fernapple comments on Aug 28, 2019:

The main problem with tyrants is wasted time. For all tyrants die some day, just like everyone else; and what is their legacy, but that they spent their life time holding back any possible progress.

Is education missing the boat by failing to consider the real issues?

Fernapple comments on Aug 27, 2019:

This was posted on this site for quite a different reason, but it has a lot to tell you about how and why our education systems fail. https://agnostic.com/post/394515/atheism-2-0-alain-de-botton-excellent-tedtalk-i-just-discovered-about-20-min-https-www-y

Is education missing the boat by failing to consider the real issues?

Fernapple comments on Aug 27, 2019:

It is hard for any culture to educate in a real sense. Because inevitably progress in teaching will only go to the most compliant or be sought by the most earnest believers. Teachers therefore must, either have no conscience, be so good at cognitive dissonance that they can not understand critical thinking or they leave the profession. So that in any society teachers are always its most damaged individuals.

Why is racism is wrong?

Fernapple comments on Aug 27, 2019:

1. Science tells us that we are all so closely related that the idea of race makes no sense. 2. The old rule that if you want to make a moral system, do it as if you were to be at the bottom of the pile. 3. If there are no racial differences then you loose a lot of good people from your list of possible friends by falsely prejudging them, and even if there are races and some were better than others, then the weaker should always be treated with greater humanity. So either way it does not work. 4. Because like religion and god it is a false construct used by people who want to manipulate and profit from others, by lying to them. Every racist needs to ask who is using me.

Heres a puzzle to get your cells to work on, and part of another story from deep time.

Fernapple comments on Aug 27, 2019:

My own point would be to say that of course hardly any of those were mutually exclusive, so it may well have involved several factors working together.

Life is an Illusion, a Dream, a Bubble, a Shadow.

Fernapple comments on Aug 27, 2019:

Yep, sorry that is trumped by the common. "For evil to prosper, it is only needful for good men to do nothing." Quote.

I am so glad to see John Oliver address this issue.

Fernapple comments on Aug 27, 2019:

Video not available.

Religion vs science

Fernapple comments on Aug 26, 2019:

The two come from opposite directions and can never agree. In science truth is something to be sought even if it means loosing cherished ideas. In religion truth is that which offers to give us what we want regardless of all else.