Fernapple's Profile

The dude knew his stuff.

Fernapple comments on Jan 14, 2019:

Perhaps you could say, the Dunning Kruger effect a hundred years earlier, Darwin always seems to have foresight in so many fields beyond what you would expect for the nineteenth century. Though in this case you could even go back to A. Pope and his "drink deep" which perhaps even pushes the idea back to the eighteenth century.

Is Organic Really Better? Healthy Food or Trendy Scam? - Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell [youtube.com]

Fernapple comments on Jan 13, 2019:

It also muddies the water, people who buy organic often think that it also means things like high animal welfare, because they have been sold a picture of "natural farming" as wholesome and always good, whereas the two issues are quite different, and I would say that the second at least, does really mater. And in fact nothing could be more removed from the truth, since there have been several cases of farmers failing to give animals proper veterinary care because they were afraid that "medicine" would loose them their organic labels.

Well the blessed independant state of Oswaldtwistle is cold wet and rainy.

Fernapple comments on Jan 13, 2019:

I always take a holiday by the Med. in mid winter. This year just before Christmas I spent each evening sat by the sea with a coffee, watching a bat flying round a small harbor against a warm sunset. I can never understand why people all rush to take their holidays by the Med. in the summer, where's the gain in that ?

In africa when you say your not a believer they see you as someone possesd by demons ??‍♂️

Fernapple comments on Jan 13, 2019:

It has in many ways to be the default position of all theists, though many would not put it that way, since by theistic logic everything has to come from the supernatural, and therefore if you are not possessed by god then you must be by demons. It is just that in the west there is a smoke and mirrors attempt to pretend that the theology is somehow more clever and more sophisticated than that.

Good writers are those who keep the language efficient.

Fernapple comments on Jan 13, 2019:

True as far as it goes; but fortunately you do not need to be a good writer to be an interesting person, and sometimes a little bit of extra effort in the reading is well rewarded. Otherwise it would be a waste of my time, and a lot of other peoples, being on this site.

I'd like to request an opt out toggle in the settings menu for the Members section of the front page...

Fernapple comments on Jan 13, 2019:

Always ignore those bits, I sometimes wonder if anyone has ever had a face to face from this site, or if the whole dating, friend finding, thing is just a waste of time for those who are here for the community.

Hypothetically speaking...

Fernapple comments on Jan 13, 2019:

May also have had feathers. Imagine a big peacocks tail as well.

Remember the comedy musical play "The Producers"?

Fernapple comments on Jan 13, 2019:

If you sign up for a con-trick you are quite likely to get sucked in to more con-tricks, by the nature of things those who have so little moral compass that they are will to accept and preach religion, are not going to show any more moral quality in the fiscal world..

Finch's Bite Is 320 Times More Powerful Than T. Rex's [livescience.com]

Fernapple comments on Jan 13, 2019:

Interesting, but the essay about early mammals, which I found a link to at the bottom of the page was even more so.

This will make you smile!

Fernapple comments on Jan 13, 2019:

Socks on a nudist beach will always make me smile. He is really cute, I presume it must be a rescue foundling.

Stockholm Syndrome - I have difficulty understanding how any reasonably thinking person can have the...

Fernapple comments on Jan 12, 2019:

Richard Dawkins is worth looking at on this subject, he makes the point in several books, that, the child's mind is programed to accept and believe all information given it by an authority figure. Because the child has no experience of its own and disobeying an order like. "Do not go near the lake on your own." Could get it drowned or eaten by a crocodile. Therefore there is an evolved advantage in this sort of brain in children. When people attempt brainwashing their first act is to reduce their victim to a child like state, with no power to make choices of there own, yet rewarding any signs of attachment to the kidnapper, then when the victim accepts the kidnapper as a parent, and the only source of rewards, they are ready to be brainwashed.

.

Fernapple comments on Jan 12, 2019:

I think a lot better than average since it is not a site where people usually come to sell things, for one thing.

If you hear someone speak with a heavy, southern, country accent, do you instinctively think they ...

Fernapple comments on Jan 12, 2019:

Only if its a cockney accent.

What makes you happy? Different things make people happy... Let me hear your thoughts....

Fernapple comments on Jan 12, 2019:

Knowing that I have done something useful, as when I see a customer smile. Sorry it may sound cheesy but it really is what make my day.

Bear this in mind, my American friends. [bbc.com]

Fernapple comments on Jan 12, 2019:

Does this mean that all my attempts to amuse the US members on this site with little bits of witty banter, have all failed. Oh well " I'm sure its my fault."

Earth with no water

Fernapple comments on Jan 12, 2019:

Pretty and interesting, but I am sorry to say that it is a distortion in which the highs and lows have been exaggerated to a great extent. The difference between the highest mountains and the deepest trenches is only about ten miles. On a globe of just over eight thousand miles diameter most are only 1/1000 of the whole; making the world as smooth proverbially as a pool ball. This is interesting since as the tallest mountains push out through the breathable atmosphere, it makes you realize just how thin are the layers of air and water in which we live. If the world were a soccer ball they would be thiner than a coat of paint.

Considering both the collapse of ancient societies due to resource scarcity and climate change, and ...

Fernapple comments on Jan 12, 2019:

It is almost impossible to predict the future, even ten or twenty years ahead let alone eighty plus, while we must assume the worst in order to act in a responsible way if we can, the one certainty is that almost no predictions ever prove correct. The whole thing could be thrown out by a huge range of factors, a global pandemic could, for example, destroy human civilization next year.

Shouldn't we be more eager to get there?

Fernapple comments on Jan 11, 2019:

Religion sets out to make the fear of death worse in quite a purpose full way, with threats of hell and judgement, so that it can control people more easily. Chaining you up so that it can sell you the keys to the lock. I think that this post is intended more in a tongue in cheek way, but I have to wonder why in a post religion sub culture anyone would be so interested in the details of superstition, even those around death, if we were not still living in a culture where religions false values still held deep sway. For example, in a post Christian world, why would the health services not be able to offer euthanasia to those who want it ?

This lady literally can't hear the voice of a man [dailydot.com]

Fernapple comments on Jan 11, 2019:

Mostly I can hear most people fine, but my hearing was damaged many years ago while working for a short time in a factory. So I lost one very narrow range of tones. I now find that the village's self styled witch/faith healer/ alternative medicine seller/ woo pusher, has a voice at exactly that pitch, how good is that.

It seems that being atheist or agnostic is now looked at as a type of religion

Fernapple comments on Jan 11, 2019:

It is a line of BS pushed by theists, whose next move is usually to try to change the burden of proof from, prove there is a god, to, prove there is no god. They think that if they can force an acceptance of atheism/agnostic as a religion, then you have to prove your faith in your religion just as much as they do.

What do you believe in?

Fernapple comments on Jan 11, 2019:

"I think (badly) therefore I am." The rest is either evidence or BS. But why ask such a question on a site like this ?

How Aspirin Changed Medicine Forever - SciShow [youtube.com]

Fernapple comments on Jan 11, 2019:

It also gives an answer to the woo often put out by the alternative medicine industry, that natural products are safer, it is not hard to point out that willow bark was actually much more damaging than the modern pills.

And do you think that unto such as you,/ A maggot-minded, starved, fanatic crew,/ God gave the ...

Fernapple comments on Jan 11, 2019:

That God can not be all good and yet have favorites, is one of the best arguments there is, for if he does not have favorites, then who needs religion. And it seems to be an old argument too, and better put than I can.

Stores have just received the bulbs for the year, so bought a bunch .

Fernapple comments on Jan 11, 2019:

Bulbs will usually grow regardless of the time you plant them within reason, the flowering season may be a bit out of time, and they may struggle for a year or two. But in real teams your one month difference is trivial for bulb and seed sowing times and should not have much effect at all, variations in weather from one year to another could have a greater effect than that. Don't worry as long as your window boxes do not freeze solid they will be fine.

Violence is bad, mmm'kay? (But quite funny, sometimes) [youtube.com]

Fernapple comments on Jan 11, 2019:

Not recommended a a technique to be used in debates by the Oxford Union, (unfortunately).

This is just a test.

Fernapple comments on Jan 10, 2019:

There is, at least to my mind, one important truth contained in the story which I do not think any reasonable person would dispute. The idea that at some stage in human development; it does not much matter when; the biological and evolutionary ground work needed for the development of human language and culture had been completed, and since that day most of our growth and evolution has been of a technological form, language and culture being themselves only technologies in the broadest sense of the word. Nor would I think that many would argue when I say that it is technology which has created almost all that we have gained since then. Yet the truth is, it is not merely religion alone but culture as a whole, to which we have no defenses, both being new developments which genetic evolution could never have foreseen, and because genetic development moves more slowly than technology it will never catch up. Therefore we are left as creatures who are almost totally undefended by our genetics against any attempt to reprogramme us using any technology such as language and text.

Well said!

Fernapple comments on Jan 10, 2019:

Lacks a coma, I think.

@Admin @SiteSupport and everyone here.

Fernapple comments on Jan 9, 2019:

Agree

When I was a child I asked my dad what a Slut was

Fernapple comments on Jan 9, 2019:

Your dad may not have been perfect, but that is a true pearl of wisdom.

Cricket- What's up with that sport?

Fernapple comments on Jan 9, 2019:

Its very like baseball, except that there are only two bases and you run back and forth between them until you are out, instead of round the diamond in the same way as baseball. There being two batsman on the field all the time so the bases are always loaded. The main other difference is that the batsman has a set of stumps (sticks) behind his base, which are a target for the bowler (pitcher) to aim at, if the batsman can not defend the stumps and the bowler hits them the batsman is out. This means there are not three strikes, the batsman has to hit the ball first time.

A Few Random Thoughts About Cosmic Black Holes Every now and again a thought about this or that ...

Fernapple comments on Jan 9, 2019:

Black holes it is now thought, do lose a small amount of mass over a long period of time. You really do need to study the physics a lot more deeply before you post on the subject. There is a hypothetical time towards the end of the universe called the time of black holes. There are several good videos on the future of the universe on U-tube which could get you started. But you need to take several in from different view points so I can not point you to one, and I am sorry but you will not get a good answer in the short space of a comment on this site.

Secular humanism?

Fernapple comments on Jan 9, 2019:

Humanism is the idea that human beings are the most important thing in human life. Therefore it is impossible to be a religious humanist, because religion means believing that there is something supernatural above human life.

Lucius Cornelius Sulla

Fernapple comments on Jan 9, 2019:

He was either very careful and very clever, or he was suffering from the Dunning Kruger effect.

American Psychological Association links 'masculinity ideology' to homophobia, misogyny

Fernapple comments on Jan 9, 2019:

People being payed large sums of money have to do something to justify it, and when they can't think of anything (a lot of the time ) they can always use, point out the obvious.

Sugar cube...

Fernapple comments on Jan 9, 2019:

Grow your own car by photosynthesis, and then think how easy it would be to recycle.

These were very accurate, for me. [huffingtonpost.com]

Fernapple comments on Jan 8, 2019:

Funny thing is, that is exactly the same list that I would say makes a woman attractive.

Money lying in the purse is just coins.

Fernapple comments on Jan 8, 2019:

Someone on this site posted a stat. a week or two ago, which seemed like it should be true, which said that if everyone in the US gave up what they spend on Xmas presents it would be enough to feed all the worlds hungry for the year.

Your house, containing everything you own, catches fire.

Fernapple comments on Jan 8, 2019:

Flash drive I use for backup and the box with passport and house deeds etc.

I do not know if I believe this is all circumstances, but someone once told me that, "There is no ...

Fernapple comments on Jan 8, 2019:

Most jokes are about the release of tension. A threat is set up and then knocked down, for example. 1. The observational joke works because we realize that we have faced the threat many times before and survived. 2. The silly joke works because we realize that the threat was illogical, and therefore harmless. 3. The racist sexist etc. joke works because we realize that the threat was directed at someone who we want to suffer or be humiliated. Therefore if you use those jokes, it tells the world a lot about you.

This has probably been discussed before but here goes.

Fernapple comments on Jan 8, 2019:

You do not need to go that far, whether it works or not, if the universe is natural and deterministic then there is no free will, it is just an illusion. Full stop. Free will would only exist if we had supernatural powers and could avoid obeying natural laws.

I did not take this, but I am in love with it!

Fernapple comments on Jan 8, 2019:

Wow, love that. Must be feeding time.

Me as a kid.

Fernapple comments on Jan 8, 2019:

So what comes after, "poisonous to other trees" ?

But everyone knows they flew through the Suez and Panama Canals..... In 1931.

Fernapple comments on Jan 7, 2019:

I really hope that it is a joke. But since I have been on this site and read such a lot about creationists and flat earthers I am not sure any longer. Help!

Can I block myself on this site?

Fernapple comments on Jan 7, 2019:

Just delete your account.

Who are some of your favorite contributors on this site?

Fernapple comments on Jan 7, 2019:

There are many on this site who make good contributions, some all of the time and some just now and again. There are also some who make poor efforts all the time, but I still like it that they are here because it all adds to the interest of the site if only because it helps you to understand the rich diversity of human thinking. Sadly however I would not like to risk embarrassment to the ones that I think are especially good by giving out lists of names; especially as I am fallible and may miss off some who should be there.

Today, find what is positive within you! So, please plant a tree.

Fernapple comments on Jan 7, 2019:

Some trees grow fast you can never be sure that you will not sit in their shade, I sit often in the shade of those I planted, and I am a young 61 as yet.

As I contemplate this development, I wonder, if/when we were to find intelligent life on an ...

Fernapple comments on Jan 7, 2019:

It is quite possible that life is only just reaching the technological stage everywhere, since it has taken quite a long time on this planet, and we know that life can probably only form around second generation stars like ours, so it probably did not form in the early universe, so that all life therefore started everywhere only in the last few billion years. It is also possible that there is a yet to be discovered, (by us) doomsday technology, which can not ever be foreseen by it discoverers, but which always destroys the species which discovers it, and therefore technological species are just short lived anomalies. And lastly the difficulties of traveling across the vast distances of space are so great that it seems likely that we will never do it, unless we discover as yet to be even imagined new and probably impossible technologies, and therefore given that intelligent life is almost certainly very rare, it is most likely that no two life forms from different star systems will ever meet before their stars die, anywhere ever, even though across the univers there may be millions of them..

The Latin word for right is dexter and for left, sinister.

Fernapple comments on Jan 7, 2019:

It is certainly mainly prejudice, two theories are, that it is just a prejudice against left handed people simply because they were seen as different, in an age of little travel and closed minds when people thought that just being different meant that you were cursed or a devil associate. The other comes from misogamy because it was the custom to put the female half on the left hand side on coats of arms and family trees.

Hello, I am new to this site.

Fernapple comments on Jan 7, 2019:

You sound just about the most perfect fit for a member there could be. To find the real life on this site don't just go to the main page, check out the groups, it will take a while there are a lot but also there is something for everyone. And fill in your bio as soon as you can other members really like that.

Has Evangelical Christianity Become Sociopathic?

Fernapple comments on Jan 7, 2019:

Old saying. " Those who know that they are bound to lose the arguments reach for their guns."

Top Ten Signs You're a Fundamentalist Christian

Fernapple comments on Jan 7, 2019:

That certainly covers most of it.

Bookworms, how do you organize your library?

Fernapple comments on Jan 7, 2019:

Total chaos, it sometimes takes ages to find one when I want it but I always tell myself that I enjoy the challenge.

These people scare me. I see them everywhere. Does anyone know their names?

Fernapple comments on Jan 7, 2019:

I know them. They are the ones who write all those silly, distasteful, badly spelled, and inarticulate posts on this site.

Things that make NO sense: I am sure you have all heard that your bedroom should be totally dark, ...