It says on the internet that 2/3rds of us (brits- I suppose) were not interested in the royal ...

Gareth comments on May 20, 2018:

I would have been happy to ignore this pointless extravaganza but I'm in a pub quiz team and each week there are questions on the week's news, so I deigned to watch a 2-minute highlights clip. Surprisingly, for an old cynic, I was slightly moved. I thought the setting was charming and the newly-weds seemed surprisingly normal and sweet. It was also nice to see the racial inclusivity Perhaps I'm not as nasty as I like to think I am.

How important is your family history or lineage to you?

Gareth comments on May 25, 2018:

Not at all.

Should the royal family be abolished?

Gareth comments on May 25, 2018:

I think I've read that the Royal Family generate more in foreign earnings than they cost but I have no way of verifying it and anyway I prefer to look at value rather than price. I'm not a monarchist, but isn't one person's "outdated custom" another's "tradition"? Nor do I think that 'gross inequality' is perpetuated by a bunch of ornamental bubbleheads as much as by the larger economic forces of capitalism. 'Political leverage' ??? Hardly. The Queen is famous for her avoidance of political utterances, and even the outspoken Duke of Edinburgh is treated more as a joke than a political manipulator. But you're right that their role is unearned, in being inherited.

Pope Francis

Gareth comments on May 26, 2018:

This pope is dangerous.

Do you split the bill when you go on a date?

Gareth comments on May 28, 2018:

Unless there's a big wealth disparity I'll usually pay the first time but would look for some reciprocity in the long term.

Here is a question for men: how do you react to a woman crying?

Gareth comments on Jun 2, 2018:

I put the kettle on and make a nice cup of tea.

We all are subject to Freudian slips in our conversations.. What is your funniest one?

Gareth comments on Jun 3, 2018:

This wasn't mine, but I still laugh about it to this day. I was listening to a chat slot on the radio and someone was asked about their religion. They said "Oh, I'm very high church; I just love the liturgy and the smell of incest". [Oh jeez, I'm laughing even now!]

Hi all.

Gareth comments on Jun 3, 2018:

You could ask this person if it is good only because God wills it, or if God wills it because it is good. If it's the second then you already have objective morality before God even comes into the picture. If it's the first then killing babies would be good if God so willed it, so if all morality is just following the instructions of God then it cannot be objective. So objective morality can only exist independently of God. Q.E.D.

Why does it take so long to get over someone?

Gareth comments on Jun 5, 2018:

Everyone's different but I found it generally took as long to really get over it as the relationship lasted and I used that as a rule of thumb.

Do you think that over the years, social media has improved your communication/people skills or ...

Gareth comments on Jun 5, 2018:

There was an almost identical poll posted yesterday. Maybe that's a sort of answer to your question.

Godspeed: what is it and what genius decided such a term was needed?

Gareth comments on Jun 15, 2018:

I imagine it's a contraction of "God speed you on your way" or something similar, when someone is setting off on a journey.

Are you the kind of person who could forgive two-faced people?

Gareth comments on Jun 21, 2018:

I'd forgive them but secretly be waiting for my revenge.

I guess all of you have seen the christian flag with the cross in the upper right corner.

Gareth comments on Jul 2, 2018:

i didn't even know such a thing existed before reading this post. Another thing Jesus would have hated.

Why are Men threatened by Intelligent hard working women?

Gareth comments on Jul 3, 2018:

Are they, though?

Why would an eye evolve in a creature as, assumedly, if it didn't have an eye it wouldn't know it ...

Gareth comments on Jul 6, 2018:

Stop it! You're killing me.

What does everybody think of homeopathy?

Gareth comments on Jul 8, 2018:

It's snake oil, but some people actually get a real benefit from snake oil. It's like when religion makes someone happier - annoyingly, it can actually happen.

Has anyone else noticed that the “believers” don’t stay for long?

Gareth comments on Jul 8, 2018:

They pretty soon realise that they are out of their depth.

I have invented a new saying: "Don't be a Jordan.

Gareth comments on Jul 10, 2018:

"Jordan" in the UK was the pseudonym of a model (sporting comically enlarged boobs) also knows as Katie Price and who was briefly married to Peter Andre. I find myself wishing that someone would start an internet meme whereby Jordan Peterson was only referenced by the feminine pronouns "she" and "her" to such an extent that he (or she) was driven to seek the protection of a law to shield him (or her) from the continual harassment. :}

I’m just curious on the highest compatibility Percentage everyone has seen?

Gareth comments on Jul 11, 2018:

I had one at 100% who was a lesbian. Now that would be a weird dynamic.

How do you feel about religious music being played in a gym?

Gareth comments on Jul 12, 2018:

Having to listen to shitty music was a big factor in me lapsing my gym membership. Nothing to do with religion - Bach would have been fine.

Does it annoy you when people blame the devil for things that may go wrong in life?

Gareth comments on Jul 12, 2018:

If the alternative is someone blaming me instead, I will let the Devil take the rap.

Racial Identity and Reassignment: How would you feel about it?

Gareth comments on Jul 12, 2018:

I think it's really all about the mental health of the individual. If someone is suffering because they feel their body is 'wrong' in some way, that needs to be addressed by health professionals. You consult the person, check their health, metabolism, hormone levels etc. You counsel them, you inform them, you educate them about the risks and likely consequences of intervention and what is achievable and if they are sane, aware and consensual you agree with them the best route to proceed. It will depend on how much they are suffering and whether a course of treatment is likely to work. Vox pops on forums don't have much relevance. Some people suffer from a condition where they feel a limb is not their own - such as a hand or arm - due probably to poorly understood processes in pre-natal development. Having this alien appendage gives them great anguish and they wish to be rid of it. Amputation can release them from this syndrome and they are much happier after the operation. Neglecting for a moment the question of costs, this is clearly the best outcome that could and should currently be offered. I don't see how feelings of gender or race misattributions should be treated any differently. If the person is unwell, you try to make them better. Any other course is either cruelty or neglect. I shouldn't have to spell out that this is a clinical matter, not one of subjective wishes, but I will before someone grabs the stick by the wrong end.

Do You have a Personal Saying Or Quote About Things Or Your Life?

Gareth comments on Jul 14, 2018:

A friend once asked me why I was so hard on myself, undemanding and self-denying. I replied "I live in the gaps between other people's lives". She laughed so hard I didn't forget it, and I think it could well be my motto.

I am so glad I joined this site.

Gareth comments on Jul 15, 2018:

Your likes are going to go through the roof with this post.

How many men on here have taken a Zumba class?

Gareth comments on Jul 23, 2018:

I used to dance modern jive, but zumba would be a triple step too far.

Ever have a conversation on science take a sharp turn into pseudoscience?

Gareth comments on Jul 23, 2018:

I would show her my PhD in scepticism.

Calling out well!!

Gareth comments on Jul 23, 2018:

I used to. I didn't see why I should lose a budgeted benefit because I enjoyed good health. I always got ahead of my work-load so the business didn't suffer and after the awkward call with the fake sore throat I felt like Ferris Bueller for the rest of the day.

Simple question.

Gareth comments on Jul 25, 2018:

Atheism is a scam propagated by the pharmaceutical companies so we don't cure ourselves with prayer.

When I was 28 I was raped by a doctor on an exam table in a medical center with another person ...

Gareth comments on Jul 27, 2018:

Thanks for this. This is why it's so important to report such abuse straight away even though it's natural to feel shame and confusion. When women operate a zero-tolerance policy, men will pretty soon get the message and a lot of hurt, humiliation and heartbreak will be avoided in the future.

The Best Cancer Fighting Essential Oils- The research- [youtu.be]

Gareth comments on Aug 26, 2018:

"All these oils do essentially the same thing". He got that right;- nothing. And his peer-reviewers? The Three Wise Men. This is beyond parody, even.

When people think about traveling to the past, they worry about radically changing the future by ...

Gareth comments on Sep 20, 2018:

I do small things all the time that have a massive impact on my future, such as waiting until my cycle has come to a complete standstill before I get off it, looking in BOTH directions before I cross the road, unplugging electrical equipment before attempting to fix it etc. etc.

How to gain freewill Step 1-Accept that freewill does not exist Step 2-Realize that the reason...

Gareth comments on Oct 2, 2018:

Free will is a convenient illusion, like the illusion of the self. Causality makes us behave in a certain way, and we experience this as an act of choice. Because we use the language of agency it's very hard to talk about this subject without slipping into fallacy.

Earlier today, an ol' dude in DC yells out to me...Hey, hey man, how old is that jacket?

Gareth comments on Nov 3, 2018:

I was hoping it would turn out that you were the guy his wife ran off with and that it was his jacket.

I'm not quite sure what to say here.

Gareth comments on Nov 7, 2018:

I have a bad feeling about this.

The thing is, its 13 days UNTIL we get to the shortest day of the year. Dang.

Gareth comments on Nov 28, 2018:

The shortest day (N hemisphere) is December 21st this year. That's not 13 days.

Why Is It That You Can Own And Register A Vehicle Without A License, But You Can't Drive Without ...

Gareth comments on Feb 9, 2019:

Makes perfect sense to me. If I want to invest in a vintage car, rent a car out or am just curating a museum, I shouldn't be forced to learn to drive the damn thing. Or maybe I'm disabled and have a driver.

Israeli Soldiers beating Palestinians - YouTube

Gareth comments on Feb 10, 2019:

Another inconvenient truth.

Is stupidity genetic?

Gareth comments on Apr 11, 2019:

They just remind me constantly of Beavis and Butthead somehow.

I am deeply troubled by the virulent efforts of the anti abortionist movement to criminalise women ...

Gareth comments on Apr 13, 2019:

"Life is sacred, so kill those who don't respect it!"

Notre Dame fire may be divine punishment, says prominent settler rabbi - Israel News - Haaretz.com

Gareth comments on Apr 20, 2019:

I wonder if he knows what happened to the Temple in Jerusalem?

Does anyone feel Buddhism (or some sects of it or some parts of it) is more of a philosophy or way ...

Gareth comments on May 24, 2019:

Buddhism is an empirical, falsifiable doctrine that can be cheapened into a ritual-filled dogma. The O.P. recognises the distinction, but unfortunately many of the responses do not and treat it as a monolith. We live in an age of over-simplification.

Have you ever been annoyed by just the sight or voice of a person?

Gareth comments on May 26, 2019:

If you've never heard Jacob Rees-Mogg then I hope you never do.

The reason I am agnostic is because there is no proof that a God told man to compose religious texts...

Gareth comments on Jun 23, 2019:

The reason I am an agnostic is....oh...well, actually I'm not sure.

Technology may seem to be the enemy cz it continuously and successfuly replaces humans.

Gareth comments on Jul 16, 2019:

Technology does not replace human labour, automation does. I'm all for automation. As the OP implies, it only replaces the mundane work that humans should not have to do. As for those people who say "but it will put someone out of work" I reply that you can still afford to pay them the money they would have earned (less a small amount for the running cost of the machine) and send them home to do something useful or live a nice life. The problems only begin when parasitic shareholders/owners want to skim off the savings into their own bloated bank accounts while children everywhere go hungry.

I believe Iran. Who is provoking who here. [nytimes.com] [pbs.org]

Gareth comments on Jul 21, 2019:

I've been 100% behind Iran, who were sticking to the deal that the US welshed on and then tried to make something out of nothing, probably in cahoots with Iran's regional foe, Saudi Arabia. However, the latest hi-jacking of by Iran of a UK tanker in 'retaliation' for the impounding of a UN sanctions-busting Iranian-flagged tanker in Gibraltar is in violation of international law, so now I'm thinking that maybe they're as bad as one another.

The universe may be conscious, say prominent scientists - Big Think

Gareth comments on Nov 7, 2019:

I hate this stuff and it's not even faintly scientific because the terms are not defined. It's more linguistic quibbling, and that way nonsense lies. I do know something about quantum physics and I can see that whoever wrote this article doesn't. An eminent scientist once said of a colleague's theory "it's so bad it's not even wrong".

Does anybody else wonder why "believer" is an option on an agnostic dating site?

Gareth comments on Nov 20, 2019:

If this is a dating site then why is "Here for community only" an option? The question is rhetorical; use your loaf.

Afterlife

Gareth comments on Dec 17, 2019:

They're simply wrong. Heaven and Hell make no sense. Death is real and alarming but childish stories cannot satisfy an honest mind.

YouTube has many atheists that produce content.

Gareth comments on Mar 16, 2020:

Cristina Rad used to be easy to watch.

A raging example of why I've had quite enough of all this religious BS.

Gareth comments on Apr 4, 2020:

It's an abuse of consanguinity to lay a trip like that on you.

One might say that there is an air of intellectual superiority about enthusiastic libertarians, ...

Gareth comments on Apr 12, 2020:

It's what we already have.

This was shared by a nurse I work with and its actually quiet helpful..

Gareth comments on May 3, 2020:

So I only need to put my trousers on when I want to pee? Okay, I get it.

Do you think vaping is WORSE than smoking cigarettes?

Gareth comments on Aug 24, 2020:

Smoking is such a filthy habit it would be hard to think of a worse one Smokers and their clothes smell - really smell. The litter is atrocious; cardboard, foil, cellophane wraps all over the streets and the plastic, non-biodegradable butts get absolutely everywhere - I find them in the sand on otherwise pristine beaches, and presumably they'll end up in the sea where some poor creature may ingest them. Forest fires, house fires, scorch marks and holes on furniture, carpets (readily visible in hotel rooms), bedding, clothes - the incidental damage must be enormous. As a non-smker, I'd prefer you to vape. And why are some people saying it's worse than smoking? What are their arguments, what statistics are they working from, and do they make sense? Intuitively I would think that cigarette smoke is much worse for you than vapour.

Like what they think matters... Anti-vaxxers fight against coronavirus vaccine [theguardian.]

Gareth comments on Nov 13, 2020:

Well, it does matter because they can be transmitters. There should just be a health insurance discount for those who opt for vaccination, so it's a free choice but you have to pay the societal cost. I suspect they would be singing a different tune then.

A few times I tried to point out the latent subconscious damage that religion has done that most ...

Gareth comments on Nov 22, 2020:

I think it's a bit tenuous to blame the First World War on Christianity.

Long, long ago, when I was still in a church, the elder said that he didn't know why atheists ...

Gareth comments on Nov 26, 2020:

Aren't you thanking the native people who kept your ancestors alive so that they could go on and steal their land?

Malaysian Muslims have been eating fake halal meat for 40 years - Culture

Gareth comments on Dec 24, 2020:

Fool me once......

I will no longer be buying anything from Adidas. [fearofgod.com]

Gareth comments on Dec 24, 2020:

Never have, never will, unless accidentally at a thrift shop.