Is stupidity genetic?

Gareth comments on Apr 11, 2019:

They just remind me constantly of Beavis and Butthead somehow.

JORDAN PETERSON: Christianity Stealing Credit for Human Nature, Bionic Dance [youtube.com]

Gareth comments on May 12, 2018:

Jordan Peterson is an atheist, he just doesn't realise it. I can say that by applying his own standards to argument.

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.

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

Gareth comments on Dec 24, 2020:

Fool me once......

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.

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.

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?

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!"

Sam Harris Fans: what is your opinion of this piece?

Gareth comments on May 18, 2018:

I like Sam Harris, but he's just so slow and ponderous. {Edit} The article was good.

Which one would you choose?

Gareth comments on Apr 30, 2018:

I can't believe that some people don't like cleaning. Same with the dishes.

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.

I kept wondering why, no matter What I said or how many times I said it, it always came down to the ...

Gareth comments on Apr 28, 2018:

Guns are a sickness

What is the sweetest thing you can say to a woman?

Gareth comments on Apr 27, 2018:

"You're the loveliest thing God ever shovelled guts into" - preferably delivered with a drunken slur. Works every time.

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.

YouTube has many atheists that produce content.

Gareth comments on Mar 16, 2020:

Cristina Rad used to be easy to watch.

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 phrase, "I could care less" is meaningless and should die. Why do I keep hearing people say it?

Gareth comments on Jul 25, 2018:

"I could care less" means that one cares at least a certain amount, as there exists a level of care below that which one possesses. "I couldn't care less" means that there is no level of care below that one possesses and that therefore one's care is at the minimum possible level. Both make sense. One expresses an absence of care and the other expresses an unquantified but definite amount. Americans simply say the wrong one sometimes when they wish to express total indifference. Brits never do.

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.

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.

How important is your family history or lineage to you?

Gareth comments on May 25, 2018:

Not at all.

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.

How much salary would make you happy?

Gareth comments on Apr 24, 2018:

I'm happy enough and I don't work, so I guess $0 in this case.

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.

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.

What happens after deaths accordingly to you.

Gareth comments on Jul 22, 2018:

I don't have to define "soul" because it's not a term I use. If someone else wants to use it, let them try to define it. That'll be fun.

Israeli Soldiers beating Palestinians - YouTube

Gareth comments on Feb 10, 2019:

Another inconvenient truth.

Pope Francis

Gareth comments on May 26, 2018:

This pope is dangerous.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. :}

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.

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.

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.

Being offended: What does it REALLY mean?

Gareth comments on Apr 16, 2018:

I am offended by people being offended.

I finally told someone that I'm starting to not believe in God anymore.

Gareth comments on Apr 11, 2018:

Lisa, I'm so proud of you. Nothing anyone could throw at you would be worse than living a lie.

What does this community think about Jordan Peterson?

Gareth comments on Apr 28, 2018:

May I suggest that before posting you search on the subject first? You will find we discussed this already recently. Thanks.

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.

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.

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.

Pronouns???

Gareth comments on May 8, 2018:

By default, I tend to call dogs "he" and babies "it" until I know their gender.

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.

Good morning everyone, rise and shine, another beautiful day to enjoy x

Gareth comments on Apr 28, 2018:

Saturday 9am is parkrun time; 23'32" today.

For my birthday, I had a coworker give me a bible and a couple of books on Jesus.

Gareth comments on Apr 1, 2018:

I would say "thanks", bin them and never mention it again. Alternatively, you could wait till his birthday comes round and give him a book on science.

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.

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.

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!]

Do you have secular volunteer opportunities in your community or do you have to volunteer with ...

Gareth comments on Apr 29, 2018:

I donate a couple of hours a week to cleaning and maintenance at my local Buddhist centre. They're good people and respect that my own path has no place for their rites and rituals.

The Trump Administration Made A Positive Accomplishment For Once!

Gareth comments on May 9, 2018:

I'm surprised he hasn't claimed credit for their nuclear test site collapsing. Well, early days.

Why are Men threatened by Intelligent hard working women?

Gareth comments on Jul 3, 2018:

Are they, though?

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.

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.

Are you lonely?.

Gareth comments on May 8, 2018:

I'm too content on my own to be happy. I think of the future, when friends are gone and people will not want to get to know some old guy. Inevitably, mobility decreases and solitude can go from being an indulgence to a prison. I'm the youngest in my family so I expect my old age to be very lonely.