Why argue about God or any belief?

Hicks66 comments on Feb 6, 2018:

Why try? Well, it's not about the beliefs but the actions that stem from some beliefs. Take for instance the right to life movement. They'll tell you that it's unchristian to perform an abortion. And they will act on that presupposition with protests and even murder. If religion is a motivator in heinous acts then it deserves scrutiny.

The older I get, the less I like people.

Hicks66 comments on Feb 5, 2018:

"l'enfer c'est les autres" sums it up nicely for me.

Should religion be taught in schools?

Hicks66 comments on Feb 5, 2018:

Yes, in an all or nothing sort of way. Either all religions get some time in the light or they are just glossed over in sociology with the blanket statement that some folks believe in different stuff.

Did leaving religion left you with a void?

Hicks66 comments on Feb 5, 2018:

Never was that attached to religion. It wasn't a bandage to be ripped off but more of a scab that shriveled and fell away of its own accord. Never provided answers or comfort. Just demanded time and tithe.

I'm not certain this is the right category, but here's the random thought that occurred to me this ...

Hicks66 comments on Feb 5, 2018:

Hypothermia is a sort of mercy. Granted the path to that particular threshold is rather uncomfortable. But once the shivering stops, the victim is overwhelmed with fatigue and simply falls asleep.

Are you politically involved?

Hicks66 comments on Feb 5, 2018:

I should view the Terms of Service concerning foul language because I am sorely tempted to use it when it comes to this subject. Within the last handful of elections from municipal to federal, not one candidate in my riding has done anything to earn my vote. They're just placeholders. The parties they represent are either corporate lackeys or ideological fanatics. The fringe parties are worse. I'm thinking that politics is a sort of social flypaper that attracts the corrupt and incompetent.

Thinking of the arts, and of "spirit" - we are creative beings. Outside neurobiology and such, ...

Hicks66 comments on Feb 5, 2018:

I like the word "transcendent" to describe things that are beyond my ability or inspire awe. I don't think it has the same meta baggage as "spiritual"

I have no idea what I'm doing here......... By "here", I mean this planet.....

Hicks66 comments on Feb 5, 2018:

Given what we have to compare to this planet, I think you got off lucky. The other options would likely freeze, burn or suffocate you. Now, are you looking for purpose or a clear explanation as to what other options were available prior to your genesis? I don't want to jump to conclusions.

Washington DC is known as the chocolate city, Portland Oregon is known as the Rose City, what about ...

Hicks66 comments on Feb 5, 2018:

"Hogtown". On another note: DC as the chocolate city? How?

How proud are you of your state?

Hicks66 comments on Feb 5, 2018:

Lucky, yes. Proud, no. It's not like I got to choose. I was born here and found it beneficial to stay.

Are you good at small talk?

Hicks66 comments on Feb 5, 2018:

No. I want to leave it there but it seems smug. Tried it a couple of times but it's like playing tennis with a wall unless it becomes an argument.

Purpose

Hicks66 comments on Feb 5, 2018:

Improve yourself. Improve your environment. Well, those are the ideals. I think that as soon as you ask yourself "what's it all for?" you've fallen into an intellectual trap. Look around you. Have fun. Purpose is subjective.

Ever been so attracted to someone...and had it all melt away almost instantly when they started ...

Hicks66 comments on Feb 5, 2018:

Mention Toffler at a seance. Great fun.

What’s your most favorite and least favorite sport?

Hicks66 comments on Feb 5, 2018:

Love hockey. Hate golf.

Religion Needs a Savior

Hicks66 comments on Jan 28, 2018:

I know the withdrawal symptoms will be rocky but necessary to break the cycle.

I came across a very interesting Facebook post. It demonstrates that the definition for the word ...

Hicks66 comments on Jan 28, 2018:

Not specifically. But I am not surprised. The elasticity of the English language is being tested at every turn. When "doh" was accepted in the OED, I saw it as an ill omen.

What are your opinions on prostitution? Do you think it should be legal, and why? Do you have ...

Hicks66 comments on Jan 28, 2018:

Well, outlawing it doesn't seem to be the solution. I see parallels between that and The Prohibition Era. Legalize, regulate and tax the hell out of it. As for personal feelings, I can't disassociate the emotion from the act so I don't identify with those who can. I imagine for some it could be a form of therapy. In that light I see no reason to demean those who choose that career path within the legalized setting. As it stands today, I see it as an act of desperation.

Religious pamphlets?

Hicks66 comments on Jan 27, 2018:

Chick tracts. Nuff said. Excelsior.

Why do I have a St. Bernard when I'm an Atheist?

Hicks66 comments on Jan 27, 2018:

Well, technically you just have a Bernard. That you subscribe to social convention is totally within your domain.

Should crime be (just) punished?

Hicks66 comments on Jan 27, 2018:

I think criminals should be punished. Compensation should be extracted if it is financially viable but also, the possibility of rehabilitation should not be ignored.

How Prepared Are You For Death?

Hicks66 comments on Jan 27, 2018:

Well, I have no legacy, so that's out of the way. My insurance covers a modest cremation. Done.

Does Sexual Selection impeach Intelligent Design?

Hicks66 comments on Jan 27, 2018:

Focusing on the example of the peacock's plumage as an example of sexual selection, I posit this: that it is because the bird is able to grow and maintain this burdensome mass and still thrive, it is an attractive feature to a potential mate. It's not a matter of aesthetics. Sexual selection is the coup de grace of selective pressures. Imagine a beneficial trait that is otherwise repugnant, like an odor that repels everything including flies. It might make him proof against insect borne infections but weighs heavily against the possibility of reproduction or even social interaction. As for sexual selection being a positive argument for ID, I don't see it. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It has been proven that when we see beauty in a potential mate we are witnessing symmetry in their structure. That is a key symptom of genetic stability which is preferable to instability. These things can happen and do happen logically without there being any prime mover.

If a tree falls with no one to hear it, does it make a sound? Seems to me, no, as sound would be ...

Hicks66 comments on Jan 27, 2018:

So if a stove element is on and no one is around to feel it, it's not hot?

LOVE AIN'T NOTHING BUT A FOUR LETTER WORD Or is it? I have been thinking about this word lately. ...

Hicks66 comments on Jan 27, 2018:

"Love ain't nothing but a word". Although I don't answer your question directly, I'm reminded of some of the Daniel Dennett lectures I've been watching on the youtube. His stuff on Deepities is priceless.

Who else was raised as an atheist or agnostic?

Hicks66 comments on Jan 27, 2018:

I said "other" because those who raised me were really lapsed Catholics.

Beer drinkers

Hicks66 comments on Jan 27, 2018:

Nothing beats a cold pilsner.

The year 2030, technologically speaking, what will the world look like?

Hicks66 comments on Jan 27, 2018:

I am pessimistic. If it looks remotely like Mad Max, I would consider us lucky.

One of the things that I find laughable about christianity is the bible itself... Jews: Our god ...

Hicks66 comments on Jan 27, 2018:

Why is there pain? Cuz apples.

The one philosophy I've been intrigued by since high school is "solipsism". It's the only one I ...

Hicks66 comments on Jan 27, 2018:

Solipsism has its own infinite regression trap. Consider the brain in a vat model. Everything is an illusion. Even your body. The reality is you're a disembodied brain being fed data that you interpret as sensory input. Well who's doing that? Why? What if it's part of a stream of illusionary data being fed to him from a superior reality? Why are they doing that? And so on... The problem with solipsism is that it doesn't lead to anything useful. Not at this phase anyways.

What does evolution mean to you?

Hicks66 comments on Jan 27, 2018:

Evolution. Change over time. It's brief and is overweight with subtext. It has to be unpacked. The real emphasis should be on the things that promote these changes. Mutation. Selection (natural, sexual and artificial). I read Origin of Species when I was a kid and found it well above my head walking away with just a pop-sci comprehension. It was only after The Selfish Gene when I was able to dig deeper and really appreciate what Darwin was trying to describe. I don't think that I've been able to do much better. As for what it means to me, it's this: the weight of a theory rests its predictive capabilities. Evolution, Germ Theory, Atomic Theory, Heliocentrism, Gravity all have made deductions that have led to advancements in knowledge, comfort and safety. Gawd diddit dindu nuffin.

The most unprogressive race.

Hicks66 comments on Jan 27, 2018:

This is troubling. I am confident that progress doesn't have a genetic component. It depends on your definition of progress. On one hand, you can ask why Cairo or Johannesburg isn't hosting a space program or you can marvel at the ingenuity of the Kalahari bushmen and their invention of curare.

There's a healthy selection of sci-fi geeks on this site, so let's have a good nerdy debate. Answer ...

Hicks66 comments on Jan 27, 2018:

Greatest spacecraft: Heart of Gold ala Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Greatest society: The Foundation Greatest war: the events described in The Forever War

Breaking news...

Hicks66 comments on Jan 27, 2018:

Besides IKR, I'm dumbfounded.

Hey guys, I am new to this thing. So what is up?

Hicks66 comments on Jan 27, 2018:

Me too. Been unabashedly posting. Love the BBS format. Very nostalgic. Hope you're doing well. Good luck.

If you could get rid of any emotion, which one would it be?

Hicks66 comments on Jan 27, 2018:

Each one addresses an aspect of survival. The "good" ones are rewards for evolutionary beneficial activities or some-such. The "negative" ones are signals to some deficit that must be addressed. To rid one's self of any of these is like putting electrical tape over your engine alert light on your dashboard and driving anyways. That being said, I think the most troublesome emotions fall in the predatory spectrum when the need to achieve supersedes the well-being of those "in the way". We can do with a lot less of that.

What say you? Are you just here for some sort of validation that you exist?

Hicks66 comments on Jan 27, 2018:

Nope. Just another falling tree in the forest.

Guess what time it is? Its Ancient Alien weekend, Again! Thank you History Channel for teaching me...

Hicks66 comments on Jan 27, 2018:

*develops faster than light travel* *shows bald apes how to meticulously pile rocks into pleasing geometric shapes* *laughter ensues*

Have you ever felt depressed and singled out while single on Valentine’s Day?

Hicks66 comments on Jan 27, 2018:

I hang out with a pack of fellow nerds. We're bitter and surly by default. Nothing like a rousing session of D&D to assuage our lonely, futile existences.

What Is Your Favorite Genre Of Music?

Hicks66 comments on Jan 26, 2018:

Metal, from Black Sabbath on out. Been exposed to it since I was six.

are you afraid of death?

Hicks66 comments on Jan 26, 2018:

Right now, yes. Death would suck. Annihilation is something I never looked forward to and would like to avoid. The prospect of an afterlife is attractive but unsubstantial. Read too much Lovecraft to trust the bipolar Heaven/Hell model. Staying centered in the here and now is how I cope.

Does an immortal soul mitigate homicide?

Hicks66 comments on Jan 26, 2018:

I think it's one of the most dangerous ideas conceived. To know that this is your only chance at existence and that of everyone around you adds value to existence and therefore weight to morality and how you mete it.

What's ffrf?

Hicks66 comments on Jan 26, 2018:

Google sez Freedom from Religion Foundation. https://ffrf.org/

Archaeologists Uncover Jesus's Gulfstream Jet

Hicks66 comments on Jan 26, 2018:

I hear that it was created in a junkyard by a tornado.

If satan Isn't a god, what qualIfIcatIons Is he lackIng?

Hicks66 comments on Jan 26, 2018:

All the merits of polytheism, none of the paganism. Consider the trinity and the litany of martyrs and saints.

What kind of snob are you?

Hicks66 comments on Jan 26, 2018:

I like to think I'm not. As an anti-authoritarian, snobbery assumes a sort of authority or competence that I know I don't have. Doesn't preclude the possibility of an opinion just that I don't back it up.

What do you have out there for some good rockin tunes. One exception, NO country allowed oh ya.. ...

Hicks66 comments on Jan 26, 2018:

https://youtu.be/RbIGuLXCziU

Are you an atheist who nonetheless wants ritual, holidays, reverence for Nature and social community...

Hicks66 comments on Jan 26, 2018:

I dunno. There is value in ritual for the sake of community. I'd figure I'd start with Festivus and work it from there.

Do you believe American medicine was designed to help humans heal or are we making/keeping people ...

Hicks66 comments on Jan 26, 2018:

I think it's an "intention vs. competence" issue. Dunning/Kruger affects at all levels of achievement. It's easy to overlook what you don't know. Wide definitions for things like autism and cancer defy superficial pathology. We are on various thresholds of breakthroughs that it's easy to overestimate our abilities and employ them against billions of years of natural selection.

Why are the Holy Books ( Koran, Bible, etc) so long? I mean in the Bible, once you get past the 10 ...

Hicks66 comments on Jan 26, 2018:

Short answer: charlatans relish in complexity.