Lateralus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solipsism Not my cup of tea, but it's the kind of thing everyone should know about.

I would've forgotten to mention Bill Hicks if I hadn't seen him mentioned. That's disgraceful. The people I had in my head were Christopher Hitchens, George Orwell, Stephen Fry (God knows the guy would be good conversation), Oscar Wilde and Byron.

I'm with ya.

Probably troll, but let's try anyways.. Isn't it kind of obvious that if a million people get a difficult cancer for example.. By definition, 100,000 of them will survive by normal treatment with a 10% survival rate without any 'divine intervention'? The rest as a peer group will die no matter how religious or atheist they were due to the nature of the disease, if the 10% figure holds true. That has to be trolling. I'd be upset if someone on my side of the debate made a point as silly as that.

EDIT: Beaten to the Snopes article.

I can't believe we still haven't straightened this out after 80 some pages. A theory is an attempt to link together observable facts and phenomena in a logical way that's testable, supported by evidence and can be used to make accurate predictions. Gravity is the phenomenon, Newton's theory of gravitation (or more recently general relativity) are the attempts at explaination. We can say with relative certaintly that something like evolution happened and is happening, and the current understanding is the theory to attempt to explain it. Besides that, what is religion if not - and I use the term loosely - a theory?

I've said this many times in this thread, but the thought that something so abstract like a conscience evolved from simple chemical and energy reactions really doesn't make sense. And if we did all evolve from the earliest forms of life, why aren't there other organisms on the earth that have a conscience and thought process. Additionally, its nice to have someone to talk to about stuff that you are too embarrassed to say out loud. Its similar to the concept of an imaginary friend. People find comfort in imaginary friends, just as I find comfort in a being such as God. I agree that the fact that the human mind emerged from the animal mind is amazing, but I don't see how peculiarity points to the supernatural. Other animals have unique (or at least different and highly adapted) features, why should conscience be any different from those? The reason I asked why you are religious is because you asked why anyone would believe in the Christian god. If you know what you've got to gain, why did you ask? Being religious is not some huge sacrifice; If you genuinely believe that by obeying your god's rules, however stringent they may be, that you'll be granted eternal bliss, then I don't understand how anything could be that hard to obey.

Answer your own questions, please. It's nice to hear why people are religious.

I got Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike by Gogol Bordello recently. I heard them on Jools Holland a while ago and forgot about them until a few days ago. Good fun music. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQSaYgAp2lw

What does this even mean?

Ah, quantum spirituality (sort of). I've got a book in my flat about why it's silly when people try and relate quantum mechanics to philosophy, I'll have a thumb through it when I get home.

I don't like it when Cartman gets his comeuppance.

Eminem - Kim It's worrying how much I love this song.

I don't think there's many people who deny a man called Jesus existed. It's the miracles and the whole "son of God" or "prophet" thing some people object to. Good, because if everyone agrees that a man called Jesus existed then I bring in this point. Jesus must have either been lying, mad or who he said he is. Now from what he was saying throughout the Bible, we can tell that he was, infact, not lying. From this we can also realise that he is not mad, as he did not act like a madman (even though he did throw over the tables in the church, but so would just about any other sane Christian.) This leads me to believe that he must be the 3rd option, and is who he said he is. I can't understand this line of reasoning at all. It's ridiculous.

With the size of the universe and the time it's been around, yes, eventually you would. there is a very small chance, and a even smaller probability of it happening, sure it would happen eventually, but how do the chances measure up to the time the universe has been around? The Mona Lisa analogy is flawed anyway. We're not a random combination of parts. A better analogy would be that the little pieces of coloured paper are randomly generated, and if the colour is correct then they can stay. Any of the incorrect pieces are cast aside.

I don't particularly care about the people here, though I am fond of a few people. I come here because I need people to argue with.

Been reading Aristotle?

I don't know if this is the most important lesson I ever learned, but it's definitely something I live by. "Think for yourself; question authority" is the way Timothy Leary puts it. To quote another very smart man... Beware the irrational, however seductive. Shun the 'transcendent' and all who invite you to subordinate or annihilate yourself and others. Distrust compassion; prefer dignity for yourself and others. Don't be afraid to be thought arrogant or selfish. Picture all experts as if they were mammals. Never be a spectator of unfairness or stupidity. Seek out argument and disputation for their own sake; the grave will supply plenty of time for silence. Suspect your own motives, and all excuses. Do not live for others any more than you would expect others to live for you. - Christopher Hitchens (from Letters to A Young Contrarian) That he can sum up exactly how I feel about life in a few sentences is one of the many reasons I love Hitchens.

*Psst* Make it a rule, please! :D *Psst* Surely what should be against the rules already is. For example if I was to call you a stupid Christian or something, a mod should be able to take action against that. However, I don't think it should be against the rules for me to say that I think Christianity is stupid.

Listening to the Pulp Fiction soundtrack, currently You Never Can Tell by Chuck Berry. I'm doing the twist under my desk.

There was a fight and some criminal damage done at a house party I was at once, and one of the party goers phoned the police. When they arrived and asked for descriptions of the main offenders a girl shouted out, "I've got them on Bebo!", and printed out pictures of all of them. I thought it was hilarious.

I know quite a few parents who basically stop supporting their kids around 16/17 years old. The only things they'll provide them with are necessities (food/shelter) and the kids have to go get jobs if they want to be able to have gas in their cars, pay for insurance, go out with friends, etc. It's hard to cut back on a job when you need money and cutting back on school is not an option. While I believe high schools are merely the gov'ts way of getting us ready for minimum wage jobs (if we choose not to futher our education), it's still important to graduate if you plan on making it in the world without working your [wagon] off only to dig yourself a deeper hole. That's almost abandonment :| I thought that was the norm.

Maybe they expect the milking to be done by hand.

Be clear, concise, enthusiastic and witty. Start out punchy and try not to digress too much. If you've got a strict time limit, stick to the point. Digression can be interesting though; everyone loves an interesting anecdote.

Fat Lip is a catchy song.