Cy85 (10671) 27 SFW Posts | 548 Space Comments | Favorites | RSS Feed Registered 2009-03-30 03:25:24 Comment Karma: 295 Featured Comments: 0 Member of :

Recent Comments from Cy85

Comment on God is an invisible Dragon in my garage (2012-03-10 17:11:18)
I think at this point we're just reading the same text and drawing different readings (irony!). "I’m just trying to understand if you think there’s a difference between established religion and homemade (but earnestly believed) home-cooked religions, especially concerning the amount of evidence that support them." -->Well, in the philosophical sense, no, the same psychological underpinnings are present across belief systems, and there's always a difficulty in "proving" where the supernatural elements come into play. In the cultural/anthropological sense, there are differing reasons behind certain denominations flourishing versus others that dwindled (and very often they were seeking different things). Each religion may have a different point where they leave off the natural world and ascribe certain phenomenon to a divine/mystical order. That would determine whether you could more readily or not gather evidence for/against legitimizing a religion's claims to outsiders.
Comment on God is an invisible Dragon in my garage (2012-03-10 16:32:29)
"You seem to think this thought experiment is more compassing than it is. It’s merely an illustration of what an outlandish belief without evidence looks to a person outside the religion." -->I give you that, but right at the end he tacks on something beyond his experiential anecdote about what religious looks like to an outsider, prescribing behavior to be used around these individuals. That's where I take issue. "This is just bad thinking. We have no need to wait for something like that; disbelief is the obvious response. You don’t believe (or take seriously) any fancy fantastical and magical idea I make up, nor should you. " -->Well, yes, it's the obvious response, but I'm involved in the social sciences, so figuring out WHY you have a fantastic or magical idea is part of my work. Just saying "they're crazy, forget them" is lazy thinking for anyone following the scientific method. "I have not managed to find out what you think separates one myth from the gods of the religions you want to encourage interfaith dialogue between." -->I'm not sure what you're saying here. Could you clarify? If you're talking about, "what really separates religions that can be bridged?" then that's a whole 'nother discussion I'm ready to have.
Comment on God is an invisible Dragon in my garage (2012-03-10 14:38:07)
I had an Ethics & Morals class where an Evangelical literally could not conceive that there was more than one definition for a given word ("bliss") than what his pastor had explained it to him as. He was actually disrupting the lecture because he wanted everyone to understand his definition of the concept as right, and the philosophy we were discussing as wrongly using HIS word in a different context. I don't like how narrow the focus of the thought experiment is, because I'm an advocate for inter-faith dialogue. This is just another atheist taking a high-brow, elitist stance that anyone religious is delusional/insane, and we just have to wait for evidence to prove to them away. The guy made a big metaphor that does nothing but tell a joke. I love Sagan's science lectures and points about humanity's place in a wide, open universe, but this is pretty far from the humanist stance I would expect from him.
Comment on God is an invisible Dragon in my garage (2012-03-10 04:09:28)
Too Long; Did Read. Much as I like Carl Sagan, I get tired of allegories and analogies discussing the problem of trying to make the ineffable "effable." First of all, if there's not thermodynamic exchange, I don't want people saying "fire." If there's no fire, it ain't fucking fire being breathed. Second of all, we're not talking about an unobservable phenomenon that many people say they've experienced, we're talking about a phenomenon that people attribute a nature, a will, a sentience too, that they must not only interact with, but give authoritative influence to. He's saying, "treat it like any other unexplained phenomenon" but it's not puzzling subatomic particle behavior, it's a serious cultural divide that actually starts real world conflicts. So no, I'll let my friend think about there being an invisible dragon in his garage, but I won't let him be a dick about it when I can't experience it. 'Cuz then I'm avoiding the real issue. Even if I can't disprove it, I can damn well hold him responsible for how he behaves because of it.
Comment on life (2012-03-04 19:20:12)
Recursive universe is recursive.
Comment on Iron Man's Car Wreck (2012-03-04 18:35:04)
You words were marked. It didn't suck. At least by any appreciable margin.
Comment on spinning (2012-02-27 05:38:31)
Spinning? I see no rims here.
Comment on Young Jamie Lee Curtis (2012-02-16 03:21:29)
Meh. I'll take Sigourney Weaver, thanks.
Comment on Wendys (2012-02-16 03:18:06)
I must agree, their fries are not that great. But I've found all other fast food milkshakes have a terrible aftertaste, whereas the Wendy's Frosty is always delicious and enjoyable.
Comment on a world with no guns (2012-02-16 03:11:35)
That's telekinesis, elzarcothepale.
Comment on Black Lipgloss (2012-02-14 04:07:00)
The Bare-Chested Speaker! "Fear me! My oratory abilities are unparalleled! And I symbolize my plain spoken honesty by wearing no chest coverings at all!" [criminals stare blankly, then shoot] "Curses! Defeated by my one weakness! Violent action!"
Comment on Brinicle - Ice finger of death (2012-02-14 03:59:43)
Fascinating!
Comment on Hitler in art school (2012-02-14 03:59:23)
Best seen in Authority: The Secret History of Jenny Sparks **SPOILERS**She encouraged Hitler to go into politics**
Comment on Hitler in art school (2012-02-14 03:58:23)
Charlie would approve of anything that mocked Hitler and weakened his image. The works of Mel Brooks would've been his favorite.
Comment on Elusive non-flusher (2012-02-08 02:25:54)
Was a little overwrought at first, then came the epic pop culture win.