I continue to find it incredible....

by AK - Jeff 35 Replies latest jw experiences

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  mindmelda

  Oh, you mean how I don't find NASCAR fascinating because it's just one big left turn? LOL

  I just meant that I've never been able to figure out why people catagorize information the way they do as regards to relevancy. To me, everything I learn is pretty fascinating, even if I don't necessarily put stock in it.

  I've decided not to make up my mind about the importance or accuracy of information until AFTER I've analyzed it now, not to make up my mind in advance. I think that I had enough of that tactic as a Witness. Everything being filtered through my advance assumptions is what made me listen to drivel for too many years.

  I just try to take a "wait and see" approach now to information, and I decide for myself what is relevant or accurate knowledge or not, and don't let other people make that decision for me.

  Just because some guy who seems pretty smart has decided that this is the way it is doesn't impress me anymore. I have to prove it to myself through my own learning process before I accept anything anymore.

  I guess I should thank the WTS for making a total skeptic out of me. I don't accept anything until I've looked at it from every possible angle now, not because some egghead believes it's true.

  For instance:

  I bet you all still believe that Einstein first theorized relativity. He didn't. He made it popular and more understandable, but French physicist Henri Poincaré wrote hundreds of papers on it and 30 books long before Einstein.

  Some people think Einstein was just that smart that in spite of not reading much of the information on physics out there that he just came up with relativity on his own, but there's a body of scholars who think old Al might have plagiarized poor Henri's work and taken credit for it.

  It's interesting that Einstein sat studying and discussing the work of Poincaré for years, published a book that featured a theory that was startlingly similar to Poincaré's, and then didn't reference Poincaré once in the entire book. Wait, that isn't interesting? It's plagiarism. It's total bullshit plagiarism.
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  not a captive

  I wish my science teacher had been Mindmelda.
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  upnorth

  I wish my science teacher had been Mindmelda.

  Because she's hot
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  notverylikely

  Believers are always trying to uderstand and "quantify" the nature of God, something far more vast and hard to understand than just the "mere"universe.

  I know. All the beleivers have is a book with the newest information being almost 2000 years old and are stuck with that as what they have to understand despite it's apparent contradictions.

  Scientists have tools and information that is constantly made better.

  Sure there has always been an element of "It is enough to know God", or an element that advocated "don't ask", but the truth is, though vocal, they are the minority.

  That may be true, but they are the ones that get heard. Perception becomes reality.
• 

  JWoods

  Because she's hot

  Probably so, but she really has a mean streak toward Einstein...
• 

  notverylikely

  I bet you all still believe that Einstein first theorized relativity. He didn't. He made it popular and more understandable, but French physicist Henri Poincaré wrote hundreds of papers on it and 30 books long before Einstein.

  Poincare wasn't the first either. Like most scientists, they all built off the work of each other. The theory evolved with each contributing their own ideas, some were accepted and later tossed, some were rejected and later realized to be correct, etc.

  It's interesting that Einstein sat studying and discussing the work of Poincaré for years, published a book that featured a theory that was startlingly similar to Poincaré's, and then didn't reference Poincaré once in the entire book.

  *sigh*....Einsteins first paper came out only three months after poincare's short paper on the subject, but before poincares long papers on it. Einstein did acknowledge poincare in other papers. Why do people love drama and theft and lies when the trust is usually much simpler?
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  notverylikely

  I think we have to come to a point where we say to ourselves that something always existed.

  Why could not that something be energy ?

  It could well have been. Energy and mass are the same thing, after all. But then the question just becomes "what do you mean by 'always'"
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  mindmelda

  Would you like to borrow a cup of humor, Notverylikely, or don't they have that on your planet?

  If you couldn't tell by the writing style that I was being somewhat facetious about Einstein, I'm afraid there's no hope for you in your project to learn Earth culture and customs.

  Please return to the Vulcan Science Academy immediately for reassignment.

  The fact that you don't even GET that I'm basically agreeing with you is hilarious, at least to me. I look forward to your posts, honestly. I'm aware that I tend to phrase things melodramatically and humorously, and part of humor is exaggeration ( I just hate explaining humor, it's so unfunny!). I exaggerate to be funny, not to be inaccurate, although I am. I just don't expect anyone to take me this SERIOUSLY!

  I can be deadly dry, dull and accurate too, but I'm easily bored. But, if you want deadly dull, bring it. I can do that too, I've written a lot of deadly dry essays in the course of things too. I just had no idea I was being graded or that we weren't just bullshitting on an internet forum.

  Yes, I know that Monseiur Henri was one of a few who had postulated relativity. Science tends to converge like that as knowledge on a subject accumulates over time. You'll find that several people will utilize the same groundwork to come up with the same idea, experiement or invention at roughly the same time.

  More than one person came up with automobiles, steam engines, telephones, light bulbs, airplanes and god knows how many other things at around the same time because of converging information and sharing knowledge.

  However, there's still a body of scholars out there that think Einstein faked it, was a big plagiarist and based most of his work on Poincare's. I merely reported that, I didn't say it was the gospel truth. Who the hell could really know, since it was one of those things.
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  snowbird

  Einstein simply tried to stand on the shoulders of giants, one of whom was at his very side, or maybe a couple of steps behind him.

  Mileva Maric. anyone?

  Sylvia
• 

  notverylikely

  Would you like to borrow a cup of humor, Notverylikely, or don't they have that on your planet?

  Wow, you sure don't like it when someone points out that you made an error when you are telling other people they are probably wrong, do you?

  In case you didn't know, it's not the easiest thing in the world to tell when someone is being facetious or humorous in their writing (particularly when they use words like "It's total bullshit plagiarism"), so the generally accepted custom is to use smileys or some other indicator.

  The fact that you don't even GET that I'm basically agreeing with you is hilarious. at least to me. I look forward to your posts. I'm aware that I tend to phrase things melodramatically and humorously, and part of humor is exaggeration ( I just hate explaining humor, it's so unfunny!). I exaggerate to be funny, not to be inaccurate, although I am. I just don't expect anyone to take me this SERIOUSLY!

  Well now that I know that I can read that inflection in. Without knowing it, how could I have been expected to since I don't know you at all?

  I am pretty nice and funny guy, but if I don't KNOW someone is being humorous, I tend to not read it that way. Let's be friends now and enjoy nice big cup of lemon mint iced tea together.