kid-A

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Posts by kid-A

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  10

  Pre-Historic Video Games for those quiet afternoons....

  by kid-A in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  for anyone that can actually remember these games: pacman, tetris, frogger, space invaders, asteroids...... they are all available here, free and no downloads required:.

  http://www.80smusiclyrics.com/games.shtml.

  man i'm so old...... .

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  kid-A

  Galaxian and Tempest were awesome games....
• 
  10

  Pre-Historic Video Games for those quiet afternoons....

  by kid-A in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  for anyone that can actually remember these games: pacman, tetris, frogger, space invaders, asteroids...... they are all available here, free and no downloads required:.

  http://www.80smusiclyrics.com/games.shtml.

  man i'm so old...... .

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• 

  kid-A

  "How old are you?"

  Sigh....34, Lonely Sheep......Oh to be 28 again!

  Lets put it this way....I used to play Tetris on a coin-operated machine at my local arcade! lol...
• 
  10

  Pre-Historic Video Games for those quiet afternoons....

  by kid-A in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  for anyone that can actually remember these games: pacman, tetris, frogger, space invaders, asteroids...... they are all available here, free and no downloads required:.

  http://www.80smusiclyrics.com/games.shtml.

  man i'm so old...... .

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• 

  kid-A

  For anyone that can actually remember these games: PacMan, Tetris, Frogger, Space Invaders, Asteroids.....

  They are all available HERE, free and no downloads required:

  http://www.80smusiclyrics.com/games.shtml

  man I'm so old.....
• 
  16

  Deception in our food

  by greendawn in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  have you ever thought about the manipulation of our food by the food manufacturers/restauranters?

  how they add artificial flavours to make something taste what it is not?

  isn't this some sort of deception?

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  kid-A

  "Kid-A I thought we were the Aspartates? By the way, is your avatar a young Paul McCartney?"

  LOL....nope, we're "Splenda"......(and splendid!)

  That is a very young Paul McCartney, my last avatar was George Harrison so I am going through all the beatles in this series....next will be Ringo or John....(or Stu Sutcliffe? LOL)

  cant decide!
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  76

  LOVE, ALTRUISM & EVOLUTION

  by Dansk in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i'm an evolutionist.

  one cannot argue that evolution isn't a fact.

  however, i'd be interested in the better informed amongst us here explaining in simple terms how the feeling of love evolved.

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  kid-A

  "To answer bluntly, altruism is the irrational side of man. Man's mind can override what is best for personal survival under certain circumstances."

  > No its not. Altruism evolved for a purpose and was genetically selected for because it benefits THE INDIVIDUAL. You need to read up on game theory, particularly evolutionary game theory. If I am part of a social structure, and ALL hominids have evolved within highly complex social structures, I display altruism towards my conspecifics simply because this altruism will be reciprocated and hence ultimately promote my OWN survival and the passing on of my DNA. Virtually all anthropological studies have confirmed that within primate social structures, "selfish" behaviour invariably leads to expulsion from the group. What is "best" for personal survival is being accepted and PROTECTED by your conspecifics within a social group. Excessive altruism can of course be maladaptive, if there is no reciprocation. However, given the common evolutionary history shared by hominids, some form of reciprocity is virtually guaranteed. Those incapable of altruism are usually weeded out as "sociopaths".

  "I don't see altruism as a benefit at all!"

  >See above, and read Dawkins "The Selfish Gene".

  "So many things humans do because they think (and often don't do it skillfully!) illogically and form values based on misperceptions."

  Yup, and this is just as likely to lead to maladaptive "selfish" behaviours as to maladaptive "altruistic" behaviours.

  "Human emotions stem from the value-setting that goes on as experiences pass through the mind. As I've stated elsewhere: what we don't "consciously" accept as a well-reasoned evaluation and considered opinion causes a default. The default is value-setting that is ill-considered and illogical. It takes many forms, but chiefly; rumor, innuendo, superstition, fable, hearsay, family prejudice, etc."

  > A gross over-generalization of humanity. You've been reading too much Ayn Rand, apparently, LOL...Obviously some people are susceptible to this, but you are using far too broad a brush. In addition, "human emotions" do not "stem" from "value-setting". Values stem from emotional conditioning.

  "Humanity in groups can be quite irrational in behavior. Poor thinking can infect insular groups."

  > Yes of course. However, social isolation is equally unhealthy. Have you heard stories of prisoners in solitary confinement ? Insanity and irrationality quickly develops in the absence of other individuals to serve as psychological and emotional "sounding boards".

  " A grenade lands in a foxhole and one person throws their body over it to absorb the damage rather than everybody dying. This is logical and demonstrates how the attrition redounds to the benefit of one's fellows (valued by friendship and comraderie.)"

  Yes, OK. But how is this altruism "logical" while others are not? What exactly is the "type" of altruism you find to be irrational? (cue drum roll for Ayn Rand cut & paste....lol )

  "Secondly, a parent who must give up something precious to enable their offspring to benefit can be logical too. Parents attach considerable value to their children because the next generation carries on the values of the previous one."

  > Well, not really. Parents attach considerable value to their children because they carry their DNA and genetic heritage forward to further generations, but I did enjoy your sentimentality in that statement!
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  16

  Deception in our food

  by greendawn in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  have you ever thought about the manipulation of our food by the food manufacturers/restauranters?

  how they add artificial flavours to make something taste what it is not?

  isn't this some sort of deception?

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• 

  kid-A

  I liken the JWs to the "Aspartate Religion" : artificial sweetness with carcinogenic properties....
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  6

  You were an atheist, but now you're not. Why?

  by AlmostAtheist in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've spoken to a number of people that used to be atheists, but became believers.

  not all of them in christianity, and not all of them in a personal god of any kind, but believers of some stripe.

  what belief did you wind up with, and why?

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  kid-A

  "the agnostic position is that it is not possible to know one way or another."

  I dont want to sidetrack the discussion, however, if I may ask: Is it possible to "know" if there is a tooth fairy or not" Is it possible to "know" whether there is a Santa Claus or not?

  Is it possible to "know" if there are purple unicorns or not?

  If the answer is "no" it is impossible to factually "know" whether said entities exist, then the agnostic position becomes intellectual nihilism: i.e. We cannot really "know" anything. Why? Because there is as much evidence (perhaps even more) for the the 3 characters I listed above as there is for a supreme deity. Equally so, there is as much evidence to suggest that ALL of the above entities were creations of the human mind, and human culture.

  If the answer is "yes", it IS possible to factually "know" that these characters do not exist. Then the agnostic position is completely non-generalizable and only applicable to the question of the existence or non-existence of a "deity". In this case, "agnosticism" becomes a circumscribed "belief" system devoted specifically to the question of god, and has no practical application to any other epistomological realm.

  In summary, if it is not possible to know whether or not there is a "GOD", than it is equally impossible to know about the possible existence of Leprechauns, Goblins, Bugs Bunny, Xanadu, or any other "potential" reality.
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  49

  Stuck in a dead-end job because of obeying anti-higher education policy?

  by nvrgnbk in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  did you refrain from obtaining a degree or advanced studies when you had the chance because it wasn't the witness thing to do?

  how has this affected your life?

  comments, rants, and personal experiences please.

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  kid-A

  No, but I was very lucky. My JW parents actually supported me all the way to my Doctoral degree. I worked part-time and summers for my tuition, but I had no problems with that.

  I was in a very liberal congregation and really didnt get any flack about being in University. My parents are still active JWs and actually do take

  tremendous pride in my accomplishments in neuroscience research. My mom even keeps a scrapbook with all my journal publications, newspaper articles, etc.
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  6

  You were an atheist, but now you're not. Why?

  by AlmostAtheist in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've spoken to a number of people that used to be atheists, but became believers.

  not all of them in christianity, and not all of them in a personal god of any kind, but believers of some stripe.

  what belief did you wind up with, and why?

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  kid-A

  Personally, I have never known any reconstituted believers that formally claimed atheism, however I have heard of cases like this.

  IMHO, those who return to a belief in the supernatural and particularly a belief in a judaeo-christian type "GOD", were never really atheists to begin with, merely

  agnostics, living in a philosophical 'limbo'. Real atheism results from a cataclysmic psychological epiphany from which there is no turning back. It is in many ways

  a very profound "eureka" moment of clarity and freedom that is deeply rewarding. For a real atheist, reverting to a belief in god would be tantamount

  to reverting to a belief in Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy after realizing that these are fictional, culturally constructed characters.
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  19

  Isn't it amazing ... how many Christians chose to ignore the OT...?

  by needproof in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i read this funny article about the god of the old testament, and i thought how amazing it was that some christians seemingly chose to ignore this brutal god of war, yahweh, as though in the nt, he suddenly had a change of heart.

  the deity is clearly a maniac with a bloodthirst.

  here is the article: .

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  kid-A

  The merging of the old and new testaments is one of the most bizarre literary conflagrations in the history of humanity.