Posts by Alpaca

44

For the Atheists... I Need some Answers....

by AllTimeJeff in

i proudly admit at the start of this that i am very non supportive of organized religion, the bible, worshipping jesus and the like.

i have frequently argued against theistic themes, joining atheists in their arguements.

i view most religion as a cynical system of power for their religious leaders.. yet i am not an atheist.

Alpaca

The theist and the atheist are the same person looking at each other in the mirror.

There is no way to prove or disprove the existence of God or whatever other label you want to put on the subject of the debate.

I don't think you can really do any better (if you are being thoroughly honest) than agnosticism. We weigh the evidence for there being a god...there isn't any...we put the results on the shelf...and there it sits...

I think about this stuff every single day. There is more evidence that god doesn't exist than evidence that she/he does exist. The best I can do is place myself on the continuum of doubt--the evidence shows that there is about 98.5% chance that god does not exist. However, it would be presumptuous to say that there is a 100% chance that god doesn't exist--how could I possibly know that?

Bottom line: All I can claim is agnosticism--not enough evidence one way or the other, but a strong indication that god probably does not exist.

27

New Archimedes writings discovered. Calculus existed in antiquity.

by BurnTheShips in

a palimpsest discovered.

the ancient greeks had a grip on calculus.. pretty amazing.. http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/8974/title/a_prayer_for_archimedes.

bts.

Alpaca

This is acutually a little dated info. About 2 to 3 years ago PBS had a NOVA special devoted to this subject. It was fascinating and if you have a chance to watch it you should.

One can only speculate where technology would be (at least 2,000 years ahead of where we are now) if the concept of calculus had not been buried for so many centuries.

13

Why do ex-Dubs become either liberal or conservative?

by Alpaca in

jw
friends

i am just curious about what factors have made you find your niche in either the liberal or the conservative mindset.. for myself, even when i was a dub i almost always found liberal arguments much more persuasive than those of conservative thinkers.

i attributed it, in part, to my dub-shaped thinking...i.e., the desire to see people living in peace, the fair distribution of resources and wealth, enough food, clothing and adequate housing for all, etc.. personally, i think that liberal thinking is more mature thinking.

here is why: i believe that liberals are generally willing to look at a bigger picture of things and peer down the road to anticpate the tomorrow's ramifications for the things we do today.. some of the discussions on this board, where it is impossible to escape taking a stand as a liberal or a conservative, have turned into bizarre screaming matches between the participants.

Alpaca

Many of the issues that confront the human species have some scientific component.

Science is a search for the truth...period. Sometimes I don't think conservatives appreciate that.

In the purest sense, for a scientist there is no agenda, no "position" to defend, science just wants reasonable answers to reasonable questions.

Does this mission get subverted? Of course it does. But, in the end science and the quest for truth prevails and our understanding of the world and its processes continues to grow.

It is interesting to see the differences in how liberals and conservatives weigh scientific information.

67

Global Warming Is Irreversible, Study Says

by Alpaca in

we are in for a very rough ride in the coming decades.. this was reported on npr:.

all things considered,january 26, 2009 climate change is essentially irreversible, according to a sobering new scientific study.. as carbon dioxide emissions continue to rise, the world will experience more and more long-term environmental disruption.

the damage will persist even when, and if, emissions are brought under control, says study author susan solomon, who is among the world's top climate scientists.. "we're used to thinking about pollution problems as things that we can fix," solomon says.

Alpaca

Hemp lover,

The Republican attack on science (see Chris Mooney's book) waged in the media and begun before the Bush administration's tenure, has had a far reaching effect on the mindset of many who don't bother to actually investigate and weigh the science.

I feel your frustration.

Alex

13

Why do ex-Dubs become either liberal or conservative?

by Alpaca in

jw
friends

i am just curious about what factors have made you find your niche in either the liberal or the conservative mindset.. for myself, even when i was a dub i almost always found liberal arguments much more persuasive than those of conservative thinkers.

i attributed it, in part, to my dub-shaped thinking...i.e., the desire to see people living in peace, the fair distribution of resources and wealth, enough food, clothing and adequate housing for all, etc.. personally, i think that liberal thinking is more mature thinking.

here is why: i believe that liberals are generally willing to look at a bigger picture of things and peer down the road to anticpate the tomorrow's ramifications for the things we do today.. some of the discussions on this board, where it is impossible to escape taking a stand as a liberal or a conservative, have turned into bizarre screaming matches between the participants.

Alpaca

I am just curious about what factors have made you find your niche in either the liberal or the conservative mindset.

For myself, even when I was a Dub I almost always found liberal arguments much more persuasive than those of conservative thinkers. I attributed it, in part, to my Dub-shaped thinking...i.e., the desire to see people living in peace, the fair distribution of resources and wealth, enough food, clothing and adequate housing for all, etc.

Personally, I think that liberal thinking is more mature thinking. Here is why: I believe that liberals are generally willing to look at a bigger picture of things and peer down the road to anticpate the tomorrow's ramifications for the things we do today.

Some of the discussions on this board, where it is impossible to escape taking a stand as a liberal or a conservative, have turned into bizarre screaming matches between the participants. Or, at the very least the comments are oftern just blatantly insultive.What's up with that???

Among ex-Dubs, I would have expected a little more reasonable, measured thought about issues instead of the close-minded Dub-type of blanket condemnation of any viewpoint at odds with a person's own views.

I am sure I will receive a ration of sh!t for my comments...oh well, it is what it is.

28

Thankful Not To Be An Elder Anymore ( KM)

by metatron in

jw
friends

i count my blessings.

i picked up a kingdom ministry for february and saw, once again, the mindless horror that the organization has evolved into.

there's the grade school reading level.

Alpaca

I gotta' agree.

If cogintive dissonance is bad for the average Dub it is 100 times as bad for any elder who actually takes his reponsibilities seriously. I always felt like such a hypocrite when I was an elder, even though I was doing everything by the book and actually pouring all of my energy into doing a good job.

In retrospect, it could very well be that the higher level of cognitive dissonance that I experienced as an elder (as opposed to when I was a publisher without any substantial responsibility) was the catalyst that sent me over the edge.

Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty free at last!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I really don't believe in God, but I love the feel of the chant.

4

Watching the World: Feb 2009 - Society reports 44% switch religions but omits JW retention rate

by truthseeker in

jw
friends

in the february 2009 issue of awake!, the watching the world article reports:.

"according to the pew forum on religion and public life, "44% of adults have either switched religious affiliation, moved from being unaffiliated with any religion to being affiliated with a particular faith, or dropped any connection to a specific religious tradition altogether.

is this report true, and if so did the society leave anything out of the pew forum on religion and public life?.

Alpaca

Interesting.

Without retaining "born-in" Dubs, I honestly don't see the BORG lasting.

The BORG is a shadow of its self when it was in its heyday of growth and zeal in the 1960s. There is another active thread that talks about the pathetic caliber of the writing in the publications and the mind-numbing Q&A format (with the pre-programed answers provided) for many of the meeting parts. And, with the concept gone of the 'generation of 1914 not passing away before the end would come'--there is no urgency of purpose.

Of course, the internet is the biggie. Now, kids are exposed to the internet and are taught how to research things at school from the earliest grades. The BORG is trying to hold back a flood of damning information with the proverbial finger in the dike. Eventually, they will be overwhelmed.

9

10 Sure-Fire Ways to Be a Complete Failure At Everything

by SixofNine in

jw
friends

10 sure-fire ways to be a complete failure at everythingsuccess.. .

whatever that word means to you, its probably something youve been chasing for a while.

by now, youve read about scrambling to the top of your career ladder, how to get the partner of your dreams, how to achieve your goals.

Alpaca

My favorite is embodied in a new word added to the English language by the Washington Post a couple of years ago:

multislacking--when you are getting absolutly nothing done in any area of your life.

12

The internet and new coverts

by hubert in

jw
friends

i wince when i hear how many of you ex-jw's have finally woke up after serving the watchtower society for 10, 20, 30, even 40 years!.

i realize that was because before the internet, there wasn't much information available to research the j.w.

"religion", so it was easier for the j.w.

Alpaca

Why are you wincing? It's a good thing.

Information has always been the force that has threatened the entrenched and the established.

What cracks me up is the BORG's criticism of the Catholic Church for their hold on knowledge in the middle ages and the way that they were forced to relent during the Renaissance.

44

This is so cool it made me cry

by beksbks in

mr. b's pancake house staff works for free to help bossby susan harrison wolffis | the muskegon chronicle monday january 26, 2009, 10:51 pmlead server, mary vandam, picks up orders from the kitchen.

vandam suggested employees at mr. b's to work for free last sunday to help the financial situation at the restaurant after customer traffic slowed.photo slideshow see more photos after the jump.in a world yearning for good news, meet mary vandam who decided to help out her boss during tough economic times by working a sunday shift for free.. then, just to put icing on the cake, she convinced her fellow employees at mr. b's pancake house to do the same.. a week ago, 17 restaurant employees -- servers, cooks, busboys, dishwashers, cashiers and hostesses -- worked exclusively for tips, so owner dave barham could trim the payroll.. "isn't that something?

" he asked.. dave and lisa barham own mr. b's pancake house.

Alpaca

Yes it's cool...

I've been in that position....as a business owner you are the last one to get paid. At the end of the week, you write the checks...what ever is left is what you get.

BTS is still on the road ... he'll get there some day...at least he's thinking about this stuff.