Posts by MadGiant

35

Do You Think That Animals Truly Understand Human Language?

by minimus in

jw
friends

they say horses communicate with their ears.

mr. ed talked, though.

pet owners, do you think that your cat or dog or goldfish really understands you?.

MadGiant

Nope: Theory of mind refers to a creature understanding that other beings have different perceptions, and that those perceptions can be valuable. It's a shockingly advanced societal concept.

But dogs:
http://m.livescience.com/5093-dogs-catch-human-yawns.html

http://m.livescience.com/20823-canine-comfort-dogs-understand-emotion.html

http://redwood.berkeley.edu/bruno/animal-eyes/left-gase-bias-in-dogs.pdf

http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1865847,00.html

http://m.psychologytoday.com/blog/canine-corner/201111/do-dogs-feel-jealousy-and-envy

http://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(11)01393-5

Ismael

29

Would You Convert to Islam to Avoid getting Your Head Chopped Off? Atheist to Polytheist, what say you?

by BucketShopBill in

would you convert to islam if they were holding your head on a ax block, ready to swing the ax or sword to cut your head off?

we know there are people who died for their political and spiritual values, would you convert to islam to avoid death?

for atheists, can you justify conversion to preserve life since there is no life after death?

MadGiant

Oh, and by the way, it's happening as we speak.

http://www.yourmiddleeast.com/columns/article/interview-with-a-saudi-atheist_11146

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2014/07/09/in-the-middle-east-some-atheists-fake-fast-during-ramadan-to-avoid-detection/

http://atheistuniverse.net/m/group?id=6381005%3AGroup%3A5421

29

Would You Convert to Islam to Avoid getting Your Head Chopped Off? Atheist to Polytheist, what say you?

by BucketShopBill in

would you convert to islam if they were holding your head on a ax block, ready to swing the ax or sword to cut your head off?

we know there are people who died for their political and spiritual values, would you convert to islam to avoid death?

for atheists, can you justify conversion to preserve life since there is no life after death?

MadGiant

"Atheists, can you justify conversion to preserve life since there is no life after death?" -

Yes, I'm not dying for an imaginary friend.

Swear allegiance to the flag, whatever flag they offer
Never hint at what you really feel
Teach the children quietly, for someday sons and daughters
Will rise up and fight while we stood still

Mike & The Mechanics - Silent Running

Ismael

16

I had a Tarot card reading

by LisaRose in

jw
friends

so, i am in washinton state visiting my son and his family and we went to a concert that had a fortune tellers booth, actually a gypsy wagon.

i decided to do something no jw would ever do, have a tarot card reading.

i wasn't really expecting anything, as i don't believe they are connected with the satan, but i don't believe they can actually read your future either.

MadGiant

" I feel like I just had a reading. All that applies to me as well (not the specifics you gave, but the generalities of what the reader gave you)." - One

Cold reading is a technique used by mentalists and fortune tellers, psychics, and mediums to determine details about another person in order to convince them that the reader knows a great deal more about a subject than he or she actually does. Even without prior knowledge of a person, a practiced cold reader can still quickly obtain a great deal of information about the subject by carefully analyzing the person’s body language, clothing or fashion, hairstyle, gender, sexual orientation, religion, race or ethnicity, level of education, manner of speech, place of origin, etc. Cold readers commonly employ high probability guesses about the subject, quickly picking up on signals from their subjects as to whether their guesses are in the right direction or not, and then emphasizing and reinforcing any chance connections the subjects acknowledge while quickly moving on from missed guesses.

Hot reading is the use of foreknowledge when giving a “psychic” reading in stage magic performances. The reader can gather information about the sitter (person getting the reading) through a variety of means, such as research or overhearing a conversation. Hot reading is commonly practiced in conjunction with cold reading (where no foreknowledge is available) and can explain how a psychic reader can get a specific claimed “hit” of accurate information.

Ismael

70

Is there any good (im serious) in this religion JW

by dugout in

jw
friends

i know this has been talked about in the past but im new here..

MadGiant

"Maybe you should.. milk and poison often work quite well together." - Dis-Member

You are missing more that a point. But in my metaphoric example, the milk is already poisoned. Even if the poison represented only a small percentage of the whole, drinking more milk means, drinking more poison.

Take care,

Ismael

15

Communication with minds of people (alive or dead) is possible!

by exWTslave in

there are people who mock at the reports of ndes and communication from the dead and so on.

things are changing now!

a new finding has discovered that the whole universe is intimately interconnected.

MadGiant

"If we bring it down to the level of our minds, then the same thing should be applicable. We're all connected too."-

I don't know how you read so deep into the article. With all due respect, we are NOT linked up. We might share a few genes, relatives, friends, likes/dislikes, society, but that's more or less it. We are individual entities, your mind and what is in it, belongs to you and only you.

Quantum physics is absurdly accurate in describing the motion of particles and subatomic particles. Classical physics and Quantum Physics don't agree mathematically.
Particles are proven to behave as waves, meaning they are in several positions of space AT THE SAME TIME. This is called Superposition. It is also called badass.

To grossly simplify it, on a scale smaller than atoms, the quantum level, everything suddenly turns into a goddamn circus. Quantum physics has nothing to do with everyday physics. We're talking particles popping in and out of existence, being in two places at the same time, and generally acting like a-holes. And even though quantum physics appears to be the closest science has ever come to prove magic exists, there is no such thing as magic.

Ismael

70

Is there any good (im serious) in this religion JW

by dugout in

jw
friends

i know this has been talked about in the past but im new here..

MadGiant

I employed this metaphor a couple of days back:

Suppose that you see a friend about to drink a poisoned glass of milk, even if the poison represented only a small percentage of the whole. Should I include the nutritional aspects of the milk in my warning?

Ismael

2

The Watchtower on Science and Medicine

by Lee Elder in

new article that will help you understand the watchtower's thinking.

during the era when it formulated its blood ban:.

http://ajwrb.org/science/the-watchtower-on-science-and-medicine.

MadGiant

Edited

106

If you thought Tony Moris the Third was extreme, wait till you hear this other GB member!

by Island Man in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqzc2m8_mba&list=uus0vqkpnsxult0gsz6ahpta.

MadGiant

1. Was this something local or something that was broadcasted throughout the congregations?
2. Does someone how was actually there, had an impression from any female who heard the actual talk?
3. Is this guy for real?
4. When was that recorded?

Ismael

21

Why do Atheists Celebrate Christmas

by givemejustalittlemoretime in

scientist and atheist richard dawkins has admitted he does celebrate christmas - and enjoys singing traditional christmas carols each festive season.. the writer and evolutionary biologist told singer jarvis cocker that he happily wishes everyone a merry christmas - and used to have a tree when his daughter was younger.. dawkins, one of the most famous atheists in the world, was interviewed by sheffield born cocker when he stepped in as a christmas guest editor on radio four's today programme.. 'i am perfectly happy on christmas day to say merry christmas to everybody,' dawkins said.

'i might sing christmas carols - once i was privileged to be invited to kings college, cambridge, for their christmas carols and loved it.. read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1100842/why-i-celebrate-christmas-worlds-famous-atheist.html#ixzz39dwxid00 ?.

MadGiant

Wait, I have a stupid question.

Why christians celebrate Saturnalia?

Roman pagans first introduced the holiday of Saturnalia, a week long period of lawlessness celebrated between December 17-25. During this period, Roman courts were closed, and Roman law dictated that no one could be punished for damaging property or injuring people during the weeklong celebration. The festival began when Roman authorities chose “an enemy of the Roman people” to represent the “Lord of Misrule.” Each Roman community selected a victim whom they forced to indulge in food and other physical pleasures throughout the week. At the festival’s conclusion, December 25th, Roman authorities believed they were destroying the forces of darkness by brutally murdering this innocent man or woman.

In the 4th century CE, Christianity imported the Saturnalia festival hoping to take the pagan masses in with it. Christian leaders succeeded in converting to Christianity large numbers of pagans by promising them that they could continue to celebrate the Saturnalia as Christians.

So, as I mentioned before, association.

Ismael