The lesson, Tammy, is we often see what we expect to see and fail to see what we are not tuned in to seeing. Another, related, example is change blindness:
Nickolas
JoinedPosts by Nickolas
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363
So me, of all people, had a religious experience
by sabastious ini was sitting in my garage, as i often do, to chill out and i actually ended up becoming angry.. so here i am, in my garage, kicking it on the stool for the drum set that is in there (i am a pianist/composer, not a drummer).
i start to think about all the crazy stuff that transpires on this planet.
we have all seen shows and heard stories or maybe even witnessed events that don't add up.
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129
The secret things men hate about being men
by FlyingHighNow inthese are hastily thought up facts and then some stereo-typical reasons, in response to sam's why men seldom get depressed thread.
feel free to add ones that have been missed.. men:.
have to shave everyday or they look like miami vice wannabe's.. have to register for the draft.. have to keep up that macho image for their buds.. have to pretend to love beer.. to them, size is an important issue.
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Nickolas
Men:
Have to shave everyday or they look like Miami Vice wannabe's. Bullseye.
Have to register for the draft. Not if they're peace loving Canadians.
Have to keep up that macho image for their buds. Are we talking Budweiser, here?
Have to pretend to love beer. But, but, I do love beer.
To them, size is an important issue. Their brains get twisted in knots wondering if it matters to women. We must be talking about beer guts, right?
Need little blue pills. 40% of men need them after 40 and over 70% need them from 70 on and for some the blamed pills dont' work for them at all. Then, I guess that 100% will need them after 100. Damn. Not looking forward to that.
Blue pills cost at least ten dollars a piece. Unless you buy the Indian knock-offs, then they're a buck and a half.
Men: don't get the credit they deserve for being class A nags. Poor fellas. Think governing body and elders, the champions of the art of nagging. Um, ok.
Men: they get stuck with wives who just never, ever can cook, clean, or bail them out of trouble like their mommies. Mine is a great cook and housekeeper, and never has to bail me out. Now mommy, she was a great nag.
Men: neck ties. Ugh. Two points for you.
They are too proud to ask for directions so they spend 2 years, 45 days, 7.5 hours, 20 seconds driving around lost during their life times. What, exactly, is your point? Stopping to ask directions of strangers has a statistically superior possibility of being carjacked than not stopping. Besides, that's what GPS is for, so long as you can figure out how to change the voice from female to male.
They are not allowed to cry, dammit. Not even when they slam their fingers in the car door. The only time it is okay for men to cry is when their hound dogs die. Or when they spill their beer.
They cannot have tea cup toy poodles with pink toenails, pink ear bows and pierced ears riding around in their pockets. They especially cannot name them Fifi or Chiffon. You were talking about what men hate about being men, weren't you?
Have to button the top button on dress shirts. Only when they're wearing a tie ... 2 1/2 points for you.
Have to pretend they don't love quiche. I eat quiche and I am proud of it. Just don't tell anybody, k?
Have to pretend they come from Mars. Only when processing the looks of females who have that particular expression on their faces when we say something incomprehensible.
Have to pretend they don't watch Hallmark Channel and Oprah. I'd rather go to the dentist. You lose half a point.
Have to pretend they hate Nanci Pelosi and that they love Sarah Palin. You lose another point. You're down to one.
Can get woody at the most inconvenient times. Ok, you win.
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363
So me, of all people, had a religious experience
by sabastious ini was sitting in my garage, as i often do, to chill out and i actually ended up becoming angry.. so here i am, in my garage, kicking it on the stool for the drum set that is in there (i am a pianist/composer, not a drummer).
i start to think about all the crazy stuff that transpires on this planet.
we have all seen shows and heard stories or maybe even witnessed events that don't add up.
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Nickolas
A mystery is exactly what we have here.
Nope, wrong again. A mystery is something that is not explainable, and Sab's experience does not qualify, since it can be rationalised using statistical mathematics. That said, it strikes me as remarkable that some people of faith seem consistently to get their knickers in a knot when people disagree with them, as if they consider themselves infallible. Protesting that you just know something to be true without substantiation is an empty assertion and generally without merit in any discourse. Try it in a court of law.
And, to the subject of eye witness testimony, I offer the following short video.
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Nickolas
Cyber, a birthday to remember..
Hmmm. After his remark about spending a romantic evening with himself, the question is, does Cyber cyber?
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Nickolas
... and a romantic night with myself ...
You'll go blind if you keep doing that. Or get smitten by lightning. Or have to cut off your right hand (Matthew 5:30). Or disfellowshipped. But if you can't get a date, well, what's the harm?
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363
So me, of all people, had a religious experience
by sabastious ini was sitting in my garage, as i often do, to chill out and i actually ended up becoming angry.. so here i am, in my garage, kicking it on the stool for the drum set that is in there (i am a pianist/composer, not a drummer).
i start to think about all the crazy stuff that transpires on this planet.
we have all seen shows and heard stories or maybe even witnessed events that don't add up.
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Nickolas
Your example lacks personal meaning since the crowd was just wowed by a simple pattern of one number over and over. My cards example contains heavy personal significance for two people: my brother and I.
Actually, sab, the connection is statistical, personally interpretive and related. The same number coming up over and over in a lottery draw is similar in effect and perception to familiar card combinations coming up over and over in your poker game. Both are statistically explainable, however remarkable they may seem. When you go about figuring out the odds of those personally significant card combinations coming up, also figure out the odds of other discrete but unfamiliar card combinations coming up and you will find that the numbers are the same.
If you and your brother watched as the deck of cards shuffled itself, you'd have a truly remarkable story to tell and I and others would be completely unable to offer plausible explanations that don't defy the laws of physics and mathematics. This particular recounting doesn't qualify as miraculous. By all means, believe and have faith if you wish, but be careful not to talk yourself into something that isn't there unless it is something you deep down really want to do. Then, well, go ahead. Enjoy the moment.
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A roaring current of change.... Is The Watchtower in the process of a major overhaul of their religion?
by koolaid-man ina roaring current of change..... what is going on at the world headquarters of jehovah's witnesses?
in the last couple of years unprecedented changes in policy, procedure, and doctrine have been coming forth in rapid fire sequence.
this uninterrupted episode of new information is beginning to backfire for the rank and file witnesses.
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Nickolas
the downsizing of the printing facilities were very discouraging to me
The Watchtower didn't downsize their printing operations. They consolidated them a couple of years ago into a single facility in the Georgetown, Ontario bethel with huge, state-of-the-art twin German printing presses capable of producing more than 100,000 impressions per hour. It was an smart economic move.
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Why did Lazarus die a second time ?
by google_mE inanyone know the jw explanation to why did anyone who was resurrected by jesus (or any of the other prophets in the bible), die a second time ?.
were they resurrected imperfect, w/ adamic sin or something ?
was jesus unable to (or chose not to) resurrect them perfectly ?.
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Nickolas
There is no mention in the Bible of what happened to the the resurrected ones, including Lazarus. This is rather odd. Given their extraordinarily remarkable experience, one would think people would be thronging around them asking questions and that their lives would be followed and chronicled. But not even a word about them after their miraculous experiences. That it never happened is testimony to a logical conclusion that it never happened. The Lazarus story is remarkable in other contexts as well. Early Christians referred to Lazareth as the Wandering Jew, who was condemned to walk the earth forever in order to fulfill the folkloric prophecy that Jesus would come again in the lifetime of at least one person who had seen him when he made his first appearance.
All nonsense, of course. If Lazarus was not a ficticious character, there is no evidence to support he ever existed, just as there is no evidence whatsoever that the biblical accounting of his resurrection wasn't ficticious.
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A roaring current of change.... Is The Watchtower in the process of a major overhaul of their religion?
by koolaid-man ina roaring current of change..... what is going on at the world headquarters of jehovah's witnesses?
in the last couple of years unprecedented changes in policy, procedure, and doctrine have been coming forth in rapid fire sequence.
this uninterrupted episode of new information is beginning to backfire for the rank and file witnesses.
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Nickolas
Hey, wasblind. Good to be back, I think. And thank you for your post last month. It was appreciated.
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363
So me, of all people, had a religious experience
by sabastious ini was sitting in my garage, as i often do, to chill out and i actually ended up becoming angry.. so here i am, in my garage, kicking it on the stool for the drum set that is in there (i am a pianist/composer, not a drummer).
i start to think about all the crazy stuff that transpires on this planet.
we have all seen shows and heard stories or maybe even witnessed events that don't add up.
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Nickolas
I read over your play by play carefully, sab, and understand your perception of remarkable coincidence, but I still don't understand your leaning toward a supernatural influence. I remember many years ago a lottery winning number that got everyone all excited. I think it was Lottario. The way it worked, there were 70 balls in a cage, seven zeros, seven ones, seven twos etc, which was tumbled while 7 balls were allowed to fall out of an opening in the cage and arrange themselves in a row. The winning number was 1111111. People got excited, saying "Hey, what are the odds of THAT happening?" but the Lottario Corporation answered by saying "The odds of 1111111 coming up are exactly the same as any other seven digit number coming up."
I'm reminded of the statement made by Albert Einstein - the one people mistakenly interpret as an indication of his theism. He said "God does not play dice." I don't think he plays cards, either.