cognisonance

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Posts by cognisonance

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  21

  WT Library being edited

  by berrygerry in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i thought that wt would have started doing this, but i have not noticed any posts before.. can anyone confirm (post is from fb)?.

  so i have been looking up these different articles to read for myself...one problem.the last time we got a disc was 2015 and i used my mil's disc to down load it to my computer.

  they did a update to it last year over the internet, the program updated it's self.

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  cognisonance

  Errata corrections are sometimes documented. The "glue-in sheet" also happened with the Revelation book as I remember. However, changing and removing content without documenting this publicly is very different from how normal publishing works. Most publishers make a point to show what was changed, updated, or corrected (not try to hide it whenever they can).
  
  Additionally, why is there a need for any errata-like corrections if the writings come from men that are led by the spirit of a perfect god? Seems god choose obtuse nincompoops to communicate with (which then seems to be a contradiction of god being perfect [otherwise he'd have chosen better], these men being spirt-led, or god existing at all).
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  36

  Jupiter protects the earth... another example of intellectual dishonesty and an argument against design

  by cognisonance in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i'm taking a university astronomy course, and i must say it's really fun to read about this field.

  anyway, i remember the jws used to use jupiter (and probably still do) as an example for how unique and special our solar system is (and thus designed) -- namely, that jupiter protects the earth from astroids, comets, and meteors.

  convincing if one doesn't know any better, especially circa 1994 when jupiter stepped in front of a comet for us... but this isn't the full story!

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  cognisonance

  Wake Me Up, Andromeda merging with the Milky Way is unlikely to affect our Solar System (or earth) in a negative way. The space between stars in these galaxies is vast. A collision really would just move the location of our star, or even expel it (and the solar system) out into space, but it should remain intact nonetheless.

  Now about a billion years after our galaxies begin to merge the sun will run out of fuel which won't be good for the earth at all!
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  36

  Jupiter protects the earth... another example of intellectual dishonesty and an argument against design

  by cognisonance in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i'm taking a university astronomy course, and i must say it's really fun to read about this field.

  anyway, i remember the jws used to use jupiter (and probably still do) as an example for how unique and special our solar system is (and thus designed) -- namely, that jupiter protects the earth from astroids, comets, and meteors.

  convincing if one doesn't know any better, especially circa 1994 when jupiter stepped in front of a comet for us... but this isn't the full story!

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  cognisonance

  I'm taking a university Astronomy course, and I must say it's really fun to read about this field.

  Anyway, I remember the JWs used to use Jupiter (and probably still do) as an example for how unique and special our solar system is (and thus designed) -- namely, that Jupiter protects the earth from astroids, comets, and meteors. Convincing if one doesn't know any better, especially circa 1994 when Jupiter stepped in front of a comet for us... but this isn't the full story! For example, Deborah Byrd on the astronomy website EarthSky mentions:

  But Jupiter creates both good and bad conditions for earthly life. Consider that its powerful gravity prevented space rocks orbiting near it from coalescing into a planet, and that’s why our solar system today has an asteroid belt, consisting of hundreds of thousands of small flying chunks of debris.

  Today, Jupiter’s gravity continues to affect the asteroids – only now it nudges some asteroids toward the sun, where they have the possibility of colliding with Earth.

  So Jupiter sometimes use it's gravitational pull as a sling shot aiming rocks towards earth! That doesn't sound like particularly good design now does it? If the solar system was created, then wouldn't a perfect god have seen to it that his invader defense system doesn't sometimes cause the very problem it was "meant" to protect against?
  
  Works Cited:
  
  Byrd, Deborah. “Is It True That Jupiter Protects Earth?” EarthSky, EarthSky, 25 Nov. 2015, earthsky.org/space/is-it-true-that-jupiter-protects-earth. Accessed 10 July 2017.
  
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  21

  WT Library being edited

  by berrygerry in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i thought that wt would have started doing this, but i have not noticed any posts before.. can anyone confirm (post is from fb)?.

  so i have been looking up these different articles to read for myself...one problem.the last time we got a disc was 2015 and i used my mil's disc to down load it to my computer.

  they did a update to it last year over the internet, the program updated it's self.

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  cognisonance

  If true, why doesn't this sound of alarm bells to those that believe?
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  116

  What is behind your choice of forum user name?

  by stuckinarut2 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  just curious how we all think.. what prompted or influenced your choice of username for this forum?.

  there are some really amazing names, and it would be great to hear the stories behind them.... mine was nothing fancy.

  i just felt "stuck in a rut too" along with so many others.

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  cognisonance

  Cognisonance = Cognitive Dissonance. I went through a lot of it when waking up.
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  9

  Before attempting to persuade someone that life evolved, first discuss genetics.

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the reasoning behind the thread''s title was developed by a team looking at the teaching of evolution.

  "the team, led by professor laurence hurst at the milner centre for evolution, university of bath hypothesised that since core concepts of genetics (such as dna and mutation) are so intimately linked to the core concepts of evolution, then priming students with genetics information might help their understanding of evolution.

  more at: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170523144131.htm.

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  cognisonance

  I don't think that approach would help JWs as it's geared towards high school students. Additionally the acceptance rates were unchanged by the order of instruction, only the test scores. Instead I'd recommend Jerry Coyne's Why Evolution is True for anyone that is a JW.
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  66

  Huffington Post: When Is A Religion 'Extremist'? [Food for thought!]

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/when-is-a-religion-extremist_us_590de8e3e4b046ea176aeb98.

  tim rymel, m.ed.. governments who support “religious freedom” over the equal human rights and dignity of others condone, and even endorse discrimination.. 05/06/2017 11:27 am et | photo – flickr/ justin kern .

  government endorsement of any religious ideology creates religious extremism.

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  cognisonance

  Chill Simon! Your responses on this site come off crass and pedantic more often than not. I used to enjoy this site, but I find your behavior and attitude to often be so demeaning to others. Why do this?
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  18

  Violent Games/Movie

  by Saethydd in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  all through my childhood, i was told about the evils of violence (and magic) in entertainment, i doubt i could count the number of movies and video games i wasn't allowed to enjoy for that very reason.

  i did always watch movies and play video games with a certain amount of violence in them, but i was careful to keep it at the teen/pg-13 rating.. in the last year or so though i've started trying out games like skyrim, fallout 3, and thief.

  (since i still live with my parents i'm careful about where and when i play them.

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  cognisonance

  I think Finkelstein is correct here. I too researched this topic and came across a meta analysis on the topic that essentially came to this same conclusion. No effect of on the vast majority, but damaging to unstable personalities. But I also recall another meta analysis claiming there is an effect on everyone, not just unstable personalities. This was many years ago. Seems there is more recent research on this topic:
  
  Seems looking up the references in this report would be a good place to start.
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  5

  Ex-JW's on NPR

  by Mum in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  yesterday i was listening to the radio at work as usual.

  i listen to npr (national public radio) on most days.

  there was a report about some ex-jw's who were "daring to dream" again.

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  cognisonance

  Found it. It was on All Things Considered (Lack Of Education Leads To Lost Dreams And Low Income For Many Jehovah's Witnesses).
  
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  29

  The true cost of being raised as a witness

  by stuckinarut2 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  how do you view your upbringing as a witness?.

  most of us who were raised as witnesses would appreciate that some aspects of our upbringing were ok. a foundation and measure of stability came with it.. but, it struck me too, that we also lost so very much!

  and we lost a lot of potential.. by this i mean, we need to look at not just what we lost, or what was deprived of us, but what that ended up costing us as adults into the future.. if i take $10 from you, you have lost just $10.. but, if you were going to use that $10 to buy something that would end up earning you $1000, then i actually took $1000 from you!.

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  cognisonance

  I think that being raised as a JW generally tends to restrict our opportunities economically, just like being raised poor, as a minority (discrimination), to single parent households, or in a low GDP-country. It sucks, especially if your upbringing includes many of these categories. I still think I was relatively lucky as I only had the JW-factor to deal with.
  
  I did go to college, but just to get a 2-year degree and much of that was earned while I was still in high school with a program that double counted college and HS credits. I always wanted to be a scientist even as a little kid, so I regret not going farther in my education, that is I wish I would have spent most of my 20s in college. I didn't leave the JWs until I was 28 and instead pioneered during most of my 20s. I could have had a PhD by now, but instead I'm working full time and going to school part-time and still have a couple years left to finish my undergrad. If I pursue a PhD I'll be doing so in my mid-thirties and would need to incur great opportunity costs from lost wages (I have a good paying job now already). Or... I'd end up spending 10 years doing a PhD part time. Neither sounds ideal.
  
  So in my case, the cost is not so much in terms of lost income/savings potential, or never getting an education, but one more so of just wasting the first decade of my life knocking on doors and making it harder to do what I really want to do in life since my peers (among those that love science) all have a 10-year head start (and lower salary requirements).