It's pointing out the inconsistency of English spelling vs. pronunciation. Gallagher actually has a bit on this that I really enjoyed as a kid.
Apognophos
JoinedPosts by Apognophos
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8
Even when you're right - it's still possible to make bad arguments.
by Coded Logic induring heated debates people - who are normaly quite rational - often start employing bad reasoning.
it's important that when we're emotionaly invested in a topic we don't let our feelings destroy our ability to put forth valid arguments.
the best way to bring people to our side of a debate is by using good logic.
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Apognophos
Yes, that was my experience too, Vidiot. When I realized that the Society's arguments against evolution were specious, it led me to research the topic more fully. Unfortunately I allowed creationist sites to lead me astray. I think I still wanted to believe in creationism, so I let their arguments hold more sway with me than they deserved.
That being said, the conclusion of my research was that I saw both sides of the issue as being equally likely, rather than deciding firmly on creationism. So it definitely was the beginning of a mental move away from the "truth", especially because I had to rely on non-Watchtower arguments to support my position once I had seen how little the Society's writers knew about evolution and how little interest they had in representing it fairly (Ken Ham makes those guys look bad, and that's saying a lot).
I spent some time yesterday going through a couple of threads and I realized that there was no way that either a free exchange of thought or a fair an unbiased discussion could continue. It was kind of dis heartening because I wanted to jump in but I then realized that it would be like walking in front of a moving train.
I would just suggest that people are this way everywhere. How many people have you seen discussing Ferguson rationally outside of this board? Five percent? So why should this forum be an exception to human emotionality? I don't actually know which discussions you're referring to, and you might not mean any of the more politically-charged ones, but in those cases at least, I'm not surprised when people cannot temper their emotions. It's sadly just humans being humans.
Personally I don't even read those topics, much less participate. Once someone responds rudely to one's post, it's hard to remain calm and not retaliate, so I prefer to avoid emotionally-charged topics altogether (though sometimes I get caught in a topic that turns emotional, and it gets to me too). It's also true that there is probably more pent-up anger among the users here than on an average forum, just because of our experiences. See this topic for a very telling insight into the board's mindset, as an example: http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/experiences/284727/1/I-loathe-authority
That being said, sometimes it's fun to jump in front of (imaginary) trains It can't actually hurt you. Why not just dive in and offer your opinion? Expressing oneself freely is a nice change of pace from being a Witness, and especially from being at Bethel, right? Odds are, a few members will appreciate what you have to say. Sometimes it takes one person to speak up first; then they find that others chime in to support them. And even if the discussion goes south, don't worry; people generally don't seem to remember who said what a month later.
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Another subliminal picture in the WT!!!!
by DATA-DOG ini just happend to wonder if the current issue had any hidden goodies.
imagine my delight!.
a gold star to the first person to correctly identify the image!.
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Apognophos
I don't care for unsupported assertions that make the community look bad. Assertions such as the old "subliminal advertising" urban legend. Subliminal images in advertising have hardly ever been used, and they're hardly effective in tests.
When you look objectively at this situation and realize that none of you are seeing the same image, but you all are seeing nefarious things, you have an opportunity to step outside yourselves and learn something about the way the mind works. You've already been given the link to the Pareidolia article to learn about this trick that the brain plays on us.
The black man's arm that accidentally looked phallic also looked a lot like an arm, as it so happens. He was either replaced because the JW used as a model was DFed or because people kept saying his arm looked like a penis. That doesn't mean it was intentional. Do you really think the brother who painted that was willing to risk his livelihood at Bethel to sneak a massive phallus into his work? Think logically. The average age of the painters is probably 50 or older, last time I was there.
You know, the Art department is not a mysterious place full of shadowy figures. It's all laid out in the open, with small offices for each painter. The brothers are assigned a subject and they start off painting it the way they like. Then they receive notes from a supervisor who is humorless and orthodox and who may tell them to adjust some parts for doctrinal or prudish reasons. No one is telling them "Hide a goat face here". The idea is laughable.
This is a well-known reaction that occurs when people are resentful of those in power and make bad-faith assumptions. People who have worked in government know how unlikely most government conspiracy theories are. The biggest adherents to those theories are the people who are furthest from the center of power and know the least about the subject. The same thing is occurring here.
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I tripped into a JW literature cart
by diana netherton ini wasn't looking where i put my feet, and i almost took the cart out!
anyway, i stopped and chatted with the people for a bit.
three women and a man -- an elder and his wife.
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Apognophos
I agree, simply being a friendly person is its own kind of anti-witness because it avoids playing into the "embittered apostate looking for followers" stereotype. It could get Witnesses thinking who would not be made to think by a confrontational ex-Witness who came over to argue doctrine with them.
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Another subliminal picture in the WT!!!!
by DATA-DOG ini just happend to wonder if the current issue had any hidden goodies.
imagine my delight!.
a gold star to the first person to correctly identify the image!.
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Apognophos
I don't rule out the possibility of someone having once hidden an image in some artwork for mischief, but it's unlikely. These aren't young mischievous brothers doing the paintings, they're generally older, trusted brothers who take their work seriously.
Apog, I haven't really noticed any indication that anybody believes there is some kind of conspiracy.
You must not have read the post on the top of this very page then. This pareidolic bullshit does lead directly into the notion that the WT is trying to program people with images, and you guys can't even agree what you are seeing. I'm embarrassed to be on this forum right now and will absolutely speak out when I see this foolishness, regardless of what you guys feel about it.
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103
Another subliminal picture in the WT!!!!
by DATA-DOG ini just happend to wonder if the current issue had any hidden goodies.
imagine my delight!.
a gold star to the first person to correctly identify the image!.
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Apognophos
This is worse than I thought.
Just a little food for thought: Does the JW religion attract people who are prone to conspiratorial thinking? Does it actually encourage paranoia through its teachings about a world controlled by Satan and secretly infested with demons, and the future Great Tribulation?
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Psychological Effects of Color
by RedPillPopper infor item #1 check out the color for trust.
totally ironic and you know the borg chose this on purpose.. .
http://goweloveit.info/entertainment/these-8-psychological-facts-will-help-you-understand-a-lot-more-about-life-5-is-a-game-changer/?utm_source=taboola&utm_medium=referral.
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Apognophos
So the gray cover of the new NWT is an attempt at JWs exhibiting a more neutral and calming presence
Either that or the gray means "this gray leather was really cheap in bulk" I actually have no idea why they would think the gray would be appealing, but they're doubling down by making the new songbook gray too.
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Creationist Should Dismiss Genesis Quickly
by Coded Logic inchris tann,.
in your earlier post you seemed to be under the impression that genesis and science were somehow compatible .
however, the truth is the two are not reconcilable at all.
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Apognophos
Seriously, what definition of "complex" or "complexity" are you using?
Physical complexity. The arrangement of molecules in the computer or the brain. The amount of information a network contains is constant if all nodes in that network have a value regardless of whether those values have meaning to a human or other intelligence.
You keep bringing up "interaction". If it's essential for you to know where the interaction is, it's between the molecules making up a compound and between the atoms making up the molecules, and between the sub-atomic particles making up the atoms. Those interactions will of course change when data passes through them, but the number of interactions between particles, the complexity, is not increasing. In order for this to be the case, the network would have to develop new nodes.
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Creationist Should Dismiss Genesis Quickly
by Coded Logic inchris tann,.
in your earlier post you seemed to be under the impression that genesis and science were somehow compatible .
however, the truth is the two are not reconcilable at all.
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Apognophos
It's not absurd. It's merely counter-intuitive . . . just like every other part of quantum mechanics.
I don't mean "absurd" in a way that deprecates the concept. I know that our intuition is suited for the environment we evolved in and it can't be expected to hold true for all environments. I just mean "absurd" in that, as you said, it's counter-intuitive and does not seem satisfying.
And it certainly doesn't give you license to put forth the arguement, "well this one aspect of reality seems absurd to me - so I can postulate whatever absurd thing I like."
I think you misunderstood me. I was intending to say that I do not believe there is yet enough evidence that the universe developed that way, without the prompting of a creator, and not enough knowledge to judge the likelihood of a creator existing outside this universe. I do not assert that a creator is equally likely, but only that we can't judge the relative likelihood, thus I stated that we might as well call it 50/50. This was not intended as a serious estimation of chance, as I thought I made clear at the time.
Starting out with an all powerful creator is NOT the same as a finite intelligence that has slowly formed over billions of years of evolution. Human intelligence has come about by a naturalistic process.
I never said that a creator formed instantly or that he didn't evolve.
There is no such method for Gods to come into existence.
Now who's postulating?
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I'm sitting here listening to a JW try to recruit somebody
by Terry ini'm at starbucks .
just outside in the courtyard.. i'm trembling.
my hands are shaking.. wow!.
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Apognophos
I think you're doing a great job giving him information but not too much guidance, Terry. It's true that at 19 he probably still has to develop more independent-mindedness. But think of your own guidance as merely offsetting all the undue influence that the other adults in his life are having -- in his family, at the Hall, etc. Balancing that out a bit is totally warranted. Most of us born-ins never had an opportunity like that, to hear a dissenting, informed viewpoint, while growing up, so we bought into what all the adults in our life were telling us.