Oubliette

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Posts by Oubliette

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  10

  An excellent (and funny) example of Cognitive Bias

  by Slave4_38y in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  i saw this and immediately thought about how this relates to us.

  once you've learned how to ride the ttatt-bicycle it's almost impossible to ride the "truth"-bicycle again.

  https://youtu.be/mfzdabzbll0.

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  Oubliette

  GT, for whatever reason I had no problem understanding your previous post.... lol!

  My comments were directed to the guy (I think his name is Destin) that made the video in the OP.
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  10

  An excellent (and funny) example of Cognitive Bias

  by Slave4_38y in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  i saw this and immediately thought about how this relates to us.

  once you've learned how to ride the ttatt-bicycle it's almost impossible to ride the "truth"-bicycle again.

  https://youtu.be/mfzdabzbll0.

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  Oubliette

  Well that was interesting but it wasn't very scientific. Anecdotal evidence is never more than intriguing at best.

  Also, his conflation of motor skills with cognitive biases is unsupported by any neuroscience which I know of. If someone can provide an important scholarly study supporting this claim I'd love to read it.

  And the concluding comment that "welders are often smarter than engineers" is just dumb.
  
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  53

  Spirituality

  by Jonathan Drake in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  if you are a current practitioner of some religious faith i would appreciate it if you abstained from this thread entirely.

  im curious if anyone has had what could be discribed as a spiritual experience.

  i'm currently reading sam harris book waking up and it's very good so far.

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  Oubliette

  JD, great thread. Thanks for starting it.

  I'm a big fan a Sam Harris. Although I don't agree with everything he says or promotes, I appreciate that he gets dialogues going on topics which a lot of people tend to avoid for what I think are obvious reasons: they are controversial because they challenge people's beliefs.

  You should have quoted the full title of Sam's book: Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion

  
  

  What I appreciated most about his book was the frank discussion of our "spiritual" nature. I also understood why he had to spend (several pages?) explaining just what HE means by the word "spiritual" in his discussion. I don't have a copy of the book handy, but as I recall he discusses how that word can mean so many different and often conflicting things--ideas and beliefs which he certainly does NOT hold. Nevertheless, we don't really have an appropriate word in English for the ideas which he has come to believe and want to share. And so, within the constraints of meaning as he explains it, that is the word he uses.

  I also like the fact that he exposes how susceptible we are to charlatans and scam-artists (can you say WTBTS?) because of our innate desire for the spiritual.
  

  As much as I really enjoyed his book for the reasons I listed above, I had a couple of gripes about it.

  One, he talked a lot about the illusion of self. He used this and similar expressions all throughout the book but never clearly articulated exactly what he meant by them. This is, I have found, a common trait of his writing and speaking. It's a little odd because he clearly understood the need to define what he means when he uses the term "spirituality," so I expected he would have done the same regarding his idea of "the illusion of self," but unfortunately--at least as far as I could tell-he never clearly did.

  His 2012 speech on "The Delusion of Free Will" has similar problems. He is clearly using the expression free will to mean something different than what most people mean when they use it, but he never clarifies or defines those shared meanings or differences. Alas, the curse of knowledge.

  Free Will
  

  Finally, and perhaps this explains his omission regarding the self, the organization of the book was kind of clunky; it didn't flow. It felt like he cobbled together a bunch of essays, notes and blog posts to create a book, yet didn't take the time or effort to edit it for flow and continuity.

  All that being said, I think this is an important book for ex-JWs that are well on their way out of the cult and into a life of purpose and meaning without the baggage of religion. Although not definitive on the subject, Harris' book is thought-provoking and intriguing. While not claiming to provide final answers, it will definitely get you asking the right questions for yourself, which is ultimately what I think Harris is after in this book as well as his general body of work.

  Two
  
  
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  26

  At the RC now part 2

  by All for show in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ok... my other thread i cant respond.

  we went to shut up our family... but myhusband is seething and said his brain has shut off.. the stupid is amazing.. they are playing videos that are lame and pointless for the first symposium.. for the first symposium... they asked why the bible has no pictures.

  because it was before photography...jesus used word pictures!!

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  Oubliette

  AFS: void of anything uplifting

  That pretty much sums it up!
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  11

  May JW Broadcasting Video about the Money Problems

  by FusionTheism in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  in the video, they repeatedly talk about these big ugly misunderstandings that have taken place between the circuit overseers and the elders,, at least partially, leading to their current money problems fiasco.. if the governing body were intentionally lying, wouldn't they lie to make themselves and their elders look better, instead of worse?.

  what would the motive be for them to tell everyone about these big misunderstandings?.

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  Oubliette

  FT: the video explicitly says that the individual members of the Congregation are not to blame at all.

  Again, could you please provide specific quotes? Include links and timing references to the video. Thanks!
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  8

  If you can’t put two and two together------

  by John Aquila in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  if you cant put two and two together, (the bachelorette having sex before marriage and the fact that we are living in the last days) then youre just going to lose your life.

  period!.

  thats what i was told by two old jw ladies working the bus stop with their magazines.my question;.

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  Oubliette

  If someone having sex before marriage is "evidence" that we are living in the last days, then we have been living in the last days since the beginning of homo sapiens.
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  11

  May JW Broadcasting Video about the Money Problems

  by FusionTheism in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  in the video, they repeatedly talk about these big ugly misunderstandings that have taken place between the circuit overseers and the elders,, at least partially, leading to their current money problems fiasco.. if the governing body were intentionally lying, wouldn't they lie to make themselves and their elders look better, instead of worse?.

  what would the motive be for them to tell everyone about these big misunderstandings?.

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  Oubliette

  FT: In the video, they repeatedly talk about these big ugly misunderstandings that have taken place between the Circuit Overseers and the Elders

  Could you provide some specific quotes, please? Be sure to include links and timing references to the video. Thanks!
  
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  34

  Lett likes big butts, and he always lies.

  by cappytan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the parody video is being released before the "official" release on sunday!.

  video being re-edited...stand by.. edit: here is the re-cut with wingcommander's excellent input.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5h1cj527s4.

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  Oubliette

  PFF!
  
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  41

  Help? :(

  by BlackWolf in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i apologize for how rantish this is but please hear me out.

  anyways i'm a 15 year old girl and i've never really wanted to be a jw.

  its just never been something thats made me feel happy or loved.

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  Oubliette

  BlackWolf: My dream is to go to art school but everyone seems to look down upon me for it.

  It's not true that everyone looks down upon you. We don't.

  Your dreams can happen, they can come true. But you must make them, it's up to you. Hold on to your dreams!

  
  
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  23

  To My JW Brothers and Sisters

  by Hold Me-Thrill Me in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  to all brothers and sisters reading this site: "and i love you so" (remember the don mclean song?

  )...is the feeling most of us had with regard to the watchtower and the brothers leading it.

  but truly, who did we get baptized for?

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  Oubliette

  a watcher: We have a banquet of spiritual food

  I agree the GB provide an "abundance" of literature: books, magazines, web-content and now cartoons and video broadcasts.

  There problem is: It's all full of lies, deceptions, half-truths, no-truth, greedy, manipulative, controlling trash.