Virtual Illusions

Science starts with observation, makes a theory, and from this theory attempts to predict occurrences from other situations. Wrong predictions are used to refine, or even discard, the theory. I don’t see this working in the religious world at all. Folks used to believe that heavier objects would fall faster than light ones. Galileo showed otherwise. Science had to adapt to this observation. This is only one of millions of examples of science adapting to observation.

by crh310

Philosophy/Religion, Quote

Via Coralville

The issue is not fallibility. The issue is whether there is knowledge that lies beyond the capacity for science to find. If such knowledge exists, should we ignore it or should we use nonscientific methods to find it?

Before making my point let me say it isn’t clear to me that there is knowledge beyond the capacity for science to find. I am not touching that part of this discussion.

Your point would have greater credibility if there was another framework for discovering knowledge. All other frameworks don’t appear to so much discover knowledge as decide knowledge.

It’s all good and fine to say that through “mysticism” or some similar you have discovered the name of god or something similar, but since there is no self correcting mechanism, how is this significantly different then deciding god’s name is Joe?

If it is undiscoverable by science than it has no measurable effect on this world. By what method can it be argued/discovered that god’s name is not Joe? Essentially there is no objectivity or measurability and without that we aren’t talking about knowledge in any traditional meaning, we are talking about meaning as a subjective decision.

If your mysticism allows you to decide something I’m under no obligation to treat it as meaningful. The framework has to be demonstrated useful and valid before I’m under an obligation to take it seriously.

–Zafkiel
From someone else’s sig: Quantum Physics: the dreams stuff is made of.

Philosophy/Religion

…Mark Twain’s Notebook. In it, Sam Clemens demonstrated once again that he was light-years ahead of his — or, apparently, our — era. Twain wrote:

There are two kinds of patriotism — monarchical patriotism and republican patriotism. In the one case, the government and the king may rightfully furnish you their notions of patriotism: in the other, neither government nor the entire nation is privileged to dictate to any individual what the form of his patriotism shall be. The Gospel of Monarchical Patriotism is: ” The King can do no wrong. ” We have adopted it with all its servility, with an unimportant change in the wording: ” Our country, right or wrong! “

–http://www.bushbacklash.com/

Politics, Quote

Bush Rests Comfortably After Surgery to Implant Pacemaker in Brain
Posted on Friday, July 13 @ 09:34:24 EDT By Tom McNichol, Salon

WASHINGTON — In the second White House health scare in little more than
a
week, doctors Wednesday night implanted a sophisticated pacemaker in
President Bush’s brain. The device, known as an implantable cranial
defibrillator, or ICD, continuously monitors and records the president’s
brain waves. When Mr. Bush’s brain activity becomes dangerously slow for
a
chief executive, the device delivers a mild electric shock, jolting the
president back to a relatively active mental state.

“I feel good,” the president told reporters several hours after the
operation. Bush then twitched noticeably. “I mean, I feel well,” he
said.

Doctors say the implant is performing flawlessly, although they’re
trying
to limit the number of shocks Bush receives to fewer than 100 a day. The
surgery came barely a week after Vice President Dick Cheney was fitted
with a
device to regulate his irregular heartbeat.

The White House portrayed last night’s medical procedure as an
“insurance
policy” against further problems for the president. At a news conference
at
George Washington University Hospital, where the operation was
performed,
doctors downplayed the seriousness of Bush’s condition. The periodic
electric jolts from the implant, physicians say, will have minimal
effect
on
the
president.

“His hair is not going to stand on end,” said chief surgeon Dr. Alan J.
Thayer. “Well, maybe a little.”

The president, looking tired but fit after his operation, said that the
device will help him function better as a world leader.

“The American people need to know that their president is equipped to
handle a trouble spot like Slovenia,” Mr. Bush said. “Serbia, I mean
Serbia,”
he
added, his head jerking violently.

Bush has an extensive medical history of moderately impaired thinking
and
reasoning, dating back to the 1970s. Doctors have long noted that the
president’s thoughts easily become confused, and that his public
pronouncements often deteriorate into a tangle of mispronunciations,
faulty
logic and bad grammar. Although Bush’s condition wasn’t serious enough
to
prevent him from running for president, or from winning the state of
Florida, doctors say his condition has deteriorated significantly in
recent
months.

The president’s brain wave activity dipped dangerously low during his
recent trip to Europe, and stopped altogether at one point during a
meeting
with
Russian president Vladimir Putin. The Russian leader was unaware of any
change in Mr. Bush’s condition, officials say.

Yesterday, the president’s doctors subjected him to a battery of mental
tests to assess his risk of developing a potentially fatal “zero brain
wave”
pattern. Once the risk was confirmed, surgeons decided to implant the
electronic device, which acts both as a pacemaker and a defibrillator.
The
pacemaker component is programmed to speed up the president’s thinking
when
it becomes abnormally slow. The defibrillator can shock his brain back
to
a
normal state if Bush’s thoughts become “too fast,” although doctors say
that the chances of that happening are remote.

The device that doctors sutured to the base of the president’s
cerebellum
is known as a Medtronic Gem IV DR model. (There were some problems with
an
earlier model, which had to be recalled by the manufacturer.) Such
devices,
once the stuff of science fiction, have become an increasingly common
tool
in modern neurology. Hundreds of prominent Americans have been fitted
with
so-called mental pacemakers in recent years, including actor Adam
Sandler,
TV personality Mary Hart, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, singer
Britney
Spears, Rep. Gary Condit, D-Calif., former vice president Dan Quayle,
and
the entire board of directors of the now-defunct Pets.com. Some of those
who
wear a mental pacemaker expressed hope that the president’s condition
would
raise public awareness about their circumstance.

“This may turn out to be a blessing in the skies for all of us,” said
talk
show host Maury Povich, who was fitted with one of the first Medtronic
devices four years ago. Mr. Povich trembled violently from head to toe
before adding, “I mean disguise, disguise, for God’s sake, turn it off.”

Bush has been advised to avoid deep thoughts for a few days to give the
device a chance to settle in place. Doctors say the president so far has
cooperated fully with the recommendation. Bush has also been told to
alternate holding his cell phone against his right and left ear so the
implant receives equal doses of radiation from each side. And the
president
will have to run at full speed whenever passing through White House
metal
detectors.

Several congressional leaders privately expressed concern about the
president’s medical procedure, coming barely a week after Cheney was
fitted
with a device to regulate his irregular heartbeat.

But Bush dismissed the worries, stating that the Bush-Cheney team is
“more
fit than ever” to lead the country.

“You’ll find no healthier duo than Dick Cheney and I,” Bush said. The
president hesitated, as if waiting for a signal, and when none came,
broke
into a toothy grin.

Government

If you receive an e-mail entitled “Boosh the Good Time Prez”, delete it immediately. Do not open it. Apparently this one is pretty nasty. It will not only erase everything on your hard drive, but it will also delete anything on discs within 20 feet of your computer. It demagnetizes the stripes on all your credit cards. It reprograms your ATM access code, screws up the tracking on your VCR and uses subspace field harmonics to scratch any CDs you attempt to play. It will program your phone to auto-dial the Moral Majority.

This virus will mix antifreeze into your fish tank. It will drink all your beer - for God sakes are you listening !?!? - It will leave dirty socks on your coffee table when you are expecting company.

Then this virus gets down to business. It will send itself to the main computer at your place of employment where it’ll will rewrite corporate profit reports causing a huge downsizing of employees. Those who employees who don’t get laid off will have to kiss ass and do the work of twenty just to keep their jobs … and with less pay.

Then this virus is off to the Government’s main computer systems where pollution policies will be deleted or destroyed. Bogus studies will appear showing a huge tax surplus for the distant future and ignore any concern over the future of social security.

It will cause huge sums of money to flow into the upper 1% of America’s bank accounts while the rest of us wonder where our paycheck went.

It will subvert school studies to show that all students really need is school prayer and enough basic education to punch a clock and stay off welfare. Scientific studies will show that the world was really only created six thousand years ago. Oh and by the way it’s flat.

Then gas prices will go up with Big Oil profits (str ange how that works). But down will go wages, pollution standards, and complex thinking. The arms race will start again, other countries will hate us, and the words “Fortress America” will appear again after sixty-five years.

***WARN AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN***

And don’t blame the current President. Studies will show it’s the fault of the previous administration (unless we have good times then bring on the applause). And don’t blame the rest of us cause we-voted-with-the-majority.

Computers, Government

After the Great Britain Beer Festival, in London, all the
brewery presidents decided to go out for a beer. The guy
from Corona sits down and says, “Hey Senor, I would like
the world’s best beer, a Corona.”

The bartender dusted off a bottle from the shelf and gave
it to him.

The head of Budweiser said, “I’d like the best beer in the
world, give me ‘The King Of Beers’, a Budweiser.”

The bartender gave him one.

The Coors chief said, “I’d like the only beer made with
Rocky Mountain spring water, give me a Coors.”

The bartender got it.

The Guinness man sat down and stated, “Give me a Coke.”

The bartender is a little taken aback, but gave it to him.

The other brewery presidents looked at him and asked,
“Why aren’t you drinking a Guinness?”

The Guinness president replied, “Well, I figured if you
guys aren’t drinking beer, neither would I.”

Alcohol

During the heat of the space race in the 1960’s, the U.S. National
Aeronautics and Space Administration decided it needed a ball-point pen
to write in the zero gravity confines of its space capsules.

After considerable research and development, the Astronaut Pen was
developed at a cost of $1 million U.S. The pen worked and also enjoyed
some modest success as a novelty item back here on earth. The Soviet
Union, faced with the same problem, used a pencil.

A Short History of Medicine

I have an earache:

2000 B.C. -Here, eat this root.

1000 A.D. -That root is heathen. Here, say this prayer.

1850 A.D. -That prayer is superstition. Here, drink this potion.

1940 A.D. -That potion is snake oil. Here, swallow this pill.

1985 A.D. -That pill is ineffective. Here, take this antibiotic.

2000 A.D. -That antibiotic is artificial. Here, eat this root.:

Everyone has seen The Sound Of Music, right?? No, well, anyway…here’s
Homers version of singing the scales:

DO RA ME DRINK by Homer Simpson

DOUGH……the stuff….that buys me beer….

RAY……..the guy that sells me beer….

ME………the guy…who drinks the beer….

FAR……..a long way to get beer…..

SO………I’ll have another beer…

LA………I’ll have another beer….

TEA……..no thanks, I’m drinking beer….

and that will bring us back to…

(Looks into an empty glass)

D’OH!!!!

Other

A Meditation for De-stressing

Picture yourself near a stream.

Birds are softly chirping in the crisp, cool mountain air.

Nothing can bother you here. No one knows this secret
place.

You are in total seclusion from that place called “the
world.”

The soothing sound of a gentle waterfall fills the air with
a cascade of
serenity.

The water is clear.

You can easily make out the face of the person whose head
you’re holding
under the water.

Look. It’s the person who caused you all this stress in
the first
place.

What a pleasant surprise. You let them up… just for a
quick breath…
then ploop!… back under they go….

You allow yourself as many deep breaths as you want.

There now… feeling better?

Philosophy

A college professor had just finished explaining an important research project to his class. He emphasized that this paper was an absolute requirement for passing his class, and that there would be only two acceptable excuses for being late. Those with a medically certifiable illness or a death in the student’s immediate family.

A smart ass student in the back of the classroom waved his hand and spoke up. “But what about extreme sexual exhaustion, professor?”

As you would expect, the class exploded in laughter. When the students had finally settled down, the professor froze the young man with a glaring look.

“Well,” he responded, “I guess you’ll just have to learn to write with your other hand.”

School, Sex

Other, Quotes