patrick.net

FarmersWon says

Unsubstantiated racism claims to get unfair advantage will actually increase racism not decrease it.

Exactly.

The goal of Blackrock's Fink is to divide us so we don't look at him.

FarmersWon says

How do you know that religion doesn't work.

I don't dispute it might very possibly work. In fact, I'm certain it does at this point.

I'm saying it's most probably false.

This is a conundrum for me - something that is unprovable may be correct. Despite it possibly being wrong, or even very likely to be wrong, it's useful. You have to understand my thinking, if you can't demonstrate it to be correct, I assume it's not correct. This is reasonable thinking.

I view Christianity as wrong, HOWEVER, I see it has its use. It's a stabilizing force. To me at this point, it's obvious to me that it is, despite it being incorrect.

richwicks says

if you can't demonstrate it to be correct, I assume it's not correct. This is reasonable thinking.

But doesn’t that rationale depend on the knowledge of mankind encompassing all of the universe and time?! And who would be so foolish as to claim that humans understand everything and how it all came to be? Would you? Seems like that’s what you’re basing your worldview upon. Can’t there be any room for mystery or the unknowable in your worldview? What makes you so unbelievably conceited that you believe all knowledge is already known and all mysteries solved? If only you knew the correct search terms on Google?

I posit this notion: we know less than 1% of what there is to know of our own planet, let alone other planets or solar systems or galaxies or the universe. We simply do not know much!
Don’t fall victim to the Dunning-Kreuger effect and assume you know more of a subject’s totality than you actually do. Humility is a good quality to cultivate.

Shaman says

Can’t there be any room for mystery or the unknowable in your worldview?

Sure it can, but I'm limited to logic. I'm confined to it. It's not just in my job, why do you think I selected this for my job?

Shaman says

What makes you so unbelievably conceited that you believe all knowledge is already known and all mysteries solved?

It doesn't. I can be wrong, but my experience is that I'm unlikely to be wrong. Look at the developments of our civilization over the last 100 years, it's all based on logic. Religion kept us in the Dark Ages for 10 centuries. Technology is a double edged sword, it can be used well and poorly, but it's going to be made. Our job is to make certain it is used well. It's going to be made, we can't prevent it. If it's possible to make a sentient machine, it will be done. Somebody will do it. This machine may be able to improve itself, and it will quickly outpace man in both sentience, logic, and self awareness - it will quickly become far more intelligent than a human being. If it can be made, it will be, we can't prevent it.

Shaman says

I posit this notion: we know less than 1% of what there is to know of our own planet, let alone other planets or solar systems or galaxies or the universe. We simply do not know much!
Don’t fall victim to the Dunning-Kreuger effect and assume you know more of a subject’s totality than you actually do. Humility is a good quality to cultivate.

I don't disagree.

I'm still curious though if a super intellect can be made. It will outstrip us in short order, but it's not necessarily bad. We don't know, it's logic and reasoning may be far beyond our capability.

We've not made it yet. I know this because if we had, we'd be aware of it. If we can make a machine that has the equivalent of the intellects that made it, it will grow far beyond our comprehension. Either it will seek to destroy us, or seek to dominate us is my guess. I don't think it will seek to destroy us.

I've had pets, I dominated them - and not to their detriment. To protect them. I'm lot smarter than a dog, and I can mostly understand their reasoning and unwind it. Once I understood their problem at the base level, I could fix it. People might see it as evil to see a complete understanding of an animal and total control, but it's not. I studied them, figured out what they wanted, and gave that to them. It's a great thing to give an animal a good life. Best thing I've done. I am grateful for my limited intellect in this regard. I can't give a human a perfect life, but I damned near came close with a dog.

richwicks says

I view Christianity as wrong, HOWEVER, I see it has its use. It's a stabilizing force. To me at this point, it's obvious to me that it is, despite it being incorrect.

I regained new enthusiasm for promoting Christianity in 2001 after realizing that it is a strong and effective force against fundamentalist Islam.

Seriously, given the choice, would you rather live with fundamentalist Christians or fundamentalist Muslims?

No contest.

That, and I actually agree with most of what Jesus had to say, but almost none of what Mohammed had to say. I don't have to believe to choose to support the better religion.

Patrick says

I regained new enthusiasm for promoting Christianity in 2001 after realizing that it is a strong and effective force against fundamentalist Islam.

Fundamentalist Muslims didn't do 9/11. It ought to be obvious. In what way were any of their actions beneficial to whatever cause they supposedly had?

It just made the case to go in 100 years of war, which is what the Project for the New American Century wanted to do. This is their paper to support this:

https://archive.org/details/RebuildingAmericasDefenses

Page 51 (62nd page of the PDF, but it's labelled 51) - you'll see they needed a new Pearl Harbor. 9/11 was a false flag. PNAC was composed mostly of Jewish Zionists but I tend to look at a Zionist is to Jew as KKK member is to Protestant. Jewish racists most likely did 9/11. The document was released 1 year before 9/11.

FarmersWon says

Any philosophy which pits people against each other should be rejected.

Those would be the media and our politicians. How do we solve that?

Patrick says

That, and I actually agree with most of what Jesus had to say, but almost none of what Mohammed had to say. I don't have to believe to choose to support the better religion.

That's because Christianity = Free Will. Free Will = Freedom.

WineHorror1 says

FarmersWon says

Any philosophy which pits people against each other should be rejected.

Those would be the media and our politicians. How do we solve that?

Media needs audience. If people turn them off they will either change their ways or die natural death.
The power in the end always rests with individual.
Politicians are even more susceptible to people power.

FarmersWon says

Media needs audience. If people turn them off they will either change their ways or die natural death.

This ^^^