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A diffrent take on Intelligent Design, Evolution and the nature of Science.
 

offline swears from junk sleep on 2006-06-01 10:39 [#01911279]
Points: 6474 Status: Lurker



cre-gay-tionists


 

offline evolume from seattle (United States) on 2006-06-01 10:39 [#01911280]
Points: 10965 Status: Regular | Followup to QRDL: #01911267



the problem is, though, that creationists used to get NO
attention from the scientific community, and this allowed
them to build up a little fanbase while writing scientists
off as arrogant and ignorant.


 

offline swears from junk sleep on 2006-06-01 10:42 [#01911286]
Points: 6474 Status: Lurker



I don't understand why people need science to justify their
faith in god. If their belief is so strong why can't they
just say "God is beyond science, and exists outside of our
known universe, so whatever science wants to explore that's
fine by us." Proof denies faith, as the saying goes.


 

offline 010101 from Vancouver (Canada) on 2006-06-01 10:42 [#01911287]
Points: 7669 Status: Regular | Followup to Ezkerraldean: #01911262



Muslims although they tend to live true to the quran, they
also recognise that the book was written before there was a
good understanding of science. On the whole it is a small
group of christians who unfortunatly have way too much
influence in the United States that are all for this
jaundiced way of thinking.


 

offline Ezkerraldean from the lowest common denominator (United Kingdom) on 2006-06-01 10:43 [#01911290]
Points: 5733 Status: Addict | Followup to evolume: #01911280



spot on.

swears: because they take the bible/whatever literally
bwecause they are mindless robots, and they cant comprehend
such a thing.

IDiots !


 

offline Ezkerraldean from the lowest common denominator (United Kingdom) on 2006-06-01 10:44 [#01911293]
Points: 5733 Status: Addict | Followup to 010101: #01911287



ive spoken to loads of muslims who take the quran stuff
extremely literally (even openly talking about killing
gays). if science contradicts the quran, then science is
wrong.


 

offline Drunken Mastah from OPPERKLASSESVIN!!! (Norway) on 2006-06-01 10:52 [#01911300]
Points: 35867 Status: Lurker | Followup to Ezkerraldean: #01911290 | Show recordbag



you need to moderate your hate of religious people and your
blind belief in the natural sciences.


 

offline swears from junk sleep on 2006-06-01 10:58 [#01911307]
Points: 6474 Status: Lurker



"ive spoken to loads of muslims who take the quran stuff
extremely literally (even openly talking about killing
gays)"

Cool, where do I sign up?


 

offline Ezkerraldean from the lowest common denominator (United Kingdom) on 2006-06-01 10:58 [#01911308]
Points: 5733 Status: Addict | Followup to Drunken Mastah: #01911300



that last post was based on real experience. i can give
links to forum discussions.

i dont hate religion, i hate literalist religion that
ignores scientific discoveries. i have nothing against open
progressive muslims (or whatever religion). only ones that
stand in the face of science and say "bollocks! my old book
is right and that is wrong!"

and i dont have "blind belief in natural sciences" - i
accept and accomodate for evidence. thats all there is to
it.


 

offline QRDL from Poland on 2006-06-01 10:59 [#01911310]
Points: 2838 Status: Lurker | Followup to evolume: #01911280



Tolerance let the ignorance spread I know, but these
arguments won't convince anybody. People intimidated by the
present complicated world will flock to the group
sympathetic with their fears, not the one that's right.
On the other hand, I guess it's better to crush the roach
when it's still small, HAHA.


 

offline QRDL from Poland on 2006-06-01 11:02 [#01911312]
Points: 2838 Status: Lurker | Followup to Drunken Mastah: #01911300



We need the radicals like Ezkerraldean. They do the dirty
job for us and focus the hatred of the other side. If there
is a mad ID supprter on this board, it is Ezkerraldean who
will die in the first place.


 

offline fleetmouse from Horny for Truth on 2006-06-01 11:08 [#01911319]
Points: 18042 Status: Lurker | Followup to Drunken Mastah: #01911300



And you need to moderate your spiteful contrariness. Any
standard of judgement strict enough to reject methodological
naturalism and evolution would have you reject virtually
everything else by a much wider margin.


 

offline Ezkerraldean from the lowest common denominator (United Kingdom) on 2006-06-01 11:11 [#01911321]
Points: 5733 Status: Addict | Followup to swears: #01911307



www.gawaher.com - islamic forum

graced with such phrases as
"Is It Right To Beat And Dis-own Your Gay Children?"



 

offline Drunken Mastah from OPPERKLASSESVIN!!! (Norway) on 2006-06-01 11:18 [#01911325]
Points: 35867 Status: Lurker | Followup to Ezkerraldean: #01911308 | Show recordbag



how do you decide which evidence to accept? all scientific
evidence is highly biased.


 

offline swears from junk sleep on 2006-06-01 11:19 [#01911326]
Points: 6474 Status: Lurker | Followup to Ezkerraldean: #01911321



I think your critisism of the Islamic faith is
totally.......


 

offline swears from junk sleep on 2006-06-01 11:19 [#01911327]
Points: 6474 Status: Lurker | Followup to swears: #01911326



RACIST!!!1!!

That's it, I dropped the "R" bomb! Oh yeah!


 

offline 010101 from Vancouver (Canada) on 2006-06-01 11:20 [#01911328]
Points: 7669 Status: Regular | Followup to swears: #01911327



Bloody Hell, here goes, hold on!


 

offline Drunken Mastah from OPPERKLASSESVIN!!! (Norway) on 2006-06-01 11:22 [#01911331]
Points: 35867 Status: Lurker | Followup to fleetmouse: #01911319 | Show recordbag



well, I'm pretty skeptical towards anything, but I wouldn't
put science in any special position (in other words, I'm not
neither more or less skeptical towards it than anything
else). why do you put science in such a special
position?


 

offline Ezkerraldean from the lowest common denominator (United Kingdom) on 2006-06-01 11:23 [#01911332]
Points: 5733 Status: Addict | Followup to Drunken Mastah: #01911325



in what way is scientific evidence biased? and i accept it
all. i dont like the idea of the big bang theory, but i see
evidence that it occured (and can prove it myself given some
redshift figures) and so conclude that it did occur.

swears: im not fucking racist! im literal-religion-ist.



 

offline fleetmouse from Horny for Truth on 2006-06-01 11:25 [#01911335]
Points: 18042 Status: Lurker | Followup to Ezkerraldean: #01911332



Have you heard about braneworld cosmology?


 

offline swears from junk sleep on 2006-06-01 11:25 [#01911337]
Points: 6474 Status: Lurker | Followup to Ezkerraldean: #01911332



I know, I know, just kidding.


 

offline Ezkerraldean from the lowest common denominator (United Kingdom) on 2006-06-01 11:27 [#01911338]
Points: 5733 Status: Addict | Followup to fleetmouse: #01911335



is that all that string stuff? i dont know much about all
that. must look into it


 

offline Drunken Mastah from OPPERKLASSESVIN!!! (Norway) on 2006-06-01 11:27 [#01911339]
Points: 35867 Status: Lurker | Followup to Ezkerraldean: #01911332 | Show recordbag



any number of scientific theories can explain the same set
of data; they may agree on the data and while still being
able to explain all the data and predict new
situations, they can still have completely different
interpretations of the data. If you only accept the data,
however, you don't have anything but the observations.

the raw data provided for the big bang theory can be
accounted for in a million different ways.. how do you
choose which one you believe?

how do you believe both einstein and string theory?


 

offline Ezkerraldean from the lowest common denominator (United Kingdom) on 2006-06-01 11:32 [#01911342]
Points: 5733 Status: Addict | Followup to Drunken Mastah: #01911339



i "believe" (although i think that is the wrong word)
theories that are based on several seperate sets of
evidence.
e.g. evolution is based on fossil evidence, embryology,
molecular clock analysis, biogeography, vestigial structures
and morphological similarities. evolution explains all of
these, therefore i accept it

with the big bang:
the evidence:
galaxies are travelling faster, the further away they are
from us. i am unaware of any possible explanation other than
the universe is expanding.
with cosmology i do not know, i know jack shit about string
theory and i am not informed enough to talk about it in
depth.


 

offline fleetmouse from Horny for Truth on 2006-06-01 11:36 [#01911345]
Points: 18042 Status: Lurker | Followup to Ezkerraldean: #01911338



It's related... the interesting point is it posits something
natural outside / beyond our spacetime. Creationist
arguments concerning the big bang are well out of date -
existence looks to be getting a lot more complex than an
expanding singularity like a firecracker with the fuse lit
by a deity.


 

offline Drunken Mastah from OPPERKLASSESVIN!!! (Norway) on 2006-06-01 11:39 [#01911347]
Points: 35867 Status: Lurker | Followup to Ezkerraldean: #01911342 | Show recordbag



no, believe is exactly the right word; scientific beliefs
are beliefs on par with anything else and as in religion the
leap of faith is required (that leap of faith part I have to
credit to Kuhn) on behalf of whoever subscribes to it.

and the rest of your post I already answered to in saying
that "any scientific theory can fully explain any set of
data" ("any" being the key word).

with the big bang, for instance, one of the easier
alternatives is that there were several small bangs and not
just one large. another is that the universe on the
super-macro scale is, like some people believe they are
observing in microphysics, moving outside of the regular
laws of causality; push an object in one direction and it
may move in the completely opposite direction (I do not
really believe most of the the "observations" anyone has
done in microphysics are even close to resembling anything
in the real world, though).


 

offline plaidzebra from so long, xlt on 2006-06-01 11:41 [#01911349]
Points: 5678 Status: Lurker | Followup to Ezkerraldean: #01911342




what does science have to say about the placebo effect?

science is a process of systematic investigation, and there
are limitations.

scientific materialists are sometimes the most strident of
the fundamentalists.

i think we should still be prepared to see our understanding
of reality turned upside down. in the meantime, eat drink
and be merry...



 

offline Ezkerraldean from the lowest common denominator (United Kingdom) on 2006-06-01 11:42 [#01911350]
Points: 5733 Status: Addict | Followup to fleetmouse: #01911345



i havent really followed any universe-origin-cosmology-stuff
past the CBE and the redshifts i learnt about for A-level
physics. i should catch up on all this shit.

creationist people always associate the big bang with
evolution, which is totally wrong and also extremely funny


 

offline fleetmouse from Horny for Truth on 2006-06-01 11:42 [#01911351]
Points: 18042 Status: Lurker



Who's to say what's right or wrong these days what with all
our modern ideas... and products!


 

offline Ezkerraldean from the lowest common denominator (United Kingdom) on 2006-06-01 11:44 [#01911353]
Points: 5733 Status: Addict | Followup to plaidzebra: #01911349



i dont know what science says about the placebo effect! but
to my knowledge there have been tests at stuff as extreme as
placebo brain surgery and that there have been positive
results, but not as strong as giving proper drugs etc.
the placebo effect isnt outside science in any way, but i
doubt its actual mechanism is fully understood


 

offline plaidzebra from so long, xlt on 2006-06-01 11:52 [#01911359]
Points: 5678 Status: Lurker | Followup to Ezkerraldean: #01911353



that's the point, there is no existing theory to explain the
mechanism of the effect.

while i work in science and think that systematic scientific
inquiry is among the most important developments in human
history, there are tremendous limitations and biases that
influence the process.

out of time for now, though...


 

offline Ezkerraldean from the lowest common denominator (United Kingdom) on 2006-06-01 11:55 [#01911363]
Points: 5733 Status: Addict



what limitations or biases?!?!

its just that the placebo effect doesnt fit any current
theory ( i assume) and if anyone is ever bothered to do a
proper investigation into it, they would come up with a
theory to explain it. its a neurology thing i guess.


 

offline Drunken Mastah from OPPERKLASSESVIN!!! (Norway) on 2006-06-01 11:57 [#01911364]
Points: 35867 Status: Lurker | Followup to Ezkerraldean: #01911363 | Show recordbag



nope, sorry, no natural science can explain
psychology; neurology will stop at having identified the
processes, and that is not the same as explaining.


 

offline fleetmouse from Horny for Truth on 2006-06-01 11:59 [#01911366]
Points: 18042 Status: Lurker | Followup to Drunken Mastah: #01911364



What is the difference between explaining something and
explaining the processes by which it occurs?


 

offline Drunken Mastah from OPPERKLASSESVIN!!! (Norway) on 2006-06-01 12:00 [#01911368]
Points: 35867 Status: Lurker | Followup to Ezkerraldean: #01911363 | Show recordbag



also, limitations and biases:

natural sciences hit the wall when they try explaining
psychology, social behaviour, meaning, ethics,
emotions, what the world is, etc

the biases are each disciplines own assumptions and outlook
on the world; their paradigm.


 

offline Drunken Mastah from OPPERKLASSESVIN!!! (Norway) on 2006-06-01 12:01 [#01911370]
Points: 35867 Status: Lurker | Followup to fleetmouse: #01911366 | Show recordbag



you're not explaining the processes by which it
occurs, you're listing them. There's a huge
difference; you don't understand what pain is by saying "It
is the firing of c-fibres."


 

offline Ezkerraldean from the lowest common denominator (United Kingdom) on 2006-06-01 12:02 [#01911371]
Points: 5733 Status: Addict



psychology and social sciences - in what way aren't they
natural sciences? i dont see any distinction.

"meaning", ethics and emotions - in what way are they not
part of psychology or social science?

what the world is - thats me. thats science. thats geology


 

offline evolume from seattle (United States) on 2006-06-01 12:05 [#01911374]
Points: 10965 Status: Regular | Followup to Drunken Mastah: #01911364



i think the term "explain" is far to general. Just like
evolution, because we cannot "explain" every mechanism
doesn't mean it didn't happen. We can't "explain" how
gravity works but we can prove it's existence by scientific
method.

i guess what i'm getting at is the value of an explaination
is really quite objective.


 

offline fleetmouse from Horny for Truth on 2006-06-01 12:13 [#01911379]
Points: 18042 Status: Lurker | Followup to Drunken Mastah: #01911370



Qualia such as pain are epiphenomena of neurology. The self
is an illusion. Do some meditation, buddy.

Also, note that supporting the proposal that consciousness
is fundamentally different than other processes and
therefore inexplicable paradoxically requires the very
explanation of consciousness you say we're lacking. How else
could you justify that it's fundamentally different and
inexplicable? It's a self-defeating position. Either admit
that you don't understand it well enough to make sweeping
statements like that, or cough up the explanation you'd like
to avoid.


 

offline QRDL from Poland on 2006-06-01 12:13 [#01911380]
Points: 2838 Status: Lurker



DM: I there was no connection between neurology and
psychology, we wouldn't take drugs.


 

offline Drunken Mastah from OPPERKLASSESVIN!!! (Norway) on 2006-06-01 12:20 [#01911384]
Points: 35867 Status: Lurker | Followup to Ezkerraldean: #01911371 | Show recordbag



the natural sciences deal with physical causal relations

the social sciences deal with social phenomena such as..
well, I'm not too clear on the social sciences, but it's
economy and stuff I think.

psychology has two versions, one is clinical and the other
is theoretical, and they both deal in the inner workings of
the mind which can't be reduced to any physical state.

meaning and ethics are things within philosophy which are of
such a character that they neither can't be reduced to
physical phenomena (as with many other fields within
philosophy); they just don't exist physically and can't be
found even with the best electron microscope or cloud
chamber.

emotions are not really something you can catch under any of
the established sciences, and I doubt it's possible for
anything ever to catch them.


 

offline Drunken Mastah from OPPERKLASSESVIN!!! (Norway) on 2006-06-01 12:24 [#01911386]
Points: 35867 Status: Lurker | Followup to fleetmouse: #01911379 | Show recordbag



pain isn't a qualia, a qualia is something associated with
pain; it is a type of pain, and any pain has a sort
of qualia attached to it. that goes for many other things
too. reduce sitting in your favorite chair to neurons, yeah
right.

and there's nothing self-defeating about my position; I'm
just excluding one possibility which is something we always
do without knowing about all the possibilities and least of
all about which one is the correct one.

and there's nothing illusory about a self even if you
believe it to be physical processes; do the physical
processes fool themselves at the same time as they don't
exist?


 

offline Drunken Mastah from OPPERKLASSESVIN!!! (Norway) on 2006-06-01 12:27 [#01911388]
Points: 35867 Status: Lurker | Followup to QRDL: #01911380 | Show recordbag



in the sense that the brain is a nerve-centre, it's
perfectly reasonable (though it isn't reasonable to do
drugs). even though the mind isn't reduceable to the brain,
the brain is what controls the physical body which is the
external part of the mind.. in the same way as bypassing a
security camera with a different video feed and then the guy
in the control room is fooled, your perception can be
fooled, thus making your judgement worse. note that the
first thing is an analogy and not a homonuculi argument;
don't mistake the picture for the thing.


 

offline fleetmouse from Horny for Truth on 2006-06-01 12:27 [#01911389]
Points: 18042 Status: Lurker | Followup to Drunken Mastah: #01911386



Why exclude the possibility that consciousness is
explicable?


 

offline QRDL from Poland on 2006-06-01 12:28 [#01911390]
Points: 2838 Status: Lurker



Meh, we just don't see the connection yet. Maybe we will
nevr see it, but I believe that even feelings can be brought
down to electrical patters. Even sitting in your favourite
chair.This is just a belief though, I can agree with that.
But in being a belief it's not in any way worse than
claiming the opposite.


 

offline Drunken Mastah from OPPERKLASSESVIN!!! (Norway) on 2006-06-01 12:30 [#01911391]
Points: 35867 Status: Lurker | Followup to evolume: #01911374 | Show recordbag



an explanation is something that will lead you to understand
what you are asking about. this is different from a listing
of things; if you asked me why I shot the burglars that
broke into my house, "some chemicals reacted creating an
electrical charge in neurons [a,b,c,etc] which then
travelled along nerve path [a,b,c,etc] down my arm to my
finger which was placed on the trigger," wouldn't be an
appropriate answer and it definately wouldn't lead you to
understand why I shot them.. maybe how, but
not why.


 

offline Drunken Mastah from OPPERKLASSESVIN!!! (Norway) on 2006-06-01 12:32 [#01911392]
Points: 35867 Status: Lurker | Followup to fleetmouse: #01911389 | Show recordbag



I'm excluding that it is reducable to physical reactions.
for the exact same reason as I just mentioned; neuroscience
goes as far as listing what happens, but in order to
know what process they just listed, they need to ask the
person what he just thought. After that, they may be able to
re-identify the process, but where in this is the
why? Why do we think? Why did he decide to do A? The
answer to neither would be [repeat tedious example of causal
chain in nerves].


 

offline fleetmouse from Horny for Truth on 2006-06-01 12:40 [#01911395]
Points: 18042 Status: Lurker | Followup to Drunken Mastah: #01911392



"Why do we think?"

Because we inherited that ability from our ancestors,
because it conferred a competitive advantage upon them that
enabled them to survive and procreate.

"Why did he decide to do A?"

Because of previous physical states in his brain.


 

offline QRDL from Poland on 2006-06-01 12:43 [#01911398]
Points: 2838 Status: Lurker | Followup to Drunken Mastah: #01911392



And maybe, just maybe, in time they will be able to invoke
thoughts by tempering with the brain. Claiming that they
won't is also only a belief. You can't and you don't
know they won't.
Are you looking for a metaphysical answer?


 

offline plaidzebra from so long, xlt on 2006-06-01 13:23 [#01911421]
Points: 5678 Status: Lurker | Followup to Ezkerraldean: #01911363



due to time limitations, i'll stick to the biggest. first,
your expectations can change the outcome of any experience
or experiment, even a controlled experiment.

data are not necessarily meaningful unless they are
interpreted. the process of interpretation involves goals,
like making money, helping people, esteem of one's
collegues, meeting the demands of politics, compatibility
with prevailing models etc. maybe science *should* be
objective, but it isn't and can never be as long as human
beings are running the show.

again, i work in scientific research and don't mean to say
that scientific inquiry is pointless or useless. it is not,
however, objective and not the application of pure reason
that some might wish it would be.



 


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