My God, Your God, or No God...Oh, God...

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apocalypse . . .um . . .SOON Ahh, yes! It always boils down to that important phrase "It depends on what the meaning of is is." --Greg

As he craftily began morphing the thread from one endless, unresolvable subject to another....

How 'bout dem kayaks?

REW

[unclemick]

Well - I look at it this way: I didn't know what a koan was until coming to this forum.

"What is the sound of one hand clapping."

OR - more importantly - I once again came the long way home from the dougnut shop - why are there so many pirogues and a few canoes in the bayou's fishing - BUT not one kayak in sight

Why? why? why?

[MRGALT2U]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apocalypse . . .um . . .SOON No you're wrong again JG. * IMO, God is not necessarily fond of irony; he/she is fond of well thought out solutions and correctly executed activities (these are the things that bring us, humans, real cognitive happiness).* Humans are often fond of irony due to their ignorance of solutions.* In fact, we create our own conundrums (see Bush). At the same time it amuses me to no end that while everyone worries about how to find God in their religions, scientists are busily approaching the threshold of heaven in their study of quantum mechanics, field theories, and their unification.* IMO. I have a similar problem in the financial world:* While I'm busily worrying about where the housing bubble axe will fall, the rising oil prices may be the instagating event. I keep looking for solutions inside and outside the conundrums.* *Information overload. --Greg

"Wrong again" ? When was the first time?

Re. "information overload"; agree completely. I just ignore most of it.

JG

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Unclemick2,

Ever try to haul in a crawfish trap from a kayak? An where ya gonna put it if ya do? Dem pirogues got da flat bottom fer a reason. Got room fer couple Jax in da bottom, too.

How about a feminist koan:

If a man says something in the forest and no one hears him, does it still mean that he is wrong?

Cheers,

E_T_G

[greg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo! As he craftily began morphing the thread from one endless, unresolvable subject to another.... REW

No, this is the usual point where the DW's eyes start to glaze over. I can actually prattle on until I . . . um . . . drop dead. The DW listens because sometimes she likes me. So . . . anybody interested in a dose serving of free will?

--Greg

[greg]

REW--Hey, I got you to the threshold and w/o requiring you to believe in God. What does 'unresolvable' mean?

--Greg

[wabmester]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bosco I find the notion of determinism emotionally repugnant, and therefore reject it.

Huh? * Do you also find that roller coasters are boring because you know they ride on a track? * *Sufficient complexity is indistinguishable from free will. * I don't believe that quantum effects have any bearing on human behavior. * We are completely deterministic meat machines, but the complexity of 100 billion non-linear neurons interacting with an equally complex environment is a fine illusion. * Good enough for me!

Now, if somebody would just write a few good hymns about the fun of complexity, self-organization, and cool emergent properties of relatively simple physical systems, then I'd start going to church.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apocalypse . . .um . . .SOON REW--Hey, I got you to the threshold and w/o requiring you to believe in God. What does 'unresolvable' mean? --Greg

My definition of 'unresolvable' is determining the best color for a kayak......

REW

[greg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo! ...... REW

Ahhh yes. I see the glazed over eye.

--Greg

[greg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo! My definition of 'unresolvable' is determining the best color for a kayak. REW

Hot pink for boys. Jet Black with flaming decals for girls. These colors should make the user very uncomfortable, a good thing when going down rapids. :

--Greg

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apocalypse . . .um . . .SOON Hot pink for boys. Jet Black with flaming decals for girls. These colors should make the user very uncomfortable, a good thing when going down rapids. : --Greg

My initial reaction was to respond with an indignant, "What right do you have to tell me what I should believe regarding kayak coloration!"

But you would only respond that you knew the nature of the true colors for kayaks since you were closely attuned to the threshold of heaven and the study of quantum mechanics, field theories, and their unification.

Then my eyes glazed over and I was suddenly overcome with a feeling of deep compassion for Martha...

REW

[greg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wabmester Now, if somebody would just write a few good hymns about the fun of complexity, self-organization, and cool emergent properties of relatively simple physical systems, then I'd start going to church.

OK. I once read a paper on phase transitions, specifically about what happens to water as it makes the transition from water to ice. Basically as water approaches 32 degress, it suddenly phases, meaning it goes from one level of molecular organization to another slightly larger one, which allows it to float because the spaces between the molecules were now larger. This was interesting knowledge to me. I asked myself "self how did evolution or a bunch random quanta end up this way because if it would have happened the other way, ice sinking, then there is a good chance life on this planet never could have started?" Then I was walking outside in the woods one late fall near a pond. I heard a bunch of crackling and turned to see a thin skim ice forming across a large area of the pond. The experience was very pleasing.

I still figure something's up with this stuff. Do-da, do-da.

--Greg

[greg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo! Then my eyes glazed over and I was suddenly overcome with a feeling of deep compassion for Martha... REW

I agree, both of you are saints and have developed your free will enough to always choose the 'enlightening' path. Even if you are fleeing in kayaks. This has been fun for me. Thank you. Plus, it builds my message total.

--Greg

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apocalypse . . .um . . .SOON I still figure something's up with this stuff. Do-da, do-da. --Greg

Think you're on the wrong thread. You need to contact unclemick who can advise you on this subject.

REW

[unclemick]

Hmmm

St Pat drove the snakes out of Erie. PBS covered sinners and Saints in New Orleans - including St Fragile and St Expedite (named after the boxes they arrived in ?).

It's after 7 CT - and the last waverider in sight looks headed in ( poor guys - public school started last Friday). The other Saints got stomped by Seattle 34 to 15 in preseason.

Soooo - let the waveriders/jetski's be benched - while Unclemick - goes forth to Kayak South Louisiana?

'What is the sound of a kayak wave riding.'

The new Kayak Messiah!!!!

P.S. - if this post means anything to you - you are in deep deep trouble.

heh, heh, heh, heh, heh - five.

[Eagle43]

I just love CHP posts.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eagle43 I just love CHP posts.

Might as well bring the California Highway Patrol in on this subject; everything else has already been thrown in...

REW

[unclemick]

Hmmm

Iced tea(no sugar) - laptop-back deck - left handed hunt and peck. The SO's doing one of those tropical rum thingy's - without the paper umbrella.

Perhaps we should switch drinks.

heh, heh, heh - yeah you rite - post count - gotta keep your count up!

[wabmester]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apocalypse . . .um . . .SOON I asked myself "self how did evolution or a bunch random quanta end up this way because if it would have happened the other way, ice sinking, then there is a good chance life on this planet never could have started?"*

More interesting to me is the spontaneous formation of lipid bilayers from simple phospholipids. And the spontaneous formation of little vesicles from those lipid bilayers. They make convenient little containers that could have held the guts of the first primordial cells.

AKAIK, nobody has actually witnessed bono fide abiogenesis yet, but somehow it's easier for me to make that leap of faith than the leap required to believe the story about the old man in the sky....

[Zipper]

Keep it coming Bosco.

I think you are in Canada??

We do have our share of religious nuts up here, but like Europe we are becoming a much more secular society.

The Zippers are all proud atheists!

It scares "the living bejezus" out of me when I see Bush hawking the fundamentalist line. His endorsement of the "intelligent design" theory of life would have him laughed out of office in "The Great White North"!

I think religion is a kind of mental disease that is inflicted upon children before they are capable of rational thought. And the cycle continues.

Like, who in their right mind would expose their kids to summer bible camp??