Today I Found Out…

[Secular Sanity]

Who said there was evidence for either? O_o

Ontological argument?

Who, what, and why?  Intentionality does not apply to non-living things.

[Syne]

I don't generally make ontological arguments...only cosmological ones.

[confused2]

And what do you believe? O_o

Assuming the question was addressed to me...
Physics goes all the way down and all the way up. For example - somewhere within the Standard Model and beyond (beneath) lies the reason why matter predominates over antimatter - the reason for the predominance of matter will be found in something like the Large Hadron Collider.

I find myself strangely drawn to the Easter Bunny. I can't see how to start a religion based around the Easter Bunny but this is a personal failing as I am aware that others have managed far more from a less promising start.

Beyond that perhaps... a level playing field. Unfortunately I can only attempt to level the field where I have the advantage as playing advantage is generally the way of the world.

[Syne]

And what do you believe? O_o

Assuming the question was addressed to me...
Physics goes all the way down and all the way up. For example - somewhere within the Standard Model and beyond (beneath) lies the reason why matter predominates over antimatter - the reason for the predominance of matter will be found in something like the Large Hadron Collider.

I find myself strangely drawn to the Easter Bunny. I can't see how to start a religion based around the Easter Bunny but this is a personal failing as I am aware that others have managed far more from a less promising start.

Beyond that perhaps... a level playing field. Unfortunately I can only attempt to level the field where I have the advantage as playing advantage is generally the way of the world.

Physics cannot explain qualia. So how do you account for that very large gap? Maybe just dismiss all else as illusory?

[Secular Sanity]

I don't generally make ontological arguments...only cosmological ones.

There’s solid critiques of the cosmological argument and qualia.  

You're so insecure that you feel the need to do everything you can to avoid understanding different views. It must be so comforting to just dismiss cognitive dissonance out of hand like that. And you seem to think your so-called friends don't perceive this utter contempt you regard them with.  

Contempt?  You're projecting.

It’s not about understanding different views.  It’s about being sympathetic towards their lack of understanding...and I am.  I’m not only sympathetic towards their lack of understanding, but I’m also sympathetic towards their insecurities, and their need to believe in something.  Life and the cosmos are complex, but we can’t continue to default to "God did it" in our search for answers.  

It would be one thing if it was just used for personal consolation, but it isn’t.  They not only use it to justify negative behaviors, they also use it to toot their own horns, i.e. status signaling.  Prayers are dishonest signals.  Dishonesty and cheating can cause signaling systems to collapse.

Do 'Pray for...' messages make disaster relief harder?

When a disaster happens, dedicated hashtags usually appear, which are then promoted by the authorities.

These make it easier for people - including first responders - to keep up to date with the latest developments regarding flooding, power outages and road closures, and where people may need to be rescued.

Using these dedicated hashtags to post non-essential information and platitudes can drown out the updates that really matter.

For example, during most natural disasters and terrorist attacks, a #Prayfor hashtag will quickly become popular - take #PrayforHouston or #PrayforBarcelona. Tweets like these often contain key search terms, but offer very little to those in need. It means those looking for help or updates have to trawl through posts that offer very little useful information.

Toot-toot!

[Secular Sanity]

On a different note, this last weekend I discovered slacklining.  I had never heard of it before.  I was out exploring again and noticed this guy walking on a high wire.  He was about 100 feet high.  At first, I thought he was walking on a telephone line or something.  There was group of them and they said it was starting to get really popular.  I recorded it.  

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/CgCZVBBo1f4

[C C]

On a different note, this last weekend I discovered slacklining.  I had never heard of it before.  I was out exploring again and noticed this guy walking on a hire wire.  He was about 100 feet high.  At first, I thought he was walking on a telephone line or something.  There was group of them and they said it was starting to get really popular.  I recorded it.

All good. Another hamster wheel to occupy the unemployed Otiose Class of the smart machine future. Who, in the course of evading boredom / insanity and being restricted to basic entitlement income, won't be able to pursue the expensive diversions of the idle rich in previous eras.

For an instant I entertained the notion that occasional slack lines and adeptness at crossing them might at least be useful in military or rescue work. But there are so many adverse conditions that arise in actual field operations (gunfire / shrapnel, raging wind, rocking from waves, smoke, etc) that walking as pure spectacle certainly wouldn't be chosen over traditional rope crawling (whether limp or taut).

- - -

[Secular Sanity]

All good. Another hamster wheel to occupy the unemployed Otiose Class of the smart machine future. Who, in the course of evading boredom / insanity and being restricted to basic entitlement income, won't be able to pursue the expensive diversions of the idle rich in previous eras.

It's purely recreational, that's for sure, but it was entertaining.  

For an instant I entertained the notion that occasional slack lines and adeptness at crossing them might at least be useful in military or rescue work. But there are so many adverse conditions that arise in actual field operations (gunfire / shrapnel, raging wind, rocking from waves, smoke, etc) that walking as pure spectacle certainly wouldn't be chosen over traditional rope crawling (whether limp or taut).

- - -

It came in handy for this young man.

Man dangling unconscious from ski lift rescued by daring slackliner

[C C]

It came in handy for this young man.

Yah, I guess it would still relate to the whole gamut of higher elevation acrobatic skills. Having just the personal experience of being a daredevil not the least among them.

- - -

[Syne]

I don't generally make ontological arguments...only cosmological ones.

There’s solid critiques of the cosmological argument and qualia.  

Yet you can't be bothered to assert them yourself.

You're so insecure that you feel the need to do everything you can to avoid understanding different views. It must be so comforting to just dismiss cognitive dissonance out of hand like that. And you seem to think your so-called friends don't perceive this utter contempt you regard them with.  

Contempt?  You're projecting.

It’s not about understanding different views.  It’s about being sympathetic towards their lack of understanding...and I am.  I’m not only sympathetic towards their lack of understanding, but I’m also sympathetic towards their insecurities, and their need to believe in something.  Life and the cosmos are complex, but we can’t continue to default to "God did it" in our search for answers.  

It would be one thing if it was just used for personal consolation, but it isn’t.  They not only use it to justify negative behaviors, they also use it to toot their own horns, i.e. status signaling.  Prayers are dishonest signals.  Dishonesty and cheating can cause signaling systems to collapse.

The emphasized bit certainly seems contemptuous.

Do 'Pray for...' messages make disaster relief harder?

When a disaster happens, dedicated hashtags usually appear, which are then promoted by the authorities.

These make it easier for people - including first responders - to keep up to date with the latest developments regarding flooding, power outages and road closures, and where people may need to be rescued.

Using these dedicated hashtags to post non-essential information and platitudes can drown out the updates that really matter.

For example, during most natural disasters and terrorist attacks, a #Prayfor hashtag will quickly become popular - take #PrayforHouston or #PrayforBarcelona. Tweets like these often contain key search terms, but offer very little to those in need. It means those looking for help or updates have to trawl through posts that offer very little useful information.

Toot-toot!

Oh, you mean like Michelle Obama's #BringBackOurGirls hashtag? Yep, virtue signalling without any real world result. And if you really think social media, even without the "prayfor" hashtags helps first responders:

But at the same time, federal officials have warned people not to rely on social media for help. In a tweet, the US. Coast Guard asked people to call them instead. Consultant Rob Dudgeon says first responders simply don't have the bandwidth to monitor all the posts.

"It is literally trying to drink from a firehose," he says. "It's very labor intensive to watch [social media] and because of the thousand different ways people can hashtag something or keyword something, trying to sort out what's relevant and what's not and what's actionable is very, very difficult."

- http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsi...mid-harvey

You're just looking for ways to justify your contempt.