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Comments by phil rimmer


451. Gay scientists isolate Christian gene

Comment #149862 by phil rimmer on March 26, 2008 at 9:58 am

Now if they can find the gene that makes people muslims...


or Welsh.

452. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #149295 by phil rimmer on March 25, 2008 at 12:05 pm

I know its not focussing cold. I meant that bit as a joke. But I did mean that you could use reflectors to create an image of a low temperature surrounding and thereby alter the net flux.

EDIT- And just to be clear, you can't lower the temperature by use of the reflectors alone, given a uniform ambient temperature environment. A reflector will substitute equivalent energy (temperature) irradiation to before, wherever they are placed. (However, if the body's own radiation is returned to it, it will heat up.) If, on the other hand, the (colder) ice is placed at the focus of a collimating reflector and the parallel (focussed!)beams of lower energy (colder!) radiation directed towards an identical collimating reflector, at whose focus is the hotter body, then (and only then) will the hotter body cool down. The ice will, ipso facto, melt faster due to the higher than ambient radiation from the hotter body.

There adding it after means no-one need ever know how nerdy I can be....shhh!

453. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #149286 by phil rimmer on March 25, 2008 at 11:49 am

Just to be utterly nerdy and not to in anyway increase Steve's abject humiliation, cold can indeed be focussed.

Considering heat transfer by radiation only, an objects temperature is regulated by the net flux of photons to/from it. Replacing irradiation of the object from ambient sources by lower average energy photons from say a block of ice will improve net outward flux pretty nicely, thereby lowering its temperature. Two parabolic reflectors of polished copper (so as not to add much of their own radiation)will allow a block of ice to become a virtual icy shell around the object to be cooled....

I know...I should be ashamed...

454. The Emptiness of Theology

Comment #149028 by phil rimmer on March 25, 2008 at 1:54 am

Could these be completely dispersed into social anthropology, history, sociology and psychology?


Include philosophy, literature and politics and the answer is yes.

455. It looks like Man crucified

Comment #148934 by phil rimmer on March 24, 2008 at 5:08 pm

and that is why it pains me to see it bastardized...


But in fairness people who stick around this site do seem to want to learn. (I had my wrist fairly "slapped" just the other day.) And there are patient teachers here too...

EDIT I don't think you intentionally restricted the discourse, but I do worry that our various potential objectives frequently get muddled here.

456. It looks like Man crucified

Comment #148929 by phil rimmer on March 24, 2008 at 4:43 pm

Spinoza-

There are two possible objectives here-

1) Demonstrate beyond reasonable doubt that an interventionist, rule-making God is highly unlikely and

2) Demonstrate believers in the same are transgressing the rights of non-believers or alternate believers.

The first is possibly an endless task requiring great finesse and subtlety of thought, in other words, a perfect pastime for academics. The second is a problem requiring political action. With the latter, the problem is plain to any of us Plebs. Our rights have been compromised by others who make claims without proof, (or, at least, proof that could stand up in a court of law) and then seek preferential treatment for those claims.

The offence in item two is largely independent of item one. (OK, he may exist but what ARE His rules? How do you know? Why not those rules or those rules?) The offence of item two must be incontrovertible with all except the fundamentalists. And yet this is not seen. This is a howling political injustice obvious to any with a little political nous.

The point is, nothing political will happen without a large enough collective howl of injustice creating the pressure for change. Finesse, precision are not what is needed for this.

Sure, finesse is needed later in the political process if change is ever to occur. Like Gerry Adams talking down the maddest of his gunmen/freedom fighters with the blandishments that their pride is intact and their goal achieved. Some of us must engage fully and earnestly with the Bishops (or whomever) who (for the last 200 years) have been slowly coming down from their lofty sniper's positions, doing God's punitive work. We must acknowledge how they have helped steer us to the necessary end state of moral self-sufficiency as, variously, the politics and the truth of the situation demand. But that now it is time for faith to be a truly personal matter, etc, etc.

Restricting discourse to item one (as it seems to me you've done) and ivory towers is a pants idea. That our collection of folks is no different to their collection of folks, it would also seem to me, is a strength. No one is afraid of the ivory tower set. Their squabbles carry on ineffectually for centuries.

457. It looks like Man crucified

Comment #148433 by phil rimmer on March 23, 2008 at 4:27 am

The guy wants salvation....

One of yours I think, Plagio.

458. The atheist delusion

Comment #144774 by phil rimmer on March 16, 2008 at 5:52 pm

The various implementations of democracy, in all its forms, are pretty neat experiments in managing societal structures. Our feelings about the various outcomes inform us about how we wish our local experiment to be tweaked.

And I won't be taking the bait about being non-democratic, thank you. As a useful comment I would rate that as "over-egged".

459. The atheist delusion

Comment #144762 by phil rimmer on March 16, 2008 at 5:37 pm

Ok, ok...its democracy. There! A rational (sic) process dealing with feelings.

460. The atheist delusion

Comment #144748 by phil rimmer on March 16, 2008 at 5:15 pm

Ask the question. What's the best way to organise society? You cannot apply the scientific method to this question because the desired result is a value judgement.


Well the answer is pretty scientific-

1. an accurate understanding of reality
2. feelings


We could probably manage all that fuzzy stuff in item two if we could get some sort of corroborative evidence for what the average feeling of the typical citizen might be about the matter. Gosh, I don't know, there must be some rational process by which this could be achieved....but it just eludes me at the moment.

461. The coming religious peace

Comment #132112 by phil rimmer on February 24, 2008 at 7:46 am

Gordon's linked article is a cracker. The essence of its argument for the aberrant positioning of the US in the graph above is this-

America has a large, well educated middle class that lives in comfort�"so why do they still believe in a supernatural creator? Because they are afraid and insecure......

....Rather than religion being an integral part of the American character, the main reason the United States is the only prosperous democracy that retains a high level of religious belief and activity is because we have substandard socio-economic conditions and the highest level of disparity.


I subscribe to this view also like Titus. We have debated this on the site many times before and I don't believe this article offers any more proof about its suppositions than the current article does. But as circumstantial evidence it sure makes you think.

It would seem then that the current US religious malaise may be rooted in a unique socio-political mindset (capitalism in the hands of the self-reliant) to which most, religious and non-religious subscribe. Americans are right to be cautious about disturbing a formula that has been hugely beneficial for their country in the past century. There are solutions other than "going the Swedish route" and I think the US will find one.

The US government has been shameless about using public money to support its private industry through, for instance, its military budget. A way could be found to invest in the removal of the worst excesses of fear from its people....

Perhaps properly taxing religious institutions to raise the cash could prove a win win for US physical and mental health???

462. The coming religious peace

Comment #131829 by phil rimmer on February 23, 2008 at 12:00 pm

But places with a free religious marketplace witness something very different:


If this is truly the only reason for the ludicrous position of the US on the graph, then I must start to re-think my position about the Church of England. My puerile dream will be realized. I shall reverse my thinking and become-

An Antidisestablishmentarianist....

463. My Argument With God

Comment #131777 by phil rimmer on February 23, 2008 at 9:21 am

Re- Adam Bloom

Not exactly Christian, but definitely religious...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBY15jQaAag

Note how the Canadian audience go right off the boil at the God bit.......

Any other Godly comics?

464. Why do we believe in God? 2m study prays for answer

Comment #129702 by phil rimmer on February 19, 2008 at 1:31 pm

I wonder how much of a part language plays in this tendency to over identify "agency".

Our vocabulary is wildly rich in nuanced words relating to humans and human behavior and notably poor in words relating to things and the things that things do. Do we anthropomorphise the dumb and the inanimate so we can co-opt a richer language to describe them?

465. Why do we believe in God? 2m study prays for answer

Comment #129630 by phil rimmer on February 19, 2008 at 11:48 am

I too must congratulate Bonzai on his stonking posts. His views just seem to fit the evidence of my personal experience. I'm delighted to see others think likewise.

On the issue of "curing" people- curing individuals would be catastrophic. Of all the Flaky people (Colin Wilson coined the term Outsiders) 99% of them produce cultural dross. One percent, however, produce most of society's cultural gold.

It is society itself that needs curing, not its members.

[EDIT] Just to expand a little, having just read a fictionalised account of Gaugin's life and taken the kids to see some of his and van Gogh's paintings I was forcibly struck by the sheer "pantheism" of their work. The tendency to discern agency in the inanimate seemed e3xactly at the thrilling root of their respective visions.

466. Bill Moyers Interviews Susan Jacoby

Comment #129019 by phil rimmer on February 18, 2008 at 1:56 pm

Hundreds of TV channels and billions of internet pages shore-up the walls of ignorance. Once you have decided what you think you can go and live there indefinitely, watching Fox News and the God channel and networking on Creationist websites or whatever. The only nasty thing you might encounter is the unsettling stuff your kids might bring home from school. But then maybe you can put a stop to that too.

The only chance, the ONLY chance, of fixing this is in education at school. Children educated in the value of seeking out real information are the only ones likely to find it in future.

OK, so. educated and inspiring leaders would help too.

467. A match made on RichardDawkins.net?

Comment #128992 by phil rimmer on February 18, 2008 at 12:40 pm

...It made me realise the value of love.


Yorker, Veronique.

Such beautiful news, and such sad news.

I wish you all the happiness that love and life together can bring.

468. Why Darwin matters

Comment #128952 by phil rimmer on February 18, 2008 at 10:54 am

Has wooter ever told us what his native tongue is or what his educational experience has been?

I think wooter only continues to be interesting if he represents a group of similar thinkers with comparatively normal educational experiences.

Can wooter enlighten us?

Can anyone else?

Otherwise, I've got the uncomfortable feeling wooter is another of Sacha Baron-Cohen's creations....

469. Smaller Version of the Solar System Is Discovered

Comment #128084 by phil rimmer on February 16, 2008 at 4:19 am

This is one I made earlier...

http://www.google.com/patents?id=-FUVAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&dq=gravitomagnetic

However, my favourite massless thruster is the asymmetric microwave, very high Q, resonant cavity. This stands a good chance of working. Whilst superluminal travel isn't on, given a Duracell Casimir Ultra battery it will go the distance. We'll need lifespans of tens of thousands of years, however, and a lot of patience.

470. Smaller Version of the Solar System Is Discovered

Comment #128080 by phil rimmer on February 16, 2008 at 3:49 am

it's hard to see at the moment how we'll get around the practical problems with it.


Nah! I got some power tools for Yule and my trusty soldering iron still works, and best of all I have the plans here-

http://www.google.com/patents?id=oH2bAAAAEBAJ&dq=Alcubierre

471. Sharia law in UK is 'unavoidable'

Comment #123615 by phil rimmer on February 7, 2008 at 12:06 pm

He knows that defiantly placing his deckchair in the sand will be useless against the tide of reason, therefore he is trying to engineer a multi-faith pile of deckchairs in order to create a little breakwater that he can shelter behind.


Dr Williams added: "What we don't want either, is I think, a stand-off, where the law squares up to people's religious consciences."

Like with the homophobia of Roman Catholic adoption agencies, perhaps?? I think the Dismal Doctor, given his recent disgrace in failing to condemn his own churches homophobic faction, needs to sell us the "morality" of "live and let live" as a screen for his own moral cowardice.

472. Blasphemy

Comment #122518 by phil rimmer on February 5, 2008 at 11:33 am

Styrer, your distaste helps no-one.

If we respect the sanctity of what any of us may hold in private and judge only what is transacted in public, then we may find we have friends and allies aplenty to fix things.

The fact that I believe a load of bollocks is no matter for you so long they never pass my lips....


Erm... not a good image that last one...sorry.

bluehillside.

Good stuff. Its worth adding that there is an e-petition to sign at the end. 30 seconds of anybody's time well spent.

473. Blasphemy

Comment #122510 by phil rimmer on February 5, 2008 at 11:17 am

You can help

Read this-

http://www.newstatesman.com/200802050001

And go here if you can-

"Join a demonstration to demand the freedom of Parwiz Kambakhsh on Friday, February 8, 2008, 12.00 to 2.00 pm at the Afghanistan Embassy, 31 Princes Gate, London, SW7 organised by the Iranian Secular Society and endorsed by the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain."

474. Why people believe weird things about money

Comment #111125 by phil rimmer on January 13, 2008 at 4:38 pm

I'm so sick of the French. They're so laid back about everything. And most of them have more interesting lives than me....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKS0yISz6xQ

475. Why people believe weird things about money

Comment #111118 by phil rimmer on January 13, 2008 at 4:19 pm

(Sighs) if only I found money interesting. My bank manager would be so happy...

476. Why people believe weird things about money

Comment #111112 by phil rimmer on January 13, 2008 at 4:13 pm

This is all a mystery to me. I don't want to earn loadsamoney. I don't really care that others earn more than me. But I do want an interesting life. There has to be a reason to get out of bed in the morning. I need life and work to be INTERESTING.

477. Why people believe weird things about money

Comment #111108 by phil rimmer on January 13, 2008 at 3:55 pm


"reason and rationality are trumped by emotions and feelings."


There's nothing more to add to that.
But people will.
That's what people do.


So let me not disappoint.

But knowing how we are "wired" gives us more choices. We've overcome some of our wiring before now, albeit in patchy ways.

478. Fish out of water: Your Inner Fish

Comment #111072 by phil rimmer on January 13, 2008 at 12:34 pm

God really, really, really fucked up!

479. Why people believe weird things about money

Comment #111062 by phil rimmer on January 13, 2008 at 12:14 pm

Douche bags


But, by using these two "fuzzy" logic rules, "I want to get more than the other guy" and "I'll scupper his chances if he gets much more than me" the most wonderful paradoxical outcome results.....the continual effort to outdo your neighbour that nevertheless requires his complicity. Result- an insatiable economic motor built substantially on co-operation.

Now whether we want an insatiable economic motor is another matter.

And I agree, its bloody obvious really. Only economists are shocked.

480. The Moral Instinct

Comment #110990 by phil rimmer on January 13, 2008 at 10:27 am

the fact that war and violence is a human norm which has shaped our evolution perhaps just as much as altruism.


So why has the homicide rate dropped an order of magnitude from prehistoric times to now? Is it possible that changed environmental pressures are altering phenotypical expression perhaps?

481. Submission, 'Part 1'

Comment #110876 by phil rimmer on January 13, 2008 at 6:01 am

Perhaps


No, Richard. It was me.

I suppose it's just my way of saying "We do understand how difficult it can be for you."


Gottit. Its not the "evidence and logic" its the "just" preceding it.

Wow. Sorry, Steve. I wonder who else I can pass myself off as? Better get myself an avatar before I'm tempted.

482. Submission, 'Part 1'

Comment #110852 by phil rimmer on January 13, 2008 at 3:39 am


This is one of the most stupid remarks I have ever read about the deconversion process. Why don't you just say that everybody (regardless of their religion) just needs to "follow the evidence and logic


A little harsh, Richard.

al-rawandi was addressing a specific individual who appears to be eminently rational. Speaking of whom....

Daleadil, welcome. Its good to have your input.

483. The Moral Instinct

Comment #110804 by phil rimmer on January 12, 2008 at 3:55 pm

I thought the article was excellent. I don't believe it gives any hostages to fortune in the language it uses. [EDIT except the poor phrasing of the lifestyle choices!] It should safely launch a much wider audience on the waters of moral relativism. It clearly delineates the better moral course as being one of investigation and introspection rather than adherence to the way of ancient dogma.

Though it seems the roots of our morality are not in fact grounded in crisp unambiguous Hebrew as some attest, they do seem to run a lot, lot deeper. When were the first truly socialised animals? Anyway, for me, objective morality has always stumbled at the first few hurdles, interpretation and the value judgments required in choosing the lesser of two evils.

Pinker's path to reconciliation between groups of equal but differing moral conviction is, I suspect, the single most important journey we as a species will have to make. We have come a long way in subverting some pretty basic brain wirng (xenophobic amygdalas etc.), enabling the transition from bleakly starving tribes to prosperous, leisured and creative nations. A further step is clearly necessary given that our ability to inflict harm has scaled up quite as dramatically.

Remembering that every war was a just war, aligning our moral sense becomes hugely important and Pinker's (and Chekov's) path, i.e. to objectively understand ourselves and each other, is the only rational course to take. Religion stands squarely in the way.

484. The Moral Instinct

Comment #110794 by phil rimmer on January 12, 2008 at 2:50 pm

it would have horrendous licence fees, be based on way-out-of-date ideas, it would look vaguely attractive but would be full of inconsistencies and would fail people all the time. It would contain re-packaged ideas from competitors, would attempt to put competing religions out of business, and would get clogged up with dogmatic add-ons, and would be vunerable to corruption.


I have never seen a more perfect definition of what a religion is.

F*ck!

God IS a speccy nerd.

Fortunately for us Bill Gates is the only real character here. He only screwed up some software not a whole planet full of people, and seems to be about to give us some of our money back...which is nice.

485. Won't anyone stand up for God?

Comment #110573 by phil rimmer on January 11, 2008 at 1:59 pm

Welcome, spaz_girl.

Hope you spend a little time looking around here and get to know the range of our concerns. You might be surprised at the number of ex-christians you'll meet, who know their bible, and can quote it chapter and verse, and frequently do.

Have a look at converts corner where you'll find a number of stories that mirror people's experiences here.

Broadly, I think you might also find that it is not individual faith that is being challenged here so much as what it leads people to do in its name in the public domain.

486. THE FOUR HORSEMEN - Available Now on DVD!

Comment #110528 by phil rimmer on January 11, 2008 at 12:37 pm

Maybe Hitchens is right. Maybe we should keep religion around, so we can always see its flaws and its dangers...


The wish to eliminate the proclivity for religion is like the wish to eliminate schizophrenia, or dwarfism or homosexuality, fraught with dangers. That we are manufactured only approximately alike is the greatest well-spring of our viability as a species.

To pare away at the bell curve of our traits, to narrow down and reduce the spread within our population is to reduce the genetic tool kit available for future problem solving.

It is society that needs to be cured of religion, not individuals.

Eugenics was evil. I don't see the difference here.

487. Six Reasons to be an Atheist

Comment #110515 by phil rimmer on January 11, 2008 at 12:19 pm

but that is out of respect for my goat.


Faunicator!

488. The Group Delusion

Comment #110505 by phil rimmer on January 11, 2008 at 12:03 pm

Hey, al-

I stole my quip from (Yank), Woody Allen's movie, "Everything you wanted to know about Sex.."

Woody (!, as a sperm) is about to be launched into action. The guys hoisting the delivery chute with a winch are singing, basso profundo, "Mine Eyes have seen the Glory of the Coming of the Lord...."

489. Six Reasons to be an Atheist

Comment #110501 by phil rimmer on January 11, 2008 at 11:47 am

I too will wade in with the teensiest of caveats to Steve's reasonable assertions.

My Roman Catholic friend is the one Christian I know whom I can find no argument with. Does he believe in the resurrection? I don't really know. Apparently its none of my business. Are his kids brought up with unconditional access to ideas? Yep. Are they encouraged to question everything? It seems so.

Sadly, he is astonishingly rare. His discourse is utterly rational. His religious beliefs are NEVER used as justifications for what he argues. Heaven knows (sic?) what actually goes on in his mind, or how he juggles any conflicts, but, boy, he has my respect.

From conversations I suspect he feels the greatest gift he has been bestowed is that of Free Will. I think I could join him in that.

490. The Group Delusion

Comment #110497 by phil rimmer on January 11, 2008 at 11:25 am

Or an anti-porn movie type title-

"Mine eyes haven't seen the Glory....."

491. Six Reasons to be an Atheist

Comment #108232 by phil rimmer on January 6, 2008 at 9:34 am

There is also hope for the victim who cn see their suffering as having been permitted by a God whose ultimate purposes are for GOOD. One of the contingent consequences is that the victim, supposing they have survived, can later offer others who have gone through similar traumas the kind of consolation which cannot be offered by someone who has never been there.


Sick, sick, sick.

492. Six Reasons to be an Atheist

Comment #108218 by phil rimmer on January 6, 2008 at 9:12 am

But I am not a humanist. I am a Christian. I believe that suffering does not only give us great art. I believe that it can also be redemptive.


Ah yes! God plonked us in this divine manure so that we have the IDEAL environment to grow morally. That really is the shittiest argument of all, applying as it does to the 5 year old cancer victim AND the serial rapist, millionaire dying peacefully in his bed aged ninety.

Much as I subscribe to the "poetic theory of life" (happiness is sweetened through knowing sorrow), the sheer spectacular randomness of shit happening leads me not to a God Who has a Purpose for Us, but to a simple desire to try and make things better for those who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. No God needed. No God wanted.

493. Mother Nature is Not Our Friend

Comment #106794 by phil rimmer on January 3, 2008 at 1:09 pm

I drink Guiness in the UK, but I think its affecting my jeans. They don't seem to fit as well as they used to.....I'll go now...

494. Mother Nature is Not Our Friend

Comment #106788 by phil rimmer on January 3, 2008 at 1:04 pm

Too right. Best reason for visiting the states.....

495. Mother Nature is Not Our Friend

Comment #106784 by phil rimmer on January 3, 2008 at 12:59 pm

Its gotta be Sam Adams, surely?

496. Mother Nature is Not Our Friend

Comment #106752 by phil rimmer on January 3, 2008 at 11:58 am

To be genetically modified so I could have the Netgear Giganode wireless modem implant would be pretty cool.

I'd opt for Wikipedia 3.0, Google Universe, and the traffic cameras on the M25 as permanently streamed resources. It would be great up until Virgin Media decided my network connection needed an upgrade and increased my tariff to cover the cost. Or Bill F****ing Gates auto-updated Mental Windows for Plebs with service pack 3 and made all my old memories unreadable. Why of why didn't I choose Apple Hyper Cortex?

Seriously, would we all opt for the same genetic upgrade or will this be the great parting of the ways?

497. What have you changed your mind about? Why?

Comment #105676 by phil rimmer on January 1, 2008 at 2:04 pm

I found the remains of the fridge in last night's champagne.


Some party! Respec.

498. What have you changed your mind about? Why?

Comment #105672 by phil rimmer on January 1, 2008 at 1:51 pm

WithGoodReason

Excellent moniker. Welcome and Happy New Year to you. Witty rationalism you'll find here aplenty, but probably not from me at the moment. (Found the remains of last nights champagne in the fridge.) So. Well. Cheers!

499. THE FOUR HORSEMEN - Available Now on DVD!

Comment #105662 by phil rimmer on January 1, 2008 at 1:12 pm

D'ya think the naughtycleverdick has cottoned on yet that we've all been given hush money???

500. THE FOUR HORSEMEN - Available Now on DVD!

Comment #105661 by phil rimmer on January 1, 2008 at 1:07 pm

I may be naive, but I kind of assumed that the idea of a comments page was to respond to both the article and the existing contributions


My second post, where I took a particular poster to task for outrageous stereotyping, has failed to appear after 4 hours.....

Perhaps these calumnies are to be taken as articles of faith and are to be respected? (Heaves)

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