Comments by Brian English

901. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #209117 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 3:29 pm

Yeah, it will take a few generations to get the Aboriginals to the same level of opportunities I think. Your point about it being the cultural norm to share all you have is a good one. It drags down anybody who has a bit more. Sad.

902. An Irishman's Diary

Comment #209107 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 3:19 pm

Hey, you're probably correct, but She complains to whomever seems right. Then again I got He went with Naomi and me wrong because I though it sounded too casual.....

903. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #209103 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 3:16 pm

Al, some men are more equal than others....

Goodnight.

904. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #209101 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 3:14 pm

Steve, simple translation: If it involves God, it must be true.
Simpler translation: God did it. :)

905. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #209097 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 3:13 pm

Him and his sockpuppet, God - heck, together they could probably even outsmart Stephen Fry.

Steve, I've read some objectionable comments on this site. Some have made my blood boil. But none have been as ludicrous as this. Smarter than Stephen Fry? Next you'll tell me that something can both be and not be.....

906. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #209095 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 3:11 pm

Good move, first burn up some calories, then replace the calories in the form of life giving beer.

907. An Irishman's Diary

Comment #209094 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 3:10 pm

Sciros, isn't the will listen clause subordinate or something to the main clause She complains to and thus the subject is she, and the object is whom?

908. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #209086 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 3:01 pm

Time for a smoke now? It must be late over there. You should hit a bar or something.

909. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #209083 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 2:59 pm

Well, I'm Irish then! Bloody English oppressing us Irish. :D

Time to go to the Births,Deaths, Marriages office and get a name change.

How does Brian Irish sound?

910. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #209082 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 2:59 pm

I don't think we have a specific cut of point. It would be racist to ask someones racial identity so that the can receive racist money. ;)

911. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #209079 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 2:56 pm

fizhburn, if it's necessarily true, it's a tautology. The claim you're making is that you make it necessarily true, whereas I'm claiming God makes God necessarily true. :D

Al, I think you've shot your load :)

912. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #209077 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 2:53 pm

It's interesting that you say Obama is black, though his mum was white I believe. The same happens here with Aboriginals.

An person can call themselves Aboriginal when they have so little Aboriginal ancestry that they just look like they've stepped of the plane from Ireland for example. Why would someone do that? Because at various times, the governments have given lots of welfare (good money) to help out those of Aboriginal ethnicity. So having a great, great, great grandmum who was part Aboriginal can be lucrative. This hasn't helped of course. But, you end up with the absurdity of someone who's blond, blue eyed and pale skinned being called black like they were from Arnhem land and have never lived in a house.....In the US and here it seems like you're black even if 99.9% white, like white is some pure faction....weird....

913. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #209073 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 2:46 pm

fizhburn, what do my comments rate in your tripartite notion? Am I well, erhm, endowed in the inane sense?

914. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #209069 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 2:44 pm

fizhburn, I believe most deductivo-theists will assert that usage of the God connective # is tautological. It's not an epistemic claim in that it requires justification or a good beating of anybody who challenges the claim because you're a bad-ass. God is always logical, thus tautological. QED.

Al, That was a good description.

915. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #209064 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 2:39 pm

Steve, 1 = 2 for large values of 1. :)

916. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #209063 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 2:38 pm

Poor old wooter. Either brain dead, or a bad joke that won't end.

You're a sick puppy Al.

917. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #209062 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 2:36 pm

Good points. It is more like the native American's situation than the Afro-Americans. I dislike that part of the Afro-American culture that you see in gansta culture and the hip-hop videos. They seem to treat women as property and all that other shit you mention.

918. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #209058 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 2:33 pm

Al, is that the sword of Allah per chance?

919. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #209054 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 2:31 pm

Steve, I'm just developing a theistic deductive calculus. Fizhburn is more of a logico-biblical literalist, that is, it's logical because God said so.

920. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #209052 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 2:29 pm

Fishburn, my truth table demonstrates that any usage of the God connective involves a tautology.

921. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #209038 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 2:20 pm

Let's see:
1) The symbol phi stands for a sentence.
2) The symbols ~phi stand for a sentence that is the negation of phi.
3) The symbols (phi -> psi) stand for a sentence.
4) The symbols phi # psi stands for a sentence.

Thus, (A -> ~(B # C)) is a valid sentence

Derivation:
Show (A -> ~(B # C))
A (assumption of conditional)
Show ~(B # C)
Show B # C
B (assumption of god)
Therefore C (God did it!)

Truth table:
A B C B # C ~(B # C) A -> ~(B # C)
T T T___T_______T________T
T T F___T_______T________T
T F T___T_______T________T
T F F___T_______T________T
F T T___T_______T________T
F T F___T_______T________T
F F T___T_______T________T
F F F___T_______T________T

Thus demonstrating that any equation involving the assertion of God is a tautology and cannot be questioned!

922. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #209035 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 2:17 pm

Yes fizhburn, but you've missed the beauty of a variable constant. It can't exist, like a certain deity....Still your connective is very cool. Can you develop a logical calculus with it?

923. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #209031 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 2:12 pm

I have some mixed feelings about alternative action. I don't think charity works, but some people have been discriminated against for so long that there are not the pathways to success, even if there now is a level playfield. For example, here in OZ, the Aboriginals have much worse health and die much younger, many don't have great opportunities in education and live in abusive communities. If a smart aboriginal kid living in the outback or in a poor suburb in the city wants to go to Uni, the chances are very slim. We have government funded education (you pay a bit back through the taxation system), but the poor kid won't get to finish High school, so won't qualify for Uni and will probably end up with alcohol and social problems.

None of this is the kids fault. Aboriginals are on average as intelligent as the rest. The main reason is that they've been discriminated against since European settlement. They didn't get a vote and weren't even citizens until 40 years ago. They've always been excluded and marginalized. Things are a bit better now I suppose, but not much.

Affirmative action seems like it could help, if you don't think about it too deeply...

924. PLEASE WRITE IN SUPPORT OF PZ MYERS

Comment #209025 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 2:07 pm

Steve, it's standard practise. Provoke outrage, then claim the outraged party is the provoker and you're the innocent lambs who are being persecuted. Very clever. Muslim don't mind this either.

925. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #209022 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 2:05 pm

Decius, you've not added the God constant g.
Look. 3 plus g = 3.14......simple!

926. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #209016 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 2:02 pm

it is as nasty a form of bigotry as the out and out bigots of the right wing, just disguised better.

It's the same form of bigotry the can be found in multiculturalism. Because all cultures are good, it's OK to leave women and kids in abusive, culturally sanctioned situations. We know that their culture knows what's best for them....

By the way Al. From the point of view of a mouse, even I'd look like a Yeti. I'd not get too cut up about it. ;)

927. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #209013 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 1:56 pm

Scot 1 plus 1 does equal 3. Let me demonstrate
First, there is an ineffable God constant g that takes whatever value is required to include God in the equation. So:
1 plus 1 plus g = 3 if that is what scripture says. OK?

Now g doesn't necessarily have to be a number*, let alone the number 1. In discussing evolution a theist might say:
evolution plus g = rational animal. Here g is the immaterial mind. And so on.

A creationist might say:
g = life. No need for any material explanation.

*you may at this point be wondering how a constant can take on any property or value. This is a mystery and it'll stay a mystery unless you want the inquisition to help you better understand why mystery is good....

928. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #209002 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 1:45 pm

Al says he's 6'5" or so, which is about 195cm I think. He'd have big feet if he's in proportion....
I'll leave it up the reader to add big feet jokes. :)

929. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #208998 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 1:43 pm

Al, Marx did come up with a cool phrase though: "Religion is the panacea of the masses"

MMM, if that is what he said, then it's doubly cool. Mass being the Catholic religious celebration...

930. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #208983 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 1:19 pm

Steve, I agree with you again. That's good. Normal transmission has resumed. ahhhh

931. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #208974 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 1:11 pm

I agree with Scot. The problem is pretty much all theists do discount science. Even Ken Miller could be said to do this. They see science as a method of knowing, and not the best one, and certainly not as good as revelation from a book or personal experience.

932. An Irishman's Diary

Comment #208968 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 1:03 pm

It's good to know that Carto will be able to catch wee folk and impress them with his perfect English....

933. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #208953 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 12:32 pm

Second, seriously, what are you talking about? Slaughtered an entire continent? Which continent would that be? Africa? Europe? Asia? N. America? S. America? Antarctica? Australia? I've run out of continents and I've yet to list one that has been "entirely slaughtered," by anyone.

The great penguin massacre. When the proletariat Adele penguins seized the means of pilchard production and overthrew the ruling Emperor and King penguins. At first it seems like peace and harmony would rule the frozen desert. But after a while the Skuas and Petrels noticed that the Emperor penguins marching into the frozen tundra that is the center of that continent. There they would sit on their eggs to incubate them in that terrible gulag. Oh the humanity! We'll never forget the way penguins turned on themselves in the name of pilchard production! Weep!

934. An Irishman's Diary

Comment #208934 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 12:07 pm

You scored 93% Beginner, 100% Intermediate, 100% Advanced, and 73% Expert!

Begginer:
I thought the He ___ to the banquet with Naomi and ___ was He went to the banquet with Naomi and I. The response given as correct He went to the banquet with Naomi and me sounds wrong. The explanation given sounds fair however:

The words I and me can sometimes get confusing. There are two rules that make using these two words very simple.
1) Never put yourself first.
2) Remove the other person from the equation.
In this sentence, remove Naomi. Would you say "He went to the banquet with I", or "He went to the banquet with me"? Me is the correct choice in this sentence.

Expert:
They __________ her for murdering her children. Here hung sounds correct, but I come from a country that stopped the death penalty by hanging before I was born. ;)

and

Please stay __________
awhile, a while and for a while are apparently all correct, though awhile looks like like an orthographic error to me. :)

Ahh well, I suck at begginer English, am OK intermediate/advance and suck at expert. I shame my surname. :)

935. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #208633 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 5:17 am

Yep, some evidence for pain relief but why not take cheaper pain killing drugs? Several alternative therapies are somewhat effective on placebo responsive conditions; I'll speculate that they act as a strong placebo, a very different phenomenon than a curative treatment.

Tom you may be spot on. I've found that pain killers are not just pain killers. For example, the old nurofen plus is fantastic for relieving pain, but also makes you a bit wonky. It also is only effective for an hour or so. Generally, if my back is really sore and I get a 20 minute massage, followed by total adjustment (this guy gives a great back massage and adjusts everything...In fact it's probably the back massage that does the trick.) I don't have any back problems for the next week or so and have no side-effects.

I don't expect you to be persuaded by my anecdotal evidence. I'm not selling anything and I'm happy to accept that it's all placebo. Which is a good point, because I'm not half bent on Ibuprofen and Codeine. :)

936. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #208609 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 4:32 am

Epeeist. You're spot on. :)

937. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #208604 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 4:22 am

Irate and Hungarian. The problem with Chiro is the original guy who started Chiro treated a man with a hearing problem by adjusting his back. This seemed to work and he postulated the idea of subluxation which literally means 'underlighting' but Chiros will tell you it means underlifing which would be subvitation. This guy was like a plumber performing surgery, he made it up as he went.

A bit of basic anatomy will tell you that the auditory nerves do not branch out from the spinal chord, they are anterior to the spinal chord. So adjusting the back won't affect the hearing. Also, the idea of subluxation is more metaphysical and not scientific. A back adjustment won't cure cancer or make you immortal. But some Chiros denigrate mainstream medicine by calling it Allopathy and suggesting it's archaic or an ineffective, brutal method. (Which some treatments have been, and some still are (brutal, not archaic). Chemotherapy for example. But that doesn't mean it doesn't work.) Chiro when tested doesn't even meet the level of effectiveness (long term) that the method it denigrates does. Which may not be surprising because even if you get your back well adjusted, then move with bad posture, it's likely you'll revisit the back pain....

But the idea that Hungarian mentions, which is the idea that I see as reasonable because it makes sense. The nerves, bundles of axons projecting from neurons to synapse with other neurons or muscles, are physical things that can be damaged. Undue pressure will do this. So, removing the pressure by some means seems reasonable. That's why I go to a Chiro*. ;)

*Whether the Chiro can do anything is the problem. I think they can help, but as I said, if you keep moving with the same bad posture that caused the back pain, it shouldn't surprise that your pain returns after visiting the Chiro. Which lends creedence to Epeeist's point.

938. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #208581 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 3:47 am

Tompaine:

Quackery often has a pseudo-religious or spiritualist root and Chiropractic therapy is no different.

But the less extreme claim that when your muscles or vertebrae press upon nerves may have an adverse affect on how the nerves function seems reasonable. The Chiro I visit only states this, he thinks Chiros who talk about 'wellness' and subluxation are cranks.....He says Chiro can be useful for alleviating back pain. Not for curing disease.

939. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #208509 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 2:01 am

Clearmind, you know a house is designed because you see people designing them. You say you know that the universe is designed, so you must have seen the designer at work. Correct?

Why won't you answer the simple question clearmind. Are you a coward?

940. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #208488 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 1:35 am

I should point out, I'm happy to argue with such people. But I try to argue with them on their own 'turf' and see if there's an inconsistency.....Assuming they'll even join the argument.

941. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #208487 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 1:33 am

This isn't someone who says "science is wrong" - this is someone who says "science is an appropriate way of looking at the world, and I am better at it than Einstein".

This got me thinking. If I say that the general scientific consensus is wrong, and I'm not offering logical conjecture that fits the evidence better and has greater predictive power then I am rejecting science. He's rejecting science and putting his simulacrum in its place so that he can call himself scientific. It's not much different from the trolls on the other thread with their SCIENCEISLAM shite.

Well, anyway, that's how I see it.

942. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #208480 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 1:25 am

Please don't assume my strategy is the only one. I'm just going through a stage where I find arguing with people who don't hold my beliefs as though they did seems wasteful.

And if me and wisdom were ever to meet I wouldn't recognize her. :)

943. PLEASE WRITE IN SUPPORT OF PZ MYERS

Comment #208477 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 1:22 am

Steve, it seems atheists are happy to erect strawmen against each other. If someone recommends moderation and an appropriate response they're appeasers or the fifth column. Excepting Styrer, who should never moderate his fine prose.....Nor irate for that matter....Ignore everything I said. No moderation unless you're a moderate!

944. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #208474 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 1:18 am

Fair enough Steve. I'd still determine his propositions and attack them. He's happy to deny science that doesn't suit him, so it's not a winning strategy in my opinion. But anyway.....

945. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #208471 by Brian English on July 11, 2008 at 1:16 am

946. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #208423 by Brian English on July 10, 2008 at 11:56 pm

Steve, this is sort of what I was getting at on your blog earlier today (or yesterday for you). If one debates a theist using premises the theist doesn't accept, you just end up talking past the theist and preaching to the choir. Txpiper doesn't accept any scientific premise or theory as true if it contradicts his propositions of faith. The only way to debate our friend is using propositions he does hold. Assuming he's honest enough to agree that he holds certain propositions or that he's thought his beliefs through enough to know what propositions he holds to be true. That being the case, just aim for the inconsistencies in his beliefs and you may get through to him. Or not. :)

947. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #208393 by Brian English on July 10, 2008 at 11:09 pm

Clearmind, you know that a house is designed because you see people designing houses. You say that the universe is designed. Therefore, you must have seen the designer of the universe. Correct?

948. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #208387 by Brian English on July 10, 2008 at 11:06 pm

Clearmind, you know a house is designed because you see people designing houses. You say you know that the universe was designed. Therefore, you must have seen the designer. Correct?

949. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #208376 by Brian English on July 10, 2008 at 10:45 pm

used a powerful biological computer chip

They have biological chips. I guess silicon is so passe.

The study shows the richness and texture of these differences we have with our close neighbors in the evolutionary tree

Clearmind, why does your article support evolution? Seems like an own goal.

Anyway, back to important business. You know a house is designed because you've seen houses designed. You say you know that the universe is designed, therefore you must have seen the designer of the universe. Correct?

950. PLEASE WRITE IN SUPPORT OF PZ MYERS

Comment #208354 by Brian English on July 10, 2008 at 9:28 pm

Quine, I think a lot of Protestant churches have made similar claims too. :)