God is Imaginary - 50 simple proofs Proof #7 - Understanding religious delusion Let's imagine that I tell you the following story: There is a man who lives at the North Pole. He lives there with his wife and a bunch of elves. During the year, he and the elves build toys. But let's say that I am an adult, and I am your friend, and I reveal to you that I believe that this story is true. What would you think of me? Why do you think that I am delusional? Since you are my friend, you might try to help me realize that my belief in Santa is a delusion. "But how can the sleigh carry enough toys for everyone in the world?" Why didn't my answers satisfy you? Now let me show you another example... Another Example Imagine that I tell you the following story: I was in my room one night. You would ask some obvious questions. Most people would assume that I am delusional if I told them this story. If you meet a Mormon and ask them about this story, they can spend hours talking to you about it. Another example But you need to be careful.
The Mortality Paradox by Maria Popova “Our overblown intellectual faculties seem to be telling us both that we are eternal and that we are not.” “It is quite impossible for a thinking being to imagine nonbeing, a cessation of thought and life,” Goethe, who ceased to be 181 years ago this week, proclaimed as he concluded that “in this sense, everyone carries the proof of his own immortality within himself.” Since the dawn of time, it has been the human instinct to resolve the psychological dilemma by constructing various immortality narratives — one of the hallmarks of our species. In Immortality: The Quest to Live Forever and How It Drives Civilization (public library), Cambridge University philosopher Stephen Cave explores the inner workings of that ancient impulse, inviting us on a mind-bending, intense, at times unsettling and at times deeply comforting journey into the most cavernous quarters of the human psyche. The fact is, whenever we try to imagine the reality of our deaths we stumble. Share on Tumblr
How to Give a Killer Presentation A little more than a year ago, on a trip to Nairobi, Kenya, some colleagues and I met a 12-year-old Masai boy named Richard Turere, who told us a fascinating story. His family raises livestock on the edge of a vast national park, and one of the biggest challenges is protecting the animals from lions—especially at night. Richard had noticed that placing lamps in a field didn’t deter lion attacks, but when he walked the field with a torch, the lions stayed away. The story was inspiring and worthy of the broader audience that our TED conference could offer, but on the surface, Richard seemed an unlikely candidate to give a TED Talk. But Richard’s story was so compelling that we invited him to speak. Since the first TED conference, 30 years ago, speakers have run the gamut from political figures, musicians, and TV personalities who are completely at ease before a crowd to lesser-known academics, scientists, and writers—some of whom feel deeply uncomfortable giving presentations.
Logical Fallacies and the Art of Debate Contents: Introduction This is a guide to using logical fallacies in debate. And when I say "using," I don't mean just pointing them out when opposing debaters commit them -- I mean deliberately committing them oneself, or finding ways to transform fallacious arguments into perfectly good ones. Debate is, fortunately or not, an exercise in persuasion, wit, and rhetoric, not just logic. Besides, let's be honest: debate is not just about finding truth, it's also about winning. So why learn logical fallacies at all? I can think of a couple of good reasons. Second, and maybe more importantly, pointing out a logical fallacy is a way of removing an argument from the debate rather than just weakening it. Logic as a form of rhetoric Unfortunately, the account I have just given is a bit idealized. It is therefore not enough simply to point out a logical fallacy and move on; there is an art to pointing out logical fallacies in your opposition's arguments. Committing your very own logical fallacies
How to Understand: 8 Timeless Thoughts from the Last 2500 Years Image by *Zara (license). “Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain but it takes character and self control to be understanding and forgiving.” Dale Carnegie ”All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.” Galileo Galilei “The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding.”Leonardo Da Vinci One of the interesting things about getting older and being interested in personal development is how you come to understand just how little you really understand. But how can we improve our understanding of ourselves and our world now? 1. “Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” What we see in others is quite often what we see in ourselves. Therefore what you notice and what irritates you in others can teach you important things about yourself. 2. “To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what he has already achieved, but at what he aspires to.”Kahlil Gibran 3. “I hear and I forget. 4. 5.
Matthew McCartney, "Game Theory: a Refinement or an Alternative to Neo-classical Economics?", Post-Autistic Economics Review, issue 30 Game Theory: a Refinement or an Alternative to Neo-classical Economics? Matthew McCartney (SOAS, University of London, UK) © Copyright 2005 Matthew McCartney This paper1 is not intended to say much that is new, rather it takes issue with the traditional manner in which economics has presented game theory. Neo-classical economics, Game Theory and General Equilibrium The intellectual centrepiece of neo-classical economics is general equilibrium. There is nothing inherently neo-classical about general equilibrium. The key assumption that distinguishes a game theory world from a neo-classical economy is that of interdependence. There are a variety of assumptions in the neo-classical version of general equilibrium necessary to prove the existence, the uniqueness and stability of equilibrium. Figure Two In this example (fig two) there are multiple equilibria4. Gravelle and Rees (1992) do not deal explicitly with game theory, but use it to model the behaviour of oligopolies (Chapter 12). a)a. b.
Slavery By Consent One of the main vehicles of the conspiracy is the global statist unlawful legal system. The legal system which allows all governments to steal from their populations and call it taxes. The legal system which locks people in metal cages for owning outlawed herbs. The following documentary "Slavery By Consent" shows how governments around the world have long tricked people into literally consenting to their own enslavement through loopholes and legalese. The Freeman/Sovereignty Movement is working to help empower people in court by teaching how to establish standing and jurisdiction, how to reclaim your sovereignty, and ultimately how to close down the court by refusing to play their game.
The Impossible Alternative | Reality Sandwich This article is the introduction to the anthology What Comes After Money? Essays from Reality Sandwich on Transforming Currency and Community, edited by Daniel Pinchbeck and Ken Jordan, just released by EVOLVER EDITIONS/North Atlantic Books. Contributors include economist Bernard Leitaer, media theorist Douglas Rushkoff, musician Paul D. Miller (a.k.a. DJ Spooky), theoretical physicist Amit Goswami, Larry Harvey (founder of Burning Man), and alternative historian Peter Lamborn Wilson. The money game ... Ever since the mangling of his ideas led to horrific dictatorships and genocidal regimes over the last century, the philosopher Karl Marx has been out of fashion, neglected and suppressed. Hypnotized by our culture, most people believe that our current form of money is the only rational way to exchange value -- that a debt-based currency, detached from any tangible asset, is something as organic and inevitable as carbon molecules, ice, or photosynthesis.
Albert Pike - Who is He? Albert Pike Predicted 3 World Wars Albert Pike's Background Jump to Albert Pike & Three World Wars. Very few outsiders know about the intimate plans of Albert Pike and the architects of the New World Order. About Albert Pike Albert Pike was born on December 29, 1809, in Boston, and was the oldest of six children born to Benjamin and Sarah Andrews Pike. Pike was said to be a genius, able to read and write in 16 different languages, although I cannot find a record anywhere of what those languages were. Incidentally, Freemasonry itself is a fascinating subject and I could devote an entire website to it. Pike was said to be a Satanist, who indulged in the occult, and he apparently possessed a bracelet which he used to summon Lucifer, with whom he had constant communication. Pike was Long's successor, and he changed the name of the Order to the New and Reformed Palladian Rite (or Reformed Palladium). Adelph (or Brother), and Companion of Ulysses (or Companion of Penelope). The Albert Pike Monument Next: More About Albert Pike
Engineering Education Offered Free by Top Colleges and Universities Getting Educated for Free 1. Computer and Software Engineering Courses Object Oriented Programming in C++ - Software engineering course from the University of Southern Queensland. Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs - Undergraduate course from MIT with a focus on computer engineering. 2. Introduction to Electric Power Systems - Graduate level electrical engineering course from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 3. Elements of Mechanical Design - Advanced mechanical engineering course from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 4. Introduction to Civil Engineering Design - Civil engineering course from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Utilizing Your Engineering Education A bachelor's degree is almost always required to work in an engineering field. Free courses can be utilized to build a foundation of knowledge in different areas of engineering. Career and Salary Potential Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Excerpts from Brain Sex Men are different from women. They are equal only in their common membership of the same species, humankind. To maintain that they are the same in aptitude, skill or behaviour is to build a society based on a biological and scientific lie. The sexes are different because their brains are different. The brain, the chief administrative and emotional organ of life, is differently contructed in men and in women; it processes information in a different way, which results in different perceptions, priorities and behaviour. Moravec's paradox - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Moravec's paradox is the discovery by artificial intelligence and robotics researchers that, contrary to traditional assumptions, high-level reasoning requires very little computation, but low-level sensorimotor skills require enormous computational resources. The principle was articulated by Hans Moravec, Rodney Brooks, Marvin Minsky and others in the 1980s. As Moravec writes, "it is comparatively easy to make computers exhibit adult level performance on intelligence tests or playing checkers, and difficult or impossible to give them the skills of a one-year-old when it comes to perception and mobility." Linguist and cognitive scientist Steven Pinker considers this the most significant discovery uncovered by AI researchers. The main lesson of thirty-five years of AI research is that the hard problems are easy and the easy problems are hard. Marvin Minsky emphasizes that the most difficult human skills to reverse engineer are those that are unconscious. As Moravec writes: See also[edit]
SCHOPENHAUER'S 38 STRATAGEMS, OR 38 WAYS TO WIN AN ARGUMENT Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), was a brilliant German philosopher. These 38 Stratagems are excerpts from "The Art of Controversy", first translated into English and published in 1896. Carry your opponent's proposition beyond its natural limits; exaggerate it. (abstracted from the book:Numerical Lists You Never Knew or Once Knew and Probably Forget, by: John Boswell and Dan Starer)