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91
Theism and Atheism / Re: Atheism, please note the capitalisation❤️
« Last post by The Accountant, OBE, KC on April 02, 2025, 06:02:53 PM »
Quote from: ProfessorDavey on April 02, 2025, 09:05:31 AM
Well I cannot speak for all atheists (and nor can you speak for all christians).

But my experience is exactly the opposite. I became interested in, recognised the importance of and really started to take notice of ethics/morality from the point where I recognised I was atheist. Prior to that, in my nominal 'I guess there a god and I guess that god is the christian god because that's what my societal upbringing told me' morality and ethics were something largely outsourced - something that you were told what to do and not do by others on the basis of some rule book, based on some nominal god. Something that wasn't really personally about me, nor something that I felt I had personal responsibility for.

That all changed when I came to recognise that I did not believe in god - no longer could I just leave this to others and their rules and their books.
Presumably atheists gets their morals from ideas that were communicated through books too. 

Quote
Nope I had a personal responsibility to determine what I considered to be right and wrong and a personal responsibility to uphold my own moral conscience. In a way this was really a bit scary - suddenly I had to do some work on the ethics, rather than outsourcing. And that's what I did - from that point onwards (and continuing to this day) I have had a deep personal and professional interest in ethics. I doubt that would have happened had I not become an atheist.


This atheist would counter - that tolerance, calmness etc are better in me since accepting that I did not believe in god.

I can't speak for all theists, but my observation is that all the theists I have encountered seem to spend quite a lot of time determining what they consider to be right or wrong and upholding their personal moral conscience, regardless of what some religious rule book says or someone else says. Sometimes theists disagree with what they think their religious books are saying and sometimes they aren't sure how to interpret their books so they don't make any decisions and just think about it for a while or research the different, often opposing,  viewpoints on an issue when they have time.

People (both theists and atheists) may often give into their desires because they have expended all their will-power for the day (or the time being) in some other area of their life.

The varied interpretations of religious rules by theists looks very much like personal responsibility to me, though their rule book might have sparked a train of thought. 

Sometimes my 'authentic' self tells myself to stop worrying about which of my multiple opposing desires is my 'authentic' one and just get on with something a bit more productive. That was actually one of the reasons I stopped trying to convince theists to become atheists - when I started hanging around with some very productive theists.
92
General Discussion / Re: The Weather
« Last post by Gordon on April 02, 2025, 05:57:04 PM »
It's been a lovely day here today - even I smiled!
93
Literature, Music, Art & Entertainment / Re: What are you watching?
« Last post by Roses on April 02, 2025, 05:24:59 PM »
Quote from: SqueakyVoice on April 02, 2025, 05:09:43 PM
I watched, My Brain The Rupture (on bbc iplayer) a couple of nights ago. In some ways I can empathise  with her and how long it is still taking to recover.

We watched it too. My husband had the same problem in 2006. He was nearly 60 when he had his and was in hospital for nearly 4 months. He was unable to to do any academic work again, which has upset him badly. As he has got older he has more and more health problems and his walking is not good. :(
94
Literature, Music, Art & Entertainment / Re: What are you watching?
« Last post by SqueakyVoice on April 02, 2025, 05:09:43 PM »
I watched, My Brain The Rupture (on bbc iplayer) a couple of nights ago. In some ways I can empathise  with her and how long it is still taking to recover.
95
Science and Technology / Re: Richard Feynman 👍
« Last post by Stranger on April 02, 2025, 04:42:44 PM »
Quote from: Gonnagle on April 02, 2025, 02:40:36 PM
Do these exoplanets have a Moon.

Fuck knows. It's hard enough to detect exoplanets at all, which is why most of the ones we've found are considerably larger than Earth. However, since most of the planets in our solar system have at least one moon, it seems likely.

Quote from: Gonnagle on April 02, 2025, 02:40:36 PM
While Earth could potentially survive without the Moon, its presence is vital for maintaining a stable climate and shaping life as we know it, particularly through tides and stabilizing Earth's tilt.
Here's a more detailed explanation:
Tides and Ocean Life:
The Moon's gravitational pull is the primary driver of ocean tides...

Ever thought of referencing your sources?

Regardless, although the moon is vital to the exact ecosystem we have on Earth I've never seen a detailed claim that life would be impossible without one.

We seem to be getting close to the Douglas Adams puddle analogy:

"This is rather as if you imagine a puddle waking up one morning and thinking, 'This is an interesting world I find myself in - an interesting hole I find myself in - fits me rather neatly, doesn't it? In fact it fits me staggeringly well, must have been made to have me in it!'"
96
Politics & Current Affairs / Re: The influencers who want the US to procreate faster -
« Last post by ProfessorDavey on April 02, 2025, 04:38:24 PM »
Quote from: SqueakyVoice on April 02, 2025, 02:30:39 PM
(Prof, it might be downloading  the BBC news app, it works for me?)VD's thinking, 'oh no the left wokerati are only having 2 children. How can I win the argument? I know let's (procreate) like rabbits until we've  (procreated) enough to win the argument..
"It gives me a headache, just trying to think down to their level." Marvin, the Paranoid Android)
The problem with that argument is that is assumes that children think exactly like their parents, so persuading conservative parents to have more children will swell the numbers of conservatives in the next generation.

But it doesn't necessarily work like that - a prime example being religion. I've hear a similar argument in relation to religion in the UK - effectively that because religious parents tend to have more children than non-religious parents that the proportion of the population who are non-religious will slowly dwindle as they are overtaken by the offspring of the religious (who those making these arguments will assume will also be religious).

But big spanner in the works - only about 50% of children brought up in religious households end up religious as adults. So all that happens if religious parents have more children is that they swell the numbers of religious and non-religious next generation equally. But the same isn't true for non-religious, where about 95% of the children of parents brought up in a non-religious household end up non-religious as adults.

So effectively no amount of addition procreation by religious parents will swell the numbers of the religious in the next generation.

Now I don't know how this will equate to political positions in the USA, but certainly children have a fairly sizeable propensity to kick back against the political views of their parents. And also there tends to be a generation by generation shift towards liberalism - with many liberal elements considered absolutely accepted, normal and mainstream (e.g. the rights of women, gay people and ethnic minority) while those would have been considered extreme back 2-3 generations ago (e.g. in the 1950s). That there is a short-term kick back against liberalism doesn't alter the long-term trend.
97
Politics & Current Affairs / Re: The influencers who want the US to procreate faster -
« Last post by Gonnagle on April 02, 2025, 04:05:11 PM »
Dear Fellow posters,

Somebody tell me I am wrong, I really want to be told I am wrong :-[

Why do I have pictures in my head of thousands of marching children all with blonde hair and blue eyes.

We are children and we will stick our fingers in the socket just to see what happens.

Tell me I am wrong, please.

Gonnagle.
98
General Discussion / Re: The Weather
« Last post by Nearly Sane on April 02, 2025, 03:42:30 PM »
Taps aff
99
Science and Technology / Re: Richard Feynman 👍
« Last post by Gonnagle on April 02, 2025, 02:40:36 PM »
Quote from: Stranger on April 02, 2025, 01:59:32 PM
Spacial? Depends on what you mean. Is Earth special? I guess in the sense that it's home, but special as in extraordinary in the universe? Probably not at all. There are roughly 10²² (10 000 000 000 000 000 000 000) stars in the observable universe and we can inter from the number of exoplanets we've found that planets are common and also infer that life probably is too, from the fact that it started here pretty much as soon as it could. The total size of the universe may be much bigger than the observable universe and may even be infinite.

There are, of course, unknowns like how likely multicellular, intelligent life is, but it still seems unlikely that we'd be unique in all of space-time in that respect.

There are multiple ways in which we might get to a multiverse, some of them more plausible than others...

Dear Stranger,

Exoplanet?

noun: exoplanet; plural noun: exoplanets
a planet that orbits a star outside the solar system.
"astronomers discover potentially habitable exoplanet twice the size of Earth"

Do these exoplanets have a Moon.

While Earth could potentially survive without the Moon, its presence is vital for maintaining a stable climate and shaping life as we know it, particularly through tides and stabilizing Earth's tilt.
Here's a more detailed explanation:
Tides and Ocean Life:
The Moon's gravitational pull is the primary driver of ocean tides, which are crucial for mixing ocean waters, distributing nutrients, and shaping coastal ecosystems. Without the Moon, tides would be significantly weaker, potentially impacting marine life and coastal habitats.
Climate Stability:
The Moon plays a crucial role in stabilizing Earth's axial tilt, which determines the seasons. Without the Moon, Earth's tilt could vary wildly, leading to extreme seasonal changes and potentially destabilizing the climate.
Day Length:
The Moon's gravitational pull also slows down Earth's rotation, gradually lengthening our days. Without the Moon, Earth's rotation would be faster, resulting in shorter days.
Evolution of Life:
Some scientists believe that the Moon's influence on tides and Earth's rotation may have been important in the early evolution of life and the movement of species across the planet.
Nocturnal Life:
The Moon provides a natural light source at night, which is important for many nocturnal animals and their behaviors. Without the Moon, the night sky would be much darker, potentially impacting nocturnal predators and prey.


See this science stuff it is bloody amazing :o

The giant-impact hypothesis, also known as the Theia impact, proposes that the Moon formed from the debris of a collision between a proto-Earth and a Mars-sized planet called Theia, about 4.5 billion years ago.
Here's a more detailed explanation:
The Collision:
The theory posits that a young, forming Earth collided with a planet roughly the size of Mars, known as Theia.
Debris Disk:
The impact was so powerful that it sent a large amount of debris, including material from both the Earth and Theia, into space, forming a disk around the Earth.
Moon Formation:
Over time, the material in this debris disk coalesced and accreted to form the Moon.
Evidence:
The giant impact hypothesis is supported by several pieces of evidence, including:
Similar isotopic composition: The Moon's composition is remarkably similar to Earth's mantle, suggesting a common origin.
Lack of volatiles: The Moon is relatively deficient in volatile compounds, which would have been vaporized during the high-energy impact.
Orbital dynamics: The Earth-Moon system has a high angular momentum, which can be explained by the energy transfer during the collision.
Computer simulations: Computer models support the feasibility of the giant-impact scenario.
Consequences for Earth:
The impact is also thought to have tilted Earth's axis, resulting in the 23.5-degree axial tilt that causes seasons.
Alternative Hypotheses:
Other theories for the Moon's formation, such as the fission theory (where the Moon split off from Earth) and the capture theory (where the Moon was captured by Earth's gravity), are less favored than the giant-impact hypothesis.

23.5-degree axial tilt that causes seasons

Don't know about seasons but my brain is about to go tilt :o

I will need to find out about this Theia.

Gonnagle.

100
Politics & Current Affairs / Re: The influencers who want the US to procreate faster -
« Last post by SqueakyVoice on April 02, 2025, 02:30:39 PM »
(Prof, it might be downloading  the BBC news app, it works for me?)
Quote
The US Vice President JD Vance has also spoken openly about his views on procreation. At an anti-abortion rally in January he declared: "I want more babies in the United States of America."
VD's thinking, 'oh no the left wokerati are only having 2 children. How can I win the argument? I know let's (procreate) like rabbits until we've  (procreated) enough to win the argument..
"It gives me a headache, just trying to think down to their level." Marvin, the Paranoid Android)
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