Nigel

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Everything posted by Nigel

  1. Nigel
    Seems to me the Iranians are following most of Europe, Massachusets and California in a quest to improve the human condition. For once, something good is coming out of Tehran...
  2. Nigel
    Yes, it's totally ridiculous, given that we're all out of Africa. Some of us have just been out of Africa longer than others... If I ever need to describe anyone, I use whatever features they have...white, black, tall, short, etc. 'Fat' is the really dangerous term though. I've given in and use 'well-nourished' now....
  3. Nigel
    Who are the other founders? And the MD qual doesn't make psychiatry or psychiatrists a science, I'd also argue psychiatry has only made modest progress in the last 130 years. Addictions and schizophrenia seem to remain pretty intractable...but we're getting way off base.
  4. Nigel
    I think they were more than early players in the game. Freud is widely considered the founder of the modern psychoanalytic method - despite whatever you may think of it... And BTW the reply was to your assertion a medical degree is needed before entering psychiatry in OZ. as if OZ was exceptional...it's the same with the rest of the world.
  5. Nigel
    Umm..I think the defining characteristic of the scientific method is making testable hypotheses. If it can't be tested, it ain't science. Freudian and Jungian 'theory' is based on their own, subjective experience. Any predictability (and I'm not sure there was any) could be negated by placebo or observer bias. I'm also pretty sure their observations were not reproducible.. In reply to: They are not psychiatry. (they merely had some input into it) here in OZ you need a medical degree before you can enter into psychiatry In all fairness, Freud was an MD....
  6. Nigel
    It's 'No'..
  7. Nigel
    Mmmm...not too sure about pyschiatry....Freud and Jung were certainly not scientific.
  8. Nigel
    I stand on the sidelines, watching all the fun! Seriously, though I'm still in the souls market. Though don't get any inflated notions of value - there's a huge oversupply issue at present. S.Atan "Live a little, don't just love. So the world may know the Devil, and not just god is an Englishman"
  9. Nigel
    OK...but first tell me: 1) What would it take, from an evidence perspective, to convince you? What type and quality of evidence would be needed?
  10. Nigel
    Er...so long as it was her choice.
  11. Nigel
    I have no trouble attributing emergence of 'intellect' and 'creativity' to the customary evolutionary process. I think you could say human 'creativity' is a manifestation of attributes (eg solving food problems) that favored survival and reproduction.
  12. Nigel
    Another argument against free will... God is omniscient (well he used to be when I went to Catechism classes)..so he knows everything, even before it's happened. So: whatever I do, he knew I was going to do it, before I did it.... So: if I don't do what he knew I was going to do, ie exercise my free will, then my behavior shows him up as being wrong... So: free will and an omniscient god are mutually exclusive - you can have one or the other, but not both.
  13. Nigel
    Nicely - and humorously put!
  14. Nigel
    I don't think the big-bangers beleive the universe was always there - it began at a well-measured time point - the big bang. Prior to that? Is unknown. But invoking a god/creator doesn't solve the problem - just pushes it back one step (who created the creator?).. It is OK to not know something, there's no need to invent a spurious idea (god)...
  15. Nigel
    Wow, a really good point! My apparent choice of belief system (atheism) is likely driven by factors just as out of my control, as yours is too. But believing something to be true doesn't turn the belief into reality. In other words..'I believe in God' doesn't translate into 'God exists'. (And similarly, 'I don't believe in God' doesn't mean he/she doesn't) However... the fundamental difference between our beliefs is I would acknowledge the existence of a/the god if the evidence was objectively compelling. Whereas, I suspect no matter how compelling the evidence to the contrary, your belief wouldn't change..
  16. Nigel
    Free will, you believe in free will? So 6 year old Johnny says he wants to be a fireman when he grows up. Fast forward to when he's 25 years old - and he's a fireman. On the face, it looks like he fulfilled his choice. Trouble is, little Johnny had no control of the factors that led him to choose 'fireman' over 'nurse' when he was 6, so no free will, I contend. I contend we're complex automata that respond to our environments in statistically predictable ways: Individuals may seem to have act freely, but the range of choices is pretty limited. Of course...in our day to day lives, the illusion of free will is good enough to not be an issue...until someone is compelled to question it!
  17. Nigel
    I test the Lord thy God all the time - and thus far she's falling well short! I'm sorry for the bad things that have happened to you - but not wishing to belittle them, they all seem pretty materialistic. In reality, being born white - or at least in Europe or America - means you've won the lottery of life - and have a good chance of living to see your fifth birthday. Does your God only take care of you if you acknowledge her, or the right version of her? So all the Jews in the gas chambers, praying for help, were ignored "Sorry chaps, but if your parents had had you baptized, I might have been able to help...As they didn't...well what can I say to help? "Don't try holding your breath" is the best I can do for you'
  18. Nigel
    Honestly sweetheart, it's not just Christians that piss me off. Crazy Muslims who circumcize baby girls, crazy Jews who slaughter Palestinians also bug the f**k out of me. I'm still alive (and breathing - the two tend to go together!) and have no wish to be loved by your God: I'm guessing he's the same malevolent chap who keeps giving all those poor people such a hard time - malaria, dysentery, bad weather, earthquakes, you know the sort of thing. And presumably letting Bernie Mac die this week-end was all part of the divine masterplan? If you really believe the religious nonsense, then try this experiment next time you jump: Turn off your AAD, close your eyes, pray hard that God will save you, and see what happens....I'm fairly confident I know what the result will be, but I'm always open to conversion!
  19. Nigel
    I'm with you..science is an open system, constantly being updated as new evidence or better thinking surfaces. Religions are closed thought systems, which means even if you could prove (which I probably couldn't) that God doesn't exist, they'd just say...'Yeah, you make a good point - but I'm still going to believe this crap' So evidence-based reasoning is waste on the credulous. Strange thing: Any adult who believes in Santa, the Tooth Fairy, Loch Ness Monster, Yeti, UFOs driven by little green men etc is clearly a picnic short of a sandwich and don't merit a debate. But God..."Well, that's different...."
  20. Nigel
    Is 'premeditated murder' really the worst crime? If A plans to abduct/murder little girl B, I agree. But what if A witnesses a gangland crime, and the perp subsequently sets out (and lets it be known he is) to kill A. Isn't A entitled to take out bad guy pre-emptively, in self-defense? I think he is...which would be pre-meditated. And isn't judicial execution premeditated...?
  21. Nigel
    I'm in totally in favor of the death penalty, but only for really serious crimes, such as: Dropping litter ( my preference would be summary execution on the spot, with relatives being sent the bill for clean up). Allowing your dog to crap on the sidewalk (same, but shoot the pooch first). Seriously...I don't believe DP has any place in a civilized society, no matter how awful the crime. We think the Iranians are depraved for stoning adulterers, hanging gays etc and then we execute the mentally ill, the underaged - oh and the plain innocent! Time to grow up.....