October, 2007 - Posts of the Month

Repeating the intro from the previous month:Another month melts seamlessly in to the next... Its that time of the month again where we vote on posts that have left indelible impressions on us.If what you just read was brilliantly written, go ahead and praise them. Just be sure to include the:Author: Author's Name
Forum: Forum where nominated post is located
Thread: Thread title
Message #: Number and Link to the nominated message

Dr Adequate neatly and succinctly defines deduction and induction and the roles they play in science.Author: Dr Adequate
Forum: [forum=-11]
Thread: Evolution is not science
Message: Message 121--PercyEdited by Percy, : Typo.

I realize this post is about two months old, but it is just coming to my attention now. Slightly older or not, might as well give praise where praise is due.In the Coffee House forum, Arach on the ZeitGeist thread masterfully dissects the inaccuracies that abound in Msg 9 on an op-ed film named, Zeitgeist.Zeitgeist is a rather typical conspiracy theory film that covers over a gamut of information with no clear purpose or smooth segue in to one topic to the next, seemingly to discredit whatever topics the film makers find interesting.
Edited by Nemesis Juggernaut, : Edit to place url tags on message number

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"It is better to shun the bait, than struggle in the snare." -Ravi Zacharias

Java Man has concisely defended empiricism in keeping with reality against antagonists who have misapplied the very state of "empiricism" they wish to laud.He rightly recognizes that it has lost its perspective amongst its most ardent supporters who are foisting inaccuracies against anything other than science and mathematics under false assumptions."What started as a defence of scepticism, in debates with LindaLou, seems to have turned into an argument claiming that most our ways of acquiring knowledge about the world are untrustworthy and that only science provides the holy path to truth." -Java ManForum: Is it Science?
Thread: Misunderstanding Empiricism

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“This life’s dim windows of the soul, distorts the heavens from pole to pole, and goads you to believe a lie, when you see with and not through the eye.” -William Blake

I don't really understand what you're trying to say, but it's interesting. I wonder if it's a perspective you'd consider defending in that thread.

I know that it is a rehash of some material in a very old thread but the new pictures certainly improve the situation. Another great explanation of the different ideas on time near the singularity.Author: cavediver
Forum: [forum=-2]
Thread: The problems of big bang theory. What are they?
Message: Message 108

Author: Archer Opterix
Forum: Is it science?
Thread: On the Philosophy of, well, Philosophy
Message 46Archer Opterix shows the value of philosophy by bringing clarity to the discussion.

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'I can't even fit all my wife's clothes into a suitcase for travelling. So you want me to believe we're going to put all of the planets and stars and everything into a sandwich bag?' - q3psycho on the Big Bang

Thank you. But I must admit, I don't understand what you're praising me for, either .

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'I can't even fit all my wife's clothes into a suitcase for travelling. So you want me to believe we're going to put all of the planets and stars and everything into a sandwich bag?' - q3psycho on the Big Bang

Seconded

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Read not to contradict and confute, not to believe and take for granted, not to find talk and discourse, but to weigh and consider - Francis BaconThe more we understand particular things, the more we understand God - Spinoza

Thirded

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“This life’s dim windows of the soul, distorts the heavens from pole to pole, and goads you to believe a lie, when you see with and not through the eye.” -William Blake

Thanks, Java, Angla, Nem.I have a friend, a university librarian, who holds two degrees in philosophy. Among his other duties he helps scientists polish their journal articles for publication. Medical field, mostly.He says one of the things he values most about his philosophy background is the intellectual rigour of it. You get in the habit of asking probing questions that go to the core of things. You learn critical thinking, refining your abilities to tell a solid argument from a sloppy one. He has been able to apply these skills in many areas, including science at the most demanding levels.Thanks again, guys.

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ArcherAll species are transitional.

I will have to fourth this, though I also hated the post; it was 100 times better than the post I was constructing to say the same kind of thing.Your call, Socrates.Brilliant.

Yeah, me too. Don't you hate it.Edited by JavaMan, : No reason given.

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'I can't even fit all my wife's clothes into a suitcase for travelling. So you want me to believe we're going to put all of the planets and stars and everything into a sandwich bag?' - q3psycho on the Big Bang

Modulous says

quote:

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though I also hated the post; it was 100 times better than the post I was constructing to say the same kind of thing.

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JavaMan says

quote:

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Yeah, me too. Don't you hate it.

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I'll be the tertiary man for this one too. He's apparently saying the same things I am, but with far more eloquence. I've been outdone.

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“This life’s dim windows of the soul, distorts the heavens from pole to pole, and goads you to believe a lie, when you see with and not through the eye.” -William Blake

Excuse me while I get this one in under the gun.

Charismaniac
Message 66
Divinity of Jesus

I found this a remarkable post. It's a breath of fresh air for the detailed and sympathetic note it takes of individuals in our circle.No, I can't say I buy the suggestion that everyone at EvC is really a theist in disguise. And one can write off the statements of appreciation as clever Jesus salesmanship if one wants. None of that changes one fact: few of the would-be Jesus sales reps who come through EvC's doors show the least competence in the kind of observations Charismaniac easily makes and shares.How much more often do we encounter people who notice no human beings around them at all? You read what they say and try to communicate, but they aren't paying attention. They perform only for the Critic in the Balcony. They do not see individuals around them. They do not converse.Here is someone who appears to take genuine enjoyment in meeting and getting to know people, who notices the things that matter to them, who feels cheated if deprived of the opportunity to do so. Here is someone who seems to know the difference between friendship and intellectual agreement, kinship and religious affiliation, voluntary participation in an Internet forum and imprisonment in a lions' den.This is not something you see every day. This is healthy. This is remarkable.So, surprised as I am to be nominating someone named Charismaniac for Post of the Month, there it is.(Hey, it's Samhain. Strange things are supposed to happen.) ________Edited by Archer Opterix, : html.Edited by Archer Opterix, : typo.