Guest posts by acelink

1

Tech Talk / Re: 3 Objects Out of Video Games or Anime

« on: June 05, 2011, 04:25:18 am »

Kenshin's Sakabato
Wall-E's bug companion
Naruto's 9 Tailed Demon (Its his pet... MMMK)

2

Religion / Re: All of you evolutionists are stupid when it comes to logic.

« on: January 05, 2011, 07:13:22 pm »

I know I am a little late to the scene.  I didn't read all of the posts in this here thread because I do not have 8 hours to spend typing up a response to each post I feel the need to comment on.

To use the words "all of you" was your first mistake in creating this thread.  That leaves no room for discussion in terms of an argument because of your clear ignorance for the topic.  Not only that, you openly insult and for what?  Your poorly written argument as to why evolutionists are stupid @ logic.

The first thing that you fubar'd on was implying that all evolutionists believed in the Big Bang.  You draw upon the connection between Evolutionism and Big Bang--as there is no direct connection, you should attempt to explain.  If you drew that "Most persons who believe in the Big Bang believe in the evolutionist belief that humans (among other creatures) stemmed from simpler organisms."  That would be more acceptable for an opening statement. 

Then you attack the Big Bang creation and where it came from.  The problem with your argument is that you are relying on "infinite regression".  What created the Big Bang?  What created that?  What created that? ...  The same thing can be said when looking at the typical God conception as the creator.  "What/who created the universe? God.  What/who created God? What created that? ... 

Millions of years?  Try billions.  Just because it seems unimaginable number--it does not prove anything.  You used a shitty argument in trying to say that salt grows everyday in the ocean.  There is a limit as to that line of logic.  That is like saying that every year the amount of students at a university drops by 5%.   In ____ years, only women will be attending college.

Sure life is complex.  I agree with you there.  But I don't feel like explaining anything more complex.  I am sure someone else already explained.

3

Religion / Re: What Religion Are You Interested In?

« on: January 05, 2011, 06:52:07 pm »

I once spoke to a girl who tried to disprove my religion.  I in turn disproved hers.  She was heartbroken.  (It's a long dramatic story involving a fight with her parents and yadda yadda yadda).  I explained to her the difficulties I had in believing in any sort of organized religion.  These difficulties were exacerbated by my superstitious nature.  While I did not believe in organized religion, I did believe in both a god and karma.

While this argument turned debate turned pep-talk went on, I stumbled across the beliefs I had always had, said in concise and logical terms.

God does not care what religion you practice.  Simply do the right thing, and the right thing, and if there is a god, he/she will respond in kind.

As long as you are moral, it is okay not to know.  As long as you are just, it is okay not to believe.

I agree mostly with what you say but there is a conflict as to what morality is.  Although it seems easy in extreme situations to determine what is moral, when the line begins to blur there becomes a plethora of options--as there is a variety of moral theories, each encasing the answer in different ways. 

I mean to approach this in such a manner that the answer is universal-istic.  Which means there is a right answer and there is only one.  Meaning that if two people have an argument on the same ethical dilemma and end up with different answers--there is one person that is wrong.

One of the most unsettling universal ethical theories that I have encountered is Ethical Egoism.  Ethical Egoism can be summerized to doing what is one's own best rational interestAlthough the person is being 'ethical' there is a lot of virtues missing.

No one person stands by only one ethical theory--or rather it is difficult to.  This is not admitting to a relativistic belief of morals but rather a descriptive observation.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As for the religion choices, I do not particularly like any religion so to say.  I like the underlying philosophy that some religions are based upon.  Buddhism at its core is not a religion but rather a way of thinking--there is no direct ties to worship or diety worship.  The same can be said with the Tao (Dao) beliefs alongside Confucianism.

The above mentioned "religions" are where my interests lie: Tao, Confucianism, Buddhism and Zen.  I also like the thoughts of may other philosophers in terms of ethical decisions.  I am a virtue ethicist and like the ideas mentioned by Eastern philosophy and habitualization of ethics. 

I do not disregard the other worldly religions, but I much rather prefer the philosophy.  Religions have a way of being diluted especially in language translations and a lot of misconceptions due to cultural differences.  I simply plead agnostic words when it comes to most religions--I believe there is no way in knowing if they are 'true'. I guess that is why they call it "faith".  Unfortiantely I am skeptical.

4

Rainbow Decks / Re: Acelink's God Killer

« on: January 05, 2011, 06:30:22 am »

This deck, my baby, severely suffered with the AI changes. 



It is hard to kill the FGs when they are smart.

I am lucky to win 1/10 now. /wrists

5

Off-Topic Discussions / New Comp!

« on: September 03, 2010, 09:56:48 am »

I am somewhat bored and don't want to sleep.  I am currently awaiting the rest of my computer and am stoked.

Part	Name	Price
Case	Antec 300 Illusion (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066)	$54.99
PSU	OCZ 600W  (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341017&nm_mc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel&cm_mmc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel-_-Content-_-text-_-)	$69.99
Mobo	MSI 870-G45 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130290)	$69.99
CPU	AMD Athlon II X4 635 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103882)	$99.00
Ram	4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600  (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211409)	$89.99
HDD	WD Caviar Blue 1TB (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136534)	$74.99
GPU	Radeon 5770 1GB (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125327)	$169.99
DVD-RW	Sony CD/DVD Burner (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118040)	$19.99
MISC	Two SATA cables (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812123110)	$5.98
Discount	Type	Price
CPU+DVD	Combo	$7.00
PSU+GPU	Combo	$30.00
?IDK?	Combo	$39.99
HDD	Promo	$15.00
Case	Rebate	$15.00
PSU	Rebate	$20.00
GPU	Rebate	$20.00

Subtotal	$601.91
Tax	$49.66
S&H	$8.68
Total	$660.25
Rebates	-$55
FINAL	$605.25

I think I messed up on one of the combo discounts but my totals came directly from the invoice.  $660.25 is what I paid out the door.

Any thoughts/comments?  What would you change and why?

6

Rainbow Decks / Re: Acelink's God Killer

« on: August 02, 2010, 05:03:11 am »

I see my deck has taken to some peoples interest in my absence.

I am afraid the win rate has gone down somewhat significantly as time has changed... The AI has changed since I first made this deck--they now target the fresh golems rather than the strong buff ones (at times).  If I had to guess now--I have no need to farm gods.  The win rate would be within 15-20% average among all gods.

I did see that Smuglapse did of testing.  His breakdown seemed okay although it appears he was rather unlucky with the amount of each fake god he encounter.

7

Religion / Re: Why don't you believe in God(s)?

« on: July 31, 2010, 08:03:29 am »

No you cannot. They are not* mutually exclusive--take the implications of each one. 

a)If you believe there is no god, then you accept (know) there is no god. 
b)If you accept (know) "god is unknown or unknowable" then you believe that you never will be able comprehend god or know he does or does not exist.

The wikipedia "atheistic agnosticism" or "agnostic theism" is a bullshit way of putting... A person who believes there is no god but does not know it or a person who knows there is a god but does not believe it.  If you say there is a god, then you believe there is a god.  It is illogical know something and not believe it or to not know and believe something.

Walk up to someone and say "I believe there is a god" then say "I don't know if he exists".  They would LAUGH at you...

c)Argument Restated/Rephrased:
The agnostic pleads ignorance.  "God is unknown or unknowable" 
The atheist says "There is no god"

Either you know there is no god or plead ignorance... cannot be both.  You know there is no god and "god is unknown or knowable"?  Not logical.

Atheist take: Atheist says there is no god then god is NOT "unknown/unknowable" for God is known--he does not exist.  Thereby dispelling the agnostic belief.

Agnostic take: Agnostic says "god is unknown/unknowable" then he knows not if God does or does not exist.  To state god does not exist would be to say God is known.  Thereby dispelling their agnostic belief.

Believing is not the same thing as knowing, even though the definition of knowledge is mmm... blurry (?) .-.

a) If I don't believe there is a God that does not mean I have true knowledge about being right, so in order to keep my intellectual honesty I can't rule out the possibility of being wrong since what I believe/disbelieve will not make things true.

b) If I say "God is unknown" is because I don't find enough evidence or arguments to assert any claim about the existence of such thing however that would not mean it will remain unknown nor stop me from taking a stance about it (a stance that may change in light of new evidence).

It is like the Russell's teapot: I don't believe there is a teapot revolving around the sun but just because of that I can't say I know there isn't one. If I say I do know just because of my belief, my knowledge would not necessarily be true and would not be justified.

c) There are different types of atheism. That is just strong atheism, there is a difference between saying "I don't believe in gods" and "There is no God" because in the latter, you are stating an affirmation in a logical sense (despite expressing it in a grammatically negative way), therefore it acquires the burden of proof. An agnostic atheist does not make such affirmations.

* I guess this was a typo...

You're stance should always be dependant upon evidence no matter the stance.  That is my whole point.   You can be a atheist/theist/agnostic that still holds their believes based on the contingency of knowledge.

What is illogical about the 'agnostic atheist' is the way he gets his answer (although it may not be wrong).  They take a stance on with no knowledge.   
5 + 5 = 10... no through logic, intuition, dogma or any other type of knowledge...

The strong/weak forms of atheism come to the knowledge they believe exists.  The strong atheist pleads "God does not exist and there will be no proof to otherwise prove he does exist"  The weak atheist pleads "God does not exist, but there is the possibility that God does exist"  The same is true with the types of agnosticism.

There are better ways to say what I am saying.  I am not fluid in accademia speak.  There are better ways to phrase and clearly express my point... i am just not going to attempt as that would take hours of writing.

8

Religion / Re: Why don't you believe in God(s)?

« on: July 29, 2010, 06:51:48 pm »

The types of atheism and agnostic beliefs have nothing to do with the argument. 

Lets just simplify this to their brute meanings.
Atheism is to claim that there is no god.  Agnostic is to claim that god is unknown/knowable.  If you claim there is no god, then it is to claim known knowledge of god which goes against agnosticism.

As I said before... claiming agnostic theism or agnostic atheism is a bullshit way of putting "I do (not) believe in God but I have no proof of it"  Proof examples would be: Dogma (Religion), intuition and logic.  If you have no proof, then why do you believe in God?  At least have the marbles to say "Intuition, I just know" and "My proof is my dogma".  (dogma is beliefs held authoritatively...)

It sounds as if you believe there is no god but fail to accept that as a dogma and do not entirely believe there is no god.
 
Either god exists (theism), does not exist (atheism) or is unknown/knowable (agnostic).  Pick one.

9

Religion / Re: Why don't you believe in God(s)?

« on: July 29, 2010, 05:29:08 pm »

I am an atheist because I take a negative position on the God question.

You still do not understand what an atheist is...  Just because you have a negative position on God does not make you an atheist... To be an atheist you believe there is no god.  If you want to create new definitions for a word in our lexical, just say the definiens without the definiendum. 

10

Religion / Re: Why don't you believe in God(s)?

« on: July 29, 2010, 04:25:04 am »

There is no middle ground.  It either is or is not infinite and cannot be both.

To be an Atheist literally means: You do not believe in god.
To be an Agnostic means: You do not know if there is a god or it is impossible to tell.

There is no middle ground.  Either there is no god or it is impossible to tell.

I don't know why you said that here, but that is not what I meant. I never said the universe was finite and infinte.

I understand that is not what you meant... BUT you need to understand the words you are using--you were misusing the term atheism.  To be an Atheist means you do not believe God exists.  You should not proclaim to be an atheist if you do not hold the stance of "there is no god".

The point of the universe was just an example of why you cannot be both atheist and agnostic.  It is either one or the other, NOT BOTH.

I am not trying to define your beliefs but you should have some knowledge as to what words mean.  But you cannot be both Agnostic and Atheist.

Here is a good example of what I mean when you cannot have both answers. 

Is the Universe infinite or finite?

1) If the universe is infinite, this is beyond our comprehension.

2) If the universe has an end, what does it look like? Is there something outside it? Then again, it's infinite and beyond our comprehension.

There is no middle ground.  It either is or is not infinite and cannot be both.

To be an Atheist literally means: You do not believe in god.
To be an Agnostic means: You do not know if there is a god or it is impossible to tell.

There is no middle ground.  Either there is no god or it is impossible to tell.

Yes, you can be both. Someone might claim that he does not believe there are gods and at the same time, say that he doesn't know if there are gods. Both statements are not mutually exclusive since agnosticism is about what you know and theism/atheism is about what you believe. 

No you cannot.  They are not mutually exclusive--take the implications of each one. 

If you believe there is no god, then you accept (know) there is no god. 
If you accept (know) "god is unknown or unknowable" then you believe that you never will be able comprehend god or know he does or does not exist.

The wikipedia "atheistic agnosticism" or "agnostic theism" is a bullshit way of putting... A person who believes there is no god but does not know it or a person who knows there is a god but does not believe it.  If you say there is a god, then you believe there is a god.  It is illogical know something and not believe it or to not know and believe something.

Walk up to someone and say "I believe there is a god" then say "I don't know if he exists".  They would LAUGH at you...

Argument Restated/Rephrased:
The agnostic pleads ignorance.  "God is unknown or unknowable" 
The atheist says "There is no god"

Either you know there is no god or plead ignorance... cannot be both.  You know there is no god and "god is unknown or knowable"?  Not logical.

Atheist take: Atheist says there is no god then god is NOT "unknown/unknowable" for God is known--he does not exist.  Thereby dispelling the agnostic belief.

Agnostic take: Agnostic says "god is unknown/unknowable" then he knows not if God does or does not exist.  To state god does not exist would be to say God is known.  Thereby dispelling their agnostic belief.

The reason I don't believe in any gods is best summed up by this quote (which is attributed to Epicurus, the Greek philosopher, but may be just a pithy rephrasing of his actual words):

Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?
Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing?
Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing?
Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing?
Then why call him God?

There are more subtleties to it than that (and indeed I have many more objections), but that's the gist of it.

Another, more modern question (also not my devising): Why doesn't god heal amputees?
This one only rebutts interventionist deities, but it does so extremely well.

Side note:
To be omnipotent means to be able to do anything that is possible. 

What I mean by this is: If god is all-powerful, then he should be able to make a stone he could not lift.  BUT it is impossible for him to create a stone he could not lift.  He can only do what is possible--omnipotent (not all-powerful with the ability to do anything).

So my point with this is... maybe it is not possible to prevent evil.  God would still be still omnipotent.

Epicurus's argument is still has a valid point.  If god is not able to prevent evil, then why call him god?

God OR gods actually, as a theist doesn't have to be monotheist.  I used religious as a simplification and to address that I do not believe in anything supernatural such as pantheism, wiccan, etc, which are religions not involving gods.

Agnostic, however, I have heard quite a few definitions of. Angry at God,  uncertain, etc.

But to take THE definitions:

To be an Atheist literally means: You do not believe in god.
To be an Agnostic means: You do not know if there is a god or it is impossible to tell.

My beliefs = I don't believe that there is a God (or gods/anything of the kind) but I don't know if that is true. Which fits fairly well. Or out of curiosity, is there a single word for it?

Why do you believe that there is no god if you do not know?  Explain your reasoning.

It is illogical to believe without knowing.  To know but not believe.  If you are illogical then there is no point in having an argument with you.

There are a variety of claims God does or does not exist.  Dogma, intuition, logic. But the problem with logic is there is no solid evidence to prove or disprove.  (There is our agnostic!)

11

Off-Topic Discussions / Re: Anime! What's your favorite?

« on: July 27, 2010, 06:57:46 pm »

FMA1 and FMA2 was AMAZING. It was saddening to watch them end.

Kenshin is my other favorite. 

12

Religion / Re: Why don't you believe in God(s)?

« on: July 27, 2010, 06:55:46 pm »

Actually I don't think it is up to you to decide for me to define my beliefs (or anyones, even though it seems to be what you are trying to do. Then again, putting a label on something doesn't make it true) . I am currently an atheist, aka I don't believe in anything religious, but also an agnostic as I search for what I don't believe in in hopes of finding it?

I am not trying to define your beliefs but you should have some knowledge as to what words mean.  But you cannot be both Agnostic and Atheist.

Here is a good example of what I mean when you cannot have both answers. 

Is the Universe infinite or finite?

1) If the universe is infinite, this is beyond our comprehension.

2) If the universe has an end, what does it look like? Is there something outside it? Then again, it's infinite and beyond our comprehension.

There is no middle ground.  It either is or is not infinite and cannot be both.

To be an Atheist literally means: You do not believe in god.
To be an Agnostic means: You do not know if there is a god or it is impossible to tell.

There is no middle ground.  Either there is no god or it is impossible to tell.

I am currently an atheist, aka I don't believe in anything religious

You are misusing the word, Atheist.  As I mentioned before, to be an Atheist means you do not believe in god.  To say you do not believe in anything religious does not make you atheist nessearily.