On 4/22/2022 12:07 PM, B.H. wrote:
> On Friday, April 22, 2022 at 12:35:16 PM UTC-4, olcott wrote:
>> On 4/22/2022 11:14 AM, B.H. wrote:
>>> On Friday, April 22, 2022 at 11:57:19 AM UTC-4, olcott wrote:
>>>> On 4/22/2022 10:46 AM, B.H. wrote:
>>>>> On Friday, April 22, 2022 at 10:54:38 AM UTC-4, olcott wrote:
>>>>>> On 4/22/2022 6:50 AM, B.H. wrote:
>>>>>>> On Thursday, April 21, 2022 at 6:56:41 PM UTC-4, olcott wrote:
>>>>>>>> On 4/21/2022 5:50 PM, B.H. wrote:
>>>>>>>>> On Thursday, April 21, 2022 at 6:00:53 PM UTC-4, olcott wrote:
>>>>>>>>>> On 4/21/2022 4:33 PM, B.H. wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>> On Thursday, April 21, 2022 at 5:29:44 PM UTC-4, B.H. wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>> On Thursday, April 21, 2022 at 5:04:22 PM UTC-4, olcott wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>> On 4/21/2022 3:54 PM, Mr Flibble wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> On Thu, 21 Apr 2022 15:45:38 -0500
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> olcott <No...@NoWhere.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> On 4/21/2022 3:35 PM, B.H. wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> On Thursday, April 21, 2022 at 4:34:57 PM UTC-4, B.H. wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> On Thursday, April 21, 2022 at 3:07:01 PM UTC-4, olcott wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> On 4/21/2022 1:56 PM, B.H. wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> On Thursday, April 21, 2022 at 2:51:35 PM UTC-4, olcott wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> On 4/21/2022 1:34 PM, B.H. wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 0
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> No typos. Follow laws.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The CIA is not allowed to monitor US citizens, that is the
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> FBI's job.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Copyright 2022 Pete Olcott
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> "Talent hits a target no one else can hit;
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Genius hits a target no one else can see."
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Arthur Schopenhauer
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Well, a lot of people do illegal things. Are you suggesting that
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> there were no CIA spies near me and they were just extremists?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> It's possible, but I believe the bot is CIA. In particular, it's
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> advanced enough at science-related skill possession--chemistry
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> in particular--in a way that I believe, without personal
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> knowledge, that the CIA doesn't hire for enough.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> -Philip
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Anyone in the CIA caught spying on US citizens can be fired, so
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> they simply leave that to the FBI.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Copyright 2022 Pete Olcott
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> "Talent hits a target no one else can hit;
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Genius hits a target no one else can see."
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Arthur Schopenhauer
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I don't think the FBI would watch me for long, I've done nothing
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> illegal. Have you heard something to the contrary? I am very
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> respectful of all US laws and strive to follow all of them, even
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> in this outrageous set of circumstances.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I don't think I've broken any laws, not that I know all of them.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> -Philip
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> (I wouldn't get upset with you if you stated an allegation you'd
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> heard unless you were also smearing my mathematical talent.)
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I have had no basis to accurately assess your mathematical talent.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The church of Jesus Christ of Latter days saints views all gossip
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> (such as repeating allegations) as morally wrong and I agree.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Jesus never existed and doesn't exist. Paul's letters are fake (Paul
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> also never existed) and there is no evidence corroborating the writings
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> of Josephus whatsoever. #atheism
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> /Flibble
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> There is complete proof that God exists, yet what is very very strange
>>>>>>>>>>>>> about this proof is that it does not exist until one actively seeks it.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> The reason that this kind of proof seems so very strange is that humans
>>>>>>>>>>>>> are very carefully brainwashed to believe that reality is entirely
>>>>>>>>>>>>> different than it really is.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> One cannot possibly begin to see this different nature of reality until
>>>>>>>>>>>>> after they first discard their fundamental most basic assumption of
>>>>>>>>>>>>> philosophical materialism.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> Materialism is a form of philosophical monism which holds matter to be
>>>>>>>>>>>>> the fundamental substance in nature, and all things, including mental
>>>>>>>>>>>>> states and consciousness, are results of material interactions.
>>>>>>>>>>>>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Materialism
>>>>>>>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>>>>>>>> Copyright 2022 Pete Olcott
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> "Talent hits a target no one else can hit;
>>>>>>>>>>>>> Genius hits a target no one else can see."
>>>>>>>>>>>>> Arthur Schopenhauer
>>>>>>>>>>>> Oh, what is your proof that God exists? I have a proof that there is no god or higher power. Essentially, it is that the forces of nature are unconscious; if they were conscious and in line with any religious tradition articulated in any sacred text (Bible, Quran, etc.), then God would care about those who are human and do a good enough job of following his rules. However, as we've seen throughout history, many very virtuous people, including slaves in the 1860s and Jewish people in the 1940s, were made to suffer extreme anguish and torture well beyond what even I could imagine; according to me, some very virtuous people who suffered that way will never fully get over it, although they will likely feel better, even after they come back to life. That is why I don't believe any God would exist; e.g., if Jesus were really a powerful son of God, he would have stopped the Holocaust and slavery instead of leaving it to Lincoln and Einstein and others.
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> That argument isn't something I originated, but I agree with it wholeheartedly and feel certain there are many other example throughout history of "too much suffering" for a god to allow. If a god liked humanity at all, he/she would do something other than make appearances and make up rules and insist in a way that he/she exists; actual aid would be provided to humans, who would all see the existence of this deity clearly.
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> There is no suitable rebuttal to this argument, but I fully accept people whom I see as wrong about the idea of any gods; everyone has the right to be respected and treated as an equal, in spite of possible confused wrong beliefs about a god, which is really just a psychologically appealing (and probably evolved) personification of scientific forces that some people would like to feel able to relate to and more comfortable with as they perceive such forces.
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> I'm open to replies about this. In particular, there is no argument that proves that there is a god; some might cite Bible passages, but that is merely assuming what one is seeking to prove. Why should anyone believe what is in the Bible or any other sacred text just because lots of other people believe it and want to indoctrinate others with that sort of belief system?
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> -Philip White (philip...@yahoo.com)
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> By the way, yes, materialism is wrong, but that does not imply the existence of any god. It merely proves that people are conscious.
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> -Philip
>>>>>>>>>> I you can change physical reality by merely thinking about changing it
>>>>>>>>>> silently in your own mind and not actually doing anything else then and
>>>>>>>>>> only then is philosophical materialism fully refuted.
>>>>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>>>>> Copyright 2022 Pete Olcott
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> "Talent hits a target no one else can hit;
>>>>>>>>>> Genius hits a target no one else can see."
>>>>>>>>>> Arthur Schopenhauer
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Well of course, you can change your own brain and what data is stored in your memories in it, leading you to behave differently in the future, thereby at least modifying the physical reality that you will see in the future, perhaps the near future. That has nothing to do with any god.
>>>>>>>> That is not the scenario that I am referring to. I am not referring to
>>>>>>>> any self induced delusion. I am referring to actually changing external
>>>>>>>> physical reality as a verified fact.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> It is changed by merely thinking about changing it silently within your
>>>>>>>> own mind. No physical action is taken yet a physical result is derived.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> That is nothing surprising, and doesn't demonstrate the existence of any god.
>>>>>> So if you wish for a cup of coffee and suddenly a cup of coffee appears
>>>>>> out of nowhere right in front of you this is not some kind of miracle?
>>>>>
>>>>> Well, I don't believe in any miracles or supernatural forces.
>>>> None-the-less when you see them with your own eyes first hand disbelief
>>>> is erased.
>>>
>>> My guess would be that if people are "seeing miracles" it might be because they are caused by a sort of large network of people who share their beliefs and see the world that way.
>> IT CAN BE EMPIRICALLY VERIFIED THAT REALITY HAS NO INDEPENDENT EXISTENCE
>> APART FROM MIND IN THAT MERE THOUGHTS HELD SILENTLY WITHIN THE MIND
>> BECOME PHYSICALLY MANIFEST AS CHANGES TO PHYSICAL REALITY.
>
> If you writing in all caps means that you are upset that I will not respond to this point, because I am not out to upset you.
>

That only means that I am emphasizing text. I used to use HTML bold
until I found out that many people have readers that screen out all HTML
messages.

>
>> maya, (Sanskrit: “magic” or “illusion”) a fundamental concept in Hindu
>> philosophy, notably in the Advaita (Nondualist) school of Vedanta. Maya
>> originally denoted the magic power with which a god can make human
>> beings believe in what turns out to be an illusion.
>> By extension, it later came to mean the powerful force that creates the
>> cosmic illusion that the phenomenal world is real.
>>
>
> It sounds like you are suggesting that all of reality is an illusion.

Physical reality is mutable (can be changed) by merely thinking about
changing it and doing nothing.

> I.e., from any person's inertial frame, one can see a whole "fake reality" that is merely a projection of an illusion of god that the person perceives, not understanding that this person is the only person other than a god who truly exists. Actually, I remember I read a book called "Flat Land" many years ago, and it discusses the idea of a zero-dimensional organism that can't see what is beyond his own perception of reality. I am not accusing you of being "zero-dimensional," but it sounds like you might be suggesting that every person lives in a sort of "reality box" and perceives only his/her own illusion.
>
> I sort of believed something like that in high school...I thought that the whole world was like "The Matrix,"

Yes exactly like that.

--
Copyright 2022 Pete Olcott

"Talent hits a target no one else can hit;
Genius hits a target no one else can see."
Arthur Schopenhauer