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Topics on this page:
#104 - Are any religions exempt from BetterHuman.org's mission? - Dec 17, 2005, 12:25 PM
#105 - Looking outside from within the shell of religion - Dec 17, 2005, 12:31 PM
#106 - Does science change perspective with the wind? - Dec 17, 2005, 12:47 PM
#107 - Love for the sake of love - Dec 17, 2005, 12:54 PM
#108 - A lifetime of accumulating denial skills - Dec 17, 2005, 12:59 PM
#109 - Randomness revisited - Dec 17, 2005, 01:09 PM
#110 - Logic, or pseudo-logic? - Dec 26, 2005, 12:50 PM
#111 - Evolution of BetterHuman.org - Dec 26, 2005, 12:59 PM
#112 - Did we come from nothing? - Dec 26, 2005, 01:10 PM
#113 - Plausible theories for the origin of life - Dec 26, 2005, 01:20 PM
#114 - Revealing our instincts - Dec 26, 2005, 01:26 PM
#115 - Freeing "free will" - Dec 26, 2005, 01:45 PM
#116 - Buoying 'faith' with pseudo-logic - Dec 26, 2005, 02:13 PM
#117 - Cussing - Jan 08, 2006, 03:30 PM
#118 - Selling immortality - Jan 08, 2006, 03:50 PM
Click here to see next weblog page...
#103 - The unquenchable topic of altruism - December 17, 2005, 12:09 PM |
Mr. Loophost wrote back:
> Thanks for your reply, speaking from a non religious point, I am a volunteer ambulance officer. I do the work with out pay and do it because I like doing it and helping others. I suppose this is what you would say is your " the altruism instinct" as a reward.
Absolutely it is. I very much respect your generosity of heart, and I have no doubt that you would pursue the same path even as an atheist. You see, I'm not trying to suggest that acts of kindness from religious people are devoid of real altruism, I'm merely stressing that all altruism performed by a religious person is at least somewhat 'tainted' by the perception of receiving automatic ethereal brownie points that cannot be declined. My entire point is that a religious person is incapable of performing 'pure' rewardless altruism, simply because they cannot escape the judgment of their god.
> But what you state doesnt make sense, if we are an evolved animal we would have had to learn all things including what defines what is good and what is bad??
These instincts, or 'wants' are already built in by Mother Nature. Forgive my presumption, but I don't think you quite understand what an 'instinct' is. Instincts define our 'wants'. Anything that we 'desire' or 'dislike', has an instinct driving that motivation; for example, our desire to be loved is an instinctual need, the same as our desire for freedom, or power, etc. Our altruism instinct is what defines 'good' or 'bad' for us and we largely don't have to be taught these definitions because eons of evolution have already defined them for us. This is why morality is already built in and doesn't need to be taught. Sure, education can 'refine' our behaviors to be more socially congruent, but the underlying understanding of good and bad is intrinsic to us as humans.
> These qualities if learnt through time and or evolution change depending on circumstances.
Again, we are not taught good and bad, this is instinctually defined. To demonstrate: it would be very difficult to condition someone to feel 'good' about killing puppies. This is difficult because the altruism instinct is programmed by Mother Nature to create mental anguish for these types of actions, even if someone has never seen a puppy before.
Our instinctual inclinations have been constantly evolving throughout the eons in order to best match the environments in which our ancestors subsisted. It took a very long time for our instincts to evolve to where they currently reside today, however, within our very short lifetimes, or even since our ancestors started evolving out of the hunter-gatherer lifestyle, there hasn't been enough time to allow our instincts to change very much and so we still bear the legacy of instincts that are better suited to a hunter-gatherer society. Our dispositions today are a strong reflection of what our ancient ancestors' were.
> Only a higher being can install in us what is bad and good then these are then absolutes and can then never change staying the same from generation to generation.
There is no higher being my friend, your god is nothing more than mythology; no more real than Greek mythology, ancient Egyptian mythology, unicorns, tooth fairies, or Santa Claus. You are a victim of religions' evil hold on people's fears and hopes.
Also, instinctual definitions of good and bad continue to evolve even today, albeit slowly, but nothing remains constant when it comes to evolution, even the definition of good and bad.
> random evoltion cant teach us what is bad or good.
Absolutely it can, and it has. Behaviors that complement social harmony are naturally selective and so our altruistic instinct's definition of good and bad has evolved to reflect this disposition. Evolution of instincts operates under the same principles as genetic evolution (described in: 6.75), that being our instinctual disposition 'also' determines our reproductive fitness, and Mother Nature gave us the altruistic instinct to allow for greater social congruency which allows us to band together to help each other survive, increasing the average survivability of the individual.
To draw an example, let's go back in time to the hunter-gatherer times, say 20,000+ years ago. If instead of the social, altruistic animal we were (and are), let's pretend that we instead were extremely selfish and territorial. Immediately it becomes obvious that it would be very difficult for everyone to fend for themselves. There would be no sharing of food, no distribution of work, and effectively, we would remain reduced to animal-like existence, each person necessarily needing a plethora of skills and strength in order to survive.
Now instead of this scenario, let's revert back to the way it really was; pre-humans slowly acquiring the altruistic instinct to propel social harmony. With this instinct in place, good and bad become instinctually defined, and it becomes easy and natural for humans to work together. They can now effectively distribute the workload of life that is very heavy for an individual to bear alone (hunters, gatherers, builders, leaders, witch doctors, etc.) and because of the diversity of roles available, everyone can play a vital part. When there's food needed, the hunters can feed everyone. When there's danger afoot, the warriors can fight. When the weather turns cold, there's clothing prepared. When a new family is created, a hut is built. This 'strength in numbers' is so naturally selective (meaning that the chances of offspring surviving are improved) that altruism forms a very vital part of our blooming social (and ultimately intellectual) evolution.
> This "altruism instinct" - which recognizes your act of goodness and rewards you with a feeling of contentment, integrity, well-being. Can be said then to be the same motivation for a Christian doing good works and being rewarded by God.instead of feeling warm and fuzzing on the inside from a altrusim instinct. A Chrsitan may do good to give God pleasure form us when we do good in His service.
This is what I mean when I say that religion attempts to claim ownership of what is already ours. That warm fuzzy feeling you are feeling is a combination of two things, 1) the altruism instinct rewarding you, though you mistakenly believe it comes from an ethereal source, and 2) the 'ego fix' that is driven from your perception of receiving brownie points, no matter how much you deny it. It is #2 that depurifies #1.
> I dont seek to get a higher pile of rewards that doesnt come in to it when I am at a car accident.
No, I'm sure it's not the most important thing on your mind at that moment, but we're not talking about that moment of pure adrenalin when seconds are ticking and you're working like an automaton in the exercising of all your medical training. You're not even receiving an altruism fix at this point in time. Instead, I'm talking about the quieter moments in which you reflect upon your job and consider your motivations for doing it, which isn't necessarily in the heat of the moment. For example, when you've saved someone from certain death (by the way, I can't imagine a more rewarding and glorious feeling, kudos to you if you've ever accomplished this) and you are feeling that powerful essence of love and communion that can bring one to tears; it is at this moment that you look up to the sky and pray to your god for giving you such a wonderful gift to be able to perform his work, also known as, acknowledging brownie points. Good servant.
To make my point clear once again, if you were atheist, I have no doubt in my mind that you would probably still do the same thing to the same degree of efficiency and love for your fellow humans, the only difference being that you'd be doing it 'entirely' for yourself (to get that pure altruism instinct fix), and out of love for them (motivated by your communion instinct fix).
> But as the Bible shows us the one who helps the person who has been robbed and left on the side of the road is the one that follows after Gods own hart, nature and charactor.
This above statement demonstrates my point exactly, exercising pseudo-altruism to get closer to your god.
Kind regards,
Sean Sinjin
{All letters from this contributor: 6.73, 6.80, 7.86, 7.94, 8.103, 8.116, 9.124, 9.129, 10.139, 11.148, 11.157, 12.168, 13.172, 14.188, 15.192, 20.288}
#104 - Are any religions exempt from BetterHuman.org's mission? - December 17, 2005, 12:25 PM
Mr. Blarenet wrote:
> Perhaps you have not studied ISLAM thoroughly with unbiased mind. If so please give some time to this topic and I am sure you will reach your goal of reaching the reality as whatever you want to and trying to prove scientifically and whatever you want to dowill be found therein.
As much as I would like to avoid inciting the disdain of Islamic fundamentalists, out of duty I feel I must volunteer a specific response to your letter.
Please believe me, my friend, that I have indulged your request to better understand Islam, and to this end I have garnered enough significant information to be satisfied that this religion is no exception from others, for it is also nothing more than mythology. Islam's followers, the Muslims, follow the Qur'an, with many contributions by prophets (Muhammad, Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, etc.), so essentially, Islam merely is a branch of the same prophet-based theology that Christianity or Judaism is and as such, after much reading, falls into the same category of tyrannized mythology that incites insanity into its followers. Researching Islam in no way altered my position that all religions are fantasy. Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism, etc., 'all' heavily rely upon the existence of ethereal elements that simply do 'not' exist.
I'm sorry that my research has not had your desired results, but I must and will continue to educate people away from the madness of religious fantasy, even yours.
With respect,
Sean Sinjin
{All letters from this contributor: 8.104, 9.119, 11.154, 12.170}
#105 - Looking outside from within the shell of religion - December 17, 2005, 12:31 PM
Ms. Capdine wrote:
> How do you justify Jesus? He was a real man --- it is no doubt in any one's mind that He existed.
This is not in dispute. What is nonsensical are the ethereal qualities he was purported to have.
> For YOU, He died on the cross
This may be true, my friend, though he didn't accomplish anything; we're all still going to die an eternal death, no matter what you believe.
> God created you in His image --- the color of your eyes, your hair --- He drew!
Evolution determined these attributes. What we perceive as 'beautiful' is also instinctually driven in order to propel reproduction.
> So Jesus took on the sin of the whole world --- sins past, present, future. The instant He died, the world trembled --- like an earthquake. He not only died, but He resurrected. The tomb was empty. How do you justify that? Not only that, but for 40 days after that...He walked the earth to show people, "Look! I am alive...I have resurrected." Supernatural --- thats what God is.
Super-fantasy actually. As beautiful, warm, loving, and peaceful as the above statement may be to you, it is all fiction. The fable of Jesus is a grossly exaggerated version of the real man, whom in reality was never resurrected. People cannot come back to life once they are dead.
> Just because you don't believe in something does not mean that it ceases to exist.
So by this pseudo-logic is it safe to say that the Tooth Fairy might exist?
> How do you justify healings? I have seen a woman who was paralyzed walk again in the name of Jesus. By the power of God, she was healed and she was able to walk --- by her faith in God.
It was either a hoax, or the lady was pushing herself to achieve this. She always had the ability to walk.
> How do you justify the devil? There are people with demonic possessions. It's not like those movies the exorcist, where their faces turn green, but it does happen. I have seen it with my own eyes and I have seen people be delivered from that.
There is no Devil. The concept of possession evolved in our cultures a long time ago when mental illness was difficult to understand. Back then, to witness someone in this condition was quite fearsome, and like all other easy answers that religion purports, it was determined that a 'spirit' must have invaded that body, those observers not recognizing the very real biological issues underlying the sickness. Your witnessing of an 'exorcism' is nothing short of a hoax, or placebo-induced behavior-modification, perpetrated by the 'possessed' individual in order to garner attention and/or monetary windfall.
> (I) received the gift of speaking in tongues when I was baptized with the Holy Spirit. Speaking in tongues is praising God in a language you are not familiar with.
Nonsensical babbling is not speaking in tongues. It is quite easy for someone to spout a mountain of discombobulated verbiage. To confuse this ability to be something ethereally driven is very misguided.
> A friend of mine went on a missions trip in New York and he was walking down the street, speaking in tongues. He didn't know what he was saying...he just knew that it was praising God. One man, an Arab, stopped my friend and "what did you say?" My friend said, "Actually, I don't know...I was just speaking in tongues." The man said, "You just said, 'Jesus is the Messiah' in my native language...I want to hear more about this..." That man converted...
At least some of the above is not true. Please understand that it is very easy for people to fabricate fantastical stories to support and propagate their beliefs. It is very akin to drug addicts that want to increase the caliber of their high by having more people supportive of their habit. 'Faith' is a difficult drug to do alone because it naturally weakens over time if you do not have other people to help renew its vigor for you.
> Jesus is coming...the Bible prophesies over all of the things going on in the world. These crazy storms and hurricanes are worst than ever. Hurricane Katrina, the tsnami. Look at the wars. There will probably be a World War 3 soon.
I think global warming from human-based greenhouse gas emissions is more likely the culprit than your proposed Biblical explanation. As for world war 3, is this prediction a natural extension of bad weather? As much as you are a victim of religion, you are also a victim of the sensationalist nature of the news media. Have no fear, the world is operating as usual, with all the volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, etc. that it always had. The only difference is that our technology these days allows us to not only be instantly aware of these events around the globe, but for the first time to actually witness on television the full extent of what these tragedies represent. This leaves one with a heightened awareness of tragedy, but doesn't necessarily mean that there's 'more' tragedy than usual.
> The world is soon getting one currency --- look at Europe and the Euro. People are already getting the "mark of the beast". They are getting chips inserted into their bodys to identify themselves --- a lot of rich people already have them. The Bible talks about all of this. The rapture is soon...probably in a few generations. Please open your eyes before it is too late.
My dear friend, it may be too late to save you from the above insanity. The religious meme-virus has completely swallowed the human you were and left an empty, terrified shell behind. How much I pity you. How terrifying the world must seem to you.
> How did a building become standing? Someone made it? How did a car get made? It had a creator? How did you get on this earth? I can't give the big bang credit for something so perfect.
Even by giving credit to your 'creator' for all of creation, you still fail to answer where the creator came from. How can it be acceptable that the creator's origins remain unknown? Let me answer for you, it's because that's all you need to know in order to get your immortality. Your pursuit of knowledge ends at the plateau of your ethereal 'high'.
> Evolution is not proven. Scientists actually don't even beleive in it anymore --- they think its something greater.
This is quite incorrect my friend. Please expose yourself to the myriad of educational channels that exist outside of your religious shell. You have a very small window into a very large scientific world that unwaveringly moves away from the possibility of the supernatural.
> Your site promotes living a satisfying life. I must tell you from my own experience, I have never been more satisfyed by anything...except God.
Most heroin addicts would profess the high they receive from their narcotic is more satisfying than anything in reality as well; thus is the nature of addiction.
> I am not emailing you to tell you I am better...
Of course not, and I didn't assume so, my religious friend. Your letter simply projects a very fear-motivated attempt to persuade me not to continue challenging your faith. I'm sure that a great deal of what BetterHuman.org represents is difficult to understand, especially since it is so incongruent with your values, but trust in that we are trying to protect new people from becoming addicted to the religious meme-virus that drives people to the degree of insanity that you exhibit. I have met literally 'hundreds' of people like yourself, and it has always proven futile for either side to attempt to coerce the other, so trust in that you are not my target audience for BetterHuman.org's movement. If you wish to continue your life of fantasy and ethereal high's, we are not going to stop you. Our goal is, however, to prevent more people from being trapped into this addiction, and our method will simply be education. The more people are educated, the more they will have the mental tools to be able to separate plausible fact, from obvious fiction.
I often receive email like yours from people trying desperately to convince me to give a religious perspective a chance. What you, and all the others fail to recognize is that I have 'already' been on your side. Yes, I have been a fully devoted religious ethereal addict. It was 'because' of the ulterior mechanics of religion, and my maturing ability to see logic, mythology, and deception, that I gained the wisdom and strength to be able to 'pull' myself out of the closed shell perspective of your mythology, and to put myself into reality. It was a very difficult journey, especially with no clear path to follow in this pursuit.
I am the first to understand how intimidating the philosophies of BetterHuman.org may be. Please believe me when I say that I was once like you, and I have come a long way since. It will be impossible for me to return to a world of fantasy, no more impossible than it is for me to be young again.
I put it to you, I have already honored your request to pursue your religious perspective long ago, and found that your mythology is false; now it is time for you to honor the exact request you've just made of me, and that is to try to understand the one and true 'reality'. I have been on your side, now you should try my side, otherwise you hypocrite yourself. My book, Meme, and the entire BetterHuman.org weblog can fully educate you on reality so please start there.
Be safe,
Sean Sinjin
#106 - Does science change perspective with the wind? - December 17, 2005, 12:47 PM
Mr. Rhymeslope wrote:
> The problem with your reasoning is that you base it only on what you know to be a fact.
Better known as the 'scientific method'
> Anything beyond your understanding simply can't be true with you.
My friend, how is belief in a god beyond my understanding? It sounds so simple that even a child can understand it. You should try to give consideration to the notion that it's the complexity of reality causing you to close into your simplistic fantasy world of religion.
> My belief in God will always stay the same.
And that is called 'cognitive dissonance', which is your resistance to learning new ideas that threaten the stability of what you believe to be true. It is an obstinate personality trait that matures in most of us during adolescence, and generally subsides as growing wisdom diminishes the value of the underlying ego that feeds it. Unfortunately, some people have had that ego religiously-fostered beyond the possibility of retreat, handicapping them for the much more humble reality that we are not in any way divine creations.
> Your beliefs however will change with the wind depending on what science says.
Correct. As new information presents itself that can prove or disprove current scientific assumptions, then we adapt our perspective to match. It is ridiculous to assume that we know all the answers. All we really have are theories, and any attempt to claim more than that is simply foolhardy. To 'lock in' to one and only one unchanging perspective is even 'more' foolhardy because it implies that everything is known. Do you honestly believe your religious perspective knows everything?
> Your perception of the universe as a "massive mindless blob of energy" will eventually be disproved. Science is discovering that there is too much order to the universe for it to be random.
In no way am I implying that the universe is random. However, the driving forces behind the observed organization are gravity and magnetism, not intelligence.
> Creationism is becoming more popular with the science community.
Incorrect. A few stark examples of this in no way represents the whole. In fact, atheism is a growing perspective.
> Where will all of your illusions be when they prove the universe simply cannot be random, that it had to have had a creator?
I have been waiting my entire life for someone to offer up that proof, and I'm still waiting.
> How meaningful can your life be if you truely believe we are just bacteria plaguing the earth?
My friend, I promise you that my life has much more meaning than any blind obsession with mythological creatures in the sky could possibly be. I believe most people would agree that being worthless is better than being insane.
Take care,
Sean Sinjin
#107 - Love for the sake of love - December 17, 2005, 12:54 PM
Ms. Mailpalm wrote:
> It has been my wonderful experience to connect with, feel, experience something that I thought I was, all along. Love. It happened when I had to put down my old life. That one was full of pleasure, safety and control. Well most of the time. But underneath it all I was unfulfilled, unhappy, stressed and empty. I had been using my head and not listening to my heart. I was being lead around by 'motive forces' working through my ego with out me knowing. I was hooked in. Something happened, and I said no more. I started to resist the temping opportunities, it was unbearable. By letting go of my ego, the love was released. Love knows none of the destructive actions of the ego so requires no rules. Its amazing
Indeed it is. It's difficult to guess which context you speak from, but since the basic concept of love is equally valuable in all perspectives, congratulations on discovering your path to expressing this instinctual need. Our ego is the biggest impediment to the successful pursuit of happiness, and letting go of it is the first step.
Thanks for sharing,
Sean Sinjin
{All letters from this contributor: 8.107, 8.114, 9.122, 9.135, 10.145, 16.217}
#108 - A lifetime of accumulating denial skills - December 17, 2005, 12:59 PM
Mr. Paperto wrote back:
> Ok, self sacrifice and giving etc, are not prerequisites for acquiring eternal life in the Christian faith. You can perform any acts of self sacrifice or giving or whatever, and still not receive eternal life.
Depends who you ask. I've had people tell me that your religion's immortality is guaranteed due to the death (sacrifice) of your mythical creature Jesus Christ (not to be confused with the historical human being, Jesus Christ, that was a mere human like the rest of us). Other people have told me that you have to 'earn' your passage into your heaven. With so many interpretations, and the ultimate price of being mistaken leading you into the unfathomable depths of your sinister ethereal hell, it seems likely that most people aren't willing to bet on guaranteed immortality and are quite prepared to work hard at it; just in case. Religious people don't sacrifice a thing without adding a notch to their mental 'God brownie-points' table.
In regard to my statement:
"I need you to look at this from both of your perception shortcomings, 1) your lack of recognition of a very strong altruistic thread in all BetterHuman.org tenets"
You wrote:
> Yes, I still don't see the thread.
By choice. All the information you need is in the weblog, and in my book, Meme.
> Christianity does not work on the brownie point system.
Forgive me, but that would be your very practiced skill of 'denial' at work (which, by the way, is the cornerstone of 'faith')
> It declares that all men are equally futile and have all fallen short. Therefore it is impossible for one man make himself better, or increase his chances of immortality than another by doing more acts of kindness.
Perhaps (again, depends on who you ask), but even still, gaining your god's favor is a pretty appealing notion.
You stated originally:
> I'm not suggesting that you're all a bunch selfish people,
To which I replied: "Yes you are exactly."
And your response was:
> Maybe it was implied, but it was not my intention.
Denial again, my friend. You need to reread your letter to understand that its entire construction was to demonstrate how you perceive us as selfish people. Do you see where a lifetime of practicing denial (faith) has led you? Quite often I will receive letters from religious people, that are laced with very subtle but transparent 'jabs', a very common tactic of 'mocking' manipulation. I think you would carry much more credibility if you'd state your true meaning and intent clearly without the need for sarcasm or retreat. If you think we're a bunch of selfish people, say it with conviction; don't throw it out there and then run for cover.
> In retrospect, my previous email did sound rather condescending. For this, I apologize. Expressing myself in words is not one of my strengths. You're right in saying that the tone of my email would in fact be a contradiction of it's content. I do not, however, claim to be perfect, nor have I fully mastered the principles that I live by.
None of us are perfect, but the above statement was a fantastic demonstration of integrity. Thank you my brother, for finding enough worth in me to offer such.
With much respect,
Sean Sinjin
{All letters from this contributor: 4.56, 5.59, 5.64, 7.95, 8.108}
#109 - Randomness revisited - December 17, 2005, 01:09 PM
Mr. Buckrine wrote:
> you are talking about particles in micro cosmos and there it seems to actually exist a randomness.
There is absolutely nothing random about quantum particles' properties or energies. Although we do not have a sufficient theoretical model by which to accurately calculate or predict these properties, make no mistake, randomness is an impossible state to achieve in our universe, simply because every single point in the universe is connected to each other. Everything in the universe has a cause and effect, a balancing of forces, a prescribed entropy, etc. Do not confuse our inability to find reasons for a particle's behavior as a random event, for this makes no more sense than saying an ethereal intelligence was responsible for creating complexity in nature simply because we do not understand how that complexity could have arose. We will have the answers some day, until then, learn to live 'without' an answer.
> Life itself wouldn't exist without it!
Despite the 'apparent' randomness of evolution, life is not random, in fact, it is inevitable given proper environmental conditions.
> In micro cosmos it seems like dropping a ball would generate results that would be equivalent to the macro cosmos ball landing several meters from a point below your hand. And this would happen often! This comes from The Uncertainty Principle. Do a search
Your understanding of the uncertainty principle is not quite accurate. All that Heisenberg's theory states is that you cannot simultaneously measure both the position and momentum of a particle due to the unavoidable influence upon that particle when attempting to measure one of these attributes. Perhaps you may be referring to 'electron tunneling', or the Einstein-Rosen bridge?
> how come the big bang just not ended up in an even perfect mist of particles and instead for some reason started to evolve into our complex universe!
Both are the correct answer actually. When the Big Bang occurred, the universe was filled with Hydrogen and Helium atoms (very simple atoms), and these coalesced (due to gravity and magnetism) to form larger bodies, which eventually became stars. These stars became so big that their cores were crushed into heavier elements like iron, aluminum, etc. When these stars finally aged enough, some of them would explode as a great super-novae, releasing these exploded core elements to fly about the universe, and these heavier elements were eventually trapped into orbit around other younger stars. It is from these core elements that planets formed and the rest is evolutionary theory.
I know this was a very brief overview but I have laid this entire process out in very great detail (with lots of pictures) in my book, Meme. Please give it a read so you can improve your understanding of the evolution of the universe before life.
> (There's not) A glimpse into why there isn't just as much anti matter as matter.
I have a solid answer to that as well, though it requires a good understanding of my bether model, and some pre-Big Bang theorizing, which is unfortunately beyond the scope of this weblog. My book, Meme, can explain this for you.
> Mutations appear when protons suddenly decay into other particles and energy, which makes evolution possible.
Somewhat true. Though evolution is partially driven by radiation of atomic processes, most of this radiation comes from the sun in quantities that can be significant in terms of evolution. As well, the bulk of evolution these days occurs due to the inherent mixing of genes from the act of sexual reproduction. Again, Meme, can explain this for you in great detail.
Hope I was helpful,
Sean Sinjin
{All letters from this contributor: 8.109, 11.158}
#110 - Logic, or pseudo-logic? - December 26, 2005, 12:50 PM
Mr. Artsum wrote:
> I have been making arguments like these for more than 20 years, but I only recently discovered your site. Well done!
Thank you for your kind words, my friend.
> Unfortunately, I have found that faith-based thinkers do not respond to fact or logic-
It's unfortunate, but I believe most religious people do not fully understand the concept of logic, instead applying 'pseudo-logic' to 'portions' of their thinking, without understanding that logic and 'faith' cannot be combined to produce credible concepts. They have 'logical' structures (religions) that are based on 'illogical' memes (ethereal entities). This diluted understanding of 'logic' is also a powerful tool that some beliefs utilize (Scientology, Church of Christ Scientist, Intelligent Design, etc.) to convince their followers that religion 'can' fit into science, which of course is nonsense.
> Richard Dawkins is fond of saying that Abrahamic religions are the bloodiest and most destructive out there.
Agreed, though it would be hard to determine any one faith as less destructive than another. I volunteer that any degree of 'faith' is unacceptably destructive.
> I agree. Anyway, thanks for putting this site together, and good luck promulgating truth.
Again, thank you for your support,
Sean Sinjin
#111 - Evolution of BetterHuman.org - December 26, 2005, 12:59 PM
Mr. Mapledark wrote back:
> Meme is an inspiration because it offers hope for our species outside of the various doomsday scenarios that are prevalent in most modern religions. For me, a factual approach to understanding humanity is far more inspiring than attempting to convince myself that a few thousand years ago a mystical entity "created" the universe, or that someday supernatural being(s) will come to Earth and rescue me from reality. But Meme does more than offer perspective into the fundamental question, "where did we come from?". It takes us beyond the origins of life to consider humanity's continued evolution and how society could organize if our only motivation was betterment of the human condition. THIS is a truly inspiring message of real, tangible hope that does not rely on supernatural intervention, blind faith, or Armageddon. So, you can select from a long list of non-existent, contrived gods to worship that have no basis in reality or you can open your eyes to discover that YOU are the most important entity in the universe, YOU are indeed the pinnacle of billions of years of nature's handiwork, and that YOU are endowed with virtually limitless potential.
Awesome my friend; makes me want to read my own book.
> It's a shame that you're encountering closed minds in the physics community; from a historical perspective I believe this is rather common. I know you won't give up...
Tenacity is one of my virtues.
> However, please don't ever think that a 'donation' to BetterHuman.org is not earned or justified. Each time you confront a venomous, hypocritical cultist with compassion and respect you've earned a donation. Every time your website pries open a trapped mind and freely offers a fellow human a glimpse into the spectacular universe of reality, you've earned a donation. When ever you generously spend your precious time clarifying something for an inquisitive visitor to BetterHuman.org, you've justified a donation. In my humble opinion, you're providing a valuable resource to anyone with internet access and soliciting public support is fully justified. I'd be pleased to know my charitable contributions were helping some of our human brothers and sisters take the first steps towards freeing themselves from mysticism's choke-hold.
Again, thank you, and I agree in essence, but I am trying to be very careful about the possibility of misinterpretation of my motives and/or BetterHuman.org's makeup. I want there to be absolutely 'no' confusion that we are anything but an educational establishment, and in no way can we be construed as yet another clever psychological trap that fundamentally only serves to take innocent people's money away. I have little trust in charitable institutes, and I don't intend to become one. The moment a noble idea becomes lucrative, it quickly changes form and becomes evil. I can only hope that this never happens to BetterHuman.org.
My vision of BetterHuman.org will manifest in terms of its advocates' generosity of spirit and their strength of conviction in the direction we will take. And we do not, and will never, have any design for membership, other than being a member of the human race. If we were able to channel all the zeal that religious people convey today, into the propagation of the betterment of humanity without mythology, well, we wouldn't need a dime for our mission to be a success; there's more than enough passion to go around.
> I know nothing of movie production, but when the time comes it would be a privilege to participate in some way.
You already are my friend, and into the future, I expect to be calling upon my BetterHuman.org friends for many things.
> At the end of my last note, I asserted that gods are not required to lead moral, compassionate, empathetic, charitable, and orderly lives. I should have included OPTIMISTIC in that list as well.
I suppose that the concept of 'hope' in a religious perspective, can be best translated into 'optimism' in ours.
Thanks again for your generous compliments,
Sean Sinjin
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#112 - Did we come from nothing? - December 26, 2005, 01:10 PM
Mr. Unitfall wrote:
> here you have a theory about something from nothing i have been studying astro physics and can;t see where you have to have something from nothing everything came from something
Agreed, and this is another very prevalent misconception that religious people (and even some scientists) tend to have, that atheism purports we came from nothing, which is not true. All the material in the universe already existed prior to the Big Bang, but it was in the form of compressed bether. After the Big Bang, this bether expanded into what we perceive today as the universe, filled with all kinds of particles (particles being nothing more than twists in bether, like a loop in a rope). The Big Bang introduced an incredible amount of energy into the universe, and the resultant energy flow, along with the forces of gravity and magnetism, manifested over an unimaginable amount of time to produce more and more complex structures built out of these particles, until we end up with what we see today as the organization of celestial bodies, and the 'life' they support.
We didn't come from nothing; all the pieces that form our bodies were always floating about the universe, waiting for energy, time, and probability to assemble them.
Hope I was helpful,
Sean Sinjin
#113 - Plausible theories for the origin of life - December 26, 2005, 01:20 PM
Mr. Siderain wrote back:
> What do you think is the most plausible hypothesis for the generation of life? What theories are out there (Scientific Theories, at least)?
There are a formidable number of theories out there, but I spent quite a bit of time researching the options and the only one that I give credibility to is the 'RNA-World' theory. It is much too vast a topic (not to be confused with 'difficult') to cover here, but Chapter 3 in my book, Meme, covers this extensively with many diagrams to assist in comprehension. Please give it a read.
Thanks for this link. It shows some very interesting data.
Kind regards,
Sean Sinjin
{All letters from this contributor: 3.34, 3.42, 5.66, 6.72, 6.79, 7.93, 8.113, 14.177}
#114 - Revealing our instincts - December 26, 2005, 01:26 PM
Ms. Mailpalm wrote back:
> what do motive forces consist of. Scientifically. That is if you think motive forces exist.
I believe you are sensing the presence of your 'instincts' influencing your motivations ('wants'). To explain, many creatures, including humans, have evolved the wonderful gift of 'memory', allowing us to adapt to our environment. Instincts are kind of like 'hard-wired' memories that aren't learned, but they are passed on through our genes. I know this sounds a bit far-fetched, but the instincts are very important to survival of the species and so form a very significant role in our makeup. It is quite easy to identify the influence of these instincts; the most obvious ones being sexual appetite, or the way we react to hunger, or fear of heights, etc.
Aversion to heights is actually a very easy instinct to provoke in order to reveal its presence. For example, let's take 'Jen' whom has lived in a grassy and flat savanna her entire life, and then put her on the edge of a cliff. It doesn't matter that she's never seen heights before because millions of her ancient ancestors have, and because every single one of her ancestors 'backed away' from the edge, she too will be so inclined to do so because her biology reacts with the instinctually-driven sensation of 'vertigo' when in the presence of altitude.
So, yes, we are constantly under the influence of our 'motive-force'-generating instincts. They define our 'wants', and are the source of our pleasure and pain. True happiness can only be found by the educated placation of these instincts in a manner that is reflective of your individual instinctual makeup.
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{All letters from this contributor: 4.56, 5.59, 5.64, 7.95, 8.108}
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{All letters from this contributor: 7.101, 8.111, 16.219, 16.221, 19.273}
{All letters from this contributor: 3.34, 3.42, 5.66, 6.72, 6.79, 7.93, 8.113, 14.177}
{All letters from this contributor: 8.107, 8.114, 9.122, 9.135, 10.145, 16.217}