Furry Canary

Reply to Those who are 'anti-psychic' in Misc JoeUser Forums

'The religionist, however, deep down in his heart, will know a little secret.' But in what way is this 'little secret' any different from the schizophrenic knowing that other people's eyes contain laser beams, or that TV programmes are sending him secret instructionsto kill his budgie? 'Our belief in God, and for most religionists our experience of God, actually depends on our level, or growth, of consciousness.' This is what annoy

Reply to Music Review: Pet Shop Boys "West End Girls" in Music JoeUser Forums

The singer with Pet Shop Boys is / was Neil Tennant!

Reply to Those who are 'anti-psychic' in Misc JoeUser Forums

' --Yet will mr. randi face the task of verifying the (at least plausibility) of the paintings coming from premonition, with an open, and unbiased mind....from what i have read of him, i doubt he could...' The nature of science, properly conducted, is that it does just that ... it removes the biases and prejudices of both the experimenter and the test subject. Randi requires those who claim the $1m to submit to scientific scrutiny. The condi

Reply to Those who are 'anti-psychic' in Misc JoeUser Forums

'Yes, it's this kind of subjectivity that many sceptics can't accept. It's just not scientific enough, in their view.' / 'Incidentally, psychic abilities come in many different forms, and not all are to do with knowing the future or seeing ghosts. Some have an ineffable awareness – knowledge – of God and the hereafter. Yet this would be too subjective for sceptics to accept.' Yes, it would - particularly as 'an ineffable awareness - knowledge

Reply to Those who are 'anti-psychic' in Misc JoeUser Forums

'I recently saw a documentary about a fella who could dream the future.' Do you have any details? (Not that I disbelieve you, just that details are what turn anecdotes into something more substantial.) Either way, it sounds like we may be hearing about this guy soon, as there's an easy $1m waiting for him in James Randi's bank deposit box! 'Fairies at the bottom of the garden is a fallacious argument here.' But what's your argument

Reply to Those who are 'anti-psychic' in Misc JoeUser Forums

I take your point, LW. The very premise of religious conviction is faith - indeed, this is why I argue above that science and personal belief are two very different things. However, the same is not true of psychic phenomena. Proponents of psychic powers claim very real, tangible and observable results. That is, they claim results that exist within the scientific realm - predictions of future events, mind-reading, the transmission of informatio

Reply to Those who are 'anti-psychic' in Misc JoeUser Forums

No, I don't think that. Scientists can be whatever they like - believers, atheists, agnostics. Science, on the other hand, is not about belief, absent or present. One is of course quite at liberty to reserve judgement as you describe above. However, this is not reserving judgement SCIENTIFICALLY, as you claim - rather, it is reserving judgement on the basis of faith / speculation / what one believes to be plausible.

Reply to Those who are 'anti-psychic' in Misc JoeUser Forums

I do see your point ... up to a point, anyway. Perhaps the Randis of this world just need to pick their words carefully, and prefix any such claims for the non-existence of things with 'As far as we know ...' or 'There is to date no evidence to support ...'. However, I have great trouble with allowing room in science for 'faith', 'speculation', and 'personal belief based on what is plausible'. In the absence of scientific evidence, people -

Reply to Those who are 'anti-psychic' in Misc JoeUser Forums

'...waaaas exactly my point.' Sorry, but I find it difficult to read it that way. No, I'm not trying to be obtuse. Nor am I trying to deny that Randi et al claim a scientific basis for their arguments - quite the reverse. We appear to be at cross-purposes. You're right, one can't state the non-existence of anything with absolute certainty. But my point is this - if we are going to accept the existence of 'psychic phenomena' in th

Reply to Those who are 'anti-psychic' in Misc JoeUser Forums

'If so, my apologies.' Absolutely no apology necessary, BS. I am neither related to Randi nor a shareholder in his foundation! Hey, JU should be proud: this is all terrific stuff - robust debate, well-argued, interesting, and - as yet - nobody's saying anything mean about anybody else's mother!

Reply to Those who are 'anti-psychic' in Misc JoeUser Forums

'The day you shift from, "I don't believe in psychics." to "There's no such thing as a psychic.", you should hand in any scientific credentials you have, since you are behaving just as unscientifically as anyone who DOES believe in them' 'I don't believe in psychics' is a statement of personal belief, and therefore fails to even enter the bounds of the scientific arena. 'There's no such thing as a psychic' at least purports to be a factual s

Reply to Those who are 'anti-psychic' in Misc JoeUser Forums

'There's nothing open-minded and thoughtful about people like the Amazing Randy, or most of the other debunkers.' But open-minded is exactly what Randi is, BakerStreet. He is a skeptic in the true sense of the word. He is quite prepared to believe in any psychic phenomenon if and when whoever claims the power to use it can demonstrate it successfully under laboratory controlled conditions. He is even offering a million dollars as an incentiv

Reply to Those who are 'anti-psychic' in Misc JoeUser Forums

It's not so much a case of being 'anti-psychic' as one of being 'pro-rational'. The idea that there are fairies at the bottom of your garden may be more interesting (to you) than more rational explanations for your observation of the flowers growing, but that doesn't make it true ...

Reply to Death...by Consumerism in Politics JoeUser Forums

Interesting and thoughtful article, Gideon. And to Poe and Van Gogh, you can add Spike Milligan, Sylvia Plath, Nick Drake, Syd Barrett, 'Skip' Spence, Abraham Lincoln, Virginia Woolf, Peter Green, Ernest Hemingway, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Hunter S. Thompson etc. etc. etc. Otherwise, I would contribute only this: You say: 'There is almost unlimited potential for human achievement within the infrastructure of a capitalist society ... But I detes

Reply to Liberal memorial to those that died in Politics JoeUser Forums

'NOT what you expect' No, ABSOLUTELY what I expect from you MM. Yawn.

Reply to Canadian Government Murders Patients in Politics JoeUser Forums

'You’re fighting to teach each and every Iraqi, Muslim and anyone else, that it’s not ok to inflict your values on another.' Oh that's hilarious! You don't write scripts for 'The Office' by any chance, do you?

Reply to Writing in Misc JoeUser Forums

Don't dismiss IT out of hand though, PJ. If you're even contemplating writing as an alternative, you're likely to have a better grasp of language than many in in the industry. Consider users on the one hand and technos on the other. Without people who can translate business requirements into technobabble and back again as the situation demands, any project is doomed before it starts. Many people will tell you that skills such as being able t

Reply to Writing in Misc JoeUser Forums

'Teams are no way to get work done.' Sorry, but as an IT professional of almost 25 years, my experience is that teams are the ONLY way to get things done. Wherever I have seen failure - and believe me, I have seen failures ranging from modest to truly spectacular - there has been an incommunicado gung-ho cowboy within spitting distance whose reticence / inability to participate in the team process has played a crucial part in causing it. And

Reply to I think one of these scales is evil in Diet JoeUser Forums

Lilyethra, the answer is simple - don't weigh yourself! Seriously, it is not a reliable way of measuring either how 'fat' you are or how FIT you are. Many fitness professionals advise against weighing yourself - especially on a frequent basis - as it is not really a very useful measurement. 'I worked out on the machines, free weights, etc.' In general, this kind of exercise facilitates the conversion of fat to muscle. And muscle is dens

Reply to Katie Holmes' Appeal Rating Going WAY Down! in Current Events JoeUser Forums

'Add to that the fact that Scientology, like the Hollywood version of Kaballah, is a faith you won't see widely practiced outside the domain of the rich and famous.' Gideon, I agree that Scientology is dodgy. But I think they target more than just the rich and famous - otherwise, I would find it rather easier to live with! Yes, they want the wealthy, but they appear to target

Reply to Dont you just hate in Blogging JoeUser Forums

I have one that I find ... well, I can't say I truly HATE it but I do find it irritating. Incidentally, is it uniquely Australian? I don't know. Anyway, here it is (drum roll, please) ... 'Do you have the right time on you, mate?' (No, but I have any number of incorrect ones, you dingbat.)

Reply to What religion are you really?? in Blogging JoeUser Forums

'... good one Furry!' Thanks PB, but I unfortunately cannot accept your praise; neither of those lines was my own!

Reply to What religion are you really?? in Blogging JoeUser Forums

'.. thank god?' Yeah, it's a joke. (Like 'The future of monotheism is in the lap of the gods'.)

Reply to What religion are you really?? in Blogging JoeUser Forums

'Oddly enough I scored 25% for Judaism and I happen to be 1/4 Jewish.' I didn't think you could be 1/4 Jewish ... I thought you either were or you weren't? Anyway, I came out an atheist, thank God.

Reply to THERE ARE NO POOR IN AMERICA in Blogging JoeUser Forums

' I know he can't be really saying there is no poor people in America.' Oh yes he can! Have a read of some of Marvin's previous ravings. At least this is a change from his more frequent 'Next Tuesday morning, God will cause evil California to slide into the ocean' kind of rants. Why I bother trying to present rational rebuffs to his arguments I don't know, but anyway ... 1. 'In Japan, the average household has 0.8 persons per room, comp