DHS/ICE seizes domain names of torrent sites

[Kidlicious]

Really? I make decisions all the time, because I understand the nature of statistics. I can act without believing in something because I can place value in incremental knowledge.

Are you an agnostic? Please classify yourself. Why do agnostics claim not to know whether god exists but insist are arguing the same as athiests (that God does not exist)?

[Lorizael]

Well I know this from experience, that if you tell the police that you have a gut feeling about something they will often hear you out, that's because as much as they are trained to be rational they know that gut feelings are sometimes true, not because of people's surroundings, but just because.

Also, this is an awesome statement. When it comes to this sort of thing, gut feelings are overwhelmingly wrong. Take police lineups, for example. People have "gut feelings" about who they think the right guy is, which they tell to the police, but these feelings are almost always based on latent racial prejudices, images taken from media, unintentional cues given by the police, and a host of other variables that, far from being a source of absolute truth, are completely unrelated to the subject at hand.

Yes, your gut feeling about the perpetrator may be right, but if you had rolled the dice, asked your neighbor, picked the tallest, or pointed randomly, you might have been right as well. Just because a method of decisionmaking can produce a correct answer doesn't mean you should rely on that method. Personally, I think it's best to rely on decisionmaking methods that are accurate more often than they are not.

[Lorizael]

Are you an agnostic? Please classify yourself. Why do agnostics claim not to know whether god exists but insist are arguing the same as athiests (that God does not exist)?

I have no beliefs with regards to God. My opinion on the matter is that I have yet to see evidence that any divine entity has any observable effect on my life, so I do not consider these hypothetical divine entities in my decisionmaking. I believe it is categorically impossible to know if there are, in fact, supernatural beings until we have accumulated at least all knowledge in the universe.

[Asher]

This is the point. There is no proof either way. No one is saying there is. Agnostics are the only ones who are stupid enough to say that since there is no proof we can't know.

You've got it all wrong.

Agnostics are the only smart one because they admit that we can't know. The rest of the world deludes themselves into a false sense of certainty.

And why do you say that? Because you believe that God does not exist.

I believe it's unlikely that God exists. So unlikely that it's not worth stoning women over and revoking rights to other citizens of my country.

[Asher]

Well I know this from experience, that if you tell the police that you have a gut feeling about something they will often hear you out, that's because as much as they are trained to be rational they know that gut feelings are sometimes true, not because of people's surroundings, but just because.

I believe that my gut feeling is true, because I believe taht God put it there.

Yes, the world should be ruled on gut feelings.

If I ever see a Christian man on trial for child pornography or sexual abuse, my gut feeling tells me he did it.

Life is pretty damn simple when you just rely on gut feelings rather than analyzing, rationalizing, and, well, thinking.

Want to talk gut feelings?

My gut feelings are you are a pathetic, misogynistic divorcee who flings from one extreme ideology to another who spews his dogma ceaselessly because you're still trying to convince yourself. Incidentally, my gut feelings in this case coincide with the reality of what kind of **** you've spewed on this site since you joined.

[Elok]

BTW, while I am glad that Kid is a Christian and think that he is a better man than Ben, I don't agree with (many of his) his arguments/statements.

I concur.

[Kidlicious]

I have no beliefs with regards to God. My opinion on the matter is that I have yet to see evidence that any divine entity has any observable effect on my life, so I do not consider these hypothetical divine entities in my decisionmaking. I believe it is categorically impossible to know if there are, in fact, supernatural beings until we have accumulated at least all knowledge in the universe.

I don't believe you. In fact, I call it absurd to believe that you have no beliefs with respect to God at all. Do you also expect people to believe that you have no biases, subjective beliefs, gut feelings? If so I say that you expect us to believe an absurdity in that as well. Or do you expect us to believe that you don't let you gut feelings or biases go into your decision making? I say again that you expect us to believe an absurdity? Why wouldn't you let your biases go into what judgements you make?

And this is what it comes down to. The agnostics want us to believe that they are capable of making rational decisions regarding the existence of God and everything else as well. Who can believe such an absurdity? Who is more full of **** than an agnostic?

[Kidlicious]

Agnostics are the only smart one because they admit that we can't know. The rest of the world deludes themselves into a false sense of certainty.

Everyone knows that there's no proof. You agnostics proclaim it to the world like you are spreading some news that no one is aware of. You are useless, stupid, full of ****, and irrelevant. I don't know why people pay you any mind.

[Kidlicious]

If I ever see a Christian man on trial for child pornography or sexual abuse, my gut feeling tells me he did it.

And who can believe that that wouldn't affect your judgement? The defense attorney would have you removed from the jury if he found out about your prejudice. Thank you for the most excellent illustration.

[Asher]

Everyone knows that there's no proof. You agnostics proclaim it to the world like you are spreading some news that no one is aware of. You are useless, stupid, full of ****, and irrelevant. I don't know why people pay you any mind.

Agnostics are full of **** for stating what "everyone knows to be true"?

Agnostics are the only ones smart enough to not waste our times/lives devoting ourselves to one dogma. Mind you, most atheists don't do this either. The theists are the special ones who frequently harm their one and only life practicing cult behaviour for no reason.

[Asher]

And who can believe that that wouldn't affect your judgement? The defense attorney would have you removed from the jury if he found out about your prejudice. Thank you for the most excellent illustration.

What?

gut feelings are what life's all about. You're all gut feeling this, gut feeling that...then when someone else has a gut feeling, it's suddenly a bad thing?

Why is that? Because my gut feelings don't match yours? At least mine match anecdotal evidence.

[Lorizael]

I don't believe you. In fact, I call it absurd to believe that you have no beliefs with respect to God at all.

Why? The various divine entities that may or may not exist have no observable effect on my life, so why should I believe anything about them?

Do you also expect people to believe that you have no biases, subjective beliefs, gut feelings? If so I say that you expect us to believe an absurdity in that as well.

Of course I have biases and gut feelings. I'm human, not Vulcan. But I try as much as possible simply to treat my biases and gut feelings as information to be processed. If a particular thing makes me angry for no obvious reason, I examine why that is so. If another thing makes me happy, I try to figure out why that is as well.

Or do you expect us to believe that you don't let you gut feelings or biases go into your decision making? I say again that you expect us to believe an absurdity? Why wouldn't you let your biases go into what judgements you make?

Of course my feelings go into my decisionmaking, but that doesn't mean they are the entirety of my decisionmaking. For example, there are times when I think that people are watching me through bathroom mirrors. It's a feeling I get sometimes, a little bit of absurd paranoia. Now, were I to simply go with my gut feeling, I would assume that there were, in fact, people watching me through bathroom mirrors. Instead I take that one piece of data and put it into a bigger picture, where that would involve an elaborate conspiracy directed solely at me, and given that evidence, I discard that particular notion.

And this is what it comes down to. The agnostics want us to believe that they are capable of making rational decisions regarding the existence of God and everything else as well. Who can believe such an absurdity? Who is more full of **** than an agnostic?

I will not claim that my decisions are solely rational - far from it. If they were, I probably wouldn't be a college dropout working some crappy data entry job. But being aware of my own cognitive biases can help me to overcome them and to make more rational - or less irrational - decisions. Simply giving in to my gut feelings, however, would ensure that I was only ever right by chance.

[MOBIUS]

People who think God exists are not necessarily stupid, some of them are just brainwashed or have mental issues. Some just need some fantasy to make life happier for them.

Stupid people are more likely to be religious, but that does not mean religion is a substitute for stupidity.

Now we just need to figure out what categories Kid falls into: I'm going with mental issues and stupidity...

[MOBIUS]

People who think God exists are not necessarily stupid, some of them are just brainwashed or have mental issues. Some just need some fantasy to make life happier for them.

Stupid people are more likely to be religious, but that does not mean religion is a substitute for stupidity.

Now we just need to figure out what categories Kid falls into: I'm going with mental issues and stupidity...

[N35t0r]

Now we just need to figure out what categories Kid falls into: I'm going with mental issues and stupidity...