TheMadFool

(Y)

Yes, I understand. What I'm referring to is the essential nature of choice in the free will problem. The way to distinguish free will from no free wil...

Now I'm confused. Let me restate my understanding. See if I got it right this time. The butterfly flapping its tiny wings represents the small changes...

Sorry. It does read like that. But did you read unenlightened's post? Here it is You see? What are your comments about unenlightened's post? Please re...

Thanks. I think I understand now. Small differences in initial states have vastly different outcomes. For example, the temperature may differ by 0.000...

My turn to say this is odd. I think the value of human life, for what it's worth, rests on Free Will. To choose to be good rather than bad. To choose ...

Well, I'm working at this problem indirectly. Free will is central to morality, which in turn, necessitates the choice to do good rather than bad. Yes...

When people say ''I love you'' do they actually mean ''do you love me?''

Gold is cold and hard. Yet people say ''She had a heart of gold''

Yes. We're all the same species. Biologically, we all have the same stuff. There are differences though and these are held to be significant by all pa...

Thanks for the reply. So, you do agree that it's possible for a black person to be a white supremacist. Where is this person? Given the harsh reaction...

Can you please read this

I didn't say that. I don't mean that either. All I'm asking for is the possibility that such a black man/woman may exist. The story I weaved was inten...

Sorry, didn't want to misrepresent your view. My question is simple... What is the connection between ''nearby points'' and ''different fates''? I see...

But why? If Darwin is right, this form too should've evolved. There's nothing impossible about it. There are whites who fight for blacks. So, the conv...

But you said small changes can magnify as the causal chain moves forward in time. Isn't an eye-blink a small change? Can you absolutely rule out the p...

Small changes making big differences. So, can I change the fate of the universe by blinking my eye?

Yes, perspective changes everything. I once lived in a small world - everything looked so daunting and so big. I still feel that way but this ''speck ...

Yes. You're right. I thought of that. Supporting racial equality serves a higher purpose. Anyway, we could wiggle and jiggle until the whole thing bec...

What kind of a worldview would such a person have? It would be self-contradictory at its foundation. Being Black and anti-Black at the same time. The ...

:D Yes, anything's possible when we're superstitious. I didn't think of that LOL

Complexity doesn't imply impossibility. I agree the problem is complex but to say the hypothesis is non-falsifiable would require stronger support tha...

I understand who is the victim and who the perp. I don't want to downplay the great struggle of black people but it's a fact that racism has been purg...

But is science the sole guardian of truth? Falsifiability is naturally built into our thinking. We don't need science to judge our thinking. I think y...

(Y) Thanks for the reply.

Good for you but I'll need to cross-check your certificate.:) I don't want to believe in superstition. I'm quite comfortable in materialism. However, ...

I don't think that's always true. 1. IF you hit me THEN it'll hurt 2. You hit me THEREFORE 3. It'll hurt In the above argument statement 1 is a condit...

Yes, that's what I'm referring to. We just don't know how, for example, the placebo effect works. Yet, we know it's real. Thanks. This is a very good ...

And who has the credentials to judge when one's ''brain rolls out.''? No one!

Perhaps the gap that separates us from belief in superstitions or what you all call magical thinking is the failure to see a mechanism that produces t...

The simple possibility that I could change the future of the universe is amazing by itself.

Just wondering... Anyway, to make my point clearer, do you realize that top grossing movies are about science fiction and fantasy and these hold appea...

(Y) But... For want of a Nail It's an older version of the butterfly effect but the message is the same. I was just wondering if I could change the fu...

I agree.

Please clarify. To me, quantity = number. I agree with you. That's what I mean, existence or nonexistene, numbers can always describe the state. This ...

:D I did say I was stretching the theory to its limits. May be too much in your view. Why such a dim view of superstition? Is it because you think it'...

Any answer to your question will be heavily anthropocentric. We suffer from God-made-us-in-his-image complex.

Thanks for the clarification. I was more interested in the very basic definition of ''definition''. I thought there was a circularity in trying to def...

I think it's more of a duty than a right. Reminds me of Kennedy's quote ''ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your count...

You could be right. I don't know. I've been having strange experiences last few years. Anyway...be rational but leave some room for spirituality. Not ...

You have too much faith in science.

What about magic and sorcery? I'll limit myself to weather because you think the Butterfly effect is relevant in that context. Uttering a few magic wo...

Well, I was only trying to make sense of original sin - that we suffer for Adam and Eve's mistake. Also, this is a topic where knowledge is scarce. So...

How about shifting the burden of explaining this whole business to biology. Biological continuity happens through DNA and I wouldn't be wrong in sayin...

Religion is inherently about morality. Any moral system is heavily dependent on responsibility, culpability, fairness, justice, reward and punishment....

Ok, but do you think reincarnation is true? Does reincarnation require an indestructible soul? I'm not saying Karma and rebirth are true. As a hypothe...

Fine thought. As you can see the theory can have wide ranging implications. Some/most of them borders on the realm of what might be called superstitio...

Yes and what's there solution? Original sin? Hereditary sin doesn't make sense. Free will? What of the evil of natural disasters? Buddhist Karma quite...

I like that definition. Thanks(Y)

I'm no guru. I'm kinda lost. Anyway, that's my problem. I was only comparing religions on the scales of coherence. In this case, Buddhism to Abrahamic...