T_Clark

Gotcha. By which I mean "I understand what you're saying."

I wasn't disagreeing with you, I was just putting in a good word for nuance and playfulness.

You wrote this: So you said religious beliefs are preposterous. Is that different from saying that religion is preposterous? They seem the same to me.

Seems to me that one of the problems showing up in this discussion relates to whether "progress" means things are getting better or just that history ...

I really like what Kuhn is saying. Is that from "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions?" Maybe I should get around to reading it.

I don't think that's right, or at least it's not all there is to say. History is directional because the present can build on the foundation laid by t...

Isn't that all progress is, an inevitable reflection of the fact that we can talk to the past and use the knowledge they give us and talk to the futur...

All this is interesting (en dash) but clarity is what's most important. As long as that's accomplished, I like language that's as playful as possible....

Your English has improved a lot since you started here. You also seem to be more comfortable expressing yourself in it.

I agree. I think a lot of us here do.

As I've said before, it's the most philosophical of American sports. I love it as long as I don't have to watch it.

That's much better than I would give, especially since it was aimed at an innocent non-English-speaking bystander.

Perhaps I would if I knew what it meant.

And that's all I said in response to what I see as a thoughtless comment. Not thoughtless as in impolite, thoughtless as in without thought. As for th...

Agreed. I admit I would be harsher on religion if I didn't see believers so often the victims of poorly argued criticism. I think I'm more offended by...

"Spelt" has two meanings, the one you meant and also an alternative to "spelled." My comment was a joke, a pun, a play on words.

It's all I have on my computer. From now on I'm going to do this: "Perhaps I will start a discussion about the significance of punctuation in language...

Yes, we know how it's spelt. That's a pun. "Spelt" is an acceptable alternative to "spelled."

Perhaps I will start a discussion about the significance of punctuation in language - perhaps not. Note that I used an en dash instead of an elipsis i...

I don't understand what you mean. No need to explain; we can leave it at that.

I never knew there were two dashes - "en" and "em," the em twice as long as the en. Boy, talk about subtle differences in usage. You've changed my lif...

@"Tom Storm" generally has a nuanced and self-aware take on issues, including this one. He is skeptical but often generous when it comes to human natu...

I love language, reading and writing. Of all the things I love about language, I love punctuation most. Of all punctuation, I love those that represen...

Well... ok then.

I generally consider you one of the reasoned voices on this type of subject.

Another non-sequitur. Another contentless response. Nuff said.

I think "...when I spoke my first word, which was “meatballs”..." is a classic Hanoverism. I took a class in textual redaction in college, so I defini...

My point was that it's a problem of large institutions, not religion. Atheism is a lack of belief in God, not an antipathy to large institutions in ge...

Another non-sequitur and an argument based on your imagination about my mental state. No further questions. I rest my case.

Whew.. Before I read this sentence, I thought @"Hanover" had gotten ahold of your password again.

This argument has always struck me as wrong-headed, blinded by ideology. I think there is a good case to be made that the primary agent of destructive...

No, that was me. I claimed that believing in God is no more preposterous than quantum mechanics. You have yet to address that argument. Again (and aga...

Again, you're not responding to my argument, which is what started this portion of the discussion. Yes, I do believe quantum mechanics is our best cur...

Since we're comparing favorite cooking equipment: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Microwave_2022.jpg To be honest, my real one's n...

We're not getting anywhere. Let's leave it here.

I only want you to respond to the comment I made rather than the one you imagine I made.

I was visiting France with my brother. We were in a restaurant and, trying to use my high school French, I said "Je veux un autre bier, s'il vous plai...

Hold on there. I'm still working on my first comeback. So far, I've got "My brain in Spain...." I'm trying to fit "maintain," "quatrain," or "multigra...

I'm trying to come up with a clever response. No luck so far. I'll get back to you.

I'm surprised. Everyone I know who has been to Spain says the food is wonderful.

It is my understanding Keats modelled the rough beast on a dream he had about Donald Trump.

Of course they do, but that wasn't the question on the table. You weren't talking about the methods, mindset, approach, or beliefs of scientists study...

I'm not mean to believers; I'm critical of religious organizations. Yes.

You're agreeing with the only point I was trying to make - the preposterous weirdness of quantum mechanics. So preposterous Einstein didn't believe it...

You weren't talking about the separation of church and state. You were responding to this this quote from Noble Dust: You're pulling a bit of philosop...

I'd just repeat - we call it "progress", which has a positive connotation, but what it really is is directional advance, independent of whether or not...

In the US, it's hard to get a good tomato. Even in growing season, most delis still use hard, grey ones. My son's farm sells organic tomatoes to the l...

This is a really good discussion. My attitude about progress is complicated, which is a more complimentary way of saying "confused." When I think abou...

This just highlights the criticism I expressed in my comment on the same text you responded to. I think the way you describe social and cultural insti...

Yes, I thought @"praxis"'s way of saying it is a misreading of how cultures and societies work.