T_Clark

It is certainly true that I could have gone even deeper into the interactions of the billiard balls than I did. I could, theoretically, done an analys...

I do, eventually, want to have a discussion about philosophical issues related to causation. I've already tried to have some of those discussions in v...

To me, as the saying goes - it's a distinction without a difference.

How is that different from plain old, vanilla determinism?

I deeply resent you taking our completely pointless and ridiculous argument and making it all philosophical-n-stuff.

I think it's that goofy looking woman's head sitting on your shoulder that deters them.

I don't understand why this would be true. I don't see why either philosophical option couldn't be consistent with determinism. On the other hand, I d...

How many engineers can dance on the head of an economist?

A couple of questions: 1) Are there any physical consequences if necessitarianism is correct and contingentarianism is not? 2) Is there any way to det...

If you can give me an estimate of the percentage of people who will eventually go to heaven go to purgatory first, I'll recalculate the length of the ...

I'm assuming St. Peter wouldn't lie about that.

There is a common theme I always associate with the US south. You hear it in many old time country music and gospel songs - when we go to heaven, we a...

By my conservative estimate, about two people die every second in the world. Assume half of those go to heaven. That means, if heaven can't provide at...

Whenever I comment on someone's avatar, it strikes me that the posts won't make any sense once the icon has been changed again.

The thing about Otis is he was one of those people that can't be acknowledged any more - funny drunk guys. Other examples from the Good Old Days - Dea...

Where's Otis? Drunken yokel is more in line with my impression of you than fraudulent wizard.

My brother had a kidney transplant about five years ago when he was 67. Before the doctors would allow the operation to proceed, he had to meet health...

To be clear, premise 3 is the only one you want to discuss here. Is that correct? I have some issues with the first two premises, but that's not what ...

Isn't the answer straight-forward and obvious? Isn't it clear that five deaths are worse than one death? It has nothing to do with weighing one person...

I would continue with this discussion, but in penance for being a jerk in my previous post, I won't.

Seriously. Is that the best you can do?

Hogwash. Balderdash. Baloney. Bullshit. Ridiculous. Laughable. This has nothing at all to do with the principles of a nation forged in the fires of th...

Marsupial.

I think it's a preposition.

He wrote that causation is "...a relic of a bygone age, surviving, like the monarchy, only because it is erroneously supposed to do no harm." I am a s...

As previously, you have provided a speculative, unsupported, and far-fetched idea with no evidence to back it up. It is not science, it's pseudo-scien...

I'm done. Unless someone pulls up one of my previous posts for criticism again without attribution.

And I say "no." And you say "it's obvious." And I say, "no, it's not obvious." You are arguing that cause is real and obvious. My only argument is tha...

That's a bit muddled. Do you mean that every event has a cause? If so, then no, not necessarily. If you don't want to argue, then don't contradict thi...

You brought up my previous post and were dismissive.: I was that someone. So I responded and it is exactly the idea that is being discussed here. And,...

Let me explain this to you. Just saying "it's self-evident", "it's obvious", "it's a priori knowledge", "it's nonsense", or "it's undeniable" is not a...

He went further. He said the idea of cause in physics is meaningless.

Yes, yes. Russia is very, very bad. Bad, bad Russia!!! I don't see how anything we've done has "promoted American interests." What are American intere...

I think the collapse of the USSR was a good thing. I think vital, free, prosperous countries in eastern Europe are good things. On the other hand, Pol...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmUNCsT8TjU Just tell me - what important national security interest does the US have in Ukraine? Or Finland? Or Moldo...

I'm talking about loving something outside themselves. I love lots of things - reading, writing, science - especially writing. I am most myself when I...

I'm referring to everyone.

The USSR dismantled itself in an incredibly peaceful manner in an incredibly short time. We won the cold war!!! Yay!!! It would have been so easy for ...

Russia isn't 1930s Germany. Today's Europe isn't 1930s Europe. Both the US and Russia have nuclear weapons. The presence of NATO in eastern Europe mak...

A non-sequitur is a great way to end a thought. Here's my favorite: Yes, I know I've used this quote before, and I'll use it again.

Great Books? I don't know. I'm not sure it matters as long as you teach them to think well. How to write. To love reading, if that's possible. Math an...

I agree, even forgetting Russia still has lots and lots of nuclear weapons.

When you live next to a big, big dog, you have to learn how to get along like our neighbors and China's. Ukraine still lives next to one of the bigges...

I understand why Poland would have wanted to join NATO, but I think the it was US and European policy that made it happen. I remember back under Clint...

So, you think this is an unbiased account? I'm an American and I care about my country, but I can see our arrogance and blindness in our relations wit...

I doubt Poland would have asked for membership without European and US encouragement. We should have made it clear that we wouldn't impinge on areas t...

Russia/USSR was always paranoid about keeping barriers between themselves and the rest of Europe. Geez, I wonder why. If we had just treated the newly...

Stayed out of eastern Europe.

I actually agree with this. The expansion of NATO after the collapse of the Soviet Union was a slap in the face to Russia. I can see why they feel it ...

It's my understanding that as you travel closer and closer to the speed of light your IQ approaches infinity.