amadeus
Bishop of Bio-Dome
If God is an ant, I’m going to have a lot of explaining to do.
Random Thoughts XI: Listen to the Whispers
- Thread starter GenMarshall
- Start date
- Status
EgonSpengler
Deity
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2014
- Messages
- 12,260
If God is an ant, He's going to have some explaining to do.
Ferocitus
Deity
Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he is an ant, then why call him God?
Apologies to Epicurus.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he is an ant, then why call him God?
Apologies to Epicurus.
Speaking of (not Epicurus himself) the epicurians, I read that they commented that Euclid providing a proof for the triangular inequality (that no side can be larger than the sum of the other two) was something superfluous given that "even a donkey could see it's true" ^_^
Ferocitus
Deity
Some donkeys.
Buridan's Ass is still in two minds.
Nice
It would be even worse if it was that Sphex insect, repeating the same move forever, not picking up something fishy is going on.
And from wiki on that Buridan, it seems we came full circle back to Borges
"
Suppose two similar dates in front of a man, who has a strong desire for them but who is unable to take them both. Surely he will take one of them, through a quality in him, the nature of which is to differentiate between two similar things.
— Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, The Incoherence of the Philosophers, c. 1100[3]
"
who satirized al Ghazali (or rather quotes other arabs who satirized him when talking about "the incoherence of the Incoherence"
EgonSpengler
Deity
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2014
- Messages
- 12,260
Some 2,000+ years later, we Americans have proven that donkeys can deny just about anything.
Which ant in particular?
amadeus
Bishop of Bio-Dome
You know those, like, laser guns they use in science fiction that can painlessly sedate people?
They should build those, and then use them for airline passengers.
First of all, you could cut costs by having fewer flight stewards and possibly fit even more passengers per route if you have them in horizontal pods.
Second, the pod isolation keeps people, namely me, from getting sick because for whatever reason airlines like to seat me in the hospital wing of the plane.
Third, far less security theater would be necessary as you can't hijack a plane if you're zonked out. Unruly and belligerent slobs would also no longer be unruly and belligerent whilst airborne.
No matter how you look at it, my idea here is a winner.
They should build those, and then use them for airline passengers.
First of all, you could cut costs by having fewer flight stewards and possibly fit even more passengers per route if you have them in horizontal pods.
Second, the pod isolation keeps people, namely me, from getting sick because for whatever reason airlines like to seat me in the hospital wing of the plane.
Third, far less security theater would be necessary as you can't hijack a plane if you're zonked out. Unruly and belligerent slobs would also no longer be unruly and belligerent whilst airborne.
No matter how you look at it, my idea here is a winner.
amadeus
Bishop of Bio-Dome
People get upset about Rob Schneider being the comic foil in Judge Dredd... and in Demolition Man, but does anything match the level of annoying that is Chris Tucker? I think not!
Somehow I stumbled over a YT channel showing old episodes of Three's Company. Between those and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? I've been getting both a dose of giggles plus a bunch of bemused connection between Carmen Sandiego and warpus' travel threads.
Oh, and in a TIL moment: Never watch TV in bed if the sleeping pill hasn't completely worn off yet. Now I have to wait until tomorrow to watch tonight's episode of Big Brother on the TV station's website. I think I must have dozed off about 15 minutes into the show.
Oh, and in a TIL moment: Never watch TV in bed if the sleeping pill hasn't completely worn off yet. Now I have to wait until tomorrow to watch tonight's episode of Big Brother on the TV station's website. I think I must have dozed off about 15 minutes into the show.
Does that say more about the sleeping pills or the show
It says more about how the combination of the sleeping pill, my general fatigue (it's still too warm here for a proper night's sleep; I'm lucky to get 3 hours), and that I found it a bit too relaxing to lie down and it just put me right into snoozeland. The TV is on a computer desk opposite my bed, as it's the only place they'd fit.Does that say more about the sleeping pills or the show
I woke up about 5 minutes into the next show and figured that at least I'd had a short, but needed, nap.
I was reading about the last era of (free) Sparta. In its final decades there were many attempts to restore the Lycurgan laws, but by then the state had been depleted (less than 1000 homoioi remained, by one account, while in its hegemony it had ten times that number). Following the defeats in Sellasia and later on inside Sparta (both to the Commonwealth of Achaea), by the start of the 2nd century BC the main sources are hostile (pro-Rome), and so one can't really trust anything. That said, the final ruler of Sparta, Navis, has a rather nightmarish portrait by Polybios (citizen of the Achaean Commonwealth), in whose Histories one can read about a mechanical replica of his wife, the Apega or Agapena (I much prefer the latter, since it vitriolically alludes to Agape, the term for love).
The mechanical Apega was a device dressed as a female, which had iron spikes and would trap the person who tried to embrace it.
The mechanical Apega was a device dressed as a female, which had iron spikes and would trap the person who tried to embrace it.
Last edited:
warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
If we eradicate a virus, is that genocide?
If so, does that mean that some genocide is justified?
If God is an ant, why are we not ants? Or is this not our final form?
If so, does that mean that some genocide is justified?
If God is an ant, why are we not ants? Or is this not our final form?
A virus isn't an intelligent life form; most viruses do not even consist of different parts and they hijack cells to be replicated. They are a pest in the microcosm, and when not symbiotic they have to be destroyed or limited.
If god is an ant then that would at least give credence to the story of his son's sacrifice (since so many humans have killed ants deliberately, as children, and then also without even being aware of it). But if god was related to ants, one would have to assume it would be closer to the ant-colony "mind" than a single ant
warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
So it's okay to fully eliminate "non-intelligent" lifeforms? Such as all tomato plants for example? Or all deer, because they seem really dumb?
Aren't we a pest as well? *Begins writing out that quote from the Matrix*
If Jesus was an ant, would a catholic cross be enough for crucifixion, or would you need an orthodox cross instead?
Aren't we a pest as well? *Begins writing out that quote from the Matrix*
If Jesus was an ant, would a catholic cross be enough for crucifixion, or would you need an orthodox cross instead?
Personally I am not against eradication of a species, as long as it doesn't lead to chaos in the food chain (and ultimately to even more problems for humans). This doesn't mean I am in favor of it for random reasons either, though And I don't know if most of the viruses do play any positive (for humans) role.
While it is poetic to imagine a god (by definition something at least a lot more powerful than a human) as paradoxically a far weaker creature, I can't see how it could work in practice. Although I could definitely see how a malevolent god could grant god status to a creature incapable of making use of it and thus prone to be eradicated by mere humans, only to then use that as a pretext against humans. It is a very judaic-law way of thinking: I made you weak enough to sin, and now will punish you for it
And I don't know if most of the viruses do play any positive (for humans) role.While it is poetic to imagine a god (by definition something at least a lot more powerful than a human) as paradoxically a far weaker creature, I can't see how it could work in practice. Although I could definitely see how a malevolent god could grant god status to a creature incapable of making use of it and thus prone to be eradicated by mere humans, only to then use that as a pretext against humans. It is a very judaic-law way of thinking: I made you weak enough to sin, and now will punish you for it
warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
Next random thought: If it turned out that God was a deer, would people still worship it/her/him/doe?
- Status
Similar threads
