"The Dragon In My Garage," by Carl Sagan
Apr 30, 2009 at 1:07 AM Post #92 of 105
Quote:

Originally Posted by Real Man of Genius /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I have been informed that some or all of my posts in this thread are of a mocking and disparaging nature. My intent was good natured but my apologies to anyone who may have been offended.


Well don't feel bad, at least you're not the 'primary offender.'
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And same here by the way, apologies to anyone offended.
 
May 4, 2009 at 12:14 AM Post #93 of 105
the point seems to be that for there to be any talk of dragons in garages, there must be either real interaction between those who know of such dragons and them, or a "vast conspiracy" to make others believe that one may benefit from interacting with invisible dragons. as the number of people talking about the vexingly immaterial but experienced presence goes up, conspiracy thinking must give way to other angles. by the same token, perhaps the essay is about the communicability of things that are at heart private matters, and this certainly applies to audiophile experiences. so, to return to the literal context, people in this story would be far less likely to invite skeptics to prove a presence in their garage than to invite like-minded people to come over and compare dragons. :wink:
 
May 10, 2009 at 6:49 AM Post #94 of 105
Quote:

Originally Posted by PhilS /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Then let's stop referring to "unprovable religious beliefs" (your words) and evolution vs. creation (iriverdude), etc.

Look, I don't care if you want to argue that people who believe in cables or whatever are idiots. You always look for any opportunity to advance that agenda, anyway, and we're used to it by now.

But keep the religious stuff out of it. You're doing it just to offend people (after pretending you're not), and it's not necessary.


Aw, come on..............
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May 10, 2009 at 2:45 PM Post #95 of 105
Just for the record, I didn't intend any insult and wasn't using the phrase 'unprovable religious beliefs' in a pejorative way, just noting that certain beliefs were like religion in that they are unprovable, and I meant no deeper meaning beyond that. And most religious believers are secure enough that they don't consider that unprovability as some kind of insult anyway, rather just a part of their faith, and that's fine. Many of my other comments were similarly mischaracterized in the post you refer to but I try not to get into point-for-point rubuttals to that stuff, other than to say I have never argured that anyone an 'idiot.' I do believe that people are mistaken sometimes but there is a big difference between the two. And obvioulsy anyone who happens to have an objectivist viewpoint is not necessarily advancing an 'agenda' (man, how revealing is that comment?
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). Sometimes things are in the eye of the beholder and there's not much you can do about it.

Anyway, as I said earlier if I did manage to offend anyone else then I apologize as that wasn't my intention, I was only trying to discuss the subject matter and I guess I'm not good doing it while trying to stand on eggshells.

.
 
May 10, 2009 at 7:50 PM Post #96 of 105
Quote:

Originally Posted by Real Man of Genius /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I have been informed that some or all of my posts in this thread are of a mocking and disparaging nature. My intent was good natured but my apologies to anyone who may have been offended.


I was just wondering, who informed you?

USG
 
May 11, 2009 at 2:55 AM Post #97 of 105
Quote:

Originally Posted by upstateguy /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I was just wondering, who informed you?


The way I read it the first time I assumed a mod.
 
May 17, 2009 at 1:41 PM Post #100 of 105
Quote:

Originally Posted by upstateguy /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Again, I'm just wondering, is this mod a "Believer"?
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This can't go anywhere good, perhaps best to let it drop at this point...
 
May 20, 2009 at 3:31 PM Post #102 of 105
LOL - nice bump on this thread. It's actually the most useful post of the whole thread
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May 20, 2009 at 3:57 PM Post #105 of 105
I'm a cynical person, I don't think they would make such a fair test if 1 million dollars was the prize. It's just a way to gain more publicity. Believe it or not it's easy as hell to screw up scientific experiments, and if someone can hear a difference, all James Randi has to do is screw around with the test equipment and maintain the belief that cables make no difference. You might think we're idiots for not putting our beliefs under the scrutiny of the science, but I think you are naive for thinking the process won't be manipulated when $1 million and your supposed nonprofit foundation's reputation is at stake.
 
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