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I have seen no indication for my entire life to suggest that a god exists. So my null hypothesis has ended up as "god doesn't exist, until proven otherwise.
You may claim that the opposite null hypothesis: "God exist, until proven not to exist" is logically equivalent. In principle it is, but in view of a few hundred years evidence / non-evidence, formal equivalence must yield to empirical evidence.
Also: In my youth, there was a slogan: If God exists, he must be fought! Some times today, when I watch to those proclaiming to represent the god of my youth, there seems to be something to that slogan.
Religious freedom means the freedom to say that two plus two makes five.
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As there is no evidence for or against the existence of God, the only logically valid stance is, IMO, agnosticism. Not theism (in one of its many guises) or atheism.
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
-- 6079 Smith W.
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Humans have another alternative that is often overlooked. That is ignoring and not answering the question at all.
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The major difference between humans and animals is that humans have developed philosophy.
It rarely gives definitive answers, but the search for them fills many otherwise empty hours. Some of the answers may even have practical application.
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
-- 6079 Smith W.
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The last few years have shown that holding rational beliefs can be vilified, even by various governments.
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You mean, like in the middle ages? 
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I remember reading some Foucault and he said that knowledge is essentially a function of power, in that he seemed to be arguing that even our "science" is subject to the whims of human activity.
I tend to agree. We all have to employ some amount of trust because we cannot hope to build up even empirical knowledge from scratch. We don't have the time in one lifetime.
And it's that trust that can get us in trouble, as much as we need it. Even with science, Max Plank rightly lamented that it advances one funeral at a time. There is power and inertia at play, even in the sciences, where consensus - even incomplete or incorrect consensus all too often carries the day.
I think what tronderen was speaking to was absence of coercion - in this case, being free to be wrong - negative liberty. Imagine if being wrong carried a state enforced penalty!
Check out my IoT graphics library here:
https://honeythecodewitch.com/gfx
And my IoT UI/User Experience library here:
https://honeythecodewitch.com/uix
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"Two plus two equal five" carries a built-in penalty, in that none of your mathematics (or even your arithmetic) will be consistent. That differs from the state-enforced penalty of misbelieving the state religion.
(Note that many states throughout time have tried to legislate that two plus two make five, or its equivalent. They have all been disabused in short order.)
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
-- 6079 Smith W.
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Sure being wrong carries all kinds of natural consequences, and that's why I was careful to qualify. I think the ultimate point tronderen was making is that billions of people subscribe to lots of irrational beliefs, and I'd add that I doubt I could find a single person that didn't have at least one. We're not perfect, after all.
Check out my IoT graphics library here:
https://honeythecodewitch.com/gfx
And my IoT UI/User Experience library here:
https://honeythecodewitch.com/uix
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honey the codewitch wrote: We're not perfect, after all.
Agreed.
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
-- 6079 Smith W.
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honey the codewitch wrote: was making is that billions of people subscribe to lots of irrational beliefs
I believe the Sun will come up tomorrow.
I am not being specious with that declaration either. I have never proven it and I never will. And if someone attempted to provide evidence that contradicted it I would just ignore it. I doubt anyone can find an authority that would prove the subject either.
In the same way I do not believe in unicorns. I might read something that says someone discovered a unicorn and I would dismiss it out of hand, because they are either mistaken in what they discovered or they are changing the definition to apply to something else. It is an absolute Truth for me (with a capital 'T'.)
One can certainly claim that both of the above are rational. But that would be a misstatement of what I said. Both are beliefs for me. I did not arrive at them rationally nor will I think about them rationally in the future.
On the other hand I understand that there are many assumptions in Science. Just one is the belief that if one measures something today then they can measure it tomorrow and get the same result. That is an assumption although certainly many will defend it as a Truth. But they certainly cannot prove it. Myself I don't have a problem with that assumption but I do find fault with those that do not understand that is an assumption (or a belief.)
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Yet both statements "The Sun will rise tomorrow" and "Unicorns do not exist" may be, in principle, falsified by contrary experience. Similar statements about religion cannot be falsified, even in principle. In fact, I would say that the definition of a religious statement is one that cannot be falsified, even in principle.
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
-- 6079 Smith W.
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Daniel Pfeffer wrote: Yet both statements "The Sun will rise tomorrow" and "Unicorns do not exist" may be, in principle, falsified by contrary experience
Perhaps you did not understand what I posted.
Your statement, in regards to me, is false.
Because both are beliefs.
Daniel Pfeffer wrote: I would say that the definition of a religious statement is one that cannot be falsified, even in principle.
Sometimes people attempt a 'scientific' or 'logical' proof to falsify god. Naturally those are always wrong. They can be dismissed immediately. (One might claim they are logically sound although I have not seen that but given that they are not just testing logic but attempting to actually prove god does not exist they are wrong.)
There are many claimed proofs both scientific and logical which attempt to prove god. The scientific ones are nonsense. Often obviously scientifically flawed. Even ludicrously so. Certainly some of the logical ones are sound - not in proving god but rather in that they follow the rules of logic.
Scientifically there are supernatural claims, some religious in nature, which have been falsified. Often, like the above they are obviously scientifically flawed even with a brief examination. But others can be tested.
One of the skeptic magazines has been running/promoting a contest with a very large cash prize for a very long time. Many have applied. Few have actually proceeded to the test. Not surprisingly none have passed the test set up for their specific claim.
One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge - Wikipedia[^]
One of the more recent amusing articles in the skeptics magazine (I can't recall which one) actually enumerated things like how many had asked, then proceeded to request a test, then accepted the test and failed. Then broke it down by the types of claims. Either that article or another described how the testing was done for specific cases.
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Please don't hijack this thread - start another one
In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity. - Hunter S Thompson - RIP
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Agreed.
Software Zen: delete this;
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Welcome back sir! Who said Christmas doesn’t bring good news to those deserving (and obviously CPians always deserve good news) 😀
Mircea
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Great to see you back.
It takes time for personal bereavements to heal, and loved ones can never be forgotten. However, life has to continue, and we should aspire to be healthy till our last day here.
Perhaps a small digression would be to slowly get back into answering the QA questions, there are thousands waiting for your answers.
modified 23-Dec-23 21:14pm.
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Good to hear from you OG!
And Dagsson is great!
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Good to hear from you again, I started to get a bit worried,especially as it is Christmas and all.
Someone I talked to many years ago when I needed it compared sorrow to a wound.
If you care for it it will heal but give you a scar as a memory.
But if you ignore it, or worse, keep poking it, it will get infected and hurt you even more.
I don't know it it makes any sense to you, but it did for me.
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Hi,
Nice to have an Original member back in action! Been a little too quiet! 
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Wordle 917 2/6
⬛⬛⬛⬛🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
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Wordle 917 5/6
⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜
🟩🟨🟨🟨⬜
🟩🟨🟩⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
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Wordle 917 4/6
⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨
🟨⬜⬜🟨⬜
⬜🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”
― Christopher Hitchens
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⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩
🟨⬜🟩⬜🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity. - Hunter S Thompson - RIP
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