Cosmic Charlie

People often say "you can't prove there isn't a god" and they're not wrong. However, nobody can prove there is a god either. And looking at the universe and the way it works, it seems extraordinarily unlikely that some sort of omnipotent entity existing outside of space and time consciously created the universe, let alone the Earth specifically, and that "he" is in a position of authority over us, or that "he" gives even a quarter of a shit whether individual humans believe "he" exists or not. It's all so preposterous that it seems like it must've been thought of as a story to prove that people will believe anything.

Jesus, Moses, Buddha, Muhammad, Lao Tzu and the rest were all either definitely real or almost definitely real. However, each and every one of them was nothing more than a human with a rare and potent combination of intelligence, wisdom, empathy and charisma. There has never been a "son of God," a "prophet" or any other type of gifted, holy or otherwise empowered superhuman along those lines, and there never will. In fact, Buddha and Lao Tzu would likely tell you something to the same effect. In other words, religions would do better to disband completely, and their followers should learn the real lessons and the real morals contained within their scriptures and determine if they actual believe in it, or if they're too proud and too afraid to admit they don't. We can have all the positive effects religion has on lives and none of the negatives if we get rid of the parts that cause suffering and stagnate progress, and emphasize the parts that lead to the greater good. It's so fucking simple it really bothers me that most of the world thinks this is impossible. It's how I live my life every day, and somewhat ironically I feel like spreading the "good news" to those around me.

I nearly forgot about this one... Regardless of how you feel about the movie, this song is eerie. Hans Zimmer, ladies and gentlemen!

FF9 final boss theme... it's like standing at the gates of hell and then being pushed inside without warning. A few of the ones I was going to mention are already in the thread, so I'll leave you with a goosebump-maker. FF6 phantom train in the creepiest rendition ever made.

Hell yes! If I had another one of myself, the musical and scientific achievements we could attain would be mindblowing. Another pair of hands with a similar mind working with me would be immensely helpful... and a lady with my tastes, in all senses, would be very nice to have around. I would have to insist on somehow making her genes different enough from my own to make it not too creepy... probably set some arbitrary percentage of difference and keep as much the same as possible.

I grew up in the 90's playing with Hot Wheels and GI Joe and making them have ninja explosion fights and other stuff like that, having stick swordfights with my friends in the yard. The cartoons I watched were stuff like Batman and SWAT Kats (GUITAR SOLO!) so you could say I was definitely not into MLP. I could've gone to my grave thinking MLP was mindless fluff. Even though I was 20 when G4 premiered, I had to wrestle with my preconceptions when I watched the first episode, fully expecting it to be terrible, and discovered I actually kind of enjoyed it. I wanted to see what happened. That's how they get ya... with the cliffhanger hook, haha. It was more engaging intellectually than I expected, and the writing was believable and had a touch of self-awareness (manifested in Spike's commentary and Twilight's initial thoughts on Ponyville) that made it more welcoming. Considering I usually watch stuff dripping with cynicism like Breaking Bad and South Park, it was nice to feel genuinely happy after watching an ep. Three seasons and a whole lot of growth later, and here I am.

I have never heard of anyone doing this until just now, so obviously I don't. It's not really annoying though. Just... a little inaccurate, I guess.

I'm an athiest because I'm a scientist - I'm not sure how more succinct I can get. However, I also consider myself a Taoist and a Buddhist. In fact, I voted Buddhist in this poll. How is this possible, you ask? Buddhism is not really a religion in the sense most people mean it. It's more of a philosophy and a worldview. Taking only the bits and pieces that make sense to YOU is inherently built into it. There is no deity or supernatural being in Buddhism. The Buddha himself said in effect "If you should meet a Buddha on the road, kill him." Why would he say this? He's saying don't listen to preachers. Follow your own heart and your own head. Be autonomous in the world. Take his advice only if it makes sense, and if not, don't. If you read enough of them, the things attributed to Buddha really make you believe he was enlightened. I think a lot of people who consider themselves athiests would find a lot to like in the way Buddha sees our short time on this Earth. As for Taoism, it recognizes the duality apparent in nature. I'm a chemist, so I see positive and negative charges all the time. It's what everything is, and yet nothing is ever exactly that thing - there's always something interrupting perfection, something seeking equilibrium. That's how entropy works; it's how the universe works. The innate sense of balance and energy running through literally everything is referred to as the Tao, or just Tao, in Taoism. They sensed it before we knew of electrons, before we knew of polarity. Ancient Taoism had "gods," sure, but that was never really as important as the yin-yang distinction and equally important imperfection concerning that distinction, ergo the classic yin-yang design. I consider modern interpretations of Taoism, therefore, to be spiritually similar to cutting edge science, and by that virtue worth considering as a viable philosophy.

Hmm, interesting. Also, welcome! Nice first post. I see what you're saying. Still feels like two sides of the same coin to me. I guess I'm stable and self-aware enough to handle something like this, but it's gonna take until I feel it's worth it to forge myself a friend to try it, I think. Otherwise I'm content with the social contact I have now. I'm the sort who likes to be alone, with a cultivated inner life, so the amount of time I spend with my friends and my dog is more than enough for me.

Let me begin by saying I am not passing judgement here, nor jumping to any conclusions. I am a genuinely interested party. Having said that, and keeping it in mind, the idea of intentionally stepping the imaginary friend phenomenon up to an effectively uncontrollable consistent hallucination really unsettles me. Even understanding perception the way I do, a la Stephen Hawking, it's simultaneous fascinating that such a thing as a tulpa can even be conceived and unnerving that it seems to be such a popular and relatively "easy" thing to do. I've read the documentation at tulpa.info, I've scanned the threads on this site. As far as I can tell, at least on the surface, the only real difference (albeit an important one) between schizophrenic patients who have these hallucinations and folks who make themselves tulpas is that the tulpa user got to that point on purpose, the point of possessing what apparently amounts to a separate consciousness in their heads, offering opinions and emotions perceivably distinct from the user's own. How far off am I here?

First thing that comes to mind is spoilered for adult themes. Light beer. Ick. I'll take an amber ale or a good double stout, thank you. While we're on the subject, I also hate cheap liquor. It's all my friends buy because they want to get wasted on the cheap, which I can appreciate but it just sucks so much it's hard to justify. A nice aged single malt scotch, now that's another story. But listen, kids. You don't have to get drunk to enjoy alcoholic drinks. The best way to drink (in my opinion) is to have one finger of quality scotch once in a while, neat or on the rocks, and sip it slow. If you're not fully grown, obviously you should not drink unless you're in a safe place and no one is driving anywhere, and wait at least until your late teens before you partake. Kids should NOT be drinking because they don't understand moderation or how to handle themselves, not to mention it could disrupt brain development. If you're worried about legal issues then definitely wait until you're legal to drink wherever you live. This really turned into a ramble, eh?

I almost never move at all, which leads people to believe I'm not enjoying it, but it's the exact opposite. Most of the time I let music wash over me, like standing under a waterfall, and just close my eyes and immerse myself in the sound.

The only way humans would become adapted to junk food is if it became the only food source and the only people who survived were the ones who could survive and reproduce eating only junk food. Over time the humans who need regular nourishment would die off from malnutrition and the considerably less healthy humans would inherit the earth. That is not the kind of future I want for my species, thank you.

Who? The banana flattens, yet seven trees do not sing of plastic airplanes. Pillow threat! Stick to the only bear.

The 1980 logo looks like it should be spelled MYKROSOFT and be a terrible hair metal band. It's pretty cool how those logos all evoke a feeling of the era they were designed in.

I've only had it a few times. Two I can remember and both were awful for different reasons. One time I woke up and had the hallucination that a bare human skeleton was standing above me with its hand on my forehead, pressing my head into the pillow and staring at me with its empty sockets. Not cool. Another time was scary for a different reason. I didn't see anything, but my brain was waking up and yet my body was still asleep, so my breathing was slow and shallow, and no matter what I did I couldn't move a muscle or make myself breath heavier, and I started to panic, thinking I couldn't breathe at all. It didn't help that I was lying on my stomach with my face in the pillow. I thought I was gonna die for a few seconds, which is really all it takes. Also not cool.

George Carlin says, think about how stupid the average person is, and then realize than half of them are stupider than that. It's hard to say who the dumbest person I've ever met is, as there have been a lot and they all stand out in their own ways. One of the front runners for sure is a kid I knew back in high school who spelled chicken "chiken" and did not know the capital of his own state. HIGH SCHOOL.

I'm proud to say it was Mario Bros on the NES when I was 6 or 7 years old. My cousin brought it over when I was sick and my brother and I started playing it all day.

It's okay to recognize that the genders are indeed different, but only so far as their actual, measurable differences. Men TEND to be taller than women, but that's not always the case. Men and women have different distributions of muscle and fat in their bodies, leading men to GENERALLY have more upper body strength and women to have breasts. It has been suggested that women are faster and more accurate at interpreting facial expressions. These are the types of differences it's okay to recognize. And once you apply LGBT and variations in people's DNA, even these lines become blurred. In tests of intelligence and many other intellectual skills, women perform at the same level as men virtually across the board. There are some differences, yes, but it's like asking what weighs more, a pound of feathers or a pound of bricks? Social attributes like color preferences and ability to do specific jobs and ear piercings and, say, cartoon preferences, are NOT the kind you want to be starting fights or losing sleep over. None of that should matter, and it really doesn't. That being said, I will never carry a purse or wear high heels. I have pink sunglasses, and I never want to see a lady with beard.