tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post7485482438273363462..comments2024-03-27T11:16:36.951-07:00Comments on One Cʘsmos: Who and Whom in God and PoliticsGagdad Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14249005793605006679noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-66417544249917949792014-12-02T10:37:49.772-08:002014-12-02T10:37:49.772-08:00Julie said "One of the miracles of Christiani...Julie said "One of the miracles of Christianity, it seems to me, is that it is compatible with pretty much anyone regardless of intelligence, provided that it is downloaded adequately. Conversely, when it is absent, anything goes."<br /><br />Not coincidentally, the same can be said of Western Civilization itself. It doesn't matter one bit your race, ethnicity or origin, you simply need to adopt the ideas and habits, and you can be Western, and that applies even more to becoming an American. <br /><br />In fact any insistence upon reference and value of your origin for standing (or excuse) will almost certainly lead to anti-Western, anti-American thoughts and actions. Van Harveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08470413719262297062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-55669627963032900772014-12-02T10:22:28.104-08:002014-12-02T10:22:28.104-08:00Or looked at another way, consider all the money b...Or looked at another way, consider all the money being thrown into schools to supposedly improve educational outcomes. What if, instead, the focus was aimed less on improving intelligence and more on teaching useful skills such as a basic grasp of the Golden Rule and a decent work ethic? Maybe people wouldn't be any more learned, or intelligent, but at least they might retain some semblance of human dignity throughout their adulthood. Which is more valuable?juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15975754287030568726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-33101449317612751492014-12-02T10:18:29.863-08:002014-12-02T10:18:29.863-08:00I don't know anymore what I think of the hardw...I don't know anymore what I think of the hardware issue, except that with the wrong software, you can't often expect a positive outcome.<br /><br />One of the miracles of Christianity, it seems to me, is that it is compatible with pretty much anyone regardless of intelligence, provided that it is downloaded adequately. Conversely, when it is absent, anything goes.juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15975754287030568726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-55093335768164838262014-12-02T10:07:13.949-08:002014-12-02T10:07:13.949-08:00The hardware explanation also runs into difficulti...The hardware explanation also runs into difficulties explaining Eskimos,who are Asian hardware, and German, Slav & Norse, who are essentially the same as the original Greeks. Just doesn't wash. Van Harveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08470413719262297062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-46161557448246905942014-12-02T09:57:33.963-08:002014-12-02T09:57:33.963-08:00Yeah, I don't have any trouble with noting tha...Yeah, I don't have any trouble with noting that intelligence, or intelligent behaviour, has developed differently in different groups. I also have no problem with the idea that some groups have better hardware & clock speed than others. I just have a problem with the two being more than correlative.Van Harveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08470413719262297062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-54445458071681971472014-12-02T07:17:52.965-08:002014-12-02T07:17:52.965-08:00Yes. And still, maybe even for all the more reason...Yes. And still, maybe even for all the more reason, culture matters.<br /><br />In recent years, I accidentally managed to trigger a sort of family reunion among very disparate members on my mom's side of the family, after publishing a side blog with some old family memorabilia. My heritage on that side is very mixed, but as it turns out one of my ancestors founded <a href="http://www.zionoldwick.com/642121.ihtml" rel="nofollow">one of the oldest Lutheran churches in the US</a>. He was a freed slave, and also (apparently) one of the wealthiest people in New Jersey. This was 300 years ago, so maybe that's not saying much. But anyway, to the point, I can't imagine he'd be anything but horrified at what has become of most of the black community today.<br /><br />Regardless of racial background, we are as Van noted, each responsible for our failures and successes. Any society that tries to foist that responsibility off on the shoulders of the successful simply guarantees that the failures will fail ever more. This is as true among the welfare classes of Europe as it is of the near-permanent black underclasses of America.juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15975754287030568726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-54175197880626972602014-12-02T06:55:01.552-08:002014-12-02T06:55:01.552-08:00I don't think there's any doubt that intel...I don't think there's any doubt that intelligence evolved differently in different groups. Rather, there is a growing consensus. Gagdad Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14249005793605006679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-4472241104048231182014-12-02T06:03:25.433-08:002014-12-02T06:03:25.433-08:00Browsing up on John's suggestion, a paper by J...Browsing up on John's suggestion, a <a href="http://www.harbornet.com/folks/theedrich/JP_Rushton/Race.htm" rel="nofollow">paper by J. Philippe Rushton</a>, which I've skimmed only. It has interesting data, which BTW is a theme that Thomas Sowell hasn't flinched away from, as with <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Race-And-Culture-World-View/dp/0465067972/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1Z9J95H2JXR4TQF5D9WQ" rel="nofollow">Race And Culture: A World View</a>.<br /><br />And if body types, bone structure and muscle content can evolve differently within racial groups, I see no reason why the cranium and brain would be excluded from such changes. What I question is whether or not brain size means more intelligence, and whether or not synaptic speed means more intelligence, or even, assuming that material brain structures would affect the quantity of synaptic integrations, whether or not that means more intelligence. <br /><br />I doubt it. And especially since more intelligence does not mean more wisdom, I not only doubt it, I mostly discount it as an, almost literally, knee-jerk assumption.<br /><br />I think culture is the key, and while to some extent environment could plausibly play a contributing factor to that, colder climes confining people together possibly leading to a more ingrained conversational habit, etc. But playing a possible factor in no way translates into being the cause, or even a governor of quality produced. But even so, as in so many areas, the Jews throw a wrench into the determinist's works.<br /><br />There's no point blaming others, or the world, for our failures or successes - you yourself are the culprit.<br />Van Harveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08470413719262297062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-79692390349208244752014-12-01T18:37:11.732-08:002014-12-01T18:37:11.732-08:00Semper Fi, Michael! :)Semper Fi, Michael! :)USS Ben USN (Ret)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07492369604790651538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-86007746041924979492014-12-01T17:46:31.318-08:002014-12-01T17:46:31.318-08:00Ben: And of course,
Marine = Moron Always Riding ...Ben: And of course, <br />Marine = Moron Always Riding In Navy EquipmentMichael Marinaccihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15723529424493212341noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-82517463397639825632014-12-01T17:32:55.062-08:002014-12-01T17:32:55.062-08:00Navy: never again volunteer yourself was the motto...Navy: never again volunteer yourself was the motto of the 10% losers that infested that fine branch of the military while I was in.<br /><br />Ergo, I'll volunteer. :)USS Ben USN (Ret)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07492369604790651538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-55758869215959291772014-12-01T12:56:59.685-08:002014-12-01T12:56:59.685-08:00Scrolling back through his tarot series, he's ...Scrolling back through his tarot series, he's actually just talking about the plain history - what they were originally made for, what the imagery represents, and how in the 1800s people just flat-out made up the whole divination thing. They really were just illustrated playing cards.<br /><br />Seems like a decent enough chap, though I don't know that I'd call him a raccoon.juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15975754287030568726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-35522156454174693022014-12-01T12:28:19.293-08:002014-12-01T12:28:19.293-08:00We need a volunteer to go through it and get back ...We need a volunteer to go through it and get back to us. Gagdad Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14249005793605006679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-20575951476154906192014-12-01T11:50:39.381-08:002014-12-01T11:50:39.381-08:00I saw that link from Vanderleun today. I'm hal...I saw that link from Vanderleun today. I'm half tempted to scroll back through the guy's earlier posts to see what else he had to say.juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15975754287030568726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-44205839355336709232014-12-01T11:31:35.796-08:002014-12-01T11:31:35.796-08:00I don't know of those two, but it looks like s...I don't know of those two, but it looks like someone else has been <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/godandthemachine/2013/07/meditations-on-the-tarot/" rel="nofollow">dabbling in the tarot</a>. Gagdad Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14249005793605006679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-68762321729948138232014-12-01T11:27:46.041-08:002014-12-01T11:27:46.041-08:00Genetic not gentic, though that is funnyGenetic not gentic, though that is funnyJohnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08797912120688482383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-69804687402255572112014-12-01T11:26:19.475-08:002014-12-01T11:26:19.475-08:00Speaking of race. Wondering if you are familiar wi...Speaking of race. Wondering if you are familiar with Richard Lynn and Phillipe Rushton's studies on gentic factors In race/IQ/cultural development. Seems a compliment to your work in some ways. Controversial, of course, but quite grounded in research. Also, a compliment to Murray's Bell Curve.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08797912120688482383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-23415138877005069692014-12-01T10:40:32.494-08:002014-12-01T10:40:32.494-08:00What I mean is that if God is all active Who, them...<i>What I mean is that if God is all active Who, them we are 100% passive Whom. But if we are in the image of God, then I don't see how this could be possible.</i><br /><br />You're right. Paul says to <i> ... work out </i><b>your own</b> <i>salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.</i> <br /><br />I'm responsible for doing what is being done to me. <br /><br />I don't want to think about that too long.mushroomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07651027035577798096noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-11696929932403164692014-12-01T09:03:28.753-08:002014-12-01T09:03:28.753-08:00Buy the way, Bob, (it being the Xmas retail season...Buy the way, Bob, (it being the Xmas retail season) thanks for the post on the 26th about Hartshorne. Interesting to think about! Hope you and all the Raccoons had a wonderful Xgiving. <br /><br />And Thanksgiving, too. And of course, a blessed Advent.Tonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00987042455512485699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-52913226565961567732014-12-01T08:42:28.780-08:002014-12-01T08:42:28.780-08:00There is no pride like intellectual pride, hence t...<i> There is no pride like intellectual pride, hence the excruciating vanity of the tenured.</i><br /><br />I'm reminded of the trolls we used to get who could not resist claiming, at some point or another, that they were in some way smarter than everyone here (either by virtue of tenure or Mensa membership, usually) and therefore their opinion somehow carried more weight than anyone else's. Their brilliance alone was argument enough; "Because I said so" should have been all the reason we needed to agree with them, and they were deeply offended when we did not.juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15975754287030568726noreply@blogger.com