.Things are getting weird here!
Woman Who Ate ‘Unusually Large’ Amount of Wasabi Developed Broken-Heart Syndrome
A woman got more than a burning mouthful when she mistook a serving of wasabi for avocado — the spicy food appeared to cause her to develop “broken-heart syndrome,” according to a new report of the case.
That is interesting. But what if my personal beliefs is working to help me and my life while also impairing someone elses life? What if your religion, that brings you all kinds of social benefits, also persecute gay people, or cover up pedophile rings withing their clergy, or behead adulterers? Aren’t those ideas always inherently delusional by default, then?
Well, I think this is where the term “delusion” stops being helpful really. It’s a psychiatric term used to determine whether a patient needs help or doesn’t.
I think you could argue that mostly, the things you describe are not necessarily a big part of the belief system but rather have become part of it for societal reasons, but that’s a really tricky chicken and egg question, I’m afraid. But I do think it is important to be aware that erasing religion from the equation wouldn’t automatically mean erasing homophobia or bizarre sanctions for adultery.
Other than that, the question whether a whole society can be delusional is an interesting one, and one we could examine on different levels, not just when it comes to religion.
I don’t have much experience of religious practices of any religion outside of the abrahamic religions but it’s pretty clear to me that those dogmatic imaginary friend-regimes are 100% delusional.
Replace that with “irrational”, and I can’t argue.
When I was heavy into drugs I used to believe (and I’m not kidding) that I was Adolf Hitler in a previous life. We don’t need to get into why, because those were DELUSIONS from my perspective today. But what did this give me? It got me out of bed. It made me laugh when shit was tough. I drew some strength from it, and it had zero negative impact on my life. It just made it more interesting.
Was that not a delusion just because it benefited me?
Oof. Well, I think from a psychiatric point of view, probably not, but looking at ICD 10-definitions and the like, it’s kind of hard to tell. But philosophically speaking, I don’t see much of a difference between this and believing in, say, horoscopes or homeopathics – outside of not being a culturally endorsed belief. I think in order to determine whether you were delusional, there’s the question of how unshakable your belief in this was.
Um, signs and symptoms according to wiki include:
The following can indicate a delusion:[16]
– The patient expresses an idea or belief with unusual persistence or force, even when evidence suggests the contradictory.
That idea appears to have an undue influence on the patient’s life, and the way of life is often altered to an inexplicable extent.
– Despite their profound conviction, there is often a quality of secretiveness or suspicion when the patient is questioned about it.
– The individual tends to be humorless and oversensitive, especially about the belief.
– There is a quality of centrality: no matter how unlikely it is that these strange things are happening to them, the patient accepts them relatively unquestioningly.
– An attempt to contradict the belief is likely to arouse an inappropriately strong emotional reaction, often with irritability and hostility. They will not accept any other opinions.
– The belief is, at the least, unlikely, and out of keeping with the patient’s social, cultural, and religious background.
– The patient is emotionally over-invested in the idea and it overwhelms other elements of their psyche.
– The delusion, if acted out, often leads to behaviors which are abnormal and/or out of character, although perhaps understandable in light of the delusional beliefs.
– Individuals who know the patient observe that the belief and behavior are uncharacteristic and alien.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delusional_disorder
Also, the article interesting explicitly gives this caveat:
The DSM-IV, and psychologists agree that personal beliefs should be evaluated with great respect to cultural and religious differences, since some cultures have widely accepted beliefs that may be considered delusional in other cultures.[14]
Jeez this discussion has meandered from il papa liking a big butt on insta. I’m sorry I was a bit triggered in my last comment.
I used to be into Dawkins and Hitchens etc but that whole anti-religion angle got tired. This board played a role in that change, especially Jim and Johnny Henning. I miss those guys.
I always had this idea that things like Zen Buddhism had a more intelligent take on religion, whole Christianity was silly. I was in a Christian high school, and I took classes on religion, including Christianity, in university, but it took a lot of time to get a more nuanced view. Some of my favorite books now are Christian, a little book I have with writings by Meister Eckhart, and Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis, and a collection of stories from the desert fathers.
Canadian Army promotes polar bear to honorary master corporal
Johnny Henning
I think he’s still around under a different name.
AKA A Small Talent for War
Todd AKA Small talent for clandestine name-dropping.
Spoiler alert?
Dead minks infected with a mutated form of COVID-19 rise from graves after mass culling
Dead minks infected with a mutated form of COVID-19 rise from graves after mass culling
In 2020 this barely warrants a raised eyebrow.
I think Johnny is one of the few members I could get from writing style & subject matter alone. So I was 95% sure it was him :)
I would really like to see something to fill that gap, public community centers where once a week somebody will give a speech on current issues and afterwards there’s cake and stuff. It’s one of those things that really should be a public service.
There are some things like that here, but with corona everything is fucked. Most people who used to go to such things either can’t or won’t go anymore. That’s one of the reasons why the lockdown scares the crap out of me. It took away the lifelines for lonely people who have a lot of troubles. It causes so much pain, and other problems.
Nope, my response was Todd was getting too(2) (the)deep.
Metallic Monolith In Utah Vanishes Just As Mysteriously As It Appeared
lol, I thought saying something was too deep by showing 2 pictures of the Deep was witty but to each its own.
No, it totally was! I was just not in tune with what his name was. :D
Eh, I think aiming for incremental change will lead to better results than saying everybody has to become communist.
Metallic Monolith In Utah Vanishes Just As Mysteriously As It Appeared
“As mysteriously as it appeared” is a bit of a stretch, from other reports it sounds like a couple of blokes nicked it in a truck.
Looked at logically, you really ought to believe in God. Because if he doesn’t exist and you believe then you’ve lost nothing. But if he does exist and you don’t believe, you’re screwed.
Well that’s true for the Biblical God who is kind of an asshole. Maybe God doesn’t mind at all wether anyone believes in him, or he might not be Yahweh but Vishnu or Odin…
Japan Puts Its Post-Covid Tourism Hopes In Hands Of Giant Robot
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/japan-giant-robot-tourism_n_5fc51b1bc5b61d04bfabdeea
This story probably could have been posted in the Thread of Positivity and Goodness, too:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10218608631150519&set=a.3464783061854&type=3
Brendan Ring
tNgtSovember 2h2en actpgmfo 2a:on3u9 sscoiadPohegSeredM ·
So just before we closed today at Nighttown a customer walked in and ordered a beer and asked for the check and handed his credit card slip to me , wished me well while we sit out our voluntary shutdown and told me to share the tip amongst the wait staff of which there were four working brunch today
As he walked out I looked down at the tip and realized he left a whopping $3000 tip on a single beer purchase
I ran after him and he said no mistake we will see you when you reopen!
Unbelievable but symbolic of the kind of quality folks we have know at Nighttown all these years
I could post his name but I won’t as I think he wouldn’t want that but all my waitstaff and myself and humbly grateful for this incredibly kind and grand gesture 🇮🇪❤️
Looked at logically, you really ought to believe in God. Because if he doesn’t exist and you believe then you’ve lost nothing. But if he does exist and you don’t believe, you’re screwed.
Been making bets with Blaise again?
I knew I’d read that somewhere but I couldn’t remember who said it.
Looked at logically, you really ought to believe in God. Because if he doesn’t exist and you believe then you’ve lost nothing. But if he does exist and you don’t believe, you’re screwed.
The fallacy with Pascal’s wager is, as far as I am concerned, that this only holds true if you assume a God that cares if you believe in them or not, and more importantly will punish you if you don’t.
To which my answer has always been, well, if this how it is, then the insecure, narcissist motherfucker can piss right off.
I’ll rather go with the assumption that if there is indeed an all-powerful, omniscient and omnipresent being, it’ll be more important to them how I lived my life than whether I believed in them or not. And not demanding that people live their lives according to what I think God should be thinking is probably a bloody good start.
I am not sure if I could force myself to believe in something that I strongly doubt. For instance, can I tell myself from now on I am going to believe low fat yoghurt tastes better than fat yoghurt?
I am not sure if I could force myself to believe in something that I strongly doubt. For instance, can I tell myself from now on I am going to believe low fat yoghurt tastes better than fat yoghurt?
Hypno Toad will help you believe:
Talking of delusions, it’s worth noting that for some mental disorders, it’s a thin line between delusions and cognitive dissonance. For example, my OCD can get so obsessed with why something is, that I recognize that some people may be lead to crazy conspiracies as an explanation, and then part of me feels like the delusional explanation is simpler, so I enter a state of cognitive dissonance, where I know it’s not true, but I act like it is. I even once had a therapist who said if not for the previous OCD diagnosis, he would suspect me of being schizotypical or schizoid.
The fallacy with Pascal’s wager is, as far as I am concerned, that this only holds true if you assume a God that cares if you believe in them or not, and more importantly will punish you if you don’t.
I think that limitation is implicit in the wager, though, and doesn’t invalidate it. You just need to restate it as:
Looked at logically, you really ought to believe in God. Because if he doesn’t exist or doesn’t care or won’t punish you and you believe then you’ve lost nothing. But if he does exist and does care and will punish you and you don’t believe, you’re screwed.
On the other hand, God is supposedly accepting of all sinners, so you can do whatever the hell you want all your life and repent right at the last second and be fine.
The fallacy with Pascal’s wager is, as far as I am concerned, that this only holds true if you assume a God that cares if you believe in them or not, and more importantly will punish you if you don’t.
I think that limitation is implicit in the wager, though, and doesn’t invalidate it. You just need to restate it as:
Looked at logically, you really ought to believe in God. Because if he doesn’t exist or doesn’t care or won’t punish you and you believe then you’ve lost nothing. But if he does exist and does care and will punish you and you don’t believe, you’re screwed.
You all know that I am religious, but I hate, hate, Pascal’s wager. It starts with an answer to Christian’s objection: we’re assuming G-d cares because we have a communication from him. That’s the core assumption of Pascal’s wager: we have the word of G-d. It’s a misunderstanding of the wager, in that it’s not just trying to prove G-d exists, but that we have his word.
Question: What is that word? Say you start with the Tenakh/Protestant OT. Do you believe in an Oral Law? You could apply the wager into believing the Oral Law too, but then Christianit comes along and says that it doesn’t exist and you need to believe in the NT. Mutually exclusive views- if traditional Judaism is correct, then if you believe the teachings of Christianity, you’re not applying the word of G-d correctly, but the opposite approach would say that if you follow traditional Judaism, you don’t believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, so you’re damned. And if you’re using Pascal’s wager and land on Christianity, maybe you would consider Arianism, where you believe that John’s proem just means Jesus is a superangel, and not equal with the Father. But then, Arianism would say traditional Christianity is idolatry and the opposite approach says if you don’t believe in the Trinity you’re damned. And then there’s the whole Protestant/Catholic/Eastern Orthodox choice you need to make. And then Mormonism comes along…..
I could go on forever, but it’s a matrayoshka doll of problems.
Driver pulled over for using folding lawn chair as car seat
I am not sure if I could force myself to believe in something that I strongly doubt. For instance, can I tell myself from now on I am going to believe low fat yoghurt tastes better than fat yoghurt?
That’s really why it fails, of course. Because if God does exist as stated, he knows you’re faking so it’s still the fires of Hell for you.
It’s doubtful Jesus mentions eternal hell at all in the Bible. People think it could be a mistranslation of “gehenna” which was a physical place where the bodies of dead sinners were dumped.
The whole idea of eternal punishment seems antithetical to a good, just God for me.
Looked at logically, you really ought to believe in God. Because if he doesn’t exist or doesn’t care or won’t punish you and you believe then you’ve lost nothing. But if he does exist and does care and will punish you and you don’t believe, you’re screwed.
Then I’d rather be screwed than saved by a God who is a dick.
Dozens test positive for Covid after swingers convention in New Orleans
Forty one people test positive after ‘Naughty in N’awlins’ event which saw about 250 people congregate in mid-November
Forty-one people have tested positive for coronavirus after attending a swingers convention in New Orleans, in what officials have called a “super-spreader event”.
A Hungarian MP of the anti-LGBT Fidesz party was caught trying to escape a gay orgy in Brussels that violated the lockdown measures.
It was a fact-finding mission.
At least I think he said “fact”.
Did you check the dictionary?
saved by a God who is a dick
you would not happen to know the Winchester Bros, do you?
About the Letitia Wright anti-vaxxing thing: What really annoys me is this kind of statement:
After Wright had posted the video to Twitter with the prayer hands emoji, she quickly became embroiled in arguments with users taking her to task for using her platform to spread misinformation on vaccines. The British actress, who is currently starring in Steve McQueen’s acclaimed Small Axe anthology series, countered that she wasn’t against vaccines but thought it was important to “ask questions.” “I think it’s valid and fair to simply ask what’s in it,” she replied to one user.
my intention was not to hurt anyone, my ONLY intention of posting the video was it raised my concerns with what the vaccine contains and what we are putting in our bodies.
The thing is that it is known what these vaccines contain. Just because it’s bloody hard for a non-biologist to understand how they work you can’t pretend that it’s this big secret/conspiracy. It’s just you who doesn’t have the knowledge to understand it. (And me, admittedly. But I don’t pretend that that somehow makes it magic or a con.)
By the way, just like with Gina Carraldo, I don’t think she should lose any work over this or whatever, but it actually is more problematic when you’re playing a character that is supposed to represent the pinnacle of science to teenagers.
By the way, just like with Gina Carraldo, I don’t think she should lose any work over this or whatever, but it actually is more problematic when you’re playing a character that is supposed to represent the pinnacle of science to teenagers.
This was precisely why I brought it up in the Marvel thread. If you don’t know the answer, it doesn’t take much effort to educate yourself. Perhaps her time would be better spent doing that than watching random idiots on YouTube and spreading their disinformation to her thousands of young, impressionable followers.
Wouldn’t have thought that Supernatural headed into that kind of territory, either…
They spent several seasons dealing with Heavenly dickitude and even some Heavenly bitchitude as well.
One of the Zodiac killer’s ciphers has been cracked after 51 years.
There are still two more that haven’t been deciphered. He hinted that he would reveal his identity in a cipher, and one of the two remaining ciphers is just a single line, about the same length as a name (but too long to be “Ted Cruz”). However, the fact that it’s so brief makes it that much harder to decipher.
One of the Zodiac killer’s ciphers has been cracked after 51 years.
There are still two more that haven’t been deciphered. He hinted that he would reveal his identity in a cipher, and one of the two remaining ciphers is just a single line, about the same length as a name (but too long to be “Ted Cruz”). However, the fact that it’s so brief makes it that much harder to decipher.
I haven’t clicked the article but I bet it was an AI that cracked it.
(but too long to be “Ted Cruz”).
Long enough to be Rafael Edward Cruz, though? 
Todd Gross sounds kind of like Ted Cruz…and they’re both from Texas.
Todd Gross sounds kind of like Ted Cruz…and they’re both from Texas.
I was born June 27, 1968 and the first confirmed murders were on December 20, 1968.
I guess I’m a homicidal prodigy!
US judge says parents owe son over trashed porn collection
A US judge in Michigan has ruled that a 42-year-old man can seek compensation from his parents for destroying his pornography collection.
David Werking, who was living with his parents following a divorce, sued them over the items, which he claims were worth over $25,000 (£18,500).
There’s a campaign to make Asian Dub Foundation and Stewart Lee’s “Coming Over Here” no. 1 in the charts when Brexit comes into effect.
There’s still time to get in on this today! Go on, Brits, do it!
The fallacy with Pascal’s wager is, as far as I am concerned, that this only holds true if you assume a God that cares if you believe in them or not, and more importantly will punish you if you don’t.
The obvious fallacy before getting into the logic is what if you believe and worship the wrong God. If you’re a Christian and it turns out Christ was not God, but Allah or even Vishnu or Zeus is god, what then?
Like Ricky Gervais told Stephen Colbert, “There are like 3,000 religions in the world. I don’t believe in any of them, and you don’t believe in 2,999 of them.”
Now for something completely different.
A former Israeli space security chief has sent eyebrows shooting heavenward by saying that earthlings have been in contact with extraterrestrials from a “galactic federation.”
“The Unidentified Flying Objects have asked not to publish that they are here, humanity is not ready yet,” Haim Eshed, former head of Israel’s Defense Ministry’s space directorate, told Israel’s Yediot Aharonot newspaper. The interview in Hebrew ran on Friday, and gained traction after parts were published in English by the Jerusalem Post on Tuesday.
A respected professor and retired general, Eshed said the aliens were equally curious about humanity and were seeking to understand “the fabric of the universe.”
I recently saw a documentary interviewing an alleged Air Force Intelligence operative whose mission was to promote the idea that the US government and military actually was working with aliens essentially creating the modern UFO craze to deflect attention on their top secret hi-tech programs like the stealth fighters and bombers. It seemed a bit sketchy but the premise stuck with me. It sure it a lot easier to discredit a witness if they are claiming to see spaceships instead of some new supersonic drone fighter or aircraft.
Didn’t you have a relative who was an engineer at Area 51 or the Skunkworks and said there weren’t alien spacecraft there?
My boss’ dad worked at Area 51. Also, I have friends whose parents were also former civilian and military employees back when the aviation industry was hopping in Los Angeles.
I met him several times at social events and he was long retired, but of course he could never talk about anything he did. However, after he died, she told me that they had been talking when he was in the hospital that he knew she had always wondered about what he did, so he explained his job and assured her that there were never any extraterrestrials or spaceships involved. It was all regular old earthbound technology.
However, after he died, she told me that they had been talking when he was in the hospital that he knew she had always wondered about what he did, so he explained his job and assured her that there were never any extraterrestrials or spaceships involved. It was all regular old earthbound technology.
[crazy conspiracy theorist] He said that under threat to his family after he passed! [/crazy conspiracy theorist]
Ironically, vaccines are how we achieved herd immunity in the modern era. It reminds me of a science show where a caller asked if, instead of using a vaccine, could doctors take a part of the virus and use that to stimulate the body’s own immunity against it.
The host replied with something like “Yes, they can. It’s called a vaccine.”
Oh, I know. I was just quoting some QAnon bullshit I found on reddit.
I am so disappointed how so many conspiracy theories have fallen to such a low level. Back in the good old days of conspiracy theories, you could make a whole writing career out of them. Just look at Robert Anton Wilson and Philip K Dick.
Nowadays, there isn’t even enough for a comic strip.
Read some story of someone, a doctor or a nurse, who had to deal with a patient that was obnoxiously finding conspiracy theories everywhere. Every time they saw each other it was getting worse but due to the professional nature of their relationship, he would only nod and say things like “interesting”. One day, after hearing some anti-vax quackery he simply replied “What if those stories were invented by the russians to destabilize the united states?”.
Apparently, the patient lost all urgency and just glanced into emptiness as the brain seemed to reboot.
A fun way to fuck with conspiracy theorists:
Conspiracy Theorist: “The moon landing was faked!”
You: “Oh, you’re one of those people who believes the moon is real!”
Problem: How does this work for historical conspiracies without implying revisionism?
Conspiracy Theorist: 9/11 was an inside job!
You: Oh, you’re one of those people who believe 9/11 happened at all!
I never saw the World Trade Center in person, I don’t think theyre real. Anyone who says they were is a NASA shill.
I never saw the World Trade Center in person, I don’t think theyre real. Anyone who says they were is a NASA shill.
I was going to go with “Ground Zero and later Freedom Tower are obviously NASA holograms to cover up the fact that the Twin Towers still stand- they were shut down until ‘Freedom Tower’ was opened, but workers in said supposed Tower know they are working in the still-standing Twin Towers, but will be killed if they reveal the matter.” But your version works too.
The martian tripod on the new H G Wells two pound coin has four legs.
The martian tripod on the new H G Wells two pound coin has four legs.
This feels like doubling down after the Austen quote stripped of its context for the tenner.
Typical Swede, double-posting stuff that makes Denmark look bad!
(Literally any excuse!)
Med plutonium tvingar vi dansken på knä!!
Thanks for posting that, I needed some morning levity.
Don’t take paracetamol if you’re planning on doing… well, anything, if you value your safety 
The widely used drug acetaminophen, also known as paracetamol, which cures headache, weakness and fatigue, can also stimulate risk-taking behaviour.
Neuroscientist Baldwin Way from Ohio State University said in the study: “Acetaminophen seems to make people feel less negative emotion when they consider risky activities – they just don’t feel as scared.”
To confirm the effect of drugs, researchers asked participants about other hypothetical scenarios. This includes betting a day’s income on a sporting event, bungee jumping off a tall bridge, or driving a car without a seatbelt.
Based on the average result of the various tests, the team arrived at the conclusion that there is a strong relationship between taking acetaminophen and choosing more risk, even if the observed effect can be very evident.
Neuroscientist Baldwin Way from Ohio State University
If you Google “Ohio State” the first thing that comes up is Ohio State Football, not Ohio State College of Neuroscience. Just sayin’…
Don’t take paracetamol if you’re planning on doing… well, anything, if you value your safety
Well, unless you’re planning on doing something risky and are afraid you won’t have the balls to go through with it. In that case, take three and off you go!
Anyway, Dr. Way seems to really have it in for paracetamol. According to other studies he participated in, it also reduces social trust and empathy:
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00538/full
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-40093-9
Starting to sound like a good drug to use on soldiers. Does the Pentagon already know?
Neuroscientist Baldwin Way from Ohio State University
Baldwin Way is actually the name of the street that leads to the football stadium 
Anders, var noga med att kontrollera vindriktningen först
Vem fan bryr sig om Skåne? Men jag uppskattar omtanken oavsett.
CASUS BELLI
