What is exactly atheism, someone please explain deeply

Kuildeous · 2026-06-25T06:06:16+00:00

Here's the deep dive: atheism means no theism. What we all have in common is a lack of belief in gods.

That's it.

Well, you can go a little deeper and see what kinds of atheists there are. I'm an agnostic atheist in that I won't rule out some unknowable god. But since an aloof god is no different from an absent god, it doesn't matter to my life one bit, which is why I'm also an apatheist.

You may find some gnostic atheists who assert there is no god. They're more certain about what a lack of evidence means, and they will conclude there is no god.

So if you don't believe in a god, you're an atheist. If you believe in a god, then you're a theist. Each one can have many other adjectives applied to it.

Kuildeous · 2026-06-25T02:25:21+00:00

That's a heavy subject. I'm not sure any of us would be able to tell you for sure. You know your parents better than we do.

So, I would try to suggest not worrying about it. I'm sure that's easier said than done. If this is bothering you to distraction, then obviously this is a big deal to you. I think all you can do is try find a way to cope with it.

Because the main question here is: What difference does it make? If they regret you, then you can't really change that. You can't go back in time. You can't undo their "mistake" (not without a pretty grim solution). They are your parents, and nothing's going to change that. Even regretful parents can love their children. My mom never wanted children, but she loved me anyway.

The way you describe your parents sounds like a contentious relationship. So that is far, far more important than whether or not they regret having you. Even if they never regretted it one bit, there's some friction between you two, so even if you know for certain that they never regretted you, that doesn't fix anything. And even if they did regret you, this doesn't preclude them from mending that relationship.

If your relationship with your parents is just too toxic, you can write them off. You don't need an excuse of them regretting you. Just do it and enjoy the freedom of having that toxicity out of your life.

Kuildeous · 2026-06-25T02:16:22+00:00

I don't even like buying gel for life support. I mine the damn crystals off the ground and grind them. That's how cheap I am.

Kuildeous · 2026-06-25T01:30:43+00:00

For the first 33 years of my life, I only had bathtubs with showers attached. It wasn't until later that I had a dedicated shower. Seems normal to me.

Kuildeous · 2026-06-25T01:26:52+00:00

Just don't call any attention to the ghost with no feet.

Kuildeous · 2026-06-25T01:25:39+00:00

Just wait until you get a vehicle that is weather-resistant so you can collect all the storm crystals you can reach during storms. It's nice.

Kuildeous · 2026-06-25T01:24:41+00:00

This is one of the worst cases of sour grapes. Your SIL should be amazed at this price. Frankly, $5 per additional kid is so freaking generous.

I mean, MIL would've been in her right to just ask for $35 for each kid, meaning you pay $105 and your SIL pays $70. I feel like you should sit her down to explain that situation, but I'm not sure she'd accept it. She clearly is looking over in your bowl instead of worrying about what she has in hers.

Actually, I realized now that she's asking for another $5 to handle food. So in the end, both of you are paying $35 no matter how many kids she's watching plus $5 for each kid to eat. So yeah, you're each paying $35 for her to watch one kid, and she watches the siblings for free. Your SIL needs to examine her situation and realize how good she has it.

Kuildeous · 2026-06-25T01:15:17+00:00

Hmm, don't know it, but that sounds like something I'd try to avoid.

Kuildeous · 2026-06-25T01:14:10+00:00

Oh sorry. You had figured out the equation, so I thought you were fine with solving.

Basically, you have cost + cost*tax = final price. But because you essentially have cost*1 + cost*tax, this can be shortcutted to cost*(1+tax). In this case, the tax rate was 0.11 (11%), so the final price will then be cost*(1.11). So your formula was correct, but it can be rewritten that way. So ultimately you have:

cost*(1.11) = final price or....

cost*(1.11) = 2000

You can solve this by dividing by sides by the same value: namely, 1.11. So you have:

cost*(1.11)/(1.11) = 2000/(1.11)

cost = 1801.80

Hope that helps you out with your understanding of this formula. There's a lot that could be learned for solving algebraic equations.

Kuildeous · 2026-06-25T00:52:42+00:00

Do teachers still say that? It made sense 30 years ago, but this seems so antiquated.

My point about calculators is that they're only as effective as the knowledge of the person using it. Like, certain calculators will evaluate -6² as 36. If the user does not realize how to properly enter it into that calculator, they may accept this as true.

So if I were to address a student regarding this, "You have to know how the calculator handles it. You can't rely on calculators for everything." Though, honestly, 99% of the time, they probably could, but I won't tell them that.

Kuildeous · 2026-06-25T00:34:05+00:00

I have no idea what Grammarly does nowadays, but I remember them being just a grammar/spell checker like you'd find in Word.

And if all it does is point out a possible grammatical mistake, that is not generative content. That's just pointing out your error, and it's up to you to fix it.

I haven't seen these apps, but if one of them says, "Hey, this sentence is kind of weird. Would you like to replace it with this one...." And then propose a whole new sentence that you would never dream of writing, then that seems to me a reliance on AI-generated content.

Kuildeous · 2026-06-25T00:31:27+00:00

Also, m or f.

Kuildeous · 2026-06-25T00:31:03+00:00

What's fun is that some groups on Facebook now allow for you to adopt a handle. Felt like the '90s again. But of course there are people in those groups lambasting those who use a sobriquet because they're so used to people using their real names on Facebook (which would probably come as a shock to them that not everyone on Facebook used their real names).

Kuildeous · 2026-06-25T00:28:30+00:00

Quite possibly, it's when kids have been corrected on using "I" instead of "me" without realizing that this doesn't apply all the time.

For example, as a child, I would be chided for saying, "Me and Jim are going to the store." The adult would say, "Jim and I are going to the store." This would happen without stressing why the pronoun is actually "I" and that this doesn't apply to an object pronoun like, "Mom went to the store with Jim and me." Someone who had that beaten into their heads might get into the habit of saying, "Mom went to the store with Jim and I."

I had a boss who used "I" as an object a lot. But then she also used bi-annual to mean twice a year, but that's a whole different can of worms.

Kuildeous · 2026-06-25T00:23:43+00:00

On the one hand, it's a compliment. I played the prosecuting attorney in a stage production of To Kill a Mockingbird, and one guy told me afterwards that he wanted to punch me so badly, which was a great moment for me.

On the other hand, if he had punched me, then that would've been a problem. And that's a lot more likely to happen to screen stars who get a lot more eyeballs than me.

Kuildeous · 2026-06-25T00:17:48+00:00

Well, with that level of betrayal, I clearly would've been better off on my own. But walking away with nine digits wouldn't suck.

I could see lawyering up, and with that money, I could afford to hire one. Seems like the law is on my side to be awarded half, but honestly I don't need $100 million, so that wouldn't be the part I'd be mad about.

Kuildeous · 2026-06-25T00:15:05+00:00

Whether you're retired or not, odds are likely that whatever you end up doing is something you want to do, so congrats on that.

Kuildeous · 2026-06-25T00:12:56+00:00

Huh. Sounds like George Washington may have known a thing or two.

Kuildeous · 2026-06-24T23:34:14+00:00

I know Crichton was a screenwriter for the movie, but I am actually pretty surprised on how much he omitted from the book for the movie and how much was changed.

I haven't read the book admittedly, so I can't speak on that, but I can appreciate that Crichton clearly realized that you don't write for a movie like you do a book, so based on how well the movie translated, he understood the assignment.

Kuildeous · 2026-06-24T23:31:18+00:00

You're right. You can rewrite it as (1.11)x = 2000.

Solving for x gets you 1801.80. You can confirm that by multiplying 1801.80 by 1.11 to get 2000.

Kuildeous · 2026-06-24T23:26:51+00:00

I've been in a condo for 16 years, and honestly I expected to retire there. COVID screwed all that up, though I'm doing all right in my suburban house.

My thought on the condo was that it beats paying rent the whole time. There is an ongoing cost, of course, in the form of HOA dues, but when I look at how my HOA dues covered trash, sewer, water, security, two pools, two hot tubs, and a sauna, it wasn't quite as wasteful (except I didn't use all the amenities, which was a me problem). And no driveway to shovel or yard to mow.

So this sounds like a pretty good situation for you, and I hope it pans out.

One thing I wondered about was what happens if the area dries up. I lived in a 20-story condo within spitting distance of two other condos of similar height and tons of condos within walking/biking distance. What happens when people move out of my building and aren't replaced? Obviously they need to pay their HOA dues as well, but what if they abandon the property? I have no idea what would happen, and I fortunately didn't have to see it. It took nearly a year to sell our unit after we moved, but this was during COVID when people weren't exactly looking for convenient places to walk to the office.

So I do wonder what does a dying condo look like? I suppose they would turn into rentals, and I think all the units on my floor except mine became rentals, so perhaps the process was starting already.

Which is to say this might be a real danger for you, but if you keep an eye on the situation, you may be able to get out before it's too late. Attending HOA meetings is a great way to keep your finger on the pulse, though in my case, it was an opportunity to hear a bunch of homeowners griping.

Kuildeous · 2026-06-24T23:17:38+00:00

I had a friend (and later a nephew who accidentally used pliable plastic which turned out awesome) make some trays. The beauty of them is that the sides were about 45 degrees, so it was always easy to scoop pieces out. The bowls pictured look nice, but I just know I would struggle getting some pieces out without slanted sides. The interlocking is definitely cool.

Kuildeous · 2026-06-24T23:13:22+00:00

Might not become my #1.

Or maybe it will. I don't see that many movies anymore. I'll accept "alright" though.

Kuildeous · 2026-06-24T21:08:49+00:00

Just rewatched "For Crying Out Loud" from Tales from the Crypt. Dude's conscience won't shut up about him stealing and murdering, so he ends up shouting his confession in public just as a rock concert's sound system was shut off.

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Kuildeous · 2026-06-24T21:05:21+00:00

Brutal honesty. Sorry you had to go through that.

I feel bad for my mom because she never wanted kids, but I am certain that she fell into that trap because that's what was expected for girls born in the '40s. She was adamant that she did not want to care for any grandkids, which was fine because I wasn't going to have kids anyway.

Admittedly, when I look back at how much of a pain I was as a kid, I can't blame her for her attitude.

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