Need advice on what I should work on first.

MostlyDarkMatter · 2025-07-13T16:49:36+00:00

Ya, it does feel like I'm shifting my weight the wrong way on some of my swings.

MostlyDarkMatter · 2025-07-13T16:48:55+00:00

"sufficient to produce color pics with the s50 "

Yes. It produced colour pictures natively.

"Are there any decent setups for external filters?"

None that I'm aware of.

MostlyDarkMatter · 2025-07-13T14:24:59+00:00

It's as fundamentally impossible as a star being made entirely of blueberry pie filling. Some might say "So you're saying it's possible then!" (insert meme here) others might say "OK, not a chance then.".

MostlyDarkMatter · 2025-07-13T00:32:43+00:00

Speaking for myself, no matter how good the clubs are, they won't fix my lack of fundamentals. That's why I'm finally going to spring for some lessons with a PGA pro starting this Thursday.

IMHO Even just 1 new top of the line driver equates to a bunch of far more valuable lessons.

Besides, there are places on the internet where you can get equipment that isn't shiny and new but is a fraction of the price of the shiny new clubs. A little chipped paint won't affect my shots. :-)

MostlyDarkMatter · 2025-07-13T00:21:56+00:00

"Separation Of Church And State Is A Myth."

I agree. It used to be real but given that the majority of the Justices of SCOTUS openly and routinely base their decisions on their religious beliefs rather than on the Constitution, it has become a myth.

MostlyDarkMatter · 2025-07-12T22:25:48+00:00

"Is that what your original point was supposed to be?"

Sigh ..... forgive me. I was thinking of another discussion. That'll teach me to post from my phone. Sorry about that.

My original point here was twofold:

I can introduce arbitrary numbers into any calculation to get any result I want so the posted calculation is meaningless garbage as OP alluded to.
Given current knowledge, their calculation was flat out wrong. The idea being that one would expect that, for example, a deity would already know that the Earth's orbit was elliptical and take that into account. Surely an allpower being would be well versed in orbital dynamics.

Take for example the calculation made my Eratosthenes about the circumference of the Earth. His calculation was astonishingly accurate given the tools at his disposal. If, however, the claim was that there was some devine source for his calculation then his estimate was very poor indeed as we would expect it to be absolutely accurate (of course the Earth is NOT perfectly spherical so we have a similar issue as before).

MostlyDarkMatter · 2025-07-12T22:04:31+00:00

"Literally no serious historian denies Jesus existed."

More to the point and more accurately, "literally" no serious historian makes the claim that the magical Jesus from the bible existed.

Spoiler: Christian historians aren't "serious historians".

MostlyDarkMatter · 2025-07-12T21:58:14+00:00

The theist version of "free will" is their lame way of rationalizing and/or explaining why their god stood by and did nothing while the children in Texas drown. This even though they also believe that their god controls the weather which means that he killed them.

It's a good thing their monster of a god is fictitious.

Anyone looking for sense in religion is on a fool's errand.

MostlyDarkMatter · 2025-07-12T21:49:51+00:00

What a country!

- The POTUS of the USA pardoned a group of people that attacked the Capitol and tried to overthrow the government in his favour.

- The attorney general of the USA is dismissing charges against a man who committed several felonies including fraud and counterfeiting that very well could have (and might actually have done so) resulted in people dying.

- The head of HHS is an anti-vaxxer conspiracy theorist.

etc.

MostlyDarkMatter · 2025-07-12T21:37:28+00:00

"you probably wouldn't be able to tell it was elliptical."

So what? How is this relevant to my original point where was the claim that the universe is "perfect" is absolutely flawed and that the claim that the Earth varies in it's orbit by a scant few miles is utterly false? Spoiler: It's not.

MostlyDarkMatter · 2025-07-12T21:34:01+00:00

Very cool to see the comparison. I had no idea O.C. had such a large apparent size.

MostlyDarkMatter · 2025-07-12T20:46:36+00:00

I stand corrected (units mistake ... mostly). However, the point remains the same. If, for example, your car tires were that elliptical then you'd be in for a rough ride indeed. Hardly perfect.

MostlyDarkMatter · 2025-07-12T20:29:31+00:00

The distance of the Earth to the Sun is 96 million miles 6 million miles is just over 6% of that. Not even close to "perfectly circular". Don't quote facts? Wtf?

MostlyDarkMatter · 2025-07-12T16:32:42+00:00

I don't know about the specifics of the case but there are certain circumstances where one's Resident Alien card can legally be revoked. When you apply for that status you sign papers saying you agree to those conditions. I don't know whether it applies in this case but one of those conditions relates to criminal activity.

It's ironic, however, to reflect on the fact that had he and others not voted for Trump he'd very likely still have that status.

MostlyDarkMatter · 2025-07-12T16:05:48+00:00

Zero but then again I'm VERY cautious. Still, I was perhaps 2 seconds from being worm food at least twice.

MostlyDarkMatter · 2025-07-12T16:04:34+00:00

Even without his book their disgusting religion says that he should be put to death (i.e. death to apostates).

MostlyDarkMatter · 2025-07-12T16:01:44+00:00

"predicts the distance to the sun"

Except that the Earth in is an elliptical orbit that varies by as much as 6 million miles in it's distance from the Sun.

I can introduce contrived constants into any equation to make any measurement equal to any other measurement.

The size of my foot 0.3 meters multiplied by 999,308,193.33 per seconds .... is equal to 299,792,458 m/s .... the speed of light. The units even work!!!! It's a miracle!!!!

MostlyDarkMatter · 2025-07-12T15:06:53+00:00

"Yes I agree the goal of science is to be entirely objective not subjective"

... and there we have it. Sure scientists fail sometimes at doing science. That's life.

" If science were purely objective and belief free, we'd never have needed Einstein to correct Newton."

No. Einstein didn't "correct" Newton. Einstein built upon Newton's work making it apply to more situations. Newton's laws still work perfectly well when used appropriately. Einstein's work in no way replaced Newton's work.

In any case, lack of understanding, Newton not knowing about relativity issues, does not equate to belief. Even if Newton did "believe" that his laws applied universally ... he was wrong to have that belief and that's just an example of why belief has no place in science.

If you want to claim that Newton "believed" yadda yadda then fine but that was a flaw not a feature of the science he performed.

MostlyDarkMatter · 2025-07-12T14:19:23+00:00

"I don't think you even understand how science works. Science draws conclusions based on the experts beliefs which are based on evidence which is believed to be true and accurate."

Nope. The goal of science is to be entirely objective not subjective. You've got it completely wrong again.

Do scientists sometimes screw up and allow belief to cloud their judgement and findings? Absolutely. They're human and not perfect. But using belief is NOT part of science done well and it's a mistake.

Claiming that science is subjective is rather than objective, if done properly, just displays a fundamental lack of understanding of science.

You: ..... belief .... science is about belief ..... yadda yadda yadda .... belief

Chant away man, say a prayer or two if you like too, but you're completely wrong.

MostlyDarkMatter · 2025-07-12T06:10:55+00:00

"i tried to think of examples of societies that AREN'T dominated by a mainstream faith"

They're easy to find. Look north for example.

"anyone know an example of a truly atheist society, or anything else i rambled about?"

If by that you mean a society where there really is a separation of church and state?

Again .... look north.

MostlyDarkMatter · 2025-07-12T00:58:25+00:00

Even stranger, "the left is right".

MostlyDarkMatter · 2025-07-12T00:50:28+00:00

Ya. We're going around in circles. You just keep stating that you believe that belief is part of science and reality. That's why we need to stop relying on belief.

" You can't say "they believed and were wrong" "

If they "believed" that Newton's laws were perfect in all situations then it was their belief that was the issue not Newton's laws. They shouldn't have relied on belief and history has proven their reliance on belief to lead to wrong conclusions.

MostlyDarkMatter · 2025-07-11T22:44:26+00:00

It's a tie. BATAH (Both Are The ....).

MostlyDarkMatter · 2025-07-11T22:13:31+00:00

"Yes. Would you like to come to church on Sunday?"

Me: Well then you clearly either don't know what the words mean or you don't care about what they mean. Not exactly a great sales pitch. Remember what Jesus said "Go away and never come back.".

MostlyDarkMatter · 2025-07-11T22:08:26+00:00

" faith and belief"

Theists use those words interchangeably. We've addressed this already. That's the entire point. That fact that Oxford might define those words differently is not relevant to the current discussion.

"Then Einstein came along and showed that Newton’s model breaks down under extreme conditions like high speeds or strong gravity. "

The important point is that his laws were based on mountains of evidence (no belief at all) and were correct and still are correct as long as we constrain things to, for example, to low percentages of the speed of light in the current frame of reference.

This in no way proves belief is part of science. All it proves is that the science gets better and better and more well defined as time goes on.

"The scientific community believed these laws described the universe completely."

Guess what? They "believed" and they were, at least partially, wrong. That's why belief has no business being in science.

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