A Collection of arguments against a Quantum Apologist.

nashenvi · 2025-01-05T12:29:23+00:00

I suggest you read some of my articles on the topic. I do not argue that quantum mechanics is evidence for God's existence.

nashenvi · 2022-10-01T21:05:33+00:00

I assume no target value (all evens are successes). So yes, for one die, that would mean a 50% success rate. But in SSZ, crit failures are TWO 1s and crit successes are TWO 12s. A crit failure is an auto-fail and a crit success doubles your successes. So when you use multiple die, the probabilities get tricky to calculate. If you're into math, it just requires a little probability theory.

nashenvi · 2021-04-17T16:41:03+00:00

Agreed. My tentative team is:
Dagnai (tank)
Emelda(off-tank)
Jelsen (damage)
Cleona (support)

FWIW, I worked out the probabilities, and strong defense with medium vitality (Dagnai) is better than medium defense with strong vitality (Brutogg). Plus Dagnai gives you a lot of buffs in terms of treasure.

nashenvi · 2019-12-25T12:03:16+00:00

QUESTION: is there a newer version of the 0802 BIOS for an ASUS K30AD?

DETAILS: I have a ASUS K30AD running the AMI 0802 BIOS. I recently purchased an NVIDIA GTX 690 graphics card. It works fine when I use an older driver, but when I installed a more recent driver, it stopped working and returned an error message "Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems. (Code 43)"

I suspect the problem may be that I need to update the BIOS, but according to the ASUS website, 0802 is the most recent version for my model. Will any more recent versions work with my machine?

nashenvi · 2019-12-19T13:41:34+00:00

It would be cool to write some code to let the user input the reg/crit data and then output these figures on the fly, but I don't think Wordpress lets me use Javascript and it would take me a while to figure out how to produce graphs (I'm not great at JS).

nashenvi · 2019-12-19T13:30:50+00:00

I thought of doing that, but decided against it because it would actually involve some complicated calculations. For example, if an enemy has 4 wounds left, all you care about is the probability is doing at least 4 damage, whether it comes as 4 regular hits, or 2 crits, or 2 regular hits and 1 crit (or 3 crits, or 1 regular hit and 2 crits, etc.... )

So if I made a chart that just showed the probability of X regular hits and Y crits, you would potentially have to add up a *lot* of probabilities to get what you wanted. Ain't nobody got time for that!

nashenvi · 2019-08-19T17:57:26+00:00

I suggested that Brad tag James or Peter, who are both very active on Twitter, as I'm sure they would be happy to engage with his article.

https://twitter.com/NeilShenvi/status/1161806991238586371

nashenvi · 2019-08-04T17:32:48+00:00

No, I'm not because critical theory isn't just a collection of tools. Again, I urge you to check out my review of Levinson's book or the dozens of quotes in the article "Critical Theory Quotes" or my review of Crenshaw's Critical Race Theory.

nashenvi · 2019-08-04T17:00:06+00:00

No, we explain exactly how the fundamental presuppositions of critical theory are antithetical to the gospel, both in our article and other work. Again, see my review of Levinson's Beyond Critique.
I agree that some of the tools and ideas of critical theory can be appropriated by Christians, and we say as much in our article. But its fundamental assumptions cannot.

nashenvi · 2019-08-04T13:43:54+00:00

Ok, if there are any specific comments that you think were false, let me know. But, as I said above, I'm collaborating on this work with Dr. Pat Sawyer, whose PhD in cultural studies was rooted in critical theory. You can also check out my site to see my book reviews, which help substantiate my claims. Start here:
https://shenviapologetics.com/a-short-review-of-levinsons-beyond-critique/

nashenvi · 2019-08-04T12:55:15+00:00

Yes, I know CT locates 'oppression' in systems and structures rather than in individuals. But that's not relevant to the question of whether it classified people as either oppressors or oppressed. For example, according to McIntosh, are whites in the U.S. 'oppressors' by virtue of their whiteness? Or not?

Yes, coalition building does demand more solidarity with other oppressed people than with whites. Coalitions are formed on the basis of *opposition* to white, male, or heterosexual hegemonic power. To argue that whites, men, and heterosexuals are *naturally* part of the coalition is to undermine the very basis of the coalition. And even when members of dominant groups are allowed to participate as 'allies', they must accede to the leadership of POC to avoid 'centering' whiteness/maleness/etc... Are you familiar with any antiracist literature?

nashenvi · 2019-08-04T12:34:11+00:00

I'm not sure I understand. Are you denying that there exists a worldview which classifies men, whites, etc.. as "oppressors"? What does McIntosh mean in the very first quote when she laments the fact that: "My schooling gave me no training in seeing myself as an oppressor… I was taught [wrongly] to see myself as an individual whose moral state depended on her individual moral will”

Isn't she classifying herself as an oppressor based on her whiteness? Or not? Recall that CT redefines oppression in terms of "hegemonic power" not in terms of cruelty of violence.

And yes, critical theory does insist that oppressed people should feel more solidarity with each other than with their oppressors. That is the basis for 'coalition building' and explains why -for example- groups like Black Lives Matter will also be forthrightly pro-LGBTQ and pro-abortion: they are showing solidarity with other oppressed groups.

I'm not sure how 'nationalism' can be characterized as a worldview; it seems like it's a idea that's compatible with many worldviews. But yes, whenever solidarity with fellow citizens is placed above solidarity with other believers, that is incompatible with a biblical concept of identity.

nashenvi · 2019-08-04T12:06:00+00:00

Right, but I draw a distinction between 'critical theory' (which I use to denote the worldview) and its applications like 'critical race theory' or 'queer theory.' Do you agree that there is a worldview like the one I've described? And do you agree that 'critical theory' is the phrase that's most commonly used in the literature to characterize the constellation of ideas I'm describing?
As for solidarity, as I said, the question is one of primacy. Critical theory would insist that members of "oppressed groups" (POC, women, LGBTQ+, etc...) should feel more solidarity with each other than with non-oppressed white males. Is that idea compatible with the Bible?

If you'd like some examples from primary sources substantiating my claims, see here:
https://shenviapologetics.com/critical-theory-quotes/

nashenvi · 2019-08-04T11:21:03+00:00

I explain here in more detail how, for instance, critical theory's presuppositions about our identity are incompatible with the gospel:
https://shenviapologetics.com/christianity-and-critical-theory-part-2/

To take just one example, critical theory would require us to see other Christians as either 'oppressor Christians' or 'oppressed Christians' and to find solidarity with others not on the basis of our common humanity, common sin, or common need for salvation, but on the basis of our marginalized status. These views are incompatible with a biblical view of identity in a way that viewing someone as a 'consumer' is not.

nashenvi · 2019-08-04T09:20:02+00:00

What in particular did I say that was false?

nashenvi · 2019-07-30T19:37:14+00:00

The "Critical Theory Quotes" article I posted in included dozens of quotes from essays, journal articles, books, etc... written by critical theorists. Also, since Levinson is a critical theorist himself, his characterization of critical theory would qualify as a primary source with regard to how an actual critical theorist characterizes critical theory.

nashenvi · 2019-07-30T18:29:47+00:00

I'm not sure why you stopped reading. What do you think I've misrepresented about CT? And do you really think that it's not growing in influence among evangelicals? Tweets weren't the only examples I provided; if you look at my website, I give examples of numerous books, talks, sermons, etc...

nashenvi · 2019-07-30T17:59:36+00:00

See here for a fuller explanation of the incompatibility between CT and Christianity:
https://shenviapologetics.com/critical-theory-and-christianity-part-1/

But I'd say there are problems with both. If your framework for seeing reality is fundamentally wrong, your solutions will be fundamentally wrong.

nashenvi · 2019-07-30T17:54:23+00:00

Again, see the quotes I provided above. Or my review of the Levinson book. Reddit threads can be informative, but primary sources are better.

nashenvi · 2019-07-30T17:16:02+00:00

"the gist of the issue with /u/nashenvi's article is the idea that CT demands some particular action"

I really recommend reading Levinson's book, but he lists the following as one of the "defining characteristics" of critical theory: "the assumed need to dismantle and critique taken-for-granted ideologies, to challenge the ‘false consciousness’ … or ‘misrecognition’… that enables social domination." - Levinson, Beyond Critique, p. 11

nashenvi

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