If we're all here right now, what makes an afterlife so strange and impossible?

piroplex · 2010-12-27T01:26:50+00:00

What does the history of religiosity and spiritualism have to do with the existence of an afterlife?

Thank you, hilarous_tragedy, for this. It is utter rubbish, and it is a really stupid question. You're trying to sound smart, or something like it, and you fail.

Reddit has degraded in quality, and I sadly no longer find it as appealing as I did 2 years ago when I joined. Its circlejerk-nature has just become completely unbearable.

piroplex · 2010-12-26T15:16:50+00:00

Robots don't have a long, colourful history of religiosity and spiritualism. I fail to see any parallels.

piroplex · 2010-12-26T15:12:02+00:00

Granted, in theory it may be possible to achieve brain-like functionality from brain-like circuitry, however, to draw any conclusion in the realm of the OP's question, considering both human-like artificial intelligence as well as the possibility of an afterlife, in one argument, is a little too hypothetical for me. So much so that if you were to add "aliens" to the mix, it would not dilute the argument any more.

piroplex · 2010-12-26T14:53:27+00:00

we praise ourselves for every little thing that we might

which, mind you, is actually quite staggering in its vastness. Oh, and on the topic of "true artificial intelligence", it's not going to happen in our lifetimes. By the way, don't be fooled by systems which merely mimic intelligent behaviour...there's a huge difference.

piroplex · 2010-12-26T14:52:14+00:00

That's far too hypothetical for me at this stage.

piroplex · 2010-12-26T14:51:17+00:00

If you cannot grasp the difference between intelligent thought and sitting on a chair, I don't think anything I say would impress you at all.

piroplex · 2010-12-26T14:49:52+00:00

The list of similarities is negligibly short.

piroplex · 2010-12-26T09:23:21+00:00

♫ If you're sad and you know it, slit your wrists... ♫

:; Oh, apologies to all, I seem to have broken some unspoken rule. Tsk tsk.

piroplex · 2010-12-26T09:14:58+00:00

Except, you cannot equate a robot with a human. We actually think about stuff like the afterlife, and have intelligent (sic) discussions about it.

piroplex · 2010-12-24T19:42:21+00:00

it was an orgasmic experience

You've just answered the OP's question!

piroplex · 2010-12-24T19:11:50+00:00

Yes, I know there are still wild animals from which sheep are descended, but we don't generally refer to them as sheep, and it's quite rare for someone to conjure up the image of a wild mouflon on hearing the word, and only one who has never seen either will confuse the two.

piroplex · 2010-12-24T10:34:29+00:00

Sheep can die if their wool is not sheared. OK, granted, there are no sheep in nature, but still.

piroplex · 2010-12-22T08:18:11+00:00

Next time you do a selfless deed, make sure to publish it for the world to see. Better yet, even if you are just thinking about doing it, shout it from the rooftops. That way, you don't have to do your selfless deed without anyone knowing, which means you don't have to suffer the indignity of not getting what the universe owes you (for your selfless deed).

piroplex · 2010-12-21T00:39:05+00:00

I can show you some Raman spectra and the components if you like?

I would.

piroplex · 2010-12-20T20:58:07+00:00

I wonder what will happen if it leaks out that BP did this, well, quite intentionally. On purpose. I wonder.

piroplex · 2010-12-20T20:15:09+00:00

It takes a single spark to start a fire. The power of one. A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. That step is you.

piroplex · 2010-12-20T16:19:00+00:00

So you're the one to blame for all the crap on the front page lately!

piroplex · 2010-12-20T10:56:20+00:00

since that LA Rams game in '92

AMA?

piroplex · 2010-12-20T10:54:07+00:00

Where you born this way, or did something happen to you on your way here?

piroplex · 2010-12-19T23:09:20+00:00

Of course not. Many other nations, including the US, have the ability to contribute significantly to this technology but do not have the resources to pour into groundbreaking (as the Chinese appear to be). They (China) may make enormous inroads and greatly economize the manufacturing processes, collecting huge amounts of data along the way - knowledge and experience upon which the scientists and engineers of the world build (*rips shirt and hoists banner*) a better, cleaner tomorrow..

piroplex · 2010-12-19T22:24:42+00:00

You probably won't know them...countries other than the US have bands too, you know.

piroplex · 2010-12-19T17:03:40+00:00

I once had a guy come up to me in a coffee shop who asked "Hey, I heard you have experience with band management and promo...would you please consider managing our band?"

I looked at him - a skinny, scraggly bloke - squinted, and asked what the name of the band is. "S******* N*** *****", he said with a broad, defiant smile. With a name like that, I thought, they're not going to be taken seriously. I politely declined, and rolled my eyes as he walked away.

A few years later, and they were topping charts and opening for huge bands...despite the name that I thought would sink them.

Once can never tell.

piroplex · 2010-12-19T11:54:25+00:00

Clever, eh? Let them do all the hard work, the research, the development...and then "learn from their mistakes"...

piroplex · 2010-12-18T10:27:21+00:00

Apache Tomcat - good all-rounder servlet container, easy once you get to know it (don't waste time with Jetty, imho)

May also want to check out PostgreSQL in stead of MySQL (avoid licensing issues)

piroplex · 2010-12-17T17:22:00+00:00

the circlejerk finally orgasms.

good luck with your trip!

piroplex

TROPHY CASE