Add lithium to drinking water

[Berry]

Yep, because as best as I can tell, that's how reality is. I don't see any need to make up stories to give things ethereal "inherent" values. I'm a conscious, living, physical thing. If you cannot appreciate the merely real, then you're doomed to always be either deluded or disappointed.

.

How do you know you are conscious?

Ignoring the fact that I'd be shocked if you've ever killed a deer with a rock, treating everything as if it were spiritual seems to be the flip side of the same coin as viewing nothing as spiritual. The only difference is that you view personality and intentions and a whole host of human-like attributes into everything, while I'm skeptical that even humans essentially have them.

Once again, and typical of those who subscribe to logic, you do not attempt to understand what I say or what I mean. Instead you try to fit me into a box of your own making.

I said nothing of...

The only difference is that you view personality and intentions and a whole host of human-like attributes into everything, while I'm skeptical that even humans essentially have them.

Nor did I say humans have them.

I said that everything in the universe must first be conceived in spirit before it can be effected in the material. Or something that means the same thing.

And that all material things have a spiritual nature in my belief system.

So if you

appreciate the merely real

How do you account for quantum mechanics and quantum physics and quantum mathematics?

The conclusion of Quantumologists is that the basic fabric of the universe is in fact more like mind than it is like matter.

And how did a bunch of Native American Tribes people know this?

Do you regard quantum physics as a bunch of "made up stories?" that are delusional?

 

[StSapphire]

repeated quote

Cute. But I didn't know there was anything you were trying to convince me I was wrong about, other than that apparently I'm a secret Christian or something of that sort.

I said that everything in the universe must first be conceived in spirit before it can be effected in the material. Or something that means the same thing.

And that all material things have a spiritual nature in my belief system.

So if you

appreciate the merely real

How do you account for quantum mechanics and quantum physics and quantum mathematics?

The conclusion of Quantumologists is that the basic fabric of the universe is in fact more like mind than it is like matter.

And how did a bunch of Native American Tribes people know this?

Do you regard quantum physics as a bunch of "made up stories?" that are delusional?

In popular culture, this is the assumed conclusion. In actual quantum physics, there are two competing views of how the universe works.

The original interpretation (and the one that is best known to the general public) is the Copenhagen Interpretation, which was pioneered by Niels Bohr. This interpretation states (in simplistic terms, at least) that every particle can be described by a wavefunction which exists in many simultaneous superpositions until it is observed, at which point the wavefunction "collapses" into a single point in space.

The primary alternate interpretation (and the one that I found to be far more plausible, after learning of both) is the Everett or Many-Worlds Interpretation, which was pioneered by Hugh Everett. This interpretation states (in equally simplistic terms) that every particle can be described by a wavefunction that exists in many simultaneous superpositions, and that presumed "collapse" of the wavefunction is instead merely an artifact of quantum decoherence, which is a point in which a new Everett branch splits off. This preserves determinism by essentially saying that all possible worlds actually exist, but we only exist in one of them at a time (because we are entirely composed of quantum particles which have likewise split into many different branches).

To put this into less accurate but more macro terms, if you bought a lottery ticket that was somehow determined by a quantum decoherence event, then there are many different existing "universes" where you haven't won the lottery, and a few (but not many, since winning the lottery is a very unlikely event) where you have won the lottery. If you currently don't appear to have won the lottery, then that means the particles that make up "you" were split into the Everett branch where the quantum event determining whether you won the lottery or not did not win, but there's another branch somewhere where you did win.

Thanks for asking.

 

[jillio]

What is defective or not defective is a matter of opinion.

As long as the exercise of my rights does not interfere with the rights of others I should have the right to be any thing I damn well please, whether you consider it defective or not.

Whether it is mental, emotional, or physical, is of no importance.

You actually say this on a forum that respects the rights of Deaf people to declare they are NOT defective and do not have to be "cured" of anything just because a bunch of hearing audists think they should be?

So very well said!! Defective, normal, all of those terms that attempt to pigeon hole people into the sameness of the majority are discriminatory and prejudicial. Normality is defective. If Deafhood has taught us nothing else, it should have taught us that. And that needs to be extrapolated, to those requesting to be seen as non-defective in their own right, to all others.

 

[StSapphire]

So very well said!! Defective, normal, all of those terms that attempt to pigeon hole people into the sameness of the majority are discriminatory and prejudicial. Normality is defective. If Deafhood has taught us nothing else, it should have taught us that. And that needs to be extrapolated, to those requesting to be seen as non-defective in their own right, to all others.

Wait, sorry, are we getting back on-topic?

Sorry for derailing everything.

 

[Berry]

Cute. But I didn't know there was anything you were trying to convince me I was wrong about, other than that apparently I'm a secret Christian or something of that sort.



In popular culture, this is the assumed conclusion. In actual quantum physics, there are two competing views of how the universe works.

The original interpretation (and the one that is best known to the general public) is the Copenhagen Interpretation, which was pioneered by Niels Bohr. This interpretation states (in simplistic terms, at least) that every particle can be described by a wavefunction which exists in many simultaneous superpositions until it is observed, at which point the wavefunction "collapses" into a single point in space.

The primary alternate interpretation (and the one that I found to be far more plausible, after learning of both) is the Everett or Many-Worlds Interpretation, which was pioneered by Hugh Everett. This interpretation states (in equally simplistic terms) that every particle can be described by a wavefunction that exists in many simultaneous superpositions, and that presumed "collapse" of the wavefunction is instead merely an artifact of quantum decoherence, which is a point in which a new Everett branch splits off. This preserves determinism by essentially saying that all possible worlds actually exist, but we only exist in one of them at a time (because we are entirely composed of quantum particles which have likewise split into many different branches).

To put this into less accurate but more macro terms, if you bought a lottery ticket that was somehow determined by a quantum decoherence event, then there are many different existing "universes" where you haven't won the lottery, and a few (but not many, since winning the lottery is a very unlikely event) where you have won the lottery. If you currently don't appear to have won the lottery, then that means the particles that make up "you" were split into the Everett branch where the quantum event determining whether you won the lottery or not did not win, but there's another branch somewhere where you did win.

Thanks for asking.

Thank you. You summed that up very very well, including remembering the names, Copenhagen and Everett which I had forgotten.

I do understand the subject in slightly more complex terms, but not sufficiently for my liking. Unfortunately in this universe I am neither as intelligent, nor do I have the memory, that I would love to have were I to have a choice in the matter.

 

[StSapphire]

Thank you. You summed that up very very well, including remembering the names, Copenhagen and Everett which I had forgotten.

I do understand the subject in slightly more complex terms, but not sufficiently for my liking. Unfortunately in this universe I am neither as intelligent, nor do I have the memory, that I would love to have were I to have a choice in the matter.

No worries, I actually just learned about this in detail, so I was happy for an excuse to exercise my newfound knowledge. :P

Also, the simpling of terms wasn't necessarily for your benefit so much as it was about as detailed as I can explain it while still both being mostly accurate and being able to communicate my understanding as clearly as I know how to.

I definitely hear you about the "neither smart enough nor good enough memory". The book I most recently was reading on the topic was going over my head enough that I was starting to skip several pages at a time, hoping to find bits that I did understand. Eventually I gleaned enough to understand at least what I explained above, lol.

 

[Berry]

No worries, I actually just learned about this in detail, so I was happy for an excuse to exercise my newfound knowledge. :P

Also, the simpling of terms wasn't necessarily for your benefit so much as it was about as detailed as I can explain it while still both being mostly accurate and being able to communicate my understanding as clearly as I know how to.

I definitely hear you about the "neither smart enough nor good enough memory". The book I most recently was reading on the topic was going over my head enough that I was starting to skip several pages at a time, hoping to find bits that I did understand. Eventually I gleaned enough to understand at least what I explained above, lol.

Stupid trick I learned long ago. Go ahead and read the parts you do not understand. Linger over them.

You'll be surprised. It might be a week, a month, or a couple of years.

Suddenly you will have a 'BLINK', an "AHA" moment, and zap you will understand some part or all of it. What springs the moment might seem totally unrelated to what you realized, but that seldom matters.

What matters is you get the understanding.

And happy journeys into the quantum world. It is an addicting place to be.

 

[Glenn]

Stupid trick I learned long ago. Go ahead and read the parts you do not understand. Linger over them.

You'll be surprised. It might be a week, a month, or a couple of years.

Suddenly you will have a 'BLINK', an "AHA" moment, and zap you will understand some part or all of it. What springs the moment might seem totally unrelated to what you realized, but that seldom matters.

What matters is you get the understanding.

And happy journeys into the quantum world. It is an addicting place to be.

Oh yes, I know this works and it is not a stupid trick Berry. It is real. I can't count the number of times I have put something in that corner of my mind and done other things and at an unexpected moment the puzzle I was trying to solve is unlocked.

 

[TXgolfer]

House MD does it every Monday...

 

[StSapphire]

Stupid trick I learned long ago. Go ahead and read the parts you do not understand. Linger over them.

You'll be surprised. It might be a week, a month, or a couple of years.

Suddenly you will have a 'BLINK', an "AHA" moment, and zap you will understand some part or all of it. What springs the moment might seem totally unrelated to what you realized, but that seldom matters.

What matters is you get the understanding.

And happy journeys into the quantum world. It is an addicting place to be.

Hah, I tried doing that and each time I started falling asleep. Luckily, my Kindle saves my spot forever (I was able to back up its contents even post-mortem) so the next time the interest hits me, I'll dig back in.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[Berry]

So very well said!! Defective, normal, all of those terms that attempt to pigeon hole people into the sameness of the majority are discriminatory and prejudicial. Normality is defective. If Deafhood has taught us nothing else, it should have taught us that. And that needs to be extrapolated, to those requesting to be seen as non-defective in their own right, to all others.

I have the right to be a defective human being. Nor am I under an obligation, nor do I have the responsibility, to even attempt to live up to anyone's ideals of perfection whether it is physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual.

And as an American I was born into a country that has sworn to protect that right.

 

[jillio]

Oh yes, I know this works and it is not a stupid trick Berry. It is real. I can't count the number of times I have put something in that corner of my mind and done other things and at an unexpected moment the puzzle I was trying to solve is unlocked.

It happens when experience and knowledge are suddenly connected.

 

[flip]

Cute. But I didn't know there was anything you were trying to convince me I was wrong about, other than that apparently I'm a secret Christian or something of that sort.

Your atheism is influenced by the culture you've been raised in, and that culture is strongly influenced by a christian world view. No need for freemasonry or something like that.

 

[Glenn]

It happens when experience and knowledge are suddenly connected.

I like it when that happens. Everything is doing work even when you think it isn't.

 

[Berry]

Stupid trick I learned long ago. Go ahead and read the parts you do not understand. Linger over them.

You'll be surprised. It might be a week, a month, or a couple of years.

Suddenly you will have a 'BLINK', an "AHA" moment, and zap you will understand some part or all of it. What springs the moment might seem totally unrelated to what you realized, but that seldom matters.

What matters is you get the understanding.

And happy journeys into the quantum world. It is an addicting place to be.

Oh yes, I know this works and it is not a stupid trick Berry. It is real. I can't count the number of times I have put something in that corner of my mind and done other things and at an unexpected moment the puzzle I was trying to solve is unlocked.

It happens when experience and knowledge are suddenly connected.

I like it when that happens. Everything is doing work even when you think it isn't.

I have never come across anyone before who used that trick. Never had anyone I mentioned it to take it seriously before.

I stumbled across it by accident when I was very young and have put it to good use ever since.

Thank you.

 

[StSapphire]

I have never come across anyone before who used that trick. Never had anyone I mentioned it to take it seriously before.

I stumbled across it by accident when I was very young and have put it to good use ever since.

Thank you.

Hah, well, I've yet to experience it yet (that I know of - I probably have and just don't remember it) but I'm certainly planning on at least taking it seriously. Any extra tricks I can get my hands on to help me better learn and understand new things are extremely worthwhile to me.