lhvinny

For example, let's say you see a video, or a photograph or read a story where a man supposedly jogs across Lake Michigan from Chicago to Muskegon across the liquid water in bare feet.

What is your methodology to tell if this phenomenon is either a trick by a magician with an unknown physical, non-supernatural explanation or if it is a genuine miracle where the divine allowed the man to defy how nature normally works?

The Free Will Defense, of course, refers to the reply to the Problem of Evil which proposes:

1) that god prefers people to have free will over not having free will

2) that having free will implies the necessity for at least the possibility of evil.

My question for Christians who accept the free will defense is this:

Is there free will in heaven?

If your answer is "yes," then what prevents evil from taking place in heaven since evil cannot be in the presence of God and free will, according to the Free Will Defense, necessitates the possibility of committing evil?

If your answer is "no," then how is heaven a better place to be than earth since all Christians I know of presume that heaven is a better place but a premise of the Free Will Defense is that god prefers people to have free will over not having free will.

Please explain how your position does not either: makes heaven a place that is worse than earth because humans lose their free will, or makes heaven a place where evil can occur, or negates the basic premises of the Free Will Defense.

Pascal's Wager is the idea that it is better to believe "just in case" as opposed to not believing and risking a fate in Hell. As an atheist, I run into this "argument" frequently.

Is <insert deity of choice here> unable to tell the difference between "true believers" and people who believe only because they want to avoid Hell?

Does <insert deity of choice here> not care if someone truly believes or if they are only believing to avoid punishment?

Am I wrong in thinking that Pascal's Wager implies that <insert deity of choice here> either cares so much about worship that it doesn't care why it is being worshiped, and/or so stupid or gullible that it is unable to distinguish between shallow belief to avoid punishment and a deeper belief?

Do believers who use this argument not realize how much they are making their god of choice look like a moron?

P.S.

*drink*

Especially among theists, it is a common conception that an atheist must believe that there are no gods. I'm fine with that position. However, it causes a lack of a term for those who are in the "grey" area.

I, for example, do not believe in any gods because I've been given no rational reason to believe. However, I am also not convinced (and thus do not believe) that there are no gods. I hold it as quite possible that there could be beings that one could classify as deities which are simply beyond our ability to observe yet.

So, if I am not an atheist, what is the term for my position with regards to my lack of belief?

Many will say "agnostic." However, this word does not work. gnosticism deals with knowledge, not belief. I am an agnostic, because I lack knowledge of gods. However, one can lack knowledge about gods and believe they exist (some call this an agnostic theist) whereas others, like myself, can lack knowledge and withhold belief until such time as I do have knowledge. So, "agnostic" does not clarify my position with regards to belief, only my position with regards to knowledge. Thus, it does not adequately answer the question.

So, if I am not an atheist, what word best describes my position with regards to my lack of belief?

Every time I've seen someone try to define "miracle" it becomes a situation that is highly unlikely (or goes against common sense) to occur without divine intervention. Why is it that highly unlikely (or events going against common sense) that we deem as "bad" or unfortunate don't count as miracles?

Can miracles be negative events? If so, why do I not hear people say "My father was struck by lighting! It's a miracle!" If not, why not?

Scientists have been able to use electromagnetic radiation delivered to the brain to create specific OBE and NDE feelings and memories?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCVzz96zKA0

How do you know the OBE and NDE experiences you hold to be real are not the result of the brain simply being manipulated by enviromental radiation?

Can you understand why a skeptic would find claims about OBEs and NDEs unconvincing even if they experienced the OBE or NDE themself?

What is your opinion on the published work of Szostak et. al. in the field of abiogenesis research?

Is it an avenue of research that could lead to further discovery in this area and maybe a model of the abiogenesis process?

A challenge I gave to my students. I'd like for you to mention how many of the facts in the clues you had to look up. Best of luck!

Who was the nth president of the United States, where n is the age at which JFK was elected minus the year in the 1900s when the First New Deal was passed?

To the best of my knowledge, the monotheistic religions are all based on the same god: The god of Abraham. There are, to the best of my knowledge, three religions based on this one god: the Jews, the Christians, and the Muslims.

Are there other monotheistic religions that do not follow from the Abrahamic tradition?

This question is about half serious and half not serious (yes you can play with that pun too).

If you are unfamiliar with the Schrodinger's Cat thought experiment, please watch this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrxqTtiWxs4

The long and short of it is that the act of an observer observating a particle is an essential part to the particle's being in existence at a certain place at a certain time. This is why the cat is both alive and dead at the same time until we make an observation of the cat.

So, I wonder, since we have not been able to make any verifiable observations of gods, are gods like Schrodinger's Cat, both existing and not existing at the same time until we are able to make an observation ultimately verifying or disproving their existence? I already realize that gods are not made up of particles, at least not in the natural particle sense, and thus this is not a water-tight comparison or analogy, nor it is meant to be.

Thought-provoking answers on this extension of a classic thought experiment are most welcome.

I was presented with the following problem:

In a fiber optic cable, the fiber optic follows a sine curve. What is the ratio of the lengths of the cable to the length of the fiber within the cable?

My solution made me assume that the fiber optic inside the cable followed the path of the function y = sin x. Logically, we can also assume that the fiber optic must be longer than the cable since it has a longer path to travel. So, I focused my attention on a length of cable that was pi/2 units long, and I used the length of a curve formula to discover the length of the cable:

s = integral from 0 to pi/2 of (sqrt(1+cos^2 x)dx)

= integral from 0 to pi/2 of (sin x dx)

= - cos x evaluated from 0 to pi/2

= 1

So, the fiber optic cable is 1 unit long, and the cable itself is pi/2 units long. The fiber optic is shorter than the cable itself? Please help me discover the error in my calculation.

Oddie is tied to a pole in the backyard by a 15 foot rope. Oddie quickly gets bored and runs around in a circle. As he does so, the rope wraps around the pole at a rate of 4 inches per rotation. How far can Oddie travel in this fashion before the rope is completely wrapped around the pole?

This is a problem I saw on answers at some point, but was since removed or some other such thing because my attempts to locate it again have failed despite many attempts with the search option.

The original problem states something as follows: Three mathematicians order a large 14" pizza (14" being the diameter). Because they are such great mathematicians, instead of cutting the pizza in the traditional fashion, these mathematicians decide to cut the pizza using only parallel cuts. What are the locations of these cuts so that each person gets an equal share?

My approach: Let the pizza be a circle of radius 7 be centered at the origin, equation x^2 + y^2 = 49. Area of the circle = 49pi ~> each person gets 49/3 pi sq. in. of pizza.

Let the cuts be vertical through the pizza at x = +/- c. Focus attention on the part of the circle in Quadrant I bound by:

x = 0, x = c, y = 0 and y = sqrt(49 - x^2)

This is 1/4 of the total area given to each person, so it's area is 49/12 pi.

So, the integral I have set up is:

49/12 pi = integral from 0 to c of [sqrt(49 - x^2) dx]

I have not studied how to simplify 49 - x^2 without having an x term already attached to the dx. Any assistance would be wonderful, or the link the original problem I can no longer locate.

In my experience, Cats seems to have all the elements of an opera.

This is the recursive formula I derived for the amount of money in an account as the user withdraws $30 each month and gains a 16% annual interest compounded monthly. I have simplified the compound interest equation as much as I can:

A(o) = 2165.43

A(n) = 76/75 A(n-1) - 30.4

Note that the n and the n-1 are subscripts denoting the term. I was wondering if my recursive formula could be converted to an explicit formula. I have not yet found one. Thanks in advance.

I am a teacher in a school where funding is tight. For my physical science class, I want to show them examples of household acids and bases, and run reactions that will indicate if they are an acid or a base using other household materials. The acids are easy: add baking soda and carbon dioxide bubbles form. Is there a household product I can use to get a definitive reaction from a base?

This problem comes from a mathematics calendar one of my colleagues has. I know the answer is 6pi, according to the calendar, but I am unsure of how to approach the problem correctly. I have tried Integration by parts with no success. Good luck!

Santa in his sleigh, the Easter Bunny, a Leprechaun on foot, and Road Runner all come to a four way stop at the same time.

Also, where can I look to find the expected Rf value for this solute in the solvent you suggested. Thank you in advance.

December is the first month of winter, but the other two months are January and February.