I admit there is truth in that, but thats all the more reason not to further complicate the 'debate' by offending people. Its rather counter productive.
I will admit it when I realize I was wrong, but a lot of discussions end up in 'fights' rather than conclusions.
Yes but why its a well known forum trait to have an established 'clique' of people who all tacitly agree on a certain subject and any member who doesn't humbly agree with them is pounced on as a "scapegoat".
So I'm not sure how I somehow 'stumbled' on here and I'd probably have read a few threads and moved on were it not for SAM who was a semi-integrated underdog (she's too feisty to be the scapegoat!). That adds a certain interest because she's on top of her subject and quick thinking with the repartee so that type of thing makes me stick around.
Obviously there are a few people who are a bit 'out there'..I mean personally I;d say even Stryder was more out-of-sync than anything I can come up with. Really it depends on the tenor of the forum. This is a Science forum so we'd know what to expect..and in essence, no matter how bizarre and far-out the scientific ideas you can express them without any disrespect. Obviously ppl may disagree but as long as its science its waved on no matter odd or conspiratorial...this is the Internet after all.
However theres a set agenda..people do not get upset about such things so yes everyones fairly respectful. However, anything with as much as a faint whiff of religion, tradition or on the fringes of it raises the hackles. As the saying goes..'never mention Religion or Politics' at dinner parties because what are friendly gatherings become heated arguments.
So of course, Enmos, we can all claim victory through sheer numbers but its dependent on which forum you happen to be on. If you are on Atheist R'Us then its as difficult to 'calmly discuss' as it would be for anyone here posting on an 'Islamist Forum'..or ANY religious forum..I dont know any but I'm sure they are out there somewhere..lots of them!
So its question of perception. What appears to make perfect sense to me by long experience doesnt necessarily make any sense to someone with no experience. Now sheer experience doesn't make it true..thats granted but it makes it as meaningless to the viewer as say..memes appear meaningless to me and I suspect many others (incl fellow scientists).
But as I say...theres nothing thats going to change anything. Fortuantely SAM catches the eye - sry if this sounds stalkerish lol - because she's clever enough to prevent the place being merely a 'talking shop'. She's challenging ideas and has come up with some interesting points so that arouses interest in my eyes because most forums are very tedious. I think her 'suicide bombers'..arent relgious zealots argument has some merit. And the links are interesting and are of the type that I;d not normally come into constact with.
Thats useful to me because I'm on what is essentially a Political site although it was originally more Music/Arts...but Politics is what I know...but i'm only concerned with what effects ME.
When it comes to the Arab-Israeli conflicts then I usually switch off mentally because i'm not a part of it..and why should I be? Do the Americans switch on the TV News worrying about my concerns...do the Saudi Arabians worry about Crime figures in Manchester ..no
....now i think possibly what has changed the mindset of people has been Climate Change/Global Warming...all of a sudden the bloke who usually complains about the litter outside his house is suddenly posting about recycling...and is it worth it?....All of a sudden people who are normally only interested in the provincial everyday mundane affairs of the locality are asking themselves why they are being taxed merely for going on Holiday via Airplane..or moaning about endless airport checks and queues or even of the Airport lounge os about to be blown up by a man of fire shouting 'Allah!'...and so by osmosis the provincial worries of everyday life are growing into worries about what is going on in farflung corners of the World.
So what..ten years ago was of little concern to me has due to the above and of course Iraq, etc...become of more interest to everyday posters. So the 'debate' between religion/science is something worth looking into and despite what you say...well what is 'coversation' seem to me to be more like 'point scoring' and thinly veiled insults. I mean I think its a bit disingenuous and its a case of pot, kettle, black..I know how forums work and..well I'm presuming this is more than a few years old..so by definition it must have some 'hidden..or not so hidden agenda'..and so I'd expect to be jumped on and in that case its alway best to go on the attack rather than be defensive. If you go on being all reasonable and defensive you've had it..get your retaliation in first and then once the dust settles just mingle in fairly innocuously.
