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The part of the electromagnetic spectrum that can excite our photoreceptors happens to be where most of the sun's output is. I'm not aware that any animals have evolved infrared vision, which might be useful at night - Since the excitation is of a protein that changes shape when struck by a...

All three items above may well be true. But only the last one is subject to more or less conclusive verification - we know that people start as fertilized eggs. I can be considered a continuation of my parents' cell lines. :) Statement #2 is a matter of definition: the word "universe" is...

Both the above are perceptive, suggesting human thought comes with serious limitations. I don't doubt it. I have a hard time imagining an electron to begin with, much less one whose clock is running backwards. :p There's nothing wrong with Shibolet's idea of "something ultimately behind...

Sorry it's taken a while for me to get back here. :) In the direct way, yes. We don't normally see bacteria lying around us. But we can see them, if we have a microscope and a dye to stain them with (so they stand out against the background). A telescope enables one to see objects normally...

Causation is a slippery concept. It can fail, if extrapolated to ultimate settings, such as the putative beginning of time. The modern western world generally uses a linear model of causation where nothing can cause itself anyway. But this concept only applies to material bodies, where causes...

Is that kind of like the frog in the kettle of cool water when they put it on the stove to heat? I've always wondered if it's really true the frog won't jump out even though it could, and just sits there until it gets too hot. I keep hearing that story, but I don't incline toward catching a...

Certainly not intended as an attack. One part of shared reality is obvious. If I step in front of a moving bus, something bad will happen. And that's not a matter of individual preference or perception; rather, failure to perceive the bus correctly will be a disaster. I suspect that's a...

I wonder if it's both ways: that part of reality is shared, and does not depend on individual perception. Because perception isn't reality, even if reality is perception. Then, part of reality is private, not shared and known only to each individual. I'm not sure I perceive everything about...

I'm reluctant to post here since I admit a personal bias against Islam as well as failure to subscribe to the current American left's political correctness that demands every religious belief system must be validated unconditionally. Yet I can recognize that laws and practices in Muslim...

Ahh...the Egyptian hieroglyph for a sandal strap, ‘nx, a rebus for the verb ‘nx "to live" and related nouns ‘nxw "the living" or "life." The epithet for the king was, ‘nx.w, wDA.w, snb.w, "He lives, he prospers, he is healthy!" But a pair of sandals itself is Tbs. Curiously, Egyptians thought...

Thanks for your welcome message. :)

Thanks for calling my attention to Didache. It was probably a mistake to name a specific branch of Christianity in my last post, as this can give the impression that I wish to attack Christians with whom I disagree. The issue I had wanted to explore was the difficulty of reconstructing...

The idea of text threads melded together in part to keep a group with competing internal factions united (wil, above) is a good guess, I think. There's this thing about inevitable progression from animism to totemism to polytheism, syncretism, and henotheism, finally to monotheism. A ladder...

It's easy to forget that Christianity didn't exist in Jesus' lifetime. While the saying "upon this rock I will found my church" (Matthew 16:18) is attributed to Jesus in conversation with the apostle Peter, Jesus as described in the gospels doesn't seem to have left any detailed prescriptions...

I don't think that's a right in the USA. A few states, including Texas, have what are called "open carry" laws, so maybe you can do that in Texas. But in Utah it would be illegal. And I agree with you that the "Texas Open Carry" bunch who picket restaurants and stores with their shotguns are...

I haven't read every post in the thread, where the topic seems to be drifting somewhat. A quote from the NY Post article the OP cited is Fredericks 9/26/14: “This is completely inconsiderate of the non-Haredi travelers. I don’t know many airlines that would allow their passengers to act...

Not only a recliner, but an O-ring cushion for hemorrhoids as well! :eek: However, I think 55 is too soon to begin thinking life is over, even if the downstairs parts are separating from the upstairs parts in a manner reminiscent of the LEM separating from the CM on the way to the moon. :)

And a tip of the hat to you...I may be a fundamentalist, but only in the Egyptian way of syncretism and reverence for celestial cows. :p Anyway, welcome. I'm also new today. :)

I am new here & looking to pass some time. My thanks to the proprietors, who aren't charging for it. I am a sharp debater, perfect in every way. But enough of the self-promotion. :)

Consider also the possibility of Adware not part of the site. I've had endless problems with MegaSearch and the like on Google Chrome. :mad: