TED Community » Guy Hardy

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My family, foosball, problem solving

An idea worth spreading

A nation wide network of water pipelines moving water from areas that typically flood to areas that are in desperate need (or will be) in desperate need of water. Like the public highways it will take many years but create a strong future for our country as well as jobs now. Wind energy can supply all the pumping action needed. It should span Canadian US borders as well. Desalination is really not as cost effective. The reservoirs and water treatment already exist in local areas. If we don't do this a large part of our farm belt will vanish not to mention rationing simple drinking water.

Comments

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• A reply on Theme: Is There a God?

  Nov 11 2011: G--mann,The more you protest with no real argument and really me too, the more it's just faith. God of gaps should get less and less as science knows more and more, yet the gaps are more and frequent. Sciences natural processes of the gaps will have to prevail in your paradigm. Since I can't say that the probabilities are really out there for anything happening by random chance, because you say it's a straw man. Of course there is no amount of evidence you will believe because according to evolution many many intermediary forms will exist in the fossil record yet these are fairly replete. I really understand what you are saying, that it is intellectually wrong to fill in gaps of what is not understood by God., but you should equally understand that the amazing fact that we can even be having this conversation despite multiple extinction events since life started is really just a bit of good luck. I'm really happy to have this conversation with a credentialed guy like you. Close those gaps look for the natural causes. Get a Nobel prize, You'll be the man that killed god with a nice proof. The irony is that if life can be created and over a million or more years become intelligent to deny it's creator.
  
  "No arguments? I thought I was writing in English."
  
  !!!*** Hey I've got some real arguments and cannot respond to your last post for some reason.
  
  Going after #3 lotto wiinners until I run out here.
  Gabo " (clays, amphipatic molecules, et cetera)."
  Guy: How many 1 in a million lotto winners does it take to get from clays, amphipatic molecules, et cetera to the simplest life cell that exists? How many winners to get from that 1 cell to a giant organizm with cell specialization?
  Thanks Guy

• A reply on Theme: Is There a God?

  Nov 7 2011: G,
  You have not shown that any of my arguments fail, only that you believe differently. Prove that god doesn't exist. Prove that RNA happens by chance or is a natural property of the universe. Prove your statement that life is a natural law of the universe. You are now just saying stuff about plenty of experiments proving stuff like natural RNA transcription or mitosis. You have also been avoiding answering simple questions about why we are here. You brought up an interesting point- that if we never know the origin of life we would know that it breaks no natural laws. This may be a false premise. Its operation is natural, but what if science discovers that natural laws cannot explain its existence structure and operation. Are the prejudices I spoke of in full forse in your circle of collaeagues?

• A reply on Theme: Is There a God?

  Nov 7 2011: Gabo,
  Where is the proof that the odds on life accidentally happening aren't beyond astronomical? It is an absolute fact that the more that is known about how even the simplest life works the more improbable everything becomes. Believing unproveable theories is faith. Your faith is that mankind will discover exactly how life formed and it is a forgone conclusion of the universe. And man will create life from scratch in a lab. Good thing man will have something to reverse engineer from. It's my faith that it was no accident. All things are not knowable. Really its just science's way of calling people ignorant and heathenistic because of a choice of faith. A kind of prejudice that's allowed and encouraged. I'm just as upset when anyone labels anyone for their beliefs, no matter how brilliant a scientist they are. Watch a movie called Sunset Limited. Why are we here? To simply survive? Everything you ever do think say love discover plan hope read learn ... really doesn't matter at all. We are just trying to survive until we can't any longer. Sooner or later we are done as life that even exists. Sounds bleak and hopeless. I'm hoping for something better. What are you hoping for? Keep your mind open. God may not be what anybody even knows or can now comprehend, but what if?

• A reply on Theme: Is There a God?

  Nov 6 2011: Gabo
  I took your advice and decided to check out the science. The latest theory is that life spontaneously formed what's called protobionts. Which can have a membrane around it that can trap RNA inside it. But that's about it. RNA is created by transcription, mainly needs DNA to pull off the job. To be fair some viruses can use existing RNA to repicate itself. It is commonly known that all life has to have certain characteristics to be considered to be life: metabolism, homeostasis, process a capacity to grow, respond to stimuli, reproduce, and your favorite adapt to their environment thru natural selection thru successive generations. RNA makes proteins too. Its all very compelex. Evolution within species is fact. But it doesn't explain origins of actual life. It's easy to take life and gene splice and mutate it, but as far as I know a life form has never been created. The massive number of species that exist and have ever existed suggests that there should be many intermediary forms that could cross breed (macroevolution). We see so much variety within species and if size considerations are followed any dog can breed with another with artificial insemination techniques. microevolution proven fact macro evolution not proven. 1 mutation happens and it is really very not likely to be favorable. Dude I'm not thumping a bible or saying god is anything that can even be comprehended. But the more life is studied the more complex it appears to be. That means to me that everything is incredibly amazing. And that life started naturally is theory and really does require faith. I just joined TED and I was under the impression that there was supposed to be intelligent exchange of ideas and kind of mutual respect. The condescending tone is disappointing. You are trying to own a forum where free thinking and respect is valued. Me thinks you protest to much.

• A comment on Conversation: What are the top 10 technological inventions that defined the last 100 years?

  Nov 6 2011: Modern public sanitation/water treatment/water purification
  Anticeptics/Antibiotics/anesthesia/various vaccines
  Green Revolution farming
  Electric generator and power distribution/batteries
  Telegragh/telephone
  Electromagnetic transmission of information thru free space
  Nuclear energy
  Steam/combustion/jet engine/car/plane/train
  Exo-atmospheric rocketry/geosynchronous/GPS satellites
  Transistor/digital logic/computers/high level programming languages
  Fiberoptics/lasers/photocell
  Magnetic data storage

• A comment on Conversation: Is there a framework for forgiving yourself?

  Nov 6 2011: Wow. Forgiveness, the very idea validates morality as truth. Religeous frameworks for forgiveness reserve this ability to diety only, but say that we should forgive the wrongs of each other or not receive divine forgiveness. Forgiveness for yourself must be sought from the divine....and on and on. This is a framework for forgiveness, but not for self forgiveness. That framework requires true repentance and faith in that system. I've seen this work for many people including myself. But does not answer how to forgive yourself, especially if you are moral but athiestic.
  The good news is that you or me realize that we even need forgiveness. If you don't have a conscience, self forgiveness is moot. Forgiveness is letting go, releasing from prison and more than that never bringing the past wrong up as a weapon to reimprison or enslave. It's not forgetting, it's remembering to never again wrong. It's truly the mark of love and maturity. Holding on to unforgiveness to others and yourself is like holding a hot coal in cupped hands, it will scar if you hold on long. It's difficult to let go because the cupped hands are in your mind. You can't forget. So what do you do? Find the person you are closest to in the world that you trust with your life and tell them. This is typically a cathartic process full of painful regret and remorse. Saying these things aloud and hearing yourself say it is important even more than writing it down, but writing is good too. The friend will be there not to say what you did was not that bad, but simply to comfort and love you, because you can't do this for yourself, yet. if you have no one or trust no one then confess these things aloud alone. Record yourself if you can. Apologize and forgive yourself aloud. Repeat if you must. Listen or watch your recorded confession. By all means if this involves a living person you've wronged then apologize and try to make amends to them. if they won't speak to you write them. Time does the rest.

• A comment on Conversation: Is the "does God exist?" question really relevant?

  Nov 4 2011: Yes, I believe so. it's simply a matter of exchanging faiths. Believing that life and its excruciating complexity happened by accident and that anything turned completely into everything else there ever has been - a leap of faith. Or a Godlike intelligence set something here into motion - also a faith. More like what is god? I am saying that science should remain open to possibilities. God may be so beyond what we can even comprehend now it may be foolish to discard what we think is like Santa. Look at alchemy once thought foolish now is fact. One element can change to another.
• +1

  A comment on Theme: Is There a God?

  Nov 4 2011: I really don't know anything but what little I've read and what I've observed in the natural world and it's hard to know if there is a God? Is this knowable? There are some deep thinkers on this thread, real geniuses and theologians. I've heard the Hoyle (Harley) proof pros and cons. But unless I've missed something, here is something to consider. The very simplest forms of life are viruses and without a cell to invade it can really not be considered life at all. Life as we know it must have been the simplest cell we can imagine that as we have all been taught came from a puddle of chemical amino rich slime and maybe shocked somehow to form an actual chain of DNA that held the information for the cell wall, the reproductive mechanism and at least 100 or more things to make this thing go on and on. The theory is given enough time this could happen, right? Wait, that's not what's really amazing. It turns out it would be much more convenient if a Harley or 747s were involved. For the first cell to turn into any other cell and survive astronomical odds. Or it to turn into a multicellular organism again even more astronomical and so on. If you want to believe this well it is very akin to Faith. I am not saying that God did this, but I am not saying God didn't. If it is some cosmic accident then really, what does anything really amount to? But and this is the biggy, if it is not an accident, why are we here? What's it all about? Our life has meaning. We are accountable. No accidents = ????? I believe in coincidences, I just don't trust them. Life, that's one big coincidence. Something, someone, some power has created me and somehow I knew every wrong thing I ever did and every good. Some giant classroom for nothing? So we die and there is nothing. I am going with there is a God and I'm not them. I'm going with there is a plan and hopefully I get a glance at the Cliff Notes before it's time to go.