Civil Discussion About Religion

Matty and I are special too! So is JoeRedskin, but in a different kind of way. But I always thought the hardest part of the MBA was getting in.

Ok, back to the Evolution Revolution

What do you mean..."getting in"? It's not like being accepted into Doctorate program.

I'm not saying, everyone with an MBA is special, and if you don't, then you're not. I just feel it was such a huge accomplishment for me, that I hold a high value on it. I apologize if I made anyone seem insignificant or small by my comment. That was not my intent.

What do you mean..."getting in"? It's not like being accepted into Doctorate program.

I'm not saying, everyone with an MBA is special, and if you don't, then you're not. I just feel it was such a huge accomplishment for me, that I hold a high value on it. I apologize if I made anyone seem insignificant or small by my comment. That was not my intent.

No I just meant applying to the different schools and getting accepted was the key. Once in, I felt like I didn't kill me to finish. Not like law school or med school where they kill you your first year to see what you're made of.

Either way, not really relevant to the overall topic of this thread. So I'll drop it.

I actually thought my undergrad was tougher to get through. Longer program, more tedious type of work/tests.

Grad school was a different challenge, mainly being time management with juggling a full time job. I felt that the profs treated you different, more like an equal and as a result the classes were much more enjoyable. I liked the emphasis on original thought vs. just memorizing and spitting back info like in undergrad.

My undergrad was a lot harder than grad school, as well. I think the professors tended to get on our asses a lot harder because they knew that if they didn't, we'd be back in our apartment playing beer pong all night. You're right, grad school professors didn't tend to push as hard.

Jsarno, there's just no way I can get through to you on your roulette system. I'll let these guys from the Wizard of Odds, with PhDs in statistics, do the explaining:

♠The Truth about Betting Systems - by The Wizard of Odds (http://wizardofodds.com/gambling/bettingsystems.html)

The biggest gambling myth is that an event that has not happened recently becomes overdue and more likely to occur. This is known as the "gambler's fallacy." Thousands of gamblers have devised betting systems that attempt to exploit the gambler's fallacy by betting the opposite way of recent outcomes. For example, waiting for three reds in roulette and then betting on black. Hucksters sell "guaranteed" get-rich-quick betting systems that are ultimately based on the gambler's fallacy. None of them work. If you don't believe me here is what some other sources say on the topic.

A common gamblers' fallacy called 'the doctrine of the maturity of the chances' (or 'Monte Carlo fallacy') falsely assumes that each play in a game of chance is not independent of the others and that a series of outcomes of one sort should be balanced in the short run by other possibilities. A number of 'systems' have been invented by gamblers based largely on this fallacy; casino operators are happy to encourage the use of such systems and to exploit any gambler's neglect of the strict rules of probability and independent plays. -- Encyclopedia Britannica (look under "gambling.")
No betting system can convert a subfair game into a profitable enterprise... -- Probability and Measure (page 94, second edition) by Patrick Billingsley

The number of 'guaranteed' betting systems, the proliferation of myths and fallacies concerning such systems, and the countless people believing, propagating, venerating, protecting, and swearing by such systems are legion. Betting systems constitute one of the oldest delusions of gambling history. Betting systems votaries are spiritually akin to the proponents of perpetual motion machines, butting their heads against the second law of thermodynamcis. -- The Theory of Gambling and Statistical Logic (page 53) by Richard A. Epstein

My undergrad was a lot harder than grad school, as well. I think the professors tended to get on our asses a lot harder because they knew that if they didn't, we'd be back in our apartment playing beer pong all night. You're right, grad school professors didn't tend to push as hard.

Jsarno, there's just no way I can get through to you on your roulette system. I'll let these guys from the Wizard of Odds, with PhDs in statistics, do the explaining:

♠The Truth about Betting Systems - by The Wizard of Odds (http://wizardofodds.com/gambling/bettingsystems.html)



You wrote this on a previous thread:
No not directed at you, you are quality. We may butt heads, but I enjoy the discussions because you explain yourself, you consider opposing views, and you're civil.
I appreciate your comments.
All I ask is you check out the proof I laid before you. That's it. Do you really think it's not even possible to find a loop hole in something? Just check it out, and if you still think that I'm wrong, then so be it. At least then I can honor your opinion on the subject. You say I consider opposing views, which I do...so if this is something you look for in a poster, why not practice it.
(I have seen you practice this in other areas, so why not here?)

You wrote this on a previous thread:

I appreciate your comments.
All I ask is you check out the proof I laid before you. That's it. Do you really think it's not even possible to find a loop hole in something? Just check it out, and if you still think that I'm wrong, then so be it. At least then I can honor your opinion on the subject. You say I consider opposing views, which I do...so if this is something you look for in a poster, why not practice it.
(I have seen you practice this in other areas, so why not here?)

I was planning on checking it out, but I didn't want to do it from the office. I didn't have enough time in my workday to devote to it.

I looked over your system and did what you said. I started with 5000. I put 5 on 2nd 12, 5 on 3rd 12, 5 on red, and 5 on odd. I repeated this exact betting pattern for 8 straight rolls. I was exactly breakeven after those 8 rolls. Then I began betting patterns like you said. The board shows the last 9 numbers to come up. So whenever I saw 6 or more blacks on the board, I doubled my money on black. Did the same thing when I saw 6 evens, 6 odds, or 6 reds. If I didn't see more than 6 of anything in the betting history, I went back to your original betting configuration.

After 40 rolls, I finished down 95 dollars. Reason? The wheel hit 00 or 0 three separate times, causing me to lose 25 on each one. So I was basically treading water aside from those hits on the green slots.

That's what happens. If you're going to tell me that you have to quit before 40 rolls, then you've proved my point. Over the long haul, the more spins you take, the more likely it is that you'll lose money.

If you don't like the system I used, give me another one and I'll try it. I won't try anything for less than 40 rolls, I'm looking to give it a real good test. If I rolled say 5 times and left the table up 20, I wouldn't be convinced at all. With only 5 rolls, I could have just simply gotten lucky. But if your system can win me money over the course of 40 rolls, then I'll be convinced.

Atheist. "Reality wasn't created, it just is."

Blah blah blah. Religion is simply something manifested by the human mind to provide comfort and solace when dealing with the unknown. Religion helps give humans the feeling that there is rhyme or reason to the world we live in. Religion provides the sense that there is a purpose to life: to live a good life and get into heaven. It provides comfort regarding the unknowns which humans face, like what happens to me when I die? Do I live on, or is the show over? Religion comforts humans; the presence of a higher power must surely mean that I'm in good hands, even when I'm entering the unknown: death.

People believe it because deep down they don't want to face the alternative: that when you die you go nowhere, your life is simply over. And that your life was not part of some grand scheme; you simply lived and died.

Those alternatives are scary, but they're the truth. Religion is just a crutch humans use to go about their daily lives in false comfort.

I couldnt disagree more,I think most people would be pretty damn happy if they didnt belive in a heaven or hell then they wouldnt have to worry about their actions on earth.It would make me happy as hell to know that once life ended that was it.
I've been going to church all my life but i wouldnt call myself a christian,been more or less forced to go by mom then married a christian and go occasionally for her sake.I feel like I'm a good person bit i'm afraid to die for fear of going to hell because of not doing everything the bible says or for not feeling the holy spirit like my wife and her fellow christians.
truth is I dont know what to believe anymore,I still pray almost everyday and ask God to protect my loved ones and so on,but then i think if there is a God he knows I'm full of shit and that i dont know whether I believe in him or not so the praying is probably for naught{but I'm still going to do it}
But getting back to the original point,it would make me happy to know that when you die that was it,but since we dont know I'm glad people believe in God because I think if they didnt this world would be a lot more fcked up then it is

The debate simplified:

A person of science wants to know where they came from, not where they are going.

A person of religion wants to know where they are going, not where they came from.

I couldnt disagree more,I think most people would be pretty damn happy if they didnt belive in a heaven or hell then they wouldnt have to worry about their actions on earth.It would make me happy as hell to know that once life ended that was it.
I've been going to church all my life but i wouldnt call myself a christian,been more or less forced to go by mom then married a christian and go occasionally for her sake.I feel like I'm a good person bit i'm afraid to die for fear of going to hell because of not doing everything the bible says or for not feeling the holy spirit like my wife and her fellow christians.
truth is I dont know what to believe anymore,I still pray almost everyday and ask God to protect my loved ones and so on,but then i think if there is a God he knows I'm full of shit and that i dont know whether I believe in him or not so the praying is probably for naught{but I'm still going to do it}
But getting back to the original point,it would make me happy to know that when you die that was it,but since we dont know I'm glad people believe in God because I think if they didnt this world would be a lot more fcked up then it is

I wouldn't call you religious, you have too many doubts about God's existence, heaven, hell, all that stuff. You are simply afraid of what might happen to you if it turns out there actually is a God.

Also, based on how fearful you are of God, I'm guessing you are either Catholic or Episcopalean?