Recommended Posts

My take on it is this: we know for a fact that on planet earth what goes up will come down unless it can generate enough thrust to break our chain of gravity. As far as black holes are concerned, the 'theory' begind them is they are stars that went supernova, then collopsed into itself creating an object with gravity so strong light cannot escape it. Scientists can only notice these objects due to the way light bends around one of them when viewed through a telescope. What always got me is how big everything is. Our little speck of dirt is just in one ARM of the milky way galaxy, and thus far we have not even been able to get out of this one arm due to the size. Do i personally believe one 'entity' made all of this? No, i dont. For that to have happened the creator would have to have been created, right? As far as i have seen with my own two eyes you cannot have something from nothing, hence we will NEVER know where we came from or where we are going.

  • 2 weeks later...

if we are the only ones here on earth, then what's the point of all that space out there?

 

can't be there just so we can explore it right? gotta be other life out there...hard to believe earth is the only planet with life out of all the probable billions of planets out there.

 

 

or is space just a hologram?

if we are the only ones here on earth, then what's the point of all that space out there?

Why do people always insist that there has to be some sort of point or meaning? Isn't it enough that we are here? Asking about the meaning of life is like asking about the speed of spaghetti. Itndoesnt make sense. We have a biological function, which is to pass on our genes, which to anybody who understands basics of biology is absolutely amazing. Why do you need some sort of higher reason to exist? Why does the reason have to be philosophical or cerebral rather than simply biological?

They insist in a "point or meaning" because it infers there is some grand design ergo there is some thought behind the process.It somehow seems to ease their minds that we are not a random act of evolution but a design process of some entity beyond our limit comprehension.

Why do people always insist that there has to be some sort of point or meaning? Isn't it enough that we are here? Asking about the meaning of life is like asking about the speed of spaghetti. Itndoesnt make sense. We have a biological function, which is to pass on our genes, which to anybody who understands basics of biology is absolutely amazing. Why do you need some sort of higher reason to exist? Why does the reason have to be philosophical or cerebral rather than simply biological?

 

Because the thought that all life on Earth is a fluke and an accident doesn't sit well for some. It's better to question and gain knowledge than to live in ignorance, hence all the advances we have made as a species, but some take everything to extremes in either direction 

Do you dare to adopt an open-mind view or are you willing to hold dear to your ignorance and dissolve this subject as hoax and move on?  What type of person are you will be based on what you do with this information.  Here is the full transcript interview.  Decide for yourself.  Regurgitate and post your thoughts.

 

 

Open mindedness is basically defined as being prepared to accept new ideas and question one's own assumptions about the world when presented with evidence that may conflict with what we think.

 

It doesn't mean that you're obliged to be contemptuous of anything representing cohesive thought, nor does it mean that you should accept conspiracy theories when the evidence for them is pretty spotty (and that's a pretty charitable assessment of the evidence for the roswell "aliens")

Many seem to talk about the concept of "open mindedness" yet block out any reasonable explanation because the obscure always has a greater pull on their imagination.Maybe is because of a lack of trust in the believability that life is actually totally random and not predefined i.e. Gods or tied to a controlled external  source i.e.Aliens.The concept that we may actually be one of many if somewhat distinct and at a different evolutionary status of other "life" forms within the galaxy seems beyond many to conceive as truth.

Its very much like early explorers traveling the Congo where ancient tribes believed in sacrificing to the Gods and calling them savages.Each is a human being living at a predefined time frame and geographical location but both hold a completely different and foriegn concept of reality based on their surroundings and upbringings.

  • 2 weeks later...

Open mindedness is basically defined as being prepared to accept new ideas and question one's own assumptions about the world when presented with evidence that may conflict with what we think.

 

It doesn't mean that you're obliged to be contemptuous of anything representing cohesive thought, nor does it mean that you should accept conspiracy theories when the evidence for them is pretty spotty (and that's a pretty charitable assessment of the evidence for the roswell "aliens")

 

 

Yes. Being open minded should be associated more with free thought and skepticism movements, not snake oil salesmen or New Age woo advocate. Accepting all new ideas uncritically is not open minded, it is being credulous and that is nothing to be proud of.

 

 

If someone argues their house is haunted and I suggest that given the lack of evidence for ghosts a more rational answer is more likely and that person then dismisses my argument and insists that their house is haunted, who is being closed minded? 

 

I use this example because I knew someone who insisted her house was haunted because at night there would be loud thuds and rattling sounds. To make a long story short, she lived in a particularly cold part of the state and at night she'd shower before bed which caused the pipes to the shower to heat up and then rapidly cool under the cold house which made the noises. She insisted the house was haunted, she was "closed minded" to alternative views. It doesn't make her dumb or a bad person, she just didn't think critically.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Posts

    • Why Delta Chat is the best decentralized messenger you have probably never tried by Paul Hill There is no shortage of messaging apps out there; we have WhatsApp, Messenger, and Telegram, just to name a few. While Meta has taken steps to incorporate encryption into Messenger and WhatsApp, they still leave a lot to be desired. If you are in the market for a messaging app that promotes security, privacy, and optional anonymity, you'll want to read what I have to say about Delta Chat. For those not familiar with Delta Chat, rather than relying on centralized servers as you do with Facebook Messenger, it relies on email. Essentially, it is a chat interface that feels like a messaging app, but secretly in the background, it is firing off emails. In the past, you used to have to sign in with your email account. When you sent messages to people, it would just be sending encrypted messages to their inbox, which their Delta Chat client would decrypt. When I first learned about Delta Chat, it required users to sign in with an email account, but I was pleasantly surprised upon trying it in 2026 that this is no longer a requirement, or the preferred method was to use the app. Recently, I’ve tried UAD-ng on my old Nokia 3.4 to disable most of the Google apps because the bootloader is locked, and this is the next best option. While finding replacement apps in F-Droid, I came across Delta Chat again, and it has undergone quite a big change since I last used it, with its new chatmail relays, which no longer require you to sign in to your own email account, providing anonymity, and they offer greater security. Android and Desktop Delta Chat apps. Not only does it run on my de-googled phone, but it also works on desktop computers and iOS, making it truly ubiquitous. For me, Delta Chat is a wonderful alternative messenger because it gives you more control. It supports switching between different profiles, which you can set up super quickly; you don’t register a username, you don’t register a password. The only thing you do have is a random string email address on a chatmail relay (which you don’t have to memorize). To maintain access to your profile, you just need to add a second device to your account via QR code or make a backup of your account, which you can restore later. Fail to do these, your account is gone - as it should be if you don’t want to leave accounts that could get hacked later on. My decision to block Google stuff on my Nokia was done for practical reasons; the device sucked when it launched, and it sucks even more now. The nice thing about F-Droid and the apps within is that they’re usually lightweight, free of bloat, and work well on that device. What was inconvenient for me was that it was hard to send messages from that device, say if I wanted to copy a code over to my main phone or send family members a link from that device. That’s when I decided to look at the available chat apps and saw Delta Chat. Another nice thing about Delta Chat is its notifications. Some messaging apps rely on Google’s ecosystem for notification transport on Android; however, with Delta Chat, it can use Google’s solutions if you have Play Services or MicroG installed. Otherwise, it is able to keep a background connection to the chatmail relay server so that you can get notified when you receive a message. As free software, the code of Delta Chat is open for all who want to take it and build upon it. In the future, if the developers of Delta Chat make a catastrophically bad decision and take the app in an undesirable direction, users can take the code and fork the project. This contrasts with closed-source apps from corporations that can take their products in any direction they like. By relying on free software instead of closed-source programs, you actually control your computing. I’ve spoken at length about how running this type of software is like owning your own home rather than renting it. The same applies here; if you use Delta Chat, you don’t need to worry about it going away in the future. Whether it is Telegram, WhatsApp, or Messenger, you are required to register a username and password to use these services. A major flaw in this design is that anyone can try various passwords and potentially break into your account with your complete chat history intact. Sure, there is encryption in Messenger, where you need a second PIN and two-factor authentication in Telegram, but breaches happen all the time. Unlike before, when you used to sign in to your email account to send and receive messages, the primary way to do it now is to create an account on a chatmail relay. The resulting email address is a random string followed by the name of the relay you pick. This means you can start and begin adding contacts Without a username and password, you either need to ensure you have a backup or at least one device running your Delta Chat profile. The primary way to log in on another device is to go to the settings and add a second device. Then, you’ll just scan a QR code with your new device, and it’ll log in to your account and sync all your chat history and contacts. To end users, Delta Chat just looks like any instant messenger; however, it is really sending your messages as encrypted emails to your contact. This is pretty cool from a censorship perspective, as it makes the service more difficult to block. Previously, the main way to use the app was by logging in with email, but nowadays, it’s recommended that you use chatmail relays. Chatmail relays temporarily hold messages in case your device is offline. They are cheap, simple servers that don’t store data as group states. Other information, like your name and avatar, only exists on your device and the devices of those you share your contact information with. The relays are also decentralized and operated by various groups and individuals. It is even possible to set up your own chatmail relay, but most people will want to use one hosted elsewhere. To keep your messages secure, Delta Chat uses a secure subset of the OpenPGP standard that gives you automatic end-to-end encryption. It also uses Secure-Join to exchange encryption setup information through QR-code scanning or invite links. Autocrypt is also used to automatically establish end-to-end encryption between contacts and all members of group chat, but sometime this year Autocrypt v2 will be rolled out, bringing post-quantum resistant encryption and forward secrecy. The Delta Chat FAQ is an interesting read that explains many more details about the app. Credit: Pexels Delta Chat is unique among messaging apps because it is built on email, a technology that’s decades old and isn’t going anywhere soon. What’s more is that email is not centralized either, so it’s far more difficult for any authoritarian regime to disrupt the Delta Chat app. I haven’t spoken too much about features yet, so I will do that now. Delta Chat allows you to do one-on-one chats, group chats, and create channels. It also supports file sharing and making audio and video calls when chatting one-to-one, but it’s not available for group chats right now. At the time of writing, the calling functionality is disabled and can be enabled in Settings > Advanced > Debug Calls. I have used the video calling feature, and the quality is excellent. It works over WebRTC, another open standard. The app also lets you send voice notes, enables disappearing messages, and has its own app ecosystem. I did try playing chess one time there, but it was a bit spotty; though, we did manage to complete the game with a victory for me. To add people to Delta Chat, you can either give them your Delta Chat link or your QR code to scan. These are the only ways to add users, so you won't have any spam bots bothering you. If the people you want to chat with don't have the app yet, just send them your link, and it will take them to a webpage where they can install the app and then add you. It's really quick for them to install it and get started, which is nice. Credit: Microsoft. The Majorana 2 quantum chip unveiled in 2026. I do not think quantum computers are too far out now, and I do hope that Delta Chat is able to push out Autocrypt v2 sooner, rather than later, so bad actors do not attempt to collect encrypted communications and then decrypt them in the future using quantum computers. By getting people’s messages post-quantum-safe now, users won’t have to worry when quantum computers start cracking legacy encryption. Overall, I would recommend this app to people who are already past WhatsApp and Messenger and have perhaps begun using apps like Telegram or Session. It shares a lot of characteristics with these apps and goes a lot further than Telegram in terms of security. By being based on email, it is also resistant to censorship, and the lack of a username and password makes you anonymous (if you want to be) and safe from brute force password cracking attempts. Let me know in the comments if you’ve tried Delta Chat recently. Do you think it's a good bulwark against governments that are tightening their grip on the internet?
    • Putin was behind Farage/Brexit and behind Trump/MAGA. Different idiot lying beasts, same fascist master. Same screwed up results for both nations.
    • For me the Final Fantasy games, Langrisser I & II, Hardspace: Shipbreaker, Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition, Metaphor: ReFantazio and LUNAR Remastered Collection
  • Recent Achievements

    • One Year In
      bernmeister earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Week One Done
      Scoobystu earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      tuben earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • First Post
      OffsetAbs earned a badge
      First Post
    • Reacting Well
      OffsetAbs earned a badge
      Reacting Well
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      465
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      217
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      155
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      74
    5. 5
      FloatingFatMan
      71
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!