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How to make something look as if it exists

aiia's picture
Submitted by aiia on November 14, 2006 - 2:15am.

Something to Ponder When Dealing With Xians
Hugh Fogelman

Abraham Lincoln used to ask this question: "How many legs does a horse have if you call its tail a leg?"

What do you think the answer is? Some people say 5, or 4 or 3, or 1 or trying to outsmart the person who asks the question, zero.

But the answer Lincoln gave is "4." Calling "a tail" a leg does not make it a leg. A leg has definite properties. A leg is very different from an arm, or hip, face, or back.

When I first heard this I thought it was just a joke. But Lincoln had serious reasons for asking the question.

So often lawyers refer to something as "X" even when that itself is the issue in dispute. "When did you sign the contract?" sounds like a question about when, but in cases where the piece of paper is not a contract, the goal of the question is to get all those listening to think that it is already decided -- that it is a contract and that there is no doubt.

This applies to when Christians make up catchy phrases that have lasted a lifetime. That really doesn’t make it correct, just because those catchy phrases caught on. Is a lie still a lie, even though millions of people think it’s the truth?

People who think there is something they refer to as god don't ask enough questions.

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That or you could learn

Submitted by Voided on November 14, 2006 - 3:22am.

That or you could learn magic tricks.

Dissident1's picture

I once dealt with a

Submitted by Dissident1 on November 14, 2006 - 6:12pm.

I once dealt with a christian who argued with me that, since he believes there is a god, there must actually be a god.

I am become death, destroyer of worlds

Bodhitharta's picture

AiiA wrote: Something to

Submitted by Bodhitharta on February 6, 2007 - 3:06am.

AiiA wrote:
Something to Ponder When Dealing With Xians Hugh Fogelman Abraham Lincoln used to ask this question: "How many legs does a horse have if you call its tail a leg?" What do you think the answer is? Some people say 5, or 4 or 3, or 1 or trying to outsmart the person who asks the question, zero. But the answer Lincoln gave is "4." Calling "a tail" a leg does not make it a leg. A leg has definite properties. A leg is very different from an arm, or hip, face, or back. When I first heard this I thought it was just a joke. But Lincoln had serious reasons for asking the question. So often lawyers refer to something as "X" even when that itself is the issue in dispute. "When did you sign the contract?" sounds like a question about when, but in cases where the piece of paper is not a contract, the goal of the question is to get all those listening to think that it is already decided -- that it is a contract and that there is no doubt. This applies to when Christians make up catchy phrases that have lasted a lifetime. That really doesn’t make it correct, just because those catchy phrases caught on. Is a lie still a lie, even though millions of people think it’s the truth?

 

Yea! Just look at evolution, calling fossils anything other than what they are won't make them anything but fossils of know existed animals and not part of any tree, right? 

Then he is of those who believe and charge one another to show patience, and charge one another to show compassion.

aiia's picture

Bodhitharta wrote: Yea!

Submitted by aiia on February 6, 2007 - 4:07am.

Bodhitharta wrote:
Yea! Just look at evolution, calling fossils anything other than what they are won't make them anything but fossils of know existed animals and not part of any tree, right?

YEAH!
Just look at your childish belief in magic! Calling allah a god doesnt make allah a god does it!
If you're too stupid to understand evolution, it does not in any way discredit evolution as a scientific fact; it just proves you are a stupid ass.

People who think there is something they refer to as god don't ask enough questions.

Bodhitharta's picture

AiiA wrote: Bodhitharta

Submitted by Bodhitharta on February 6, 2007 - 12:12pm.

AiiA wrote:

Bodhitharta wrote:
Yea! Just look at evolution, calling fossils anything other than what they are won't make them anything but fossils of know existed animals and not part of any tree, right?

YEAH!
Just look at your childish belief in magic! Calling allah a god doesnt make allah a god does it!
If you're too stupid to understand evolution, it does not in any way discredit evolution as a scientific fact; it just proves you are a stupid ass.

 

Come'on bud don't let them make a monkey out of you. ROTF. lol.... Evolution is not a scientific fact.

Then he is of those who believe and charge one another to show patience, and charge one another to show compassion.

aiia's picture

Bodhitharta wrote:Come'on

Submitted by aiia on February 6, 2007 - 12:58pm.

Bodhitharta wrote:
Something stupid
come on idiot don't let them make a pigs ass out of you. The quran is a bible of irrational ravings of insane uneducated people wielding swords and knives killing whoever did not agree with their incoherent ramblings.

People who think there is something they refer to as god don't ask enough questions.

Bodhitharta's picture

AiiA wrote: Bodhitharta

Submitted by Bodhitharta on February 6, 2007 - 6:11pm.

AiiA wrote:
Bodhitharta wrote:
Something stupid
come on idiot don't let them make a pigs ass out of you. The quran is a bible of irrational ravings of insane uneducated people wielding swords and knives killing whoever did not agree with their incoherent ramblings.

 

That's not really true, is it?

Then he is of those who believe and charge one another to show patience, and charge one another to show compassion.