h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

On a related theme...what *is* a dudgeon? Do you ever get low ones?

According to the OED: dudgeon - noun (often in phrase in high dudgeon) deep resentment.

So not a relative of the widgeon, then?

Name: MuseSusan

Chair title: Cardinal of Inductive Theology

Any beliefs you'd like to list so we can make fun- er... discuss them: Well…I often tell people that math is my religion. So my beliefs are mostly mathematical in nature.

Oh, I almost forgot! And I believe there should be a special h**l for those who abuse math in attempts to justify creationism.

Hi MuseSusan.

There's not much going down here at the moment, as you can probably tell. Anything in particular you'd like to discuss?

Yeah, I realized it was a bit slow around here, but I figured I'd better join up anyway.

Someone should say something interesting.

Most of the Atheist action these days seems to take place on the The God Delusion thread...but that has a tendency to descend into personal argy-bargy.

Possibly argy, but never bargy - this is a virtual world after all

Hi Suse - watch that bonobo, he'll pinch you and poke you and pull your hair if you let him...

Watch that Drood. He'll set the fairies on you.

Who you calling a fairy you big monkey

As you can see MuseSusan, this really is the place for eloquent, ground-breaking debate. Sometimes..

F

Oh, I believe it!

Appraise the lard!

OK...to try and kickstart it again...

A contributor to this thread used to pull me up regularly for making such unproven statements as 'There is no god'. OK - point taken. This seemed - and still seems - to me like a pedantry born of desperation.

Can we think of any other circumstances in which anyone would even dream of challenging equivalent statements, such as:
'Dinosaurs are extinct'

Dinosaurs aren't extinct. I can see two sparrows and a magpie as I type this.

So, apart from challenging equivalent statements etc., we've got to look at how we categorise things too.

Good point. So if anyone insists that there is (or may be) a god, I should insist that they define their terms?

Or maybe ask them to show me an example?

Yeah, what makes a god? Math's gods don't seem to be triple-O dudes, so maybe 'god' isn't the right name for them? Or at least some distinction should be made with the Abrahamic one.

Still, I doubt any religious person will show you anything.

Plus, oftentimes I suspect that these 'gods' are high-falutin' names for something that any sensible person knows by a far more ordinary name.