gcol

Memory is surely as important as intelligence, academically. I seem to remember often having brilliant ideas and insights, but a week later, I have forgotten them.... I have heard that intelligence, as measured by standard tests, increases with age. Does that mean you do your best work on the day you die? At my place of work, many years ago, the whole workforce was tested. All the techies beat the management. The results were, unsurprisingly, suppressed. We were smart and happy, they were dumb and miserable. My IQ I believe to be in the mid 120's. Probably average for this forum. That begs the question, when the poll requires it, should that be vs average population?

1. Unless I have misunderstood the thrust of this thread, it is exploring the push/pull gravity hypothesis, which a quick google will show has been well chewed over and is not new. 2. See theories by Wright, among others. 3. If I am at all correct, should not this thread be in Speculations?

There was a time, some years ago, when having only classical notions of infinity, I would have voted no. But now I have been converted. Hallelujah. I prefer to think of space not being a separate entity but being, like time, merely a workspace within which things exist and events happen. Space and time may not have a priori existence

Martin: Your last couple of posts have been (unless I have misunderstood, again...) extremely illuminating. I can now visualise how space could be both infinite and finite at the same time. I am bathed in an unfocussed corpuscular glow of self-satisfaction. Ta very much.

iNow: Very amusing. However, I saw just the first three scenes and sort of guessed at the fourth before scrolling down. I guessed that all the stock had gone before they made up their minds. A fifth scene, perhaps? Or: The sum total of an infinity of dithering equals zero (or something like that).

If quantum mechanics indicates that every smallest particle of matter is surrounded by a "halo" of uncertainty, and at the very edge of the expanding universe the "bow-wave" of this uncertainty may extend an indefinite distance, some precursor effect of matter will always be in advance of anything actually measurable, perhaps?

...... And can we envisage anything more massless than empty space.....?

I voted yes because I considered the word "can" to be a variant of the word "could" in Martin's other question. I suspect that only a small tweak to relativity might allow it. Beware the Known unknowns and unknown unknowns.

As already said, I had to vote yes, because of the word "could". As we do not know, anything could be possible.

I came out about the same. Then I did it again, ticking every minimum box I could. Came out at 1.69. Still damned. I reckon if I was dead they would still say I was destroying the planet. It's just a scam to get you to pay money and sign up to something. The questionaire is a bit of a joke, I sniggered, but the already converted won't laugh, I guess.

I taught my son to play chess, played lots, until he began to beat me, then I lost interest. I wonder why?

If it is a question of semantics, can I think just in terms of opposite forces attracting, and areas of unequal "potential" tending to move towards resolution (equilibrium). No pushing or pulling, no up or down?

JohnB: Thanks. honest. I follow this thread with much interest, though unable to make any scientific contribution. I declare myself a bit sceptical, especially where so much corporate profit, political advantage, and tax revenue is involved. keep on digging.

iKnow: Just to clarify, I have not (yet?) received any naughty points in this thread. Thanks for riding to my defence, I apologise to you for misleading you into danger. I wonder if YT hs suffered a "two horse split" injury. Very painful. Hope he recovers soon.

Indeed, every child would probably agree with you. But for a meaningful adult learning experience, surely the unambiguity and clarity of Black and White is preferable? Young minds like pretty things.

Because I consider faith and reason to be horses of incompatible temperament, that view makes no sense to me, so I am unable to answer it. Perhaps someone with no fear of 100 lashes worth of penalty points can respond instead?

How very fair and even handed of you, aimed equally at single horse riders, whatever the name of their steed. Your circus act should command premium prices.

Why will the topic not go away? While pondering it yesterday evening, An image of a circus performer came to mind. He rides two horses, a foot on each. One was named Belief system, the other Scientific Rigour. By great skill and practice, the rider managed to control both horses, to the enthusiastic amazement of the audience, who having paid their money, were suitably entertained. All was well for a while, until the horses diverged, they appeared to distrust each other, and the rider, to avoid a serious case of split personality, was eventually forced to firmly plant both feet on one horse, at which point the audience lost interest and yawned. Moral: 1. If wanting to do some serious horseriding, learn to sit on it properly. 2. If wanting to control different horses simultaneously, sit in a carriage and use long reins. 3. Steer clear of horses that seem predisposed to run in different directions. (Some horses even seem to be able to run quite fast backwards).

That is thought provoking. What might be a better indicator?

Why is it that the street named "sweet resonableness" always has a a one-way sign, and I of course am the only traveller who obeys it. (in my opinion, according to my beliefs).

Ah, deep sigh.....you are all so right. And I, being a paragon of moral rectitude and blessed with divine revelation, am also indisputably right. I hereby solemnly declare, from my morally superior viewpoint, that as a gesture of reconcilliation I shall abjure from from using the troublesome R******* word, and substitute Belief System. If anyone takes offense at that, I shall know where you are coming from..... Go on, please give me some more infraction points..... I regard them as a badge of courage, the same as my reaction, and that of my peers, to getting six-of-the-best, on the arse, with the cane, at school. No, I won't show the scars.

That is a prime example of why we get nowhere, and where mods themselves contribute to the problem. Anyone who disagrees with you is ignorant and narrow-minded. Of course, how dare anyone disagree.

My comment was made in the spirit (so I thought) of the OP. If your health insurance allows it, perhaps you need to get a humour scan:-) Anyway, I am a fully qualified ignoramus. What are your bona fides?

G'day, mate, Don't you have one of those fancy cross things on your flag, too? And as for those seven-pointed stars, see this :http://altreligion.about.com/library/glossary/symbols/blstarsymbols.htm The seven point star is apparently a pagan/wiccan symbol. So who pinched whose star, then? There is a lot of interesting info about symbols there, plenty of scope for mischief-making> How about this (from the above site), re the fish, or "vessica" "In Pagan times, this glyph was associated with the Goddess Venus, and represented female genitalia. Early depictions of Christ depict him as an infant within the vesica (usually called a mandorla, meaning 'almond shaped.'), which represented the womb of Mary (and often, the coming together of heaven and earth in the body of jesus- part man, part god). As such, it is also a doorway or portal between worlds, and symbolizes the intersection between the heaven and the material plane. The shape of arches in gothic architecture is based on the vesica."

Could he still be president while living in Gitmo?