Knowledge (or rather lack of it) can be a powerful turn off.

[koti]

So a friend of mine who owns and runs a couple of local pharmacies got divorced recently. We have sit downs from time to time to exchange knowledge - I give him some physics, he gives me chemistry/biology. He's back on the dating market, he recently (hes 44) met a girl (35) at some party, they ended up on his porch watching the stars on a stary night. She inquired that the stars look so beautiful but they're probably very far away - like 200km far away. She also asked him what is Oligocen water (theres a lot of wells here, everybody knows/uses them), weather it is called   "Oligocen" because its holy water or maybe something else.

The end. 

[Silvestru]

18 minutes ago, koti said:

So a friend of mine who owns and runs a couple of local pharmacies got divorced recently. We have sit downs from time to time to exchange knowledge - I give him some physics, he gives me chemistry/biology. He's back on the dating market, he recently (hes 44) met a girl (35) at some party, they ended up on his porch watching the stars on a stary night. She inquired that the stars look so beautiful but they're probably very far away - like 200km far away. She also asked him what is Oligocen water (theres a lot of wells here, everybody knows/uses them), weather it is called   "Oligocen" because its holy water or maybe something else.

The end. 

Hahah. I will be honest with you koti,(even though this might not be the best place to do it) I have been living in Poland since I'm 21. It's a known thing that guys include some lies about them when first meeting a girl just to impress them, convince them to see them again etc. But only in Poland have I had to lie about my interest in religion or lack of more accurately.

I never referred to myself as an atheist or agnostic or whatever, like politics, I have no affiliation, and like politics I am not saying it's not important but just me personally - I don't care - but when some people hear that you are not interested in this subject in some parts of Poland, you might as well say that you are a serial killer, the reaction is the same.

I have many cringe moments like "physics is evil because they worship dark energy " or that CERN has the statue of a demon right in front and people just wont wake up to the truth. 
I stood and listen to all of that with a straight face knowing that I would never change their mind so I was just like: "Yeah, crazy hehe". 
So yeah, I stand before you guilty of being a extreme compromiser and many other things. If your friend likes the girl, I say go ahead. They just have different interests. Many Christians are good at heart. Maybe better that people who don't believe in anything (that's just speculation on my part).

Edited June 14, 2018 by Silvestru

[koti]

17 minutes ago, Silvestru said:

Hahah. I will be honest with you koti,(even though this might not be the best place to do it) I have been living in Poland since I'm 21. It's a known thing that guys include some lies about them when first meeting a girl just to impress them, convince them to see them again etc. But only in Poland have I had to lie about my interest in religion or lack of more accurately.

I never referred to myself as an atheist or agnostic or whatever, like politics, I have no affiliation, and like politics I am not saying it's not important but just me personally - I don't care - but when some people hear that you are not interested in this subject in some parts of Poland, you might as well say that you are a serial killer, the reaction is the same.

I have many cringe moments like "physics is evil because they worship dark energy " or that CERN has the statue of a demon right in front and people just wont wake up to the truth. 
I stood and listen to all of that with a straight face knowing that I would never change their mind so I was just like: "Yeah, crazy hehe". 
So yeah, I stand before you guilty of being a extreme compromiser and many other things. If your friend likes the girl, I say go ahead. They just have different interests. Many Christians are good at heart. Maybe better that people who don't believe in anything (that's just speculation on my part).

Since you were 21 you say, Im stuck here all my life with a brief 3 years in the US.   Youve seen my posts so you know my position on things, I just stopped talking to most people both live and online, I started to choose more carefuly how I spend my time (I guess Im on my way to becoming a recluse) Morons are kryptonite for me and that is something I’m working on to overcome, no matter how hard I try the excersizes keep coming in almost every day. I’m just gonna skip the „better than people who don’t believe in anything” part, lets not make this lounge chat into a religious thread. The Cern/dark energy thing you mention is just about in the same ball park as 200km to the stars and Oligocene water being holy. My friend dumped her before it became anything serious btw...I kind of regret not meeting her, there seems to be a masochistic part to me. 

[StringJunky]

8 minutes ago, koti said:

Since you were 21 you say, Im stuck here all my life with a brief 3 years in the US.   Youve seen my posts so you know my position on things, I just stopped talking to most people both live and online, I started to choose more carefuly how I spend my time (I guess Im on my way to becoming a recluse) Morons are kryptonite for me and that is something I’m working on to overcome, no matter how hard I try the excersizes keep coming in almost every day. I’m just gonna skip the „better than people who don’t believe in anything” part, lets not make this lounge chat into a religious thread. The Cern/dark energy thing you mention is just about in the same ball park as 200km to the stars and Oligocene water being holy. My friend dumped her before it became anything serious btw...I kind of regret not meeting her, there seems to be a masochistic part to me. 

She is the norm and we are the exception. Only about 7% of the world is atheist and the rest probably have all manner of beliefs. How many of those 7% atheists fully subscribe to the scientific method?  Not many, I bet. At best, science has cult status and not mainstream.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_atheism

[koti]

4 minutes ago, StringJunky said:

She is the norm and we are the exception. Only about 7% of the world is atheist and the rest probably have all manner of beliefs. How many of those 7% atheists fully subscribe to the scientific method?  Not many, I bet. At best, science has cult status and not mainstream.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_atheism

Any tips on places to move to in Asia? Its got to be warm with lots of beautiful nature preferably a mixture of ocean, forests and mountains - but thats New Zealand.

„Of the global atheist and non-religious population, 76% reside in Asia and the Pacific, while the remainder reside in Europe (12%), North America (5%), Latin America and the Caribbean (4%), sub-Saharan Africa (2%) and the Middle East and North Africa (less than 1%).^[6]”

[Silvestru]

9 minutes ago, koti said:

I kind of regret not meeting her, there seems to be a masochistic part to me. 

Haha well the problem is that you are the minority, If you disagree with the CERN demon thing, they will thing you are ignorant. 
You can't become a recluse. Just avoid opening some topics with certain people. I have friends that eat McSunday's with fries and just dip the fries in the Ice cream. I find that absolutely disgusting. I just ignore it. 

About morons I feel the same but I have recently met very educated people and we talk about physics and stuff and I realise that for them, I am the moron haha but they are very patient in explaining and if they see I don't get it they just change the subject and that makes me feel happy. I think of those times when I hear my friends pitching theories from Ancient Aliens (but really the lowest of low) and when I explain why it's absolutely bullshit they obviously will be more inclined to believe the TV people. They wouldn't be on TV is it was bullshit right?
Disclaimer: I probably had my odd share of pseudoscience posts especially at the beginning ) 

[StringJunky]

1 minute ago, koti said:

Any tips on places to move to in Asia? Its got to be warm with lots of beautiful nature preferably a mixture of ocean, forests and mountains - but thats New Zealand.

„Of the global atheist and non-religious population, 76% reside in Asia and the Pacific, while the remainder reside in Europe (12%), North America (5%), Latin America and the Caribbean (4%), sub-Saharan Africa (2%) and the Middle East and North Africa (less than 1%).^[6]”

Shocking isn't it? 12% and 5% for Europe and N. America.

[YaDinghus]

2 minutes ago, koti said:

Any tips on places to move to in Asia? Its got to be warm with lots of beautiful nature preferably a mixture of ocean, forests and mountains - but thats New Zealand.

„Of the global atheist and non-religious population, 76% reside in Asia and the Pacific, while the remainder reside in Europe (12%), North America (5%), Latin America and the Caribbean (4%), sub-Saharan Africa (2%) and the Middle East and North Africa (less than 1%).^[6]”

I guess China is quite tolerant of Atheists. If you've got money, like 100k € and more, you can live quite comfortably for a few years there, and if you're an academic (which I gather you are) you'll have good job opportunities there. If you really like the market economy, though, you could also like South Korea

[Ten oz]

Attraction transcends likeness of world view and information. I am not merely referring to sexual attraction. Some people are simply a pleasure to be around while others are not. What knowledge a person knows at any given time in their life often has a lot to do with upbringing and environment and not their over all intelligence and ability to form new and unique ideas. Someone who believes the earth is flat and just 10,000 yrs old can still have numerous positive personality traits. Also attitudes change with time. With regards to dating or even just hanging out with people socially I go by how I feel  when I am looking in someones eyes. If the person strikes me as fun (my unique idea of whatever that is) then I will seek to spend more time with them. Religious belief and world view would not be a barrier to me dating someone if I were single. 

[Sensei]

1 hour ago, koti said:

She inquired that the stars look so beautiful but they're probably very far away - like 200km far away.

In similar cases I am turning on "Sensei-mode", and try to explain things to people. Three months ago, I was explaining how to measure distance to distant stars using parallax technique to clerk in the shop with alcohol at 2-3 at night.

[Silvestru]

2 minutes ago, Sensei said:

In similar cases I am turning on "Sensei-mode", and try to explain things to people. Three months ago, I was explaining how to measure distance to distant stars using parallax technique to clerk in the shop with alcohol at 2-3 at night.

Haha Can I ask which country this was in Sensei? I have a hunch it's Eastern Europe.

[nevim]

Silvestru and Koti - just cross the border into the least religious country in Europe...

[koti]

3 minutes ago, nevim said:

Silvestru and Koti - just cross the border into the least religious country in Europe...

And eat "knedliki" forever? That's living hell  

[nevim]

Hell yeah, it is!

[Phi for All]

Last time I got new tires, I had to listen to one end of a telephone conversation where the guy was explaining how fire was one of the elements. Between that and the ratchet wrenches I was happy to get out of there!

[MigL]

The world would be a boring place if everyone thought the same.

[Sensei]

53 minutes ago, Phi for All said:

Last time I got new tires, I had to listen to one end of a telephone conversation where the guy was explaining how fire was one of the elements.

Honestly, I would love to have such conversation..

 

This is very common misconception. Greek's "elements classification" is modern "state of the matter" classification..

Fire = plasma state, ground = solid state, water = liquid state, air = gaseous state of the matter..

If they found Gold ("ground-element"="solid state") do you think they treat/think it is the same as e.g. Silver (also "ground-element").. ? Obviously not..

 

[Mordred]

1 hour ago, MigL said:

The world would be a boring place if everyone thought the same.

If everyone thought like me it would be in dire straits lol

[Sensei]

14 hours ago, Silvestru said:

Haha Can I ask which country this was in Sensei? I have a hunch it's Eastern Europe.

I am where I am... simply passing through the Universe...

 

[Ten oz]

22 hours ago, koti said:

Since you were 21 you say, Im stuck here all my life with a brief 3 years in the US.   Youve seen my posts so you know my position on things, I just stopped talking to most people both live and online, I started to choose more carefuly how I spend my time (I guess Im on my way to becoming a recluse) Morons are kryptonite for me and that is something I’m working on to overcome, no matter how hard I try the excersizes keep coming in almost every day. I’m just gonna skip the „better than people who don’t believe in anything” part, lets not make this lounge chat into a religious thread. The Cern/dark energy thing you mention is just about in the same ball park as 200km to the stars and Oligocene water being holy. My friend dumped her before it became anything serious btw...I kind of regret not meeting her, there seems to be a masochistic part to me. 

As a younger man I "dumped" a lot (relative to my own experience) of girls. Looking back it was me that was the problem. Every girl I ever dated was actually very nice and it is a shame they wasted their energy on this jerk, hahaha. In my experience (limited by gender, national culture, years of earth, etc) when an individual who is otherwise capable of meeting a mate remains single in adulthood the issue is with them and not with others. Some people do prefer being alone but often it comes down to an inability to truly empathize with others and share ones true self. I have never been on a date with someone perfect nor am I perfect. While on a date one can choose to enjoy it or not. When a person agree to date another it a rather big compliment when you stop to think about it. While on a date you are with someone who in theory has a high opinion of you. Turning that around into judgments about  their intelligence is a bit petty. Dumping, kickin' to the curb, ghosting, and etc someone who simply likes you is immature behavior in my opinion. Not everyone is meant to be together but there are polite ways to end things and reflect upon them after they have ended. 

* I have been married for 10yrs now and barring some unforeseen circumstance will be for the rest of my life.  

 

[koti]

28 minutes ago, Ten oz said:

As a younger man I "dumped" a lot (relative to my own experience) of girls. Looking back it was me that was the problem. Every girl I ever dated was actually very nice and it is a shame they wasted their energy on this jerk, hahaha. In my experience (limited by gender, national culture, years of earth, etc) when an individual who is otherwise capable of meeting a mate remains single in adulthood the issue is with them and not with others. Some people do prefer being alone but often it comes down to an inability to truly empathize with others and share ones true self. I have never been on a date with someone perfect nor am I perfect. While on a date one can choose to enjoy it or not. When a person agree to date another it a rather big compliment when you stop to think about it. While on a date you are with someone who in theory has a high opinion of you. Turning that around into judgments about  their intelligence is a bit petty. Dumping, kickin' to the curb, ghosting, and etc someone who simply likes you is immature behavior in my opinion. Not everyone is meant to be together but there are polite ways to end things and reflect upon them after they have ended. 

* I have been married for 10yrs now and barring some unforeseen circumstance will be for the rest of my life.  

 

Right. Let me get you her phone number, you can then politely start explaining to her that stars are further away than the next city and that Oligocene water isn’t called that because its holy  

[Ten oz]

7 minutes ago, koti said:

Right. Let me get you her phone number, you can then politely start explaining to her that stars are further away than the next city and that Oligocene water isn’t called that because its holy  

We are all guilty of not knowing otherwise basic bits of information. I thought Nova Scotia was in the UK until I was about 20yrs old. I had seen an old Sean Connery movie as a kid where he was playing an official in Nova Scotia and just associated Nova Scotia with the UK and figured they were geographically close. 

[koti]

4 minutes ago, Ten oz said:

We are all guilty of not knowing otherwise basic bits of information. I thought Nova Scotia was in the UK until I was about 20yrs old. I had seen an old Sean Connery movie as a kid where he was playing an official in Nova Scotia and just associated Nova Scotia with the UK and figured they were geographically close. 

Your Nova Scotia example is a faux pas but its the kind of a faux pas that most of us made in their life when young. Stars 200km away are in my opinion in a league of its own though especially for a 35 year old adult. Do you want the number then?  

[Silvestru]

36 minutes ago, koti said:

 Do you want the number then?  

We are ***es. Poor woman. Can you imagine if I call her and tell her that a 200km away star spoke to me from the heavens and gave me her number because we are meant to date.

But in all seriousness some people over 40 from eastern Europe have had 0 education on physics or astronomy in school and are not really adapted to the internet age so they can't "google it" and didn't watch Cosmos online. It's not really their fault.

Few years ago I was telling my friends about someone screaming in space and they told me that sound does not travel in the void of space. I stopped in shame. 

That might be on the 200km level.  

[koti]

10 minutes ago, Silvestru said:

...It's not really their fault.

Few years ago I was telling my friends about someone screaming in space and they told me that sound does not travel in the void of space. I stopped in shame. 

That might be on the 200km level.  

Ok, I gotta ask. Whos fault is it? Eastern Europe is not tribal Africa and there is access to education here...anyone who is willing has the means of obtaining the information required to know that stars are not 200km from Earth. 

As for your shame concerning sound in space, hold on right there. You can go back to these folks and tell them that sound waves can propagate in space as space is not a complete vacum. There is dust and gasses in space which are capable of carrying sound waves. The particles are very spread out though and the resulting sound waves would be extremely low frequency therefore beyond human hearing capabilities but sound waves can propagate in space.