karim's recent activity

  1. Comment on Instagram's Nudify [non-consensual fake nude photo generator] ads in ~tech

    karim
    Link Parent
    Ninja edit: with regards to your final point, I generally agree with you I'll bet my neck and arms it'll be the opposite. It'll be souch worse. These things will be a mental health nightmare. A...

    Ninja edit: with regards to your final point, I generally agree with you

    health benefits with regard to lowering stress

    I'll bet my neck and arms it'll be the opposite.

    but can be addicting for depressed people.

    It'll be souch worse.

    These things will be a mental health nightmare. A large part of our mental health issues comes from isolation, and even though we can trick our brains to thinking we are connecting with people, deep down on our subconscious and body know we aren't connecting.

    Justifications for my conclusion:

    • Instant messaging didn't make feel connected, a lot of people around me (anecdotal, I know) feel lonely Even if they spent rhe ebtire day messaging.

    • Same goes for phone calls and video calls

    We need touch, we need another person's touch to feel connected. We are not our brains; our brains are just one part of us. We are still our arms, legs, chests, and fingers. We need to smell other people, see them, hear the, touch them, and live with them. That's what we evolved to do, and we can't trick millions of years of evolution in the span of 2 generatios.

    I believe that the majority of humans currently live in habitats not suited for human beings. We live in concrete jungles, surrouned by Constant noise from traffic, horrible air quality due to cars, and an extreme lack of greenery/plant life. Our foods are increasingly more processd and "fake", and filled with too much sugar.

    Technology is advancing far too quickly for our brains, and we have barely begun to grasp the drawbacks of these technologocal advancements. To make things worse, ad-serving corpos want these techs to be more than tools, they want our entire lives to revolve around them. Imagine a city square filled with ad-billboards, but now everywhere on our lives, and at every moment.

    Boy that was a long rant.

    I believe our tools need to remain that: tools. The convenience of modern tech is just that: a convenience. They aren't necessary for happiness and fulfillment. We have always been happy before tech, and we can remain happy without it.

    7 votes

  2. Comment on Rooftop solar panels are flooding California’s grid. That’s a problem. in ~enviro

    karim
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    Someone please enlighten me: Why cut down incentives for rooftop solar, instead of selling that excess energy elsewhere? e.g. to another state.

    Someone please enlighten me: Why cut down incentives for rooftop solar, instead of selling that excess energy elsewhere? e.g. to another state.

    4 votes

  3. Comment on New evidence found for Planet 9 in ~space

    karim
    Link Parent
    This is the process for finding the damn thing. IIRC, Neptune and Pluto where theorized to exist before we actually observed them. It's through these methods that we can hope to find such a dark,...

    This is the process for finding the damn thing. IIRC, Neptune and Pluto where theorized to exist before we actually observed them. It's through these methods that we can hope to find such a dark, far planet.

    6 votes

  4. Comment on FUTU is a Voice Input app for Android that respects user privacy in ~tech

    karim
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    In addition, you can make it the system voice app, so pressing the mic button in firefox will trigger FUTO.

    In addition, you can make it the system voice app, so pressing the mic button in firefox will trigger FUTO.

  5. Comment on FUTU is a Voice Input app for Android that respects user privacy in ~tech

    karim
    Link
    So I was looking for an app for voice input, Since there would be times when typing would be inconvenient, Such as when Walking outside, But I could never stomach using google's voicevoice...

    So I was looking for an app for voice input, Since there would be times when typing would be inconvenient, Such as when Walking outside, But I could never stomach using google's voicevoice assistant.

    I found FUTU short while ago, and it felt very polished. In fact, I wrote most of this comment using it.

    8 votes

  7. Comment on How do you organize your phone's home screens and apps? in ~tech

    karim
    Link Parent
    Guilty as charged.

    Bottom row has the four usual suspects pinned: Dialer, SMS, browser (Firefox) and OpenCamera.

    Guilty as charged.

    1 vote

  8. Comment on Scattered thoughts on the absurdity of existing in ~talk

    karim
    Link Parent
    And more than 4 days later I finally get to reply! You asked some really great questions, so I wanted to give them their fair share of thinking, and answer when I get to my laptop. Typing on...

    And more than 4 days later I finally get to reply! You asked some really great questions, so I wanted to give them their fair share of thinking, and answer when I get to my laptop. Typing on phones is a truly hellish experience, and today is the first time I interact with tildes using a desktop :D

    I would like to start with saying that in my theology, God is much much more grander and absolute than what I glean from your description. The universe itself is a creation. I will get to the "Why God?" question after I talk about the more important question imo "What is God?"

    Let's take a look at ourselves. I assume we both believe that we, humans, are conscious beings. We humans evidently create unconscious things, be they tools, machines, or even software. A spoon isn't conscious, yet it was created by humans, who are conscious beings. So the idea that God is a conscious being who created many unconscious beings is very much grounded in reality.

    In my Theology, Time and space are themselves a creation of God, God existed before them, and will exist after them, which is why it would be a logical error to assume that God has biological processes similar to those of ours, or that his thinking is constrained by the same laws of physics that he assigned to this universe. Therefore, what you said has merit:

    I struggle to think of a more unlikely thing to exist before existence than a being that gets angry, given that we know anger is only possible with electricity (needs stable physics) and hormones (needs physics to be so stable that chemistry is possible).

    Indeed, I agree with you. Such a being is very unlikely to exists. It's illogical for a being that is limited by its creation to exists before he created said creation. This is almost akin to saying God created him self, which is illogical. God being "created" implies that at some point, he didn't exist, which is limiting. A limited being is not worthy of being God, and not worthy of being worshiped, and indeed, seems wholly incapable of creating creation.

    That's why I believe God always Was, is, and will Be. God was not created, He Was. Do you get it? me neither, since God is truly is beyond our understanding. My theology is centered around observing just how much God is infinitely beyond my understanding. Knowing just how inferior I am humbles me, and makes me a good person.

    A tangent, "the more hostile the Universe is to being and existence" I disagree with this sentence :) From my PoV, the universe is very much accommodating to our existence. All the Supernovae, Gamma Ray Bursts, Blackhole mergers and start mergers, and all those spectacular spectacles, all of thsoe are merely a process by which we came to exists. Therefore, the Universe promotes existence in a limited way such that different Inter-galactic species won't attempt eradicate each other Stellaris-style :D

    Now, back to the initial question: Why God. Well, I don't claim to have come up with "God". I have come to learn of the idea of God through messengers, messengers who were contacted by God to spread his messages.

    Now, who's to say that those messengers are sane? real? right? etc... Those messengers could Fictional, they could've been mad, they could've been lying, etc... Each of these is a rabbit hole all on its own, and I've explored each until I've believed that indeed they have existed, and their messages make too much sense to be false.

    Why even explore whether God exists? well, either God exists or he doesn't. If he exists, I want to have done my due diligence, so that my afterlife isn't a miserable one. If God doesn't exist, my death will be end and I'll have lost nothing. So Why God? because believing in God is essentially a winning move in every way. This idea is called Pascal's Wager

    In a nutshell, Pascal posits

    Either God exists or He doesn't. Either I believe in God or I don't. Of the four possibilities, only one is to my disadvantage. To avoid that possibility, I believe in God.

    So, why God? because the only logical safe choice is to believe in God. It's the only 0 risk action to take.

    If you've read this far, then I want to give you my thanks :) I enjoyed replying, and your question was good.

    1 vote

  9. Comment on Scattered thoughts on the absurdity of existing in ~talk

    karim
    Link Parent
    EXACTLY! I follow the scientific method with regards to these question and theories. Indeed, even some of our most rigorous theories breakdown in some circumstances, e.g. Einstein's General...

    If gods fall because of mere questions imposed, I'd say they're weak gods

    EXACTLY! I follow the scientific method with regards to these question and theories. Indeed, even some of our most rigorous theories breakdown in some circumstances, e.g. Einstein's General Relativity breaks down at singularities, such as those at the center of a blackhole or the one at the beginning of the universe. Similarly, Quantum Field Theory breaks down when it comes to gravity. However, we keep using those theories because they explain so much.

    They offer the most correct explanations of many things, and no other theories come remotely close. These theories were tested to hell and back. We still try to test Einstien's theories whenever possible, the most recent test being gravitational waves. The way it goes in the scientific community is that, if you want to throw away an existing theory, you must provide another theory that's just as testable and satisfies the many many many experiments that previous theories endured.

    You start working on a new test to prove your theory?

    And that is one of the things people working on String Theory working on. One of the problems with String theory is that there no tests to validate it, compared to QFT and GR. over the centuries, there were many models for the atom, and when some tests proved a model false, scientists developed a new model, culminating with QFT.

    I mirror this with the matter of God, only unlike with hard science, the tests are philosophical in nature, and I will never be able to prove the existence of God, though that doesn't contradict with my absolute belief that he exists.

    An example: Let's assume for a moment that I believe God resides in the sky. This implies that God resides in a specific volume of space, therefore, God is limited by space. This contradicts with the notion that God is absolute, and is beyond the constraints of space that I believe he created, therefore this is false, and God encompasses everything, and is everywhere. Does the idea that God is beyond space contradict with anything else in my theology? if the answer is no, this means it's a more correct way of thinking.

    BTW I'm enjoying this little discussion :) This is the first time I got to put my theology in writing.

  10. Comment on Scattered thoughts on the absurdity of existing in ~talk

    karim
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    Nope, not interested in convincing anyone in this thread of anything. I'm mainly interested in gathering more questions and viewpoints for my own. Your post was interesting, so I eas interested in...

    Nope, not interested in convincing anyone in this thread of anything. I'm mainly interested in gathering more questions and viewpoints for my own. Your post was interesting, so I eas interested in your opinion.

    And your response os super interesting. I'm genuinely surprised to learn that what I wrote is similar to, if not the same as, rhetoric you've already seen; considering they every thing I wrote is in large part original thought that came as a result of rejecting the modern state of religions, and trying to find God myself. As a result this opinion you provided was valuable to me.

    That said, I'm a whole lot younger than 30 yo. I don't doubt my faith, so you could say I'm interested in debate, because I want to think about answers to more and more stuff. I'm really interested on the philosophic aspect of religion on general. To me, these questions everyone asks are like the tests by which I solidify my theory. If a test proves my theory false, I'll start working on a new one.

  11. Comment on Scattered thoughts on the absurdity of existing in ~talk

    karim
    Link Parent
    But who's to say that this is nasty and brutish? The yellow jacket did not feel malice, only acted to satiate its need for sustenance. The butterfly doesn't care, only existing to existence of its...

    a butterfly being stung to death by yellow jackets

    But who's to say that this is nasty and brutish? The yellow jacket did not feel malice, only acted to satiate its need for sustenance. The butterfly doesn't care, only existing to existence of its species. In this dance of life, there is no evil, no malice, as such concepts only arise when one has a mind to conceptualize them.

    In this balanced dance of life, how does this yellow jacket killing the butterfly to preserve the balance of the ecosystem, different from a killer T cell killing another of your cells to preserve the balance of your body?

  12. Comment on Scattered thoughts on the absurdity of existing in ~talk

    karim
    Link Parent
    C) There was that which had no cause, and caused the universe to exist. That, to me, is God. I reach this conclusion by process of elimination. Eliminating everything that conflicts with my Axiom.

    or it had a cause, which then must necessarily have had a cause.

    If you have an option c that gets around that, I'm all ears

    C) There was that which had no cause, and caused the universe to exist. That, to me, is God. I reach this conclusion by process of elimination. Eliminating everything that conflicts with my Axiom.

  13. Comment on Scattered thoughts on the absurdity of existing in ~talk

  14. Comment on Scattered thoughts on the absurdity of existing in ~talk

    karim
    Link Parent
    Because I think, therefore know I am. I express my ideas, and speak to this astroid, yet it doesn't reply, it doesn't acknowledge my existence, so it's different from me, it does not think, thus I...

    Because I think, therefore know I am. I express my ideas, and speak to this astroid, yet it doesn't reply, it doesn't acknowledge my existence, so it's different from me, it does not think, thus I may have a purpose even though it does not.

    But, if this astroid could think, who's to say it's not pondering its purpose in this grand universe? Could it be that it tries to speak with us, yet we don't reply to it, not acknowledge its existence in a way it understands?

  15. Comment on Scattered thoughts on the absurdity of existing in ~talk

    karim
    Link Parent
    So to tie my other reply to you in this thread to these questions, I believe everything must have a causez except for the first which had no cause, that first which is God, as this is the only...

    So to tie my other reply to you in this thread to these questions,

    I believe everything must have a causez except for the first which had no cause, that first which is God, as this is the only logical way for my own existence to be logical. I go at length in my comment linked above.

    BTW I'm really thankful to you for having started this discussion. I love question ls that force me to dig deeper into my belief system and think more about things I took for granted. In fact, I find that such discussions strength len my faith in God.

    1 vote

  16. Comment on Scattered thoughts on the absurdity of existing in ~talk

    karim
    Link Parent
    This is an interesting topic all on its own, I'm glad you brought it up. I'll try to tackle it from my theist perspective. The axiom on which I base what follows is "We exist" . We are. We are...

    because it doesn't solve the fundamental problem of how something can exist to begin with

    This is an interesting topic all on its own, I'm glad you brought it up. I'll try to tackle it from my theist perspective.

    The axiom on which I base what follows is "We exist" . We are. We are here. We are now. And we will be in the next second, And we were here a second ago, There was a time when I didn't exist, and there will be a time where I won't exist.

    So the axiom presumes the Boltzmann brain hypothesis false, since if it were true, there wouldn't be a meaning in discussing everything, yet you found some meaning to start this discussion, and I found another to participate.

    We exist, and the universe exists, we part of this existing universe, existing in tandum. This universe, according to scientific consensus, had a beginning that is the Big Bang, and this is where our concrete, mental knowledge stops and we veer into the realm of Philosophy and Beliefs trying to make sense of things rather than proposing a scientific experiment to test a theory.

    Such philosophic thinking to me is all about trying to fit your knowledge and unknowns into a coherent structure that doesn't scream "This doesn't make sense".

    So, we exist, but what was there before our existence? Before the Big Bang? A cycle of one Bang after another? But where is this matter coming from? From whence di it exist?

    For our existence to make sense, there has to be a first, that which has always existed, and that never did-not-exist. That, to me, is God. So the answer to this paradox is that God did not, at any point in any definition of time, not exist. Even our own concept of time is a creation, it is inherently part of our universe, and inherently linked space, forming Space-Time.

    Before time exists God, and after time God exists. That's what one means by saying that God is eternal. He is eternal in the total absolute sense.

    I realize that this might sound like I'm side-stepping the question of how something can exist, this is not my intention. But my point is (according to my Theology and Philosophy) that "How did God exist" is not a coherent question in this framework, as God has always been there. God did not exist. Existence did not happen to God. God Is, God Was, And God will always Be. God created Existence, and in this existence he created the universe, and us.

    So, according to my philosophy, the question of "How does God come to exist" contradicts my premise that I exist, and that there was a time when I didn't exist.

    I hope my exploration of this topic is interesting to you!

    1 vote

  17. Comment on Scattered thoughts on the absurdity of existing in ~talk

    karim
    Link Parent
    Scrolling in this thread, I love the wide variety of different takes expressed on this matter, and I'm glad I decided to add my theist perspective into this pot of different ideas. I agree, it's...

    Scrolling in this thread, I love the wide variety of different takes expressed on this matter, and I'm glad I decided to add my theist perspective into this pot of different ideas.

    Life isn't an algorithm. Or, at least, not one humanity will ever be in a position to solve

    I agree, it's good to make peace with our limitations, and play life's game using its own rules, without lamenting the way the rules are laid out.

    1 vote

  18. Comment on Scattered thoughts on the absurdity of existing in ~talk

    karim
    Link Parent
    Quantum Physics is juatbso mind boggling and awe inspiring. That, everything on the entire universe is just composed of the same raw ingredients stirring in a pot of Gravity is such a picture. The...

    Quantum Physics is juatbso mind boggling and awe inspiring. That, everything on the entire universe is just composed of the same raw ingredients stirring in a pot of Gravity is such a picture.

    The way life is just a matter to resist entropy, to keep little pockets of order inside the absolutely chaotic whole that isnthe entire universe. Juat amazing.

  19. Comment on Scattered thoughts on the absurdity of existing in ~talk

    karim
    Link Parent
    I already wrote in length about my theist beliefs in another comment so I won't repeat, but, regarding this point This is where I disagree. God not intervening is what actually allows us to have...

    I already wrote in length about my theist beliefs in another comment so I won't repeat, but, regarding this point

    Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.

    This is where I disagree. God not intervening is what actually allows us to have freewill. But what about all the evil being committee freely by Man? Well, God promised to recompense everyone for all Injustice inflicted, and promised that all who inflicted Injustice will be judged fairly, just not in this life. Evil will be justly punished, and judgement will be wise, this is the crux of this particular point on my belief system.

    And, is not a good trade, to suffer some injustice for a finite 80 years, then enjoy happiness for eternity? To me, this is far from malevolent, this is extremely generous, and all I'm asked for is to just Worship God.

    1 vote

  20. Comment on Scattered thoughts on the absurdity of existing in ~talk

    karim
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    I will be speaking as a theist, and hopefully I'm able to conveyy beliefs about God, why we exist, and how it makes me feel. I won't state my religion outright, just that it's Abrahemic. To begin...

    I will be speaking as a theist, and hopefully I'm able to conveyy beliefs about God, why we exist, and how it makes me feel. I won't state my religion outright, just that it's Abrahemic.

    To begin with, God is eternal, and absolute. Godnis the first , and God is the last. Godnhas always existed and will always exist. This is a belief. God can't be proved or disproved, and that's the point. Why? This leads to the second point.

    Why do we exist? I believe that God created us to Worship him, that is, the sole and primary reason for our existence is to worship God completely willingly, and freely. To worship him despite never being ever certain that he exists, Of God could be proved, there will be no choice but to worship him, thus negating our free will.

    An obvious question is why does God want to us to Worship him. Well, I don't know, and no human or Angel was ever privy to such knowledge. My belief is that only God knows why, so no use thinking about it.

    Important to say this before the next point: To God belong all good names, he is The Merciful, The Just, The all-knowing, The all-seeing, The Forgiver, The Kind, The all-powerful, The Wise, The Patient, and all other good titles. Again, this is belief, and I can't believe otherwise since to me, a god that's not any of these things can't be a god.

    Our mortal life is inherently unfair, because Man (mankind) is free to do what it wishes, including all manners of Injustice. If God intervened, that would interfere with our free will.

    But that's only for our mortal life. God didn't create us for funzies, and he won't let Injustice go without consequence. For that there is a judgement day, where The Most Just will judge all, and give everyone back their deserved rights. All under a framework of Mercy, Wisdom, and Justice.

    As such, nothing worldy matters. Money, health, power, whatever, won't matter. How much do humans live? A 100 years max? 150? How much has humanity existed? 10k years? 100k? 200k (homo spaiens)? In my Belief, there is an eternity after death, and I mean eternity eternity, never ending until God wishes so. So even if my life consisted of a 100 years of suffering, there IS something after death, thus I can keep my piece of mind.

    Addenum: There can't be conflict between science and religion. Any presumed conflict is a product of Man's ignorance and arrogant interpretation of Religion.

    2 votes