Ask an atheist

[Wedjat]

Oh wow, I didn't expect this thread to still be active, I feel like I've been gone for so long, though I guess it's just been less than a year. Anyway, on to the questions.

Do you believe the Universe created itself?

That's a tough one actually. I can't say I do being that in order to create itself the universe would first have to exist. I do think that the universe most likely came about through natural processes whose mechanisms are not currently understood. There are a lot of competing ideas out there and at this point we just have to wait for the LHC to produce some evidence.
Though I can answer no to the wording of the original question I sense that the underlying question was how I do believe the universe came into being (I wouldn't say created, because creation implies a creator). The most honest answer I can give is that I don't know. Really no one knows, we have ideas and we have evidence for many parts of some of those ideas, but nothing has really fallen squarely into place and right now I believe that the natural laws and processes of the multiverse (if there is indeed one, though I think it likely) are beyond human the scope at this point and all I, or anyone else, can honestly say is "I don't know."

 

[Wedjat]

Why go to a UU church if you are an atheist?

Because the foundation of UU faith dictates tolerance and acceptance of nearly all viewpoints and as a result I am permitted to attend their church as an open atheist and still be part of the community. Really it's mostly about the community, though many of the sermons take on very humanistic messages and the explicit proselytizing of any religious faith is virtually non-existent. It's a nice place for me.

 

[Wedjat]

What do you think about the New Zealand accent? Be honest.

It wasn't as strong as I expected it to be, although I was in Wellington, so I guess I didn't necessarily getting a full dose of it. I never thought anyone actually said tomahto until I went to NZ though, and believe me I was caught by surprise the first time someone asked me for a "rubber" during class.

 

[Wedjat]

how come a mirror reflects things left to right but not up and down? how does it know the difference?

[R][L]
| | here I am displaying you (the bottom object) and another object (the upper
v v object with their respective personal left and right labled.
[L][R]

as you can see, your right corresponds with the other objects left and vice-versa.

_____
| | This is a mirror reflecting you, in this case, because the photons are reflected
[L][R] in a straight line off the mirror, your left corresponds with your left and your
right with your right.

Now on a vertical axis

[T]<--[T] As you can see, peoples relative top and bottom are the the same, while
<-- peoples relative left and right are always opposed when facing each other
in the case of a reflection, this means that when self-positioning
[T]--| corresponds with the positioning of other objects then reflections do not
--| change because the reflecting photons would have to cross paths to
change the image. When relative positions do not correspond, photons reflected in a straight line will cause a corresponding reflection (because that is the nature of reflection). A corresponding "top" and "bottom" does not seem off to us because nearly everything that we interact with has a corresponding top and bottom to our perspective, while a corresponding "left" and "right" does seem off because nearly everything that we interact with has an inverted left/right axis in relation to ourselves.
Hope that wasn't too roundabout.
*edit, I'm sorry, I forgot that the reply does away with excess spacing so sorry that my little diagrams for the [L]&[R] are messed up.

 

[Wedjat]

ever been expelled fron school??

No, nor suspended, nor had a detention, I was a goody-two-shoes.

 

[HRw716]

What has your experience been with Christians? Good? Bad? In-between?

 

[Wedjat]

It really depends on the person. I've had a lot of good ones, I've had some in-between ones who usually come out good once I've talked to them a little. I've been having more bad ones recently though.
My girlfriend is very religious, let's just say her family and friends do not approve (and yes it is based entirely on my Atheism, they liked me before they found out).

 

[Nooj]

It wasn't as strong as I expected it to be, although I was in Wellington, so I guess I didn't necessarily getting a full dose of it. I never thought anyone actually said tomahto until I went to NZ though, and believe me I was caught by surprise the first time someone asked me for a "rubber" during class.

Bahaha. Wellington has horrible weather though.

 

[Wedjat]

Bahaha. Wellington has horrible weather though.

You got that right. I experienced my first perfectly horizontal rain there. It isn't called the "windy city" for nothing.