cantleave

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Posts by cantleave

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  13

  Our Eyes Are Wired Backwards For a Good Reason

  by cofty in

  1. social
  2. current

  it is often said that our retinas are are an example of sub-optimal design.. a few years ago i was intrigued by a passing comment in one of nick lane's to the effect that this is not a good argument but he didn't go into much detail.. researchers at leipzig have revealed the role of glial cells in transmitting light from the surface of the retina to the cones, acting like fiber-optic cables.. erex ribak has built a model of the eye and demonstrated some fascinating details.... so, the question is - does this reflect good "design" or a retro-fitted repair like the hubble telescope's glasses?.

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  cantleave

  Cantleave, your comments seem to imply that since living organisms have "apparent design flaws" they are not designed. You then site the example of "the blood vessels positioned in front of the retina," stating that, "even a small hemorrhage can result in loss of sight." If by this you mean to imply that the structure of the eye could not be designed, then I must point out that your logic fails.

  There is no failure in my logic at all. Design by natural selection is a valid term, I was not referring to intelligent design. It might help if you made familiarized yourself with the terminology of the biological sciences.

  
  

  
  
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  13

  Our Eyes Are Wired Backwards For a Good Reason

  by cofty in

  1. social
  2. current

  it is often said that our retinas are are an example of sub-optimal design.. a few years ago i was intrigued by a passing comment in one of nick lane's to the effect that this is not a good argument but he didn't go into much detail.. researchers at leipzig have revealed the role of glial cells in transmitting light from the surface of the retina to the cones, acting like fiber-optic cables.. erex ribak has built a model of the eye and demonstrated some fascinating details.... so, the question is - does this reflect good "design" or a retro-fitted repair like the hubble telescope's glasses?.

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  cantleave

  Interesting.

  There are however other apparent design flaws. For example the blood vessels are in front of the retina. Even in healthy eyes these impede the path of some of the light reaching the rods and cones, resulting in slightly diminished visual efficiency. Admittedly not a major issue.

  The positioning of these capillaries in some medical conditions can cause significant problems. For example if you suffer from diabetes. It is common for long term diabetics to develop diabetic retinopathy. This occurs as a response to a lack of oxygen. The retina creates chemical signals that tell the blood vessels to proliferate in order to increase the blood supply to compensate for the lack of oxygen. Because the blood vessels are situated on top of the retina, the increased density of capillaries significantly reduces the clarity of vision to the point of extreme partial sightedness.

  Another issue is that the blood vessels positioned in front of the retina means that even a small hemorrhage can result in loss of sight.
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  13

  this scared the heck out of me

  by Curious Kitten in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  has anyone ever read this book ???

  jehovah is mentioned at the very bottom supposedly he is a reptilian god (demon) that resides on jupiter ?

  wth.

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  cantleave

  Yep the Queen, George Bush and David Bowie are all reptiles

  
  
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  32

  Do JW Children Still Call Adults "Aunt" and "Uncle"?

  by cofty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  when i was young we were taught to refer to other adult jws as aunt or uncle.. was this also the case in other countries and does it still happen?.

  was it just a custom or has the literature ever commented on it?.

  thanks.

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  cantleave

  As I read this post and a shudder ran through my spine. Even when I was an adult I still referred to some of the older brothers and sisters from my childhood as "aunt" and "uncle".
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  10

  Anyone else like Radiohead?

  by LoveUniHateExams in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  over the past couple of weeks, i've discovered the 'alternative rock group' radiohead.

  of course, i've known of their name for years and years but never, until recently, bothered to check out their music.

  i'm also quite a big fan of damon albarn and admire him not only for his substantial musical output but also for the different 'feel' to his songs - oasis, in contrast, seem to have just one beatles-esque style.

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  cantleave

  Actually Oasis were IMO better live (even with the bickering between Liam and Noel), although Radiohead made better studio albums.
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  10

  Anyone else like Radiohead?

  by LoveUniHateExams in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  over the past couple of weeks, i've discovered the 'alternative rock group' radiohead.

  of course, i've known of their name for years and years but never, until recently, bothered to check out their music.

  i'm also quite a big fan of damon albarn and admire him not only for his substantial musical output but also for the different 'feel' to his songs - oasis, in contrast, seem to have just one beatles-esque style.

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  cantleave

  Yep - great band.
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  31

  Shorter meetings for field service

  by hoser in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  march kingdom ministry insert is about how the field service meetings will be shortened from 10 to 15 minutes down to 5 to 7 minutes.

  they want the publishers to report more hours.

  in my experience the problem isn't the length of the meeting for service but pioneers and publishers dogging it after the service arrangement.

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  cantleave

  I never went dogging during or after field service - far too risky.
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  19

  JW going to prestigious university

  by ivanatahan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've been debating this, and my mother (the spiritual head of my family, she even controls my father spiritually, who is an elder) doesn't seem to be starkly against me going to a prestigious university.

  in fact, i've been going over my chances, and i'd say i have a pretty decent chance of going to my dream university, oxford university, to study philosophy, politics, and economics.

  naturally i wouldn't tell my mother about me wanting to take the three most hated subjects of jws at a university that would bring me into bad relations with "spiritually sound jws".. do you guys know any ex-jw or knowledgeable jw who knows ttatt that went to a randall group or ivy league school?

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  cantleave

  the Watchtower does have its own "university" - Gilead and other theocratic schools.

  Comparing Gilead to university is like calling a paddling pool an Olympic swimming pool
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  19

  JW going to prestigious university

  by ivanatahan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've been debating this, and my mother (the spiritual head of my family, she even controls my father spiritually, who is an elder) doesn't seem to be starkly against me going to a prestigious university.

  in fact, i've been going over my chances, and i'd say i have a pretty decent chance of going to my dream university, oxford university, to study philosophy, politics, and economics.

  naturally i wouldn't tell my mother about me wanting to take the three most hated subjects of jws at a university that would bring me into bad relations with "spiritually sound jws".. do you guys know any ex-jw or knowledgeable jw who knows ttatt that went to a randall group or ivy league school?

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  cantleave

  I studied part time whilst I was an elder (at Bournemouth and Southampton). I eventually earned a masters but I wish I had gone to University full time and enjoyed all aspects of uni life. Full time students enjoy an experience that builds social and interpersonal skills and that helps prepare for professional life.

  If you don't take the opportunities open to you now, you may regret it.
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  754

  Theists, why does God allow suffering..

  by The Quiet One in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  ..specifically, the suffering of animals.

  you can talk about free will/sin/people choosing to not listen to god etc to explain human suffering being allowed.. but how can you love a god that allows animals, that haven't sinned or chosen to not have anything to do with god, to have their short lives ended in often long, drawn out, painful ways.

  i could list stories i've read that would probably make you feel ill, but i'm not looking to shock anyone or start an emotional debate.

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  cantleave

  Like the president of the USA or any other ruler for that matter, God has his good reasons for what he does and what he allows including animal suffering. Is that bad? You are not running the USA or the world for that matter.

  Thank you Fisherman, for making me laugh out loudly in a very quiet lounge in Basel Airport....