The one true religion

[James Warren]

Science is the one true religion. We have no gods and no dogma.
We cherish facts, evidence, observations and logic. We aim to be
rational above all things.

Join us for the adventure of a lifetime. We have learned but there
is much more to learn. Some of our greatest achievements so
far are evolution, general relativity and quantum theory. You may
be the next to discover the next great thing.

Come along. The journey is long and sometimes discouraging
but the joy outweighs the pain.

We make mistakes but we are not afraid to admit to them.

So, throw away your superstitions, your biases and prejudices.
Be ready to challenge your "common sense" for nature respects
none of those things.

Get ready for the brave new world of reality if you have the courage.

Your adventure awaits!

[HRM Resident]

James Warren <jwwar...@gmail.com> writes:

> Science is the one true religion. We have no gods and no dogma.
> We cherish facts, evidence, observations and logic. We aim to be
> rational above all things.
>

There are 3 different definitions of religion that I found:

(1) the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power,
especially a personal God or gods.

(2) a particular system of faith and worship.

(3) a pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance.

Looks like you check all 3 boxes, so good to hear you are a fervent
religious believer.

> Join us for the adventure of a lifetime. We have learned but there
> is much more to learn. Some of our greatest achievements so
> far are evolution, general relativity and quantum theory. You may
> be the next to discover the next great thing.
>

Yeah, peer at JW, Hubble and LHC plots for the rest of your days,
pretending that the funny line you can see after talking micro-doses
of LSD is a new particle. Call it Mork, and say a prayer to
it. :-)

> Come along. The journey is long and sometimes discouraging
> but the joy outweighs the pain.
>
> We make mistakes but we are not afraid to admit to them.
>

You make more mistakes than you do not. You'd make a piss poor
stock broker or hedge fund manager! :-)

> Your adventure awaits!

And our monthly donations of $39.95 help spread the word! (And buy
you a new computer and all the gadgets Dr. Ho sells on TV. Do you buy
his stuff? :-) )

--
HRM Resident

[James Warren]

Oh yeah, I forgot about that. That would certainly help.

You have defined religion so broadly that it includes everything.
I can't think of anything it would exclude.

With that in mind I thought I would make up a blurb to encourage
more members to join us. We are very particular. We want only
the creme de la creme. Unfortunately you do not meet our
admission standards. Try again at later date.

>
> --
> HRM Resident

[HRM Resident]

James Warren <jwwar...@gmail.com> writes:
>
> We want only
> the creme de la creme. Unfortunately you do not meet our
> admission standards. Try again at later date.
>

Who would want to join a religion that's a front for this garbage:

https://drhonow.com/en_ca/

Can't you do better than that? :-)

--
HRM Resident

[James Warren]

On Wednesday, 30 November 2022 at 11:21:19 UTC-4, HRM Resident wrote:
> James Warren <jwwar...@gmail.com> writes:
> >
> > We want only
> > the creme de la creme. Unfortunately you do not meet our
> > admission standards. Try again at later date.
> >
> Who would want to join a religion that's a front for this garbage:
>
> https://drhonow.com/en_ca/

That's not science, and science does not front or support
such foolishness. You don't even know what science is. No
wonder you are so easily fooled.

[HRM Resident]

James Warren <jwwar...@gmail.com> writes:

>
> That's not science, and science does not front or support
> such foolishness. You don't even know what science is. No
> wonder you are so easily fooled.
>

I may be all of the things you listed, but I can guarentee I never
bought any of Dr. Ho's gadgets. But if you think they work, keep buying
them! :-)

--
HRM Resident

[James Warren]

If I can't unload them on you, WTF can I do with a whole
garage full of that shit? :)

>
> --
> HRM Resident

[HRM Resident]

James Warren <jwwar...@gmail.com> writes:

>
> That's not science, and science does not front or support
> such foolishness. You don't even know what science is. No
> wonder you are so easily fooled.
>

I agree. It's garbage. But you can spend your money on anything
you want, and if an electro-magnetic eyeball alignment device or a
battery powered beard comb comb make you feel better, go for them!

Maybe even wind-up dentures . . .

--
HRM Resident

[James Warren]

These things are not science. They are the misapplication of science,
at best, and larceny at worst. Science is about discovering principles
of how the world works. The rest is engineering. Did you know there
is a difference?

[HRM Resident]

James Warren <jwwar...@gmail.com> writes:

>
> These things are not science. They are the misapplication of science,
> at best, and larceny at worst. Science is about discovering principles
> of how the world works. The rest is engineering. Did you know there
> is a difference?

Of course they are not, and I take umbrage at you implying I don't
know the difference between science and quackery. (You can add umbrage
to eschew as two new words you have learned. :-)

Regardless of the above, I am curious why you buy his stuff? He's
no more Chinese than I am, and has no more doctorate than Dr. Phil.
I think you ought to buy a new computer instead of Ho's jawbone
straightener. I don't think magnets and AAA batteries help the jaw. :-)

--
HRM Resident

[James Warren]

I agree. I now see the light. I'll quit right away. :)
Want some? :)

[HRM Resident]

James Warren <jwwar...@gmail.com> writes:
>
> I agree. I now see the light. I'll quit right away. :)
> Want some? :)

I'll take the AAA batteries. They work in remotes, etc. I don't
want the magnets. Mike might want the magnets. There's a trick of
heating steel until it becomes non-magnetic when it comes to annealing
and tempering. I think Mike could do that with his eyes closes, but if
you are throwing those magnets way, let him know.

--
HRM Resident

[James Warren]

Is that part of the arcane arts of the religion of blacksmithing?

[Mike Spencer]

James Warren <jwwar...@gmail.com> writes:

> Is that part of the arcane arts of the religion of blacksmithing?

Everyone knows that you have to have your anvil horn pointing north.
WHen it's inconvenient to do that, you can fudge it by slapping a
super-magnet from a computer HD on one side. Fixes you right up.

*That* is blacksmithing arcana for you.

And it's not a religion. The only resemblance to religion is this:
In every blacksmith shop/studio/atelier tere will be at least one
inexplicable thing hanging on a hook, standing in a corner or nailed
to a post with a hand-made nail. WHen ou ask what it it, the smith
will tell you astonishing lies.

This is from TheForge mailing list:

===
https://www.rockyforge.org/newsletters/rfn_v6i12.pdf

From Jerry Smith
To: The Forge <thef...@mailman.qth.net>
Date: Nov 30, 2007 3:06 PM
Subject: [TheForge] Sad Day in my Shop.

Folks,

After years of having photos taken with me wearing my sandals,
those sandals finally broke and can't be fixed I tried all
morning.

They were just plastic, but comfortable to wear, easy to get on,
but not to wear when forging.

I haven't decided if there will be private funeral for them, or
just a simple disposal.


---

From: Mike Spencer
To: thef...@mailman.qth.net
Date: Nov 30, 2007 6:23 PM
Subject: [TheForge] Re: Sad Day in my Shop.

| ...sandals finally broke and can't be fixed....I
| haven't decided if there will be private funeral for
| them, or just a simple disposal.

Nail them to a post in your shop. Every blacksmith should have
something inexplicable -- preferably numerous such things things
--propped, hung, welded, nailed or otherwise exhibited about the
shop. Watch people be afraid to ask why there is a sandal nailed
to the wall. Have a good yarn ready for those few who can work up
the courage to ask. As you age and the sandal(s) get even more
ancient and grimy with forge dust, the yarn will expand and grow
and adapt.

Gee, do I have to tell you young guys *everything*?

- Mike
---

From: Jerry Frost
To: Mike Spencer
Date: Dec 1, 2007 6:54 PM
Subject: Re: [TheForge] Re: Sad Day in my Shop.

I bow to your age and sagacity Mike. While I love spinning a
"good" yarn, (I know that comes as a REAL surprise to you guys but
it's true.) I hadn't thought of deliberately baiting the
audience. <head hung in shame>

I'll start rooting through my collection of oddness and thinking
of "interesting" attachment methods. I'm still looking for a
stuffed Wile E. Coyote doll to cushion my anvil with.

Frosty

--
Mike Spencer Nova Scotia, Canada

[James Warren]

On Thursday, 1 December 2022 at 17:57:34 UTC-4, Mike Spencer wrote:
> James Warren <jwwar...@gmail.com> writes:
>
> > Is that part of the arcane arts of the religion of blacksmithing?
> Everyone knows that you have to have your anvil horn pointing north.
> WHen it's inconvenient to do that, you can fudge it by slapping a
> super-magnet from a computer HD on one side. Fixes you right up.
>
> *That* is blacksmithing arcana for you.
>
> And it's not a religion. The only resemblance to religion is this:
> In every blacksmith shop/studio/atelier tere will be at least one
> inexplicable thing hanging on a hook, standing in a corner or nailed
> to a post with a hand-made nail. WHen ou ask what it it, the smith
> will tell you astonishing lies.

It is a religion according to HRM's definition. It is a cult to which
you are entirely devoted and by your own admission wholly
mysterious.

This is how cults and religions begin.

[Mike Spencer]

James Warren <jwwar...@gmail.com> writes:

> On Thursday, 1 December 2022 at 17:57:34 UTC-4, Mike Spencer wrote:
>
>> From: Mike Spencer
>> To: thef...@mailman.qth.net
>> Date: Nov 30, 2007 6:23 PM
>> Subject: [TheForge] Re: Sad Day in my Shop.
>>
>> | ...sandals finally broke and can't be fixed....I
>> | haven't decided if there will be private funeral for
>> | them, or just a simple disposal.
>>
>> Nail them to a post in your shop. Every blacksmith should have
>> something inexplicable -- preferably numerous such things things
>> --propped, hung, welded, nailed or otherwise exhibited about the
>> shop. Watch people be afraid to ask why there is a sandal nailed
>> to the wall. Have a good yarn ready for those few who can work up
>> the courage to ask. As you age and the sandal(s) get even more
>> ancient and grimy with forge dust, the yarn will expand and grow
>> and adapt.
>
> This is how cults and religions begin.

Bert Shaw spent some time working as the smith at Old Sturbridge
Village in Massachusetts. The management had "accumulated" antique
gear, anything that, from their ill-informed perspective, might relate
to blacksmithing. One such item was a 6' long set of bench snips, a
19th c. sheet metal shearing tool that Bert never used. (I have the 3'
version that has proved useful twice in 50 years.)

One day, a woman asked what they were for. Bert replied, "Some people
up to Andover crossed a Dorset ewe with a hydraulic ram and the
offspring grew steel wool. They used them snips to shear it."

"Oh", said the woman and wandered off.

AFAIK, no religion has emerged from this although, of course, I don't
know for certain that the tourist woman in question hasn't started a
sheep cult or the like.

[HRM Resident]

James Warren <jwwar...@gmail.com> writes:

>
> This is how cults and religions begin.
>

What a life of the party you must be! All trades and acocations
have legends, superstitions, etc. Like the electrical cable they found
running under a concrete wall at Caltech. They broke it open and found
a UNIX system with an uptime of 19 years. Is that true? Almost
certainly not. Does repeating it hurt anything? Nope!

There are views and opinions, and then there is pathalogical
hatred. Your feeling on traditions implies you are not expressing
"views and opinion." It's a deeper emotion! :-)

--
HRM Resident

[James Warren]

On Friday, 2 December 2022 at 10:38:28 UTC-4, HRM Resident wrote:
> James Warren <jwwar...@gmail.com> writes:
>
> >
> > This is how cults and religions begin.
> >
> What a life of the party you must be! All trades and acocations
> have legends, superstitions, etc. Like the electrical cable they found
> running under a concrete wall at Caltech. They broke it open and found
> a UNIX system with an uptime of 19 years. Is that true? Almost
> certainly not. Does repeating it hurt anything? Nope!

But these legends and stories form the basis for cults and religions.
By your own definition these trades and avocations are religions
because they are fervently followed. You, yourself, have recently
joint the religion of Python. Are you now changing your definition? :)

>
> There are views and opinions, and then there is pathalogical
> hatred. Your feeling on traditions implies you are not expressing
> "views and opinion." It's a deeper emotion! :-)

Now you're gaslighting again. Give it up! :)

>
> --
> HRM Resident

[HRM Resident]

James Warren <jwwar...@gmail.com> writes:

>
> But these legends and stories form the basis for cults and religions.
>

And what harm do they do?

>
> Now you're gaslighting again. Give it up! :)
>

No, you are following the latest trend:

https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/01/opinions/gaslighting-merriam-webster-word-of-the-year-hemmer

Following trends is a pack mentality thing. We do what the pack does
to be an accepted member of that pack, the group, one's peers. From my
point of view, following the crowd is a lemmings mentality. We'd all
just follow the crowd right over the cliff. :-)

--
HRM Resident

[James Warren]

On Friday, 2 December 2022 at 11:22:42 UTC-4, HRM Resident wrote:
> James Warren <jwwar...@gmail.com> writes:
>
> >
> > But these legends and stories form the basis for cults and religions.
> >
> And what harm do they do?

There was no suggestion of harm, only the basis of cults and religions.
Gaslighting again by claiming I suggested harm, presumably to avoid
the topic.

> >
> > Now you're gaslighting again. Give it up! :)
> >
> No, you are following the latest trend:
>
> https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/01/opinions/gaslighting-merriam-webster-word-of-the-year-hemmer
>
> Following trends is a pack mentality thing. We do what the pack does
> to be an accepted member of that pack, the group, one's peers. From my
> point of view, following the crowd is a lemmings mentality. We'd all
> just follow the crowd right over the cliff. :-)

I agree! So stop gaslighting and I won't mention it again. :)

>
> --
> HRM Resident

[HRM Resident]

James Warren <jwwar...@gmail.com> writes:

>> https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/01/opinions/gaslighting-merriam-webster-word-of-the-year-hemmer

>
> I agree! So stop gaslighting and I won't mention it again. :)
>

See the link above (again.) 'Gaslighting' is the word of the
year. Everyone is using it. People who jump on these fads and trends
are called 'hipsters.' There are a lot of jokes about them in the
Internet.

But, seeing as you are one, here's the definition:

"a person who follows the latest trends and fashions, especially those
regarded as being outside the cultural mainstream."

Do you or do you not fit that description? :-)

--
HRM Resident

[HRM Resident]

James Warren <jwwar...@gmail.com> writes:

>
> Now you're gaslighting again. Give it up! :)
>

Is that all you have, Skipper the Hipster? My heavens, but you seem
to be stuck in a rut. :-)

--
HRM Resident

[James Warren]

It's you stuck in the rut of gaslighting to escape embarrassment. :)