When did you stop believing in god?

[Jind]

A very appropriate article for this thread and some of the directions it has taken - published today in Salon. At least read the whole thing before you dismiss the headline.

A particularly apt quote from the story on some topics expressed in this thread:

How the New Atheists’ anti-Muslim hate advances their belief that God does not exist is not exactly clear. In this climate of increased anti-Muslim sentiment, it’s a convenient digression, though. They’ve shifted their base and instead of simply trying to convince people that God is a myth, they’ve embraced the monster narrative of the day. That’s not rational or enlightening or “free thinking” or even intelligent. That’s opportunism. If atheism writ large was a tough sell to skeptics, the “New Atheism,” Muslim-bashing atheism, must be like selling Bibles to believers.

http://www.salon.com/2013/03/30/dawkins_harris_hitchens_new_atheists_flirt_with_islamophobia/

I'll say it again for reference - any belief or non-belief can become extremism - and when you do you've become what you set out to stop.

I find the comment section interesting as well since non-believers defend their "beliefs" and 'idols" even more than the few believers do. Hey - even if the article is biased, it still makes and interesting case study of how even the non-believer can become defensive when they feel attacked. I do think it opportunism that some are taking a certain position if the benefit is greatest by keeping a particular audience riled up. It keeps the books selling after all.

 

[kass]

Actually a greater problem is the number of PhD's are outpacing research jobs available. If you do a search you will find the results of studies from the 10 year period between 1998 and 2008 when globally PhD numbers increased by 40 percent in that small window of time, all the while the number of research positions decreased. The problem is only being increased with many of these countries choosing austerity over investment thus reducing the amount of government sponsored research at the heart of many discoveries.

I agree that PHDs are outpacing research positions.

To be extra clear...I wasn't saying that there are too few PHDs. My point is that the number of PHD physicians is small, and it is very unlikely that you will be clinically treated by a PHD doing research. Given that fact, someone shouldn't give a shit about what a physician says unless it involves diagnosis and treatment of illness.

 

[Jind]

I agree that PHDs are outpacing research positions.

To be extra clear...I wasn't saying that there are too few PHDs. My point is that the number of PHD physicians is small, and it is very unlikely that you will be clinically treated by a PHD doing research. Given that fact, someone shouldn't give a shit about what a physician says unless it involves diagnosis and treatment of illness.

Got it.

Interestingly enough I've had quite a few PhD physicians involved in my care over the years, but I'm a somewhat atypical case in that I was diagnosed at a very young age with a rare blood disorder that for the most part effects older individuals - like 65 - 70 plus in age. The fact that that rare blood disorder morphed into AML after 14 years (only a small percentage do) probably also contributed to me being studied (since the majority of people with the blood disorder live out the remainder of their lives with it (they were over 65 after all) made me a big question mark as to how long I'd live with it) - the fact that my bone marrow transplant(s) have both been successful at curing me of the blood disorder as well as keeping me cancer free for the past 5 years keeps them interested.

But I get your point.

 

[kass]

Got it.

Interestingly enough I've had quite a few PhD physicians involved in my care over the years, but I'm a somewhat atypical case in that I was diagnosed at a very young age with a rare blood disorder that for the most part effects older individuals - like 65 - 70 plus in age. The fact that that rare blood disorder morphed into AML after 14 years (only a small percentage do) probably also contributed to me being studied (since the majority of people with the blood disorder live out the remainder of their lives with it (they were over 65 after all) made me a big question mark as to how long I'd live with it) - the fact that my bone marrow transplant(s) have both been successful at curing me of the blood disorder as well as keeping me cancer free for the past 5 years keeps them interested.

But I get your point.

Wow. Im glad to hear it is going well for you. What is the blood disorder?

 

[Jind]

It's a myeloproliferative blood disorder called Polycythemia Vera - more is known about it but it's still considered rare, I was diagnosed when I was 22 but likely had it for several years prior (I'm turning 46 in 3 months so it was a while ago).

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/poly/

It's interesting that the articles referencing PV state that there is no cure for PV - which may indeed be the case technically as it has what is called an spent phase where a patients bone marrow exhausts it's capability to produce blood cells due to scarring - a disorder called myelofibrosis. A small portion of patients, like me, morph into Acute Myelogenous Leukemia which can be cured (albeit low odds, but still cured) so it all depends on what you define the disease being cured by the BMT I guess. I had my first transplant in 2004, relapsed 3 years later, but since that 2004 transplant I've had zero signs of the PV so my doctors tell me I'm cured of the initial disorder.

 

[Lasse Lammert]

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

It's a myeloproliferative blood disorder called Polycythemia Vera - more is known about it but it's still considered rare, I was diagnosed when I was 22 but likely had it for several years prior (I'm turning 46 in 3 months so it was a while ago).

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/poly/

It's interesting that the articles referencing PV state that there is no cure for PV - which may indeed be the case technically as it has what is called an spent phase where a patients bone marrow exhausts it's capability to produce blood cells due to scarring - a disorder called myelofibrosis. A small portion of patients, like me, morph into Acute Myelogenous Leukemia which can be cured (albeit low odds, but still cured) so it all depends on what you define the disease being cured by the BMT I guess. I had my first transplant in 2004, relapsed 3 years later, but since that 2004 transplant I've had zero signs of the PV so my doctors tell me I'm cured of the initial disorder.

That's awesome that we have some older folk on this forum. Cheers. Sorry about the blood disorder.

 

[monoxide_child]

why did everyone stop posting on this thread??

 

[Jind]

why did everyone stop posting on this thread??

Ran it's course - every thread has a lifespan

 

[DanLights]

why did everyone stop posting on this thread??

Why do you keep doing that? Let a thread die or add something actually meaningful to it