Why does anything exist? [Archive] - RonFez.net Messageboard

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margin

03-24-2006, 12:31 AM

Do you think science will ever be able to answer this question, or do you think that we'll never know the true definition of god?

BeerBandit

03-24-2006, 02:10 AM

Ok, here it is. Somewhere, somewhen, 3 beings had a
contest.  Who could come up with the best universe.  Winner
gets control over all three projects and gets to decide what the next
contest is.  Not much of a prize, I know, but when you're an
ethereal being there isn't much you don't have already. ps.  Our guy is currently is 2nd.  Let's step it up people!

KC2OSO

03-24-2006, 03:56 AM

My son asked me a similar question just last night.  He asked
what we are all doing here and why there are dogs around.  What
purpose do people and dogs and cats being here serve?  I
told him that God has an awesome sense of humor and gave us the
capacity to ask the question and then laughed at us and hid the answer
somewhere far away so we wouldn't get bored.

Sheeplovr

03-24-2006, 04:09 AM

ps.  Our guy is currently is 2nd.  Let's step it up people! I like the cut of your gibthe reason is there is no reason and
the reason for dogs is to swallow the dog to catch the cat and swallow
the cat to catch the bird and swallwed the bird to catch the spider and
swallow the spider to catch the Fly I dont know why you swallow the fly

bobrobot

03-24-2006, 06:32 AM

I told him that God has an awesome sense of humor and gave us the capacity to ask the question and then laughed at us and hid the answer somewhere far away so we wouldn't get bored. So THAT'S why aliens probe our asses!!!Existence is futile!!!<img height="360" src="http://justsomeguy.com/code/POE/talk/Borg.jpg" width="257" border="0" />

This message was edited by bobogolem on 3-24-06 @ 10:34 AM

Furtherman

03-24-2006, 06:35 AM

Nature.  Its natural.To attach any god to it is just an easy way out.

suggums

03-24-2006, 06:39 AM

<img width="185" height="264" border="0" src="http://www.valpo.edu/philosophy/images/majors.jpg" />any philosophers in the hizzy?

KC2OSO

03-24-2006, 06:57 AM

Furtherman wrote: Nature. Its natural.To attach any god to it is just an easy way out.
<hr width="100%" size="2" /> I'm not taking that bait.  No
way man.  I do believe in a higher power though.  Most of the
world's organized religions though are just self-serving belief
adventure clubs.  It's not a crutch for me - just a place to put
things I don't understand.  Bash away if you like.  Is the
higher power science or nature?  Could be.  Or did whoever
set in motion science and nature to facilitate natural existence? 
The good thing is, there is no answer.

EliSnow

03-24-2006, 06:58 AM

Sheeplovr wrote: and the reason for dogs is to swallow the dog to catch the cat and swallow the cat to catch the bird and swallwed the bird to catch the spider and swallow the spider to catch the Fly I dont know why you swallow the flyI guess you'll die.

Furtherman

03-24-2006, 07:04 AM

KC2OSO wrote: Furtherman wrote: Nature. Its natural.To attach any god to it is just an easy way out.<hr width="100%" size="2" /> I'm not taking that bait.  No way man.  I do believe in a higher power though.  Most of the world's organized religions though are just self-serving belief adventure clubs.  It's not a crutch for me - just a place to put things I don't understand.  Bash away if you like.  Is the higher power science or nature?  Could be.  Or did whoever set in motion science and nature to facilitate natural existence?  The good thing is, there is no answer.  Of course you do.  It's nice to think that we'll "go on" after we die, but that is just the human ego's easy excuse to get away from the morbid truth that when you die....  it's pitch black and you have the feeling of falling backwards. Seriously, you're worm food.  We all are.  One day our molecules will become something else.  Probably a star, from where we all came from anyway.

FUNKMAN

03-24-2006, 07:09 AM

I was continuing to shrink, to become... what? The infinitesimal? What was I? Still a human being? Or was I the man of the future? If there were other bursts of radiation, other clouds drifting across seas and continents, would other beings follow me into this vast new world? So close - the infinitesimal and the infinite. But suddenly, I knew they were really the two ends of the same concept. The unbelievably small and the unbelievably vast eventually meet - like the closing of a gigantic circle. I looked up, as if somehow I would grasp the heavens. The universe, worlds beyond number, God's silver tapestry spread across the night. And in that moment, I knew the answer to the riddle of the infinite. I had thought in terms of man's own limited dimension. I had presumed upon nature. That existence begins and ends in man's conception, not nature's. And I felt my body dwindling, melting, becoming nothing. My fears melted away. And in their place came acceptance. All this vast majesty of creation, it had to mean something. And then I meant something, too. Yes, smaller than the smallest, I meant something, too. To God, there is no zeroI still exist!

EliSnow

03-24-2006, 07:11 AM

When I was a teenager I consistently thought of an afterlife and what that meant with the concept of infinite time.  If an afterlife means you live in some form forever (as it thought with the concept of heaven), that means that you could live for 50 billion years, and because time is infinite, that means you have not even touched how long you will live.  Nor would you ever.

KC2OSO

03-24-2006, 07:43 AM

Furtherman wrote: KC2OSO wrote: Furtherman wrote: Nature. Its natural.To attach any god to it is just an easy way out.<hr width="100%" size="2" />
I'm not taking that bait. No way man. I do believe in a higher power
though. Most of the world's organized religions though are just
self-serving belief adventure clubs. It's not a crutch for me - just a
place to put things I don't understand. Bash away if you like. Is the
higher power science or nature? Could be. Or did whoever set in motion
science and nature to facilitate natural existence? The good thing is,
there is no answer. Of
course you do. It's nice to think that we'll "go on" after we die, but
that is just the human ego's easy excuse to get away from the morbid
truth that when you die.... it's pitch black and you have the feeling
of falling backwards. Seriously, you're worm food. We all
are. One day our molecules will become something else. Probably a star,
from where we all came from anyway.
<hr width="100%" size="2" />I wasn't even thinking about afterlife
or whatever but it's an interesting subject.  And to me, you are
right, we are all worm food after we die.  What about this
odd existence here and now?  And again I agree with you.  It
just is and the only afterlife for me is my son or daughter and so on
and the memories others have of me after I'm gone. 
Yet, like Funk says, we exist.

bobrobot

03-24-2006, 07:52 AM

FUNKMAN wrote: I was continuing to shrink, to become... what? The infinitesimal? What was I? Still a human being? Or was I the man of the future? If there were other bursts of radiation, other clouds drifting across seas and continents, would other beings follow me into this vast new world? So close - the infinitesimal and the infinite. But suddenly, I knew they were really the two ends of the same concept. The unbelievably small and the unbelievably vast eventually meet - like the closing of a gigantic circle. I looked up, as if somehow I would grasp the heavens. The universe, worlds beyond number, God's silver tapestry spread across the night. And in that moment, I knew the answer to the riddle of the infinite. I had thought in terms of man's own limited dimension. I had presumed upon nature. That existence begins and ends in man's conception, not nature's. And I felt my body dwindling, melting, becoming nothing. My fears melted away. And in their place came acceptance. All this vast majesty of creation, it had to mean something. And then I meant something, too. Yes, smaller than the smallest, I meant something, too. To God, there is no zeroI still exist! NICE!!! A personal fave...<img title="incredible shrinking man" height="370" alt="incredible shrinking man" src="http://foto3.com/ebay/ism-end-LD.jpg" width="500" border="0" />

BeerBandit

03-24-2006, 07:55 AM

Furtherman wrote: <hr width="100%" size="2" /> Is the higher power science or nature?  The Higher Power is unknowable.  To know the Higher Power spoils the experiment.  Science and Nature are one in the same.  They are merely the language we use to understand the rules put in place by the Higher Power.

badorties

03-24-2006, 07:57 AM

we exist -- that's itwe're more a evolved part in an ecosystem ... we're born, we serve our purpose, maybe create some off-spring and then expire ... no more reason than thatit's only our ego that assumes there needs to be a reason for us being here

KC2OSO

03-24-2006, 07:58 AM

bobogolem wrote: FUNKMAN wrote: I
was continuing to shrink, to become... what? The infinitesimal? What
was I? Still a 
I still exist! NICE!!! A personal fave...
<hr width="100%" size="2" />  He didn't write that?  LAL.

bobrobot

03-24-2006, 08:08 AM

I was continuing to shrink, to become... what? The infinitesimal? What was I? Still a I still exist! NICE!!! A personal fave... <hr width="100%" size="2" /> He didn't write that?  LAL.  It's the final scene of "The Incredible Shrinking Man!"<img height="425" src="http://www.filmposters.com/images/posters/1595.jpg" width="293" border="0" />GREAT FILM!!!

This message was edited by bobogolem on 3-24-06 @ 12:09 PM

KC2OSO

03-24-2006, 08:23 AM

bobogolem wrote: I was continuing to shrink, to become... what? The infinitesimal? What was I? Still a I still exist! NICE!!! A personal fave... <hr width="100%" size="2" /> He didn't write that? LAL. It's the final scene of "The Incredible Shrinking Man!" 
GREAT FILM!!!

Looks good - and almost MST3K-esque.  I'll dig up a copy.  Tks.  This thread reminds me I have to watch Python's The Meaming Of Life.  Haven't seen that movie in years.

TheRealEddie

03-24-2006, 08:27 AM

To answer such deep questions, I suggest keeping it objective and examing the evidence. First you should dump out the presumption of "god" even existiting and then try to convince yourself of it.Theres also the notion that you can't truly answer the question because you are part of the experiment. Then again, I tend to think that we are not wired to know the answer to such question.The notion of a creator is what we come up because it jives with how we think. Notions of linear time and things being created is ingrained in us, but the "truth" may not be so simple. So my advice is, just stop asking. 

This message was edited by TheRealEddie on 3-24-06 @ 12:33 PM

Death Metal Moe

03-24-2006, 08:31 AM

I think, therefore I am.

SinA

03-24-2006, 08:36 AM

two things1. Cogito, Ergo Sum.  I think, therefore I am.  DesCartes reckognized that I am something.  I might not be a human being with a body, it might all be a dream or an illusion like in the Matrix, but I am something.  If I wasn't even anything, how could I even be asking the question?  So I've got that going for me.2. That of which we cannot speak, we are forced to pass over in silence.  It is a solution that doesn't answer the problem, but it is the only one that can be universally agreed upon.  It is good to wonder about philosophical questions, but there will never be any evidence that could prove them that isn't based on an assumption.  So if you can't prove anything, just accept things as they are. (this is like the opposite position from what i said about aliens)

TheC0BRA

03-24-2006, 08:43 AM

Why ask why?

TheRealEddie

03-24-2006, 08:50 AM

The better question isWhat should I have for lunch? Cause damn I'm starving!

mikeyboy

03-24-2006, 09:33 AM

While we're on the subject of heavy questions...Why are there so many songs about rainbows and what's on the other side?

KC2OSO

03-24-2006, 09:48 AM

mikeyboy wrote: While we're on the subject of heavy questions...
Why are there so many songs about rainbows and what's on the other side?
<hr width="100%" size="2" />Rainbows really do have nothing to hide!  <img width="100" height="103" border="0" src="http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/fringe/9603/03-22/kermit.jpg" />

Recyclerz

03-24-2006, 09:48 AM

Margin asksWhy does anything exist?<img height="324" src="http://www.forgotten-ny.com/SUBWAYS/Subway%20signs/42.jpg" width="432" border="0" /> What, I'm the only one who reads Douglas Adams? <img src="http://www.ronfez.net/messageboard/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/images/wink.gif" border="0" />

bobrobot

03-24-2006, 09:55 AM

SatCam

03-24-2006, 12:42 PM

There is no answer.

And if there was, I wouldn't want to know it.

FUNKMAN

03-24-2006, 12:53 PM

god picked me but he let me pick my nose...

Mike Teacher

03-24-2006, 02:17 PM

It's the final scene of "The Incredible Shrinking Man!" GREAT FILM!!!Looks good - and almost MST3K-esque.  I'll dig up a copy.  Tks.=Yes, yes, and yes, I say. 'The Amazing Colossal Man' the antipode to this movie, was MST-ied, as well as its sequel, if memory and my piles of tapes are right. Colossal [sp?] was good; The Incredible Shrinking Man rates waaaay up top for me in the genre; sci-fi, horror, allegory movies, whatever, it's just awesome. Some amazingly inventive special effects for the day, and that last scene is just Allegory-O-Rama, so many levels, it being a Cold-War era piece, and it's simply a great little speech. Little? ouch=The thread been covered nicely; these ultimate Qs are where we all are on equal footing, the cosmologists and philosophers have been going at it since we could ask the Q and I dont know if we're any closer at all to any real answers.We're pretty sure something pretty significant happened a dozen or more billion years ago; Big Bang is so misleading as to what happened, but it seems a universe showed up. And as Hawking and others asked: Why does the Universe bother to exist? Why is the Something as opposed to Nothing? I cant agree with those who say we shouldn't look for the answer, even if none exists. For me, the fun and the thrill is in the chase, looking out and studying the games of chess nature is playing, we see the moves and guess at the rules of the game, but like chess, the rules can, to someone who doesnt know the game, seem inconsistent, or seem to change. I like the not knowing, and love just checking out what we see when we study the game with our telescopes and particle accelorators; it's most def wired into us, a soaring curiousity about the world around us, which for many, sadly, dies. I wanna know her secrets, and will look, knowing I will almost surely never find out. Some feel a confusion or sense of lack of a place without pat answers, I do sometimes, but more often, just the thrill of it all, that nature has allowed itself to create/evolve these asseblies of atoms that can contemplate their own existance is, for me, the best answer I can have for why we are here.

TheRealEddie

03-24-2006, 02:31 PM

Mike Teacher wrote: Looks good - and almost MST3K-esque. I'll dig up a copy. Tks.    <blockquote />  If you want a movie with a shrinking man which really has nothing to do with the thin plot check out:<img width="347" height="475" border="0" src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000055XNA.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg" /> The MST3K version is part of MST3K Volume 8. Terrible, terrible film..but great MST3K episode. It has a great quote in it:"Every year of my life, I grow more and more
convinced that the wisest, and the best, is to fix our attention on the
good, and the beautiful, if you just take the time to look at it. "

Gvac

03-24-2006, 03:00 PM

<hr width="100%" size="2" />Why does anything exist? <hr width="100%" size="2" />So we can ask that very question.

Bulldogcakes

03-24-2006, 03:49 PM

It's the final scene of "The Incredible Shrinking Man!" <img width="207" height="168" border="0" src="http://www.londonist.com/image/shrinkage.jpg" />

margin

03-24-2006, 04:34 PM

Mike Teacher wrote: ... nature has allowed itself to create/evolve these asseblies of atoms that can contemplate their own existance...  now the room's spinning

This message was edited by margin on 3-24-06 @ 8:37 PM

newport king

03-25-2006, 04:24 AM

I'll give you the ultimate answer but you are not asking the right question. Come back in a million years and i'll give you the ultimate question. As far as the answer?<img src="http://www.jasonsantamaria.com/dailyphoto/2004/img/dec14b.jpg" border="0" />

This message was edited by newport king on 3-25-06 @ 8:25 AM

FUNKMAN

03-25-2006, 04:31 AM

Billy Staples

03-26-2006, 05:01 AM

damn u Moe, beat me to it "it's only our ego that assumes there needs to be a reason for us being here"this is probably the most illogical and insane reasoning I have ever heard for a belief in any kind of a higher power.  If anything, it is humbling.  to admit there is such a being that is more powerful than you does not show egoIf you choose to and hit you knees at night or on Sundays or in your room where ever, does that sound like ego. NO if anything, you are in essence bowing.when things go wrong in your life, or a catastrophe may hit you personally god forbid, do you take it upon yourself to say, "I don't need no stink Jesus", and you will find a way to miraculously cure or find a  loved one.Survive an accident...when your having sex does she yell out 'oh you', no its Oh God'EGO is actually Easing God Out i was told once.  OK I am not a big fan of the clever acronyms and sayings, but its true.the furthest thing about having a belief in something divine, Godlike, spiritual that you can turn to when you need something or want help for someone or just thank him for a beautiful day, you don't call Louie the plumberHonestly, think about it...plus God is way cheaper than Louie the plumber, a buck a week in the basket and your set

sr71blackbird

03-26-2006, 05:50 AM

What color is a mirror?

mendyweiss

03-26-2006, 06:14 AM

You can take apart a watch, but you can't take apart a sunset<img src="http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~junliu/Photos/sunset.jpg" border="0" />

mendyweiss

03-26-2006, 06:15 AM

OOps, SOORRY

TheRealEddie

03-26-2006, 06:20 AM

Billy Staples wrote: damn u Moe, beat me to it "it's only our ego that assumes there needs to be a reason for us being here"this is probably the most illogical and insane reasoning I have ever heard for a belief in any kind of a higher power. If anything, it is humbling. to admit there is such a being that is more powerful than you does not show ego  Billy you're missing it. Its actually quite profound. I think the the point this quote is trying to make is that its only when we marvel in our own complexity that we jump to the conclusion that something must have created us (with intent). At least thats the context in terms of an ID vs. evolution debate ;).

FezPaul

03-26-2006, 06:21 AM

you can set a watchand you can watch a sunset

Billy Staples

03-27-2006, 07:26 PM

you guys just don't get it if it didn't exist...than where would it be?

Gvac

03-29-2006, 06:31 PM

I just wanted to link a favorite web site of mine that deals with scientific and philosophical questions such as this - <a href="http://www.thebigview.com/contents.html" target="_self">www.thebigview.com</a>Be sure to check out the "Mind  Consciousness" section.  

  <a href="http://www.thebigview.com/contents.html" target="_self"></a>

Billy Staples

03-29-2006, 09:22 PM

Gvac wrote: I just wanted to link a favorite web site of mine that deals with scientific and philosophical questions such as this - <a href="http://www.thebigview.com/contents.html" target="_self">www.thebigview.com</a>Be sure to check out the "Mind  Consciousness" section.    <a href="http://www.thebigview.com/contents.html" target="_self"></a>somehow that statement and that sigpic aren't in sync....one is a lie..hmmmmmm