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Old 07-09-2007, 01:50 PM   #351
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Some of my best friends are gay.
Eh? I don't know what you think I said, but I'm moderately confident it's not what I think I said.
Sorry sorry sorry. It was early. It was a baaaaaad joke about sentence structure.
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Old 07-09-2007, 02:31 PM   #352
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What possible relevance to this thread does the observation that hypothetical centuries-old ante-diluvians would be different from modern humans have?

That is not the question. The question is, did they exist in the first place? You seem to be taking this as a given. It is not. What Calillasiea is asking for, and what you are failing to provide, is evidence that they ever existed.

YOU are the one attempting to shift the burden of proof.
Thank you for your thoughts, but in fact I have, as I have said, no interest in the (useless) question that you want to discuss.

All the best,

Roger Pearse
Then why are you even reading this thread? The SUBJECT of this thread is whether or not ancient humans had improbably extended lifetimes. If you want to discuss something else, fine. But do it elsewhere. You don't get to drag this entire thread off-topic, and then complain that other people want to discuss the topic, just because you'd rather discuss something else. No one is stopping you from creating your own topic.
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Old 07-09-2007, 02:42 PM   #353
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Roger seems to be of the opinion that the existence of this mythical population of extremely long-lived humans is not subject to debate.
I'm not the only one having difficulty with this thread, I see! I did not express any such view, nor do I hold it. My point was about the kinds of arguments that were being made; that both sides agreed that any such people were not like us today, precisely in that they lived for a long time.
Thank you for stating the obvious with an air of discovery. But the topic of this discussion, if you would trouble to read the OP, is not how such hypothetical creatures would be different from modern humans. The topic is, did they exist in the first place?

Now, if you don't want to discuss that issue, that's your right. No one's going to force you. But don't take people to task for discussing an issue that is the topic of this thread.

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Apparently he never read the OP here, because that is supposedly the topic here. He hasn't addressed that particular topic at all, other than to imply it's not worth debating because it's self-evidently true.
Have a look at my posts and see the connection. Unlike most posters I really *did* read the OP and think about what it meant, and what would be involved.
Then why are you criticizing people for discussing what is, after all, the topic of this thread?

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But the difficulty with this thread is that 90% of the posters have now turned off their minds and are parrotting stale old invective almost in set terms. This of course squeezes out any possibility of intelligent discussion, and leads to people attributing to others views that they do not hold on subjects that they have not discussed.
Wait a minute. Person A asserts that humans once lived for centuries, because written records say so. Person B requests empirical evidence that supports such written records, because the records themselves are unpersuasive. And somehow you characterize that request as "old invective almost in set terms." Could it be that maybe the reason it's "old" is because it's been asked a million times and never answered?

Look, if you don't think humans ever lived for centuries, or don't hold an opinion on the topic, or think the topic is unworthy of discussion, then what are you doing here?
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Old 07-09-2007, 03:47 PM   #354
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Look, if you don't think humans ever lived for centuries, or don't hold an opinion on the topic, or think the topic is unworthy of discussion, then what are you doing here?
What Eric said.
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Old 07-09-2007, 04:01 PM   #355
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Look, if you don't think humans ever lived for centuries, or don't hold an opinion on the topic, or think the topic is unworthy of discussion, then what are you doing here?
What Eric said.
You'll find that regardless of the topic, Roger will ultimately try to steer the discussion towards ancient manuscripts, so he can play the queen bee.* It does, however, result in some tortuously contrived discussions.




* with apologies to Margot Ledbetter.
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Old 07-09-2007, 04:02 PM   #356
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Well, to be honest, Dave... and considering the "Burmese" passage you mentioned which I posted up in context...I can't imagine taking that as "Biblical" in any way. 1 million Earths? Five suns? Sounds suspiciously like myth to me, or maybe bad science fiction from the Hugo Gernsbeck 1920's.

I did ask you about the Chinese reference and the page number for that.
Hey, you aren't bashing good old Hugo, are you?
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Old 07-09-2007, 04:17 PM   #357
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In answer to your summary dismissal I provide
(irrelevant stuff snipped)
As ever, in your eagerness to repeat the words of others, you failed to read what I wrote.

Several posts ago I highlighted that statements of this kind had no content, since no-one questioned that the ante-diluvians under discussion were not like us, if only because the point was that they lived these vast periods. People who live this long are not like us. I'm not sure that I can put that more simply. Merely reiterating that modern science knows of no such people today merely indicates unwillingness to read.

Ignoring my point by trying to shift an imaginary burden of proof likewise seems pointless to me.

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Perhaps some time spent acquiring some solid knowledge will assist in this matter.
Always a good thing. But you may find that elementary manners would equip you to express the second-hand ideas that you repeat uncritically with more grace.

All the best,

Roger Pearse
When I was in High School, I had a friend who's father talked just like this Roger Pearse fellow. He was a complete blowhard. A true stuffed shirt. He was a travelling salesman, and he had managed to gain a lot of undeserved respect. His ideas were simplistic and his reasoning juvenile, yet he spoke with great, ponderous authority. He believed himself to be an authority on any number of topics, without ever having studied them in any official manner.

I had two opportunities to discuss interesting topics with him. Both times ended with him finding an excuse to end the conversation in a huff. After that, I was no longer welcome in his house. That's right: Even in High School, I was already knowledgeable enough to pick holes in his assertions, and he could only handle it with a stiff formality and heavy-handed "grace".

It seems that people like this really have a very fragile ego. They cannot abide the possibility of being wrong, so they avoid real study, and surround themselves with people who fear them. Any real challenge to their paper-maché expertise is met with accusations of poor manners and veiled threats.
-----------------------------

Of course, my comments above are not in any way directed at the illustrious Roger Pearse.

What I wish to say to Roger is: Cal has a point, and her manners are far better than your own. The science that you so casually dismiss is well within your ability to understand, if you simply apply a little effort. Until you do so, you will continue to make yourself a laughingstock by making bold statements that are at odds with well established knowledge.
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Old 07-09-2007, 05:52 PM   #358
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Cal has a point, and her manners are far better than your own.
Actually, I'm male.

But at least you didn't make the mistake of erring with respect to my gender after I posted a comment about fathering all of Scarlett Johanssen's children, which a certain individual here did at RD.net. You have three guesses who that was.
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Old 07-09-2007, 06:45 PM   #359
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This thread is too damn amusing to be closed. On a scale of 1-10 I give it a 9! You guys are great!
me too.

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As far as the OP is concerned I would like to add that if the only source of proof for the 900+ year age of these people is found only in the Old Testament and not anywhere else, I would doubt that it is true. I doubt it ever happened. If you believe it's true then surely you believe in talking snakes, being swept up to the heavens in a chariot, the sun stopping, men being swallowed by wales, etc. All these things slap "reality" in the face (not just science).
I think afdave does believe all these things, except the wales. Men actually have been swallowed by wales, in many a mining disaster. Whales are another question.

(thank you, I'm here all week.)
 
Old 07-09-2007, 08:17 PM   #360
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Cal has a point, and her manners are far better than your own.
Actually, I'm male.

But at least you didn't make the mistake of erring with respect to my gender after I posted a comment about fathering all of Scarlett Johanssen's children, which a certain individual here did at RD.net. You have three guesses who that was.
Whoops! My mistake!

In my own defense, you DO have a screen name that is very similar to my daughter's name... :blush:
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