WordWolf

For those curious about cold-reading, here's more information than you'll want to read on the subject: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_reading http://skepdic.com/coldread.html http://www.randi.org/library/coldreading/ http://www.skeptics.com.au/articles/coldread.htm http://www.wikihow.com/Cold-Read http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/skep...q_skep_cold.htm http://www.denisdutton.com/cold_reading.htm http://skeptico.blogs.com/skeptico/2007/11...edward-jam.html http://www.gladwell.com/2007/2007_11_12_a_profile.html http://www.skepticreport.com/psychicpowers/confessions.htm http://www.csicop.org/si/2003-07/rorschach.html http://www.skepticfriends.org/forum/showqu...amp;fldAuto=198 http://www.skepticism.net/articles/2001/jo...ld-reading-gig/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forer_effect http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subjective_validation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias

For those who arrived late, we discussed what happens when Christians do this sort of thing. We had a chance to step right up and get our own personal prophecies. http://www.greasespotcafe.com/ipb/index.ph...=12632&st=0

"I've just decided to switch our Friday schedule to Monday, which means that the test we take each Friday, on what we learned during the week, will now take place on Monday, before we've learned it. But, since today is Tuesday, it doesn't matter in the slightest." "No, no, don't speak--for some moments in life there are no words." "We must remember there are many more important things, many more important things . . . off hand, I can't think of what they are, but I'm sure there must be something." "So shines a good deed in a weary world." "That's right, you don't know because only I know. If you knew and I didn't know then you'd be teaching me instead of me teaching you, and for a student to be teaching his teacher is presumptuous and rude. Do I make my self clear?" "Yes, sir."

"I've just decided to switch our Friday schedule to Monday, which means that the test we take each Friday, on what we learned during the week, will now take place on Monday, before we've learned it. But, since today is Tuesday, it doesn't matter in the slightest." "No, no, don't speak--for some moments in life there are no words." "We must remember there are many more important things, many more important things . . . off hand, I can't think of what they are, but I'm sure there must be something."

I only remember it for the guy falling off an overpass onto an expressway, and surviving only because he fell onto a dump-truck's trash cargo. On the other side of the overpass, guys saw the dump-truck pass with him in the cargo area. They commented to each other that it was a shame "When folks be throwing away a perfectly good whiteboy like that." ================== Ok, next movie. "I've just decided to switch our Friday schedule to Monday, which means that the test we take each Friday, on what we learned during the week, will now take place on Monday, before we've learned it. But, since today is Tuesday, it doesn't matter in the slightest."

CORRECT! "Masterpiece Society" was about a closed system, a planet where everyone was a clone of their predecessor, and a defined role in society. They sealed themselves under a dome- which is fine until something REALLY big approaches your planet. Using Starfleet tech, they were able to reinforce the dome, and use the Enterprise to push the thing further away from the planet. (Why they didn't try SOONER to push it, thus changing the course, is beyond me. Even a TENTH of a degree, a lot SOONER, would have made a large course change if done soon enough. Instead, they have to move it a LOT at the last minute._ Aw.

Ok, supposedly, vpw was taped as saying the following in 1965 (or 1972, one or the other, and either makes the same point... " And so, all of this stuff began to build. And so finally, as I kept praying, I just said to the Father, I said, Father, teach me the Word - Teach me the Word, And one night, something happened, which to me is the greatest thing I don't - I see only one experience that perhaps is greater than this in the Bible, and that's the Apostle Paul's experience on the road to Damascus. Outside of that, I see nothing in the Word that equals how God revealed Himself to me and talked to me and told me as plain as day that, if I would study the Word, He would teach me the Word like He had not been able to teach it to anybody since the first generation, And of course at that time I thought, now that's a dandy, boy, if I learned this Word of God, everybody'll listen to me, the whole church will be blessed, my denomination will grow by leaps and bounds because we'll have the Word of God. And I thought that was terrific - but during the process of that revelation and I can't tell it all to you because we're already closing off. But during the process of it, I said: "Father, how will I know that this is You and that You'll really teach it to me?" Because I had worked the Word in commentaries and the rest of it and I couldn't understand it, couldn't get it to fit. And it happened to be bright sunshine like today - like it's been today and yesterday what we people refer to, I guess as Indian Summer - beautiful day. And the sun was shining brightly; it was in the Fall of the year - gorgeous! And there wasn't a cloud in the sky. And just on the inside of me it seemed to say, Well, just say to the Father, Well, if - if it'll just snow - right now, you'll just know that this is God talking to you, But you see I'd never had much experience with God talking to me. And this business of He saying to me, just as audibly as I'm speaking to you, that He'd teach me the Word if I'd teach it, sort of shook me. I'd been expecting to hear from heaven for a long time, but I hadn't heard that way before, you know. Ah, my ears were perhaps clogged up, since that time I've heard a lot of things - from Him. But, then I said, "Lord, if this is really true, I'd like to see it snow." And I opened my eyes, must not have been over three seconds, and I was sitting in front of the window looking East, the sun was - ah, West. The sun was in the West and there wasn't a cloud in the sky cause I could see the whole area. I closed my eyes when God said to me that He would teach me the Word if I'd teach it. And I said, Lord, to know that this is true, I'd like to see it snow, And I opened my eyes and it was pitch - almost pitch black outside and the snow was falling so thick, I have never seen it fall that thick since that day. And I sat in that little office and I cried like a baby, because I guess it was about my time to cry, because I'd grown up but didn't know the Word." ========================= About 1970, documented in TW:LiL, vpw said the following on tape: "I was praying. And I told Father outright that He could have the whole thing, unless there were real genuine answers that I wouldn't ever have to back up on. And that's when He spoke to me audibly, just like I'm talking to you now. He said He would teach me the Word as it had not been known since the first century if I would teach it to others. Well, I nearly flew off my chair. I couldn't believe that God would talk to me." ""Well, on the day God spoke to me, I couldn't believe it. But then I came to the point by the next day where I said to myself-maybe it's true. So the next day I talked to God again. I said, 'Lord, if it's really true what you said to me yesterday, if that was really you talking to me, you've got to give me a sign so that I can really know, so that I can believe.' The sky was crystal blue and clear. Not a cloud in sight. It was a beautiful early autumn day. I said 'If that was really you, and you meant what you said, give me a sign. Let me see it snow.' My eyes were tightly shut as I prayed. And then I opened them. The sky was so white and thick with snow, I couldn't see the tanks at the filling station on the corner not 75 feet away." Doctor relates this phenomenon in a joyous voice. " ======================= Supposedly, this was a life-changing incident. However, not only did he keep it a secret, even from his own wife, for over 20 years, but he seems unable to keep the DETAILS straight! He was addressing God one way, then another. His response was one thing, then another. His skeptical response was immediate, then it was the next day. The "snow" was a BLACK snow, then it was a white-out. I expect a man to have difficulty remembering what he ate for lunch a year ago, but if he supposedly had a life-changing experience, he should remember it in great detail.

"Better off Dead"?

"We mean you no harm. We must warn you that your planet is about to experience massive seismic disruptions due to an approaching stellar core fragment. No structure will be able to withstand them." "Captain, I don't want to be rude but we don't wish to interact with outsiders. I have only responded because of your warning. " "They've managed to turn a dubious scientific endeavor into dogma... " "I was born to be one of the best scientific minds of my generation. But in the past five days, I have encountered technology that I have barely imagined. I've got to ask myself... If we're so brilliant... how come we didn't invent any of these things?" "Maybe necessity really is the mother of invention. You don't always look for something until you need it."

Some people claim that Mary Magdalene was the woman caught in the act of adultery that Jesus told to "GO and sin no more." I can find no Scriptural reason to support this claim. However, lots of people claim it anyway.

I don't see that it makes much difference if Ham was the VERY youngest, or one of the youngest. It looks to me as if he is probably the very youngest.

The book was published about 1972. It took place at the beginning of the 1970s. Page 178 has vpw claiming "the 1942 promise." Page 180 has vpw claiming the miraculous snowstorm. "I was praying. And I told Father outright that He could have the whole thing, unless there were real genuine answers that I wouldn't ever have to back up on. And that's when He spoke to me audibly, just like I'm talking to you now. He said He would teach me the Word as it had not been known since the first century if I would teach it to others. Well, I nearly flew off my chair. I couldn't believe that God would talk to me." ""Well, on the day God spoke to me, I couldn't believe it. But then I came to the point by the next day where I said to myself-maybe it's true. So the next day I talked to God again. I said, 'Lord, if it's really true what you said to me yesterday, if that was really you talking to me, you've got to give me a sign so that I can really know, so that I can believe.' The sky was crystal blue and clear. Not a cloud in sight. It was a beautiful early autumn day. I said 'If that was really you, and you meant what you said, give me a sign. Let me see it snow.' My eyes were tightly shut as I prayed. And then I opened them. The sky was so white and thick with snow, I couldn't see the tanks at the filling station on the corner not 75 feet away." Doctor relates this phenomenon in a joyous voice. " The snow reference wasn't in any pfal class I took, which was the videotaped one. In the taped class, he said he'd dedicated his life toward God's Word, but nothing about such a promise. It would have been too jarring to me- I NEVER felt comfortable about this claim of vpw's. I felt that Scripture made it clear that such information, if God tells it to you, is specifically FOR YOU and not for PUBLIC CONSUMPTION. In her own book, Mrs W said the first time he told ANYONE was when he told the early corps. That means that the book was written about the same time vpw BEGAN telling this story. I find her comments interesting for 2 reasons: 1) It supposedly happened in 1942. He didn't tell HIS OWN WIFE until over 20 years later. 2) Her own recounting of the snow quotes him as saying the sky WENT BLACK with snow, which is the opposite of what it said in TW:LiL. ===================== Here's what I said on this very subject: Could God make it snow for any of us? I believe all the Christians here will say "yes". (I'm supposing that you mean the "snow on the pumps". The Tulsa snow job was confirmed to be a untruth in great detail.) There's several sub-issues here. Was this supposedly REAL snow, or a VISION of snow? All indications SEEM to be that it's supposed to be REAL snow. If it WAS, then it arrived in exactly ONE spot, with some of it instantly on the ground, and some of it heavy in the air. It then VANISHED. Could God do that? Well, yes. Whether you think God would go thru all that trouble when a VISION would work as well is a matter of opinion. If it was a VISION, then this goes back to the original question- which it would anyway. The supposed snow was to confirm that God would teach vpw God's Word like it had not been known since the 1st century, if vpw would teach it to others. The teachings and practices vpw taught and instituted bear NO resemblance to the 1st century church. They decentralized authority-he concentrated it in one person-himself. They spread out the money where there was need-vpw concentrated it at hq, where it STAYED. Their leaders led austere lives, Paul working a secular job at one point. vpw piled up luxuries for himself of nearly every kind. Their emphasis was on spiritual basics. vpw emphasized intellectual study. They had signs, miracles and wonders as day-to-day events. vpw-well, I suppose he saw a FEW here and there. Furthermore, "The Word like it hadn't been known since the 1st century" is a FICTION. In the 1st century, they had the Old Testament (the Torah), and a few of the letters where they could be found. It sounds like such a neat slogan, though..... Finally, although vpw taught others, EVERYTHING he taught (95% at the bare minimum) can be traced DIRECTLY to the work of ANOTHER Christian which was ALREADY in effect at the time. pfal was an cut-and-paste of the work (primarily) BG Leonard- whose class vpw copied over word-for-word originally, and thus it was known to all students of BG Leonard before vpw came around- (secondarily) EW Bullinger-whose books had been around for perhaps half-a-century before vpw heard of him, thus it was known to all his readers- (tertially) JE Stiles-whose work and book on the holy spirit were ALSO in effect long before, and whose book "Gifts of the Holy Spirit" was copied over almost word-for-word into the 1st edition of the White Book. Thus, the only things that had not "been known" before vpw ripped off the works of others was a handful of names-"manifestation","administration"-if those weren't a direct ripoff of someone else as well. Thus, the entire 1942 promise completely failed to come to pass. vpw taught others, but at no point did he teach them "God's Word as it has not been known since the 1st century" (for all the reasons I just gave.) Since God does not fail His promises, the logical conclusion is that this was NOT a promise of God. According to Scripture, if a man claims to speak in the name of the LORD and what he says does NOT come to pass, then he is a FALSE PROPHET. The only question then remaining is: Did vpw invent this 1942 promise? or did vpw receive a vision from a source other than the True God? The possibility of him actually receiving this as revelation from God, as you see, is excluded based on its phrasing and its results. Given that BG Leonard wrote something similar, vpw read his book, and, some years later began making this promise, it is most likely that vpw intentionally made it up based on BG Leonard's writings.

Of all things, I think both the problem of cold-reading, as well as how it works, was illustrated quite well in South Park's episode about John Edwards. You can see it here: http://www.allsp.com/ It's season 6, episode 15, "The Biggest Douche in the Universe." (The episode was named after John Edwards.) Penn and Teller also exposed this. I don't have a link for them. However, they agreed John Edwards is the biggest douche in the universe. (Here's another link for the same episode:) http://www.southparkzone.com/episodes/615/...e-Universe.html

The 2nd and 3rd quotes definitely sound like MASH. I can hear Burns saying the 2nd. If it was someone else, he COULD have said it, at any rate...

I know there's a guy chased by some paperboy over the 2 bucks. Is this "Breaking All the Rules"?

No. And a decent description of the episode would be sufficient. I thought this one didn't get a lot of airplay- perhaps it got even less than I thought....

It's some movie I never sat down to see. Was it "the Christmas Story"?

"This is a mistake." "Good Lord, Martin, what would you have me do?" "Anything that would keep them out of here." "We have nothing to hide." "We have a great deal to lose." "What is that... ?" "It's them... Look at this, Martin..." "Think of it another way -- are there still people in your society who have not discovered who they really are or what they're meant to do with their lives... ? They may be in the wrong job... they may be writing bad poetry. Even worse, there may be great poets working as laborers, never to be discovered. That does not happen here." "This is in direct violation of the intentions of our founders, Aaron..." "I don't think they intended us to die, Martin." "We have immeasurably extended the potential of humanity -- physically, psychologically -- we have evolved beyond... beyond..." "Beyond us..." "Thank you, Martin... Perhaps you've also made it clear that we still have a few imperfections we're working on..." "If we do not survive, the balance of our society won't mean a great deal... will it?" "I'll tell you the truth... and I'll deny it if you tell Martin... but today has been exhilarating... meeting you, meeting new people, with new ideas..." "I feel the same about being here... I'm something of a student of Human nature... I find this all fascinating... " "A nursery rhyme my mother used to read to me has been running round and round my mind since this all began..." "A nursery rhyme?" "Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall... Humpty Dumpty had a great fall... " "All the King's horses and all the King's Men... Couldn't put Humpty together again." "Why do we tell our children such ghastly stories?" "Perhaps to prepare them for times like these." "We are every bit as fragile as an egg and as impossible to reconstruct... integrated and refined to such a degree that any fundamental change would lead to chaos... Nobody ever talks about how the King feels about being so... helpless... " "Sure. With some modifications... Oh, this would be perfect... " "What... ?" "If the answer to all this is in a VISOR created for a blind man... who never would have existed in your society. No offense intended." "I could fall in love with you, Aaron. So easily. But we both know the end of that story, don't we? How would Martin feel about introducing half-Betazoid DNA into the genetic balance?"

Last time this came up in passing, here's what I posted. =================== t's mentioned here: Genesis 9:2-23. (http://www.biblegateway.com) It says that Ham "saw [Noah's] nakedness". What does it mean? Well, read Leviticus 18 and Leviticus 20 in their entirety, and you'll see. Leviticus 20:11a is the short form. "And the man that lieth with his father's wife hath uncovered his father's nakedness:" (Or Leviticus 18:8.) So, Ham didn't literally do anything to Mr Noah-he did it to Mrs Noah. Now, the reason Canaan, son of Ham, was cursed becomes a little clearer. (His father was Ham, and his mother...) I wanted to get that covered also. In case anyone's curious, that was covered by one of the corps in one of the "gmir" articles (which stopped around the time PoP was read) and that's where I saw this taught. Further, I lent that article to a guy who had NO connection to twi, and was Jewish-and-when he gave it back, he agreed with the conclusions. ============ Let me know if you need me to expand on this.

Let me get back to this when I have time to do it correctly.

It's also premature to accept that the previous time in any form included a fair, unbiased examination or even an honest skepticism. That was the same time-period you referred to transcribing vpw tapes to the disciples who transcribed Paul's letter. If you're adamant about dancing a few more rounds, Mike, I'll call for the band to play a few more numbers. On the other hand, we can save the time and skip the next round.....

"This is a mistake." "Good Lord, Martin, what would you have me do?" "Anything that would keep them out of here." "We have nothing to hide." "We have a great deal to lose." "What is that... ?" "It's them... Look at this, Martin..." "Think of it another way -- are there still people in your society who have not discovered who they really are or what they're meant to do with their lives... ? They may be in the wrong job... they may be writing bad poetry. Even worse, there may be great poets working as laborers, never to be discovered. That does not happen here." "This is in direct violation of the intentions of our founders, Aaron..." "I don't think they intended us to die, Martin." "We have immeasurably extended the potential of humanity -- physically, psychologically -- we have evolved beyond... beyond..." "Beyond us..." "Thank you, Martin... Perhaps you've also made it clear that we still have a few imperfections we're working on..." "If we do not survive, the balance of our society won't mean a great deal... will it?" "I'll tell you the truth... and I'll deny it if you tell Martin... but today has been exhilarating... meeting you, meeting new people, with new ideas..." "I feel the same about being here... I'm something of a student of Human nature... I find this all fascinating... " "A nursery rhyme my mother used to read to me has been running round and round my mind since this all began..." "A nursery rhyme?" "Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall... Humpty Dumpty had a great fall... " "All the King's horses and all the King's Men... Couldn't put Humpty together again." "Why do we tell our children such ghastly stories?" "Perhaps to prepare them for times like these." "We are every bit as fragile as an egg and as impossible to reconstruct... integrated and refined to such a degree that any fundamental change would lead to chaos... Nobody ever talks about how the King feels about being so... helpless... "

My experience is that Firefox is a superior product in every manner that I care about. Especially since it's customizable- and I can add all sorts of additional security measures to it as I see fit.

"This is a mistake." "Good Lord, Martin, what would you have me do?" "Anything that would keep them out of here." "We have nothing to hide." "We have a great deal to lose." "What is that... ?" "It's them... Look at this, Martin..." "Think of it another way -- are there still people in your society who have not discovered who they really are or what they're meant to do with their lives... ? They may be in the wrong job... they may be writing bad poetry. Even worse, there may be great poets working as laborers, never to be discovered. That does not happen here." "This is in direct violation of the intentions of our founders, Aaron..." "I don't think they intended us to die, Martin." "We have immeasurably extended the potential of humanity -- physically, psychologically -- we have evolved beyond... beyond..." "Beyond us..." "Thank you, Martin... Perhaps you've also made it clear that we still have a few imperfections we're working on..." "If we do not survive, the balance of our society won't mean a great deal... will it?"

No.