Absolute Truth

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Do absolute truths exist in any form?

Yes
29
78%
No
7
19%
Unsure
1
3%
 
Total votes: 37

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SeebianWurm
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Post by SeebianWurm »

Why did you respond to this?

You are abusing the question. It's about the system of mathematics, not the state of on/off.
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UltraViolence83
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Post by UltraViolence83 »

SeebianWurm wrote:Why did you respond to this?

You are abusing the question. It's about the system of mathematics, not the state of on/off.
I got that off of here: http://www.religioustolerance.org/abs_true3.htm

i was wrong. it was 1+1=10, not 1+1=11.

i wasn't trying to bring the state of on/off into this. this topic is about absolute truth, and people were arguing over wether 1+1=2 was an absolute truth. obviously, in the binary system, it isn't.
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Post by kojikun »

1+1 does = 2 because we define 2 as the number that results from 1+1.

the belief that 1+1 does not always = 2 implies that there is some ultimate truth we do not know of. If im not mistaken, thats the exact opposite of her arguement.
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Post by Temjin »

UltraViolence83 wrote:
SeebianWurm wrote:Why did you respond to this?

You are abusing the question. It's about the system of mathematics, not the state of on/off.
I got that off of here: http://www.religioustolerance.org/abs_true3.htm

i was wrong. it was 1+1=10, not 1+1=11.

i wasn't trying to bring the state of on/off into this. this topic is about absolute truth, and people were arguing over wether 1+1=2 was an absolute truth. obviously, in the binary system, it isn't.
So what? We were not talking about binary here. We were talking about normal everyday mathematics. And even if 1+1=10 in binary, that doesn't change the fact that 1+1=2 in normal math too.
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UltraViolence83
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Post by UltraViolence83 »

Fine.
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Post by Frank Hipper »

Is there an absolute falsehood? Can the existence of something be proven by the existence of it's opposite?
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Post by Darth Wong »

UltraViolence83 wrote:
SeebianWurm wrote:Why did you respond to this?

You are abusing the question. It's about the system of mathematics, not the state of on/off.
I got that off of here: http://www.religioustolerance.org/abs_true3.htm

i was wrong. it was 1+1=10, not 1+1=11.
Don't be a jack-ass. 10 is simply binary for 2, you stupid shit.

1+1=2 because that is how numbers and addition are defined. It is necessarily true. This is like saying that you can't prove the definition of the word "raise". It is a word, it exists only as a definition of something.
i wasn't trying to bring the state of on/off into this. this topic is about absolute truth, and people were arguing over wether 1+1=2 was an absolute truth. obviously, in the binary system, it isn't.
Wrong, dumb-fuck. Since the original question was posed in base10 (which is implicit for all uses of numbers unless stated otherwise), 1+1=2. The fact that the same equation looks different in binary does not change the fact that it IS the same equation.
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Post by Colonel Olrik »

UltraViolence83 wrote:
SeebianWurm wrote:Why did you respond to this?

You are abusing the question. It's about the system of mathematics, not the state of on/off.
I got that off of here: http://www.religioustolerance.org/abs_true3.htm

i was wrong. it was 1+1=10, not 1+1=11.

i wasn't trying to bring the state of on/off into this. this topic is about absolute truth, and people were arguing over wether 1+1=2 was an absolute truth. obviously, in the binary system, it isn't.
convertion from binary to decimal system:

10 = 1*2^1 + 0*2^0 = 2 (surprise!).

That's the lamest argument about truth relativity I've heard in a long time. And that's a really piece of shit site, too. It has one of those "holier than thou" attitudes, putting Creation "scientists" and geologists in the same bag. Too bad the dumbfuck who wrote it has not heard of factual evidence and the scientific method as means of reaching valid conclusions.

He also reaches the stupendous conclusion that the number of existing Gods is probably between zero (defended by most atheists :lol:) and infinity, defended by other groups.

Be wary of your information sources.
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Post by DocHorror »

The people who thought this up are obviously following the same kind of 'Perception creates reality' idea that was used in 1984 (eg, when Winston is getting tortured & O'Brien (is it O'Brien?) says that he can fly because he can make Winston SEE that he is flying)

Similar to the 'How many lights do you see' line from Chain of Command...

1+1=2 because our perception is that 1+1=2 & thats what we expect it to be, if our perceptions are wrong or being manipulated then 1+1 can = anything we are told it can equal...

If anything this tells us that an absolute truth depends on whether we perceive it as absolute...
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Colonel Olrik
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Post by Colonel Olrik »

DocHorror wrote: 1+1=2 because our perception is that 1+1=2 & thats what we expect it to be, if our perceptions are wrong or being manipulated then 1+1 can = anything we are told it can equal...
No, it can't. Changing bases is a simple game, and basing an argument on it reveals the author's imense ignorance of math.

1 + 1 (d) = 10 (d) is always a false statement. 2 (d) = 10 (b) is an simple equality, always true. It represents the same number. The only difficulty in thought arises from our lack of training to think (and do math) in other bases rather than the decimal. This is not an handicap, since it is really a trivial and futile thing to do. It's better to let the schools teach the really important stuff in math.

edit: I may also add that 10 in binary notation does not read "ten", but one-zero. Can anyone say red-herring?
Last edited by Colonel Olrik on 2003-01-16 12:26pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Darth Servo »

What a retard. The actual value of the equation stays the same no matter which base number you use. If there's one of anything lying on the ground and you put another one one the ground next to it, you then have two of that something.

You have
'*'
You add another
'*'
You now have
'*' '*'

Whether its called 2 or 10 is irrevelent.
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Post by Pink Eye »

Temjin wrote:
Exonerate wrote:If I remember correctly, in abstract mathematics, or some other math course, you have to prove that 1 + 1 = 2.
*Wonders how the hell you're supposed to do that*

Just for fun:

The proof starts from the Peano Postulates, which define the natural
numbers N. N is the smallest set satisfying these postulates:

P1.1 is in N.
P2.If x is in N, then its "successor" x' is in N.
P3.There is no x such that x' = 1.
P4.If x isn't 1, then there is a y in N such that y' = x.
P5.If S is a subset of N, 1 is in S, and the implication (x in S => x' in S) holds, then S = N.

Then you have to define addition recursively:
Def: Let a and b be in N. If b = 1,
then define a + b = a' (using P1 and P2).
If b isn't 1, then let c' = b, with c in N (using P4),
and define a + b = (a + c)'.

Then you have to define 2:
Def: 2 = 1'

2 is in N by P1, P2, and the definition of 2.

Theorem: 1 + 1 = 2

Proof: Use the first part of the definition of + with a = b = 1.
Then 1 + 1 = 1' = 2 Q.E.D.
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Post by Raoul Duke, Jr. »

I find that, for the most part, people who insist on claiming that there is no absolute truth are the same people who are absolutely incapable of telling the truth.
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Post by UltraViolence83 »

Look, I'm not exactly a mathematical expert. Or a computer expert. I just put in a response I saw in a website that I thought made sense, from a certain point of view, in relation to "Absolute Truth." I'm sorry, but I really don't think I should have been insulted and ridiculed for that.
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Post by Alyrium Denryle »

Yes, and no. For math and other things that are cut and dry, like...math, and historical dates yes

But as far as the details of events go...no. For those it depends on who you talk to, one person versions of events may be VERY different from another persons telling of the same event.
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UltraViolence83
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Post by UltraViolence83 »

Raoul Duke, Jr. wrote:I find that, for the most part, people who insist on claiming that there is no absolute truth are the same people who are absolutely incapable of telling the truth.
I'll have you know I'm known for my brutal honesty. I've gotten into more trouble than I should due to it, too. "Do I look fat in this?" "Yes." *cry* that sort of thing... :?

I agree that site isn't the best, but I use it for information on religions.

As for my stance on Absolute Truth, I thought looking for "Absolute Truth" was subscribing to solipsism. (me wanting to stray as far away from it as possible.)
...This would sharpen you up and make you ready for a bit of the old...ultraviolence.
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Post by Darth Wong »

UltraViolence83 wrote:Look, I'm not exactly a mathematical expert. Or a computer expert. I just put in a response I saw in a website that I thought made sense, from a certain point of view, in relation to "Absolute Truth." I'm sorry, but I really don't think I should have been insulted and ridiculed for that.
We don't know you. You're an Internet pseudonym. We don't know whether you're a nice person, a bad person, a mean person, a smart person, or a dumb person. But we do know that your post was fucking stupid, and that's enough.

So quit yer whining. If you didn't want to get blasted for making a stupid post, then you shouldn't have made the stupid post.
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Post by Darth Wong »

UltraViolence83 wrote:As for my stance on Absolute Truth, I thought looking for "Absolute Truth" was subscribing to solipsism. (me wanting to stray as far away from it as possible.)
No, solipsism is the reduction of all knowledge to absolute truth, which is limited to the absurdly minimalist "I think therefore I am" statement. In essence, their problem is not so much that they seek absolute truth, but that they dismiss everything that apart from it.

Scientists look at the universe and say "look, maybe we don't have absolute knowledge that the universe is real, but it seems pretty fucking real, so I'm going to study it". Solipsists remind us that we can't absolutely prove the universe is real, so therefore, they conclude that all of science is a wasted endeavour. That's why they're idiots.
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"It's not evil for God to do it. Or for someone to do it at God's command."- Jonathan Boyd on baby-killing

"you guys are fascinated with the use of those "rules of logic" to the extent that you don't really want to discussus anything."- GC

"I do not believe Russian Roulette is a stupid act" - Embracer of Darkness

"Viagra commercials appear to save lives" - tharkûn on US health care.

http://www.stardestroyer.net/Mike/RantMode/Blurbs.html
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Post by UltraViolence83 »

What about nihilism? Nihilism's fun. "What does nihilism mean? That the highest values devaluate themselves. The aim is lacking; 'Why?' finds no answer."

-Friedrich Nietzsche
...This would sharpen you up and make you ready for a bit of the old...ultraviolence.
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Post by Temjin »

UltraViolence83 wrote:
*SNIP*

I'll have you know I'm known for my brutal honesty. I've gotten into more trouble than I should due to it, too. "Do I look fat in this?" "Yes." *cry* that sort of thing... :?

*SNIP*
You know, after someone insults your inteligence, that isn't exactly the smartest thing to post. :)
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UltraViolence83
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Post by UltraViolence83 »

As I said, it gets me in trouble. :(
...This would sharpen you up and make you ready for a bit of the old...ultraviolence.
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Post by neoolong »

UltraViolence83 wrote:As I said, it gets me in trouble. :(
And yet you expect not to be insulted for posting stupid shit. Have you spent any time reading the forum?
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Post by Darth Servo »

Temjin wrote:
UltraViolence83 wrote:I'll have you know I'm known for my brutal honesty. I've gotten into more trouble than I should due to it, too. "Do I look fat in this?" "Yes." *cry* that sort of thing... :?
You know, after someone insults your inteligence, that isn't exactly the smartest thing to post. :)
Well then, it would seem that our assesment of his intelligence was accurate then. :)
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Post by UltraViolence83 »

I give up. I'm stupid. :cry:
...This would sharpen you up and make you ready for a bit of the old...ultraviolence.
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Post by Darth Servo »

UltraViolence83 wrote:I give up. I'm stupid. :cry:
There, there. You're not irredemable just yet. Go get some real science textbooks and read them. Educate yourself. Its not too late.
"everytime a person is born the Earth weighs just a little more."--DMJ on StarTrek.com
"You see now you are using your thinking and that is not a good thing!" DMJay on StarTrek.com

"Watching Sarli argue with Vympel, Stas, Schatten and the others is as bizarre as the idea of the 40-year-old Virgin telling Hugh Hefner that Hef knows nothing about pussy, and that he is the expert."--Elfdart
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