A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.
Rules
This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.
Religious people aren't bothered or surprised at all when their prayers don't come true. On the other hand, if their cell phone or car or air conditioner suddenly stops working without warning, they're absolutely shocked and dismayed.
My point is that even the most religious people actually believe in science far more than they believe in their religion. They're just too stupid to realize it.
There's a reason why "virtue signalling" was a term originally coined to describe faith behaviors.
No one prays harder than a scientist waiting for a peer review.
Please God, I just ask that reviewer number 2 comes to their fucking senses for 17 minutes to approve my paper.
Glowing handjob hand unlocked
You're missing part of the appeal. In the right column, there's a huge pile of money going toward the design and production of that arm. In the left column, there's a huge pile of money going to a faith healer's private jet. Sure, functioning prosthetic arms are pretty cool, but private jets are super cool.
Side topic: I think Pascal's Wager is stupid because what if there is a god and it only sends believers to hell? What if there is a good and it sends everyone to hell no matter what? What if there is a god and it didn't make an afterlife and won't interfere in actual life, so why even bother? What if there's a flying spaghetti monster out there and that's what god is?
/rant
That's why it's pascal's mugging. You're getting screwed for something that, statistically speaking, is a shot in the dark.
So here’s the thing with today’s prosthetics: they kinda suck. For example this 2022 study reports that 44% of amputees rejected their prosthetic:
Most responders complained about the comfort (60.87%, n = 14) as well as the weight of the device (52.17%, n = 12).
What apparently goes a long way is accepting the missing limb and living with it. And I guess religion does help with that.
Of course, it's all primitive dogshit, basically early 20th century sticks with fancier motors. Big deal.
We need to figure out how to regrow limbs. A stupid salamander can do it.
There's some evidence that mammals never lost the ability. Unfortunately, our scarring response is massively faster and locks wounds down.
A few years back, they engineered mice to lack a gene, to find out what it did. Initially, someone got in trouble for not properly marking the modified mice (via holes in their ears). They later discovered the holes healed completely, including regenerating fur etc.
Unfortunately, it also makes recovery from larger wounds difficult, since without a scarring response they don't close quickly.
Yes, I've read some old books that talk about the "current of injury" and how you can induce something like regeneration in humans if you leave the scab alone, but only for small things like fingertips.
I suspect, as you say, that you trade one thing off for another, but we're all office workers these days so we can probably figure out something even for large wounds, since we can just sit around for weeks and heal.
I hope that when this AI craze dies down that we can redirect our humongous computing resources to simulating entire cells, maybe entire organs.
Deep down I'm a life extension nutter but reality had a way to knock that out of me...
I've twice asked Christians to pray in Jesus' name asking for the immediate and permanent end to torture, rape, murder, and war. They prayed, and when I next met them they were still Christians despite none of those things ending.
I think religious people are dishonest and/or unable to differentiate between reality and fairytales.
Matthew 7:7-11
7 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
Playing devil's advocate: science hasn't cracked any of those yet either.
It has helped to improve on those issues though.
People who are religious in the end have faith because they are selfish. They will perpetuate a religious belief that overall creates a worse world for everyone living (wars, enforced ideology, etc) in the hopes that they can have an afterlife of bliss and excess.
Religion: "thanks to our prayers we made it possible for science to create a prosthetic limb"
can we stop with this early 2010s debate?
it's bullshit all the way. Science is also used to create weapons which creates record numbers of amputees, and religion is still used as propaganda to justify those wars. And even with prosthetic limbs, access might be limited based on profitability.
the main difference is community support, class issues, capitalism...
Science and technology advancement by itself is dangerous if society doesn't advance as well. regardless of the specific religion or lack thereof.
Saying that as an absolute science nerd with a STEM PhD,
science vs religion debate has been around at least since the 1980s.
/s
1982 to be exact, when Thomas Dolby was blinded with science much like Saul was once blinded by Jesus on the road to Damascus. It’s poetry in motion.
that debate probably existed much earlier. wouldn't surprise me if some shaman's were upset at those high tech craftmen with copper tools and those craftmen though the chaman was crazy...
To be fair religion is probably how he got his arm blown off in the first place
I look at it this way in terms of spirituallity... (Aka psychopath minded religion excluded.)
Kid has 1 arm.
Community that doesn't have the means or knowledge for science helps promote hope and faith that keeps the kid going.
Science does it's thing, as it always has and creates an arm.
Kid is able to get the new arm because the community and faith helped keep his spirits up so he didn't suicide out of hopelessness.
...The real enemy is the marketing and psychological manipulation tainting everything. It's not just religions. It rapes everything for all that it can benefit from. Every demographic is observed and bled of all its authentic soul. From religions, to cultures, governments, arts, and even sciences.
All major religions have people doing stuff that is to the benefit of the higher-ups in the religion and is to the disadvantage to the common believer.
But you’re right, it also happens outside of religion, like with capitalism and billionaires vs the working class.
Religion is just a means to keep the plebs from revolting.
Why not foster hope through science? Religion is unneeded for that.
Plus, if the situation was hopeless scientifically, the kid would be better off accepting reality than to endlessly hope for something that will never come. Just build with what he can instead of daydreaming about what can't be.
Don't worry, the religious people will find a way to make this about themselves and/or their religion!
God took away the foreskin...
Science will bring it back...
I'm 14...
And part of my dick is missing...
If god took your foreskin, it's because He had a bigger plan for it. Probably the universe's biggest tapestry.
And religious zealots will take your virginity. This could mean pedophile priests or pedophile billionaires.
Not mutually exclusive though I can understand how the West's experience has led them to that conclusion.
Though there are many scientists in the West that are religious.
One should understand that the purpose of prayer and community isn't necessarily to improve material circumstances.
Meh. It's not like religious people aren't also doing science. Like most of my labmates are slightly religious (but I'm not lol).
It's amazing the degree to which they can compartmentalize. When I was doing my post-doc there was a tech in the lab who was a young-Earth creationist. In a microbiology lab. Where we made mutants strains by using selective pressure. He was a good tech and a good guy, but WTAF?
These religious people didn't believe enough, they are lacking faith. I now pastor, imam, rabbi whatever its name can make that child grow that arm in no time. All they need to do is give up their earthly possessions and become faithful followers.
Kai Winn enters the chat 
Bad meme because the kid looks happy in the final frame regardless of what the adults did.
Faith healing works. I know because it cured me of my decapitation after I was cremated and my remains were fed to a giant lizard.
Religion:
If have only 1 hand, to be happy, just have to join them both
Well, I'm sure scientists have never overlooked the impact of social conditions before as they are obviously irrelevant to how the natural world works.
But what about his soul
no science --> no engineering --> no Kia
