Baiting the ID Teacher

 

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-----Original Message-----
From: Scott Vigil
Sent: Monday, April 1, 2013 12:33 PM
To: Bryan Hunt
Subject: Introduction to Neuroscience II

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqU9lmFztOU

 

At 46:56, a hot young California Bab[e] talks sexy about the nervous system.

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Scott Vigil
Sent: Monday, April 1, 2013 6:24 PM
To: Bryan Hunt; Scott Vigil II
Subject: 14. Limbic System

 

Really interesting!

 

Non-optimal pathway from Amigdala to Hypothalimus tells you about embryonic development and sometimes evolutionary development.

Stria-terminalus

At 36:25, "Totally nutty inefficient going out through left field projections."

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAOnSbDSaOw

 

Segment goes to 42:00.

 

"Evolution is not an inventor. It is just a tinkerer."

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Scott Vigil
Sent: Saturday, May 4, 2013 11:12 AM
To: Bryan Hunt
Subject: NOVA scienceNOW w/ Neil deGrasse Tyson: How smart are animals?

 

Susan,

 

Perhaps you will enjoy this.

http://youtu.be/9_3s4V9FLVA

 

Tyson is a highly placed Astro-Physicist.

 

If you like science, you'll like this. If you like cute little doggies, you'll go crazy over it.

 

One interesting thing... my Chow mix had moments where he was as ferocious as the wolves they showed. But, he still was gentle with me and my family.

 

Scott

 

Scott 3/26/14: For a short time, Bryan’s wife entered the discussion.

 

From: Scott Vigil
Sent: Wednesday, May 8, 2013 2:27 PM
To: Bryan Hunt
Subject: Anthrax Investigation

Hey Bryan,

Go to the twenty-two minute and fifty-five second point and check out the signage on the machine. Also, see the 24:25 point in the video.

http://youtu.be/ZgDKkBHrLgM

Scott

 

Scott 3/26/14: This show contained a machine built by Beckman-Coulter, the company that made the diagnostics machines Bryan and I were working on.

 

-----Original Message-----

From: Bryan Hunt

Sent: Wednesday, May 8, 2013 3:07 PM

To: Scott Vigil

Subject: Re: Anthrax Investigation

 

Awesome - a Biomek!  Those things are very versatile.  Perhaps one of Beckmans most popular products.

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Scott Vigil
Sent: Wednesday, May 8, 2013 3:33 PM
To: Bryan Hunt
Subject: RE: Anthrax Investigation

 

I thought you would like it. I also sent it to some of the other guys.

 

Toni was impressed  ;^)

 

-----Original Message-----

From: Bryan Hunt

Sent: Thursday, May 9, 2013 9:44 AM

To: Scott Vigil

Subject: Re: Anthrax Investigation

 

Here is what Bob Burger said about it (he worked on Biomek)

 

Neat! I remember that we sold some Biomek FX system to do anthrax testing over a decade ago. This video shows the NXp, which came later.

 

Bob

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Scott Vigil
Sent: Thursday, May 9, 2013 10:11 AM
To: Bryan Hunt
Subject: RE: Anthrax Investigation

 

Nice.

 

From: Scott Vigil
Sent: Tuesday, June 25, 2013 1:36 PM
To: Bryan Hunt
Subject: Francis Bacon, The Advancement of Learning, 1605

It would disgrace us now that the wide spaces of the material globe. the lands and seas. have been broached and explored. if the limits of the intellectual globe should be set by the narrow discoveries of the ancients.

Francis Bacon, The Advancement of Learning, 1605

Cal Berkeley, Cognitive Science 103, Lecture 10, http://youtu.be/dPMYCTMQSOs, 21:20.

From: Bryan Hunt
Sent: Sunday, June 30, 2013 9:59 PM
To: Scott Vigil
Subject: Re: More than 4,000 Years

Darwin and Lyell didn't know very much about the complexity of life like we know now.  No way it happened in 4,000 years, or trillions of years.

On Sat, Jun 29, 2013 at 2:19 PM, Scott Vigil wrote:

Evidently, it was Charles Lyell who convinced Darwin that there had been enough time (longer than 4,000 years) for evolution to occur.  

Lyell was a lawyer who studied geological formations in his spare time. I guess this realization was contrary to Lyell’s wishes. I think a lot of people want their nice neat concept of God and our origins to remain in place.

 http://youtu.be/vHlrk6cNcdQ, 55:00.

From: Bryan Hunt
Sent: Monday, July 1, 2013 9:31 AM
To: Scott Vigil
Subject: Re: More than 4,000 Years

Do you work for Satan man?   Ugh, very busy this week but I will try to find time to answer this email.  John Lennox has a great book (several great books actually) that covers Genesis and time thing from various perspectives.  I just started reading it.  I am also reading his book "Gunning for God".

My take on all this is that we don't understand it all and when we do then it will be clear.  I know that is not a satisfying answer for you but there really are a lot of reasons to believe the Bible.

From: Scott Vigil
Sent: Monday, July 1, 2013 10:11 AM
To: Bryan Hunt
Subject: RE: More than 4,000 Years

“Do you work for Satan man?” I’m laughing. That must mean the answer is, “yes”.

But… I don’t believe in him and I’m not getting a paycheck. So, it’s not working out too well so far  ;^)

From: Bryan Hunt
Sent: Monday, July 1, 2013 2:36 PM
To: Scott Vigil
Subject: Re: Molecular Genetics II

Dawkins own followers were put out by his lack of historical knowledge and making up of information in his book "The God Delusion".  Lennox covers this with verifiable historic facts in "Gunning for God".  Hawkins went off the deep end with his claims that there is no God near the end but before that he believed there was a creator.  Lennox also wrote an excellent book about this.

The eyewitness testimony is pretty well documented.  Of course the Bible itself documents this - ref. the Gospel of Luke which was written as a historical account and documents eyewitness testimony.  This Gospel lines up with other historical writings from the time so it believed to be accurate.

Evidence That Demands a Verdict is an excellent reference for learning more about the eyewitness testimony. 

Scott 3/26/14: I read some of this work by Josh McDowell as a late teenager. It was pretty compelling stuff. But when I saw McDowell  at the Crystal Cathedral in 2011, he seemed pretty contrite. I don’t recall him talking about any evidence that demanded a verdict at the time.

From: Scott Vigil
Sent: Monday, July 1, 2013 2:48 PM
To: Bryan Hunt
Subject: Evolution source

Thanks, I’ll look into the info.

I’m not worried about Dawkins. He is a person—not the subject, nor is he my main source. Take a look at the USC lecture series for a thorough coverage of what we know and don’t know about evolution. I can look it up again if you can’t find it.

I think it’s impossible to disprove God.

And here’s the thing that science hasn’t really broached yet. Why do we need consciousness at all? Automatons can function nicely. Why does my body have to have a me? If all I am is a machine, why do I know I exist and am asking this very question about myself.

There is fascinating research into this area. But neither science nor religion adequately address this for me.

“To serve God” would be the best Christian answer. But I don’t think God needs us. And, I think we just made him up. If that’s true, we are HIS creator and he will die with us.

On the other hand, I don’t have any kind of a better answer then that (that is, to serve God).

From: Scott Vigil
Sent: Monday, July 1, 2013 2:55 PM
To: Bryan Hunt
Subject: Consciousness

The Cogsci 102 series did a great job of framing the problem of consciousness. It was super fascinating.

But, one possibility (and you’ll like this) is that we don’t have sufficient intelligence to understand the answer.

From: Scott Vigil
To: Bryan Hunt
Subject: RE: Consciousness

It’s not to say that we don’t know anything. We do know SOME things. Just knowing the questions goes a long way. I don’t have anyone I can discuss this material with.

But that’s Ok, I’m going on to Cog Sci 103.

From: Scott Vigil
Sent: Monday, July 1, 2013 3:03 PM
To: Bryan Hunt
Subject: RE: Consciousness

Almost as interesting as the answer is the history of what has been believed about consciousness and how we got to the present state of understanding. Of course, people of religious persuasion have had a lot to say in this conversation.

From: Bryan Hunt
Sent: Monday, July 1, 2013 3:54 PM
To: Scott Vigil
Subject: Re: Consciousness

Have you ever seen the Kung Fu episode where he tries to snatch the pebble from his masters hand and if he can then he is ready to leave the temple?

You are like that for me.   You are a hard one to convince and I kind of like that.  It's like I can almost hear God saying, "if you can convince Scott, then you are ready to venture out to help others see the truth".  :)

From: Scott Vigil
Sent: Monday, July 1, 2013 4:19 PM
To: Bryan Hunt
Subject: RE: Consciousness

You’re funny  :^)

I was just telling the guys about a guy I threatened at the Tango venue with some football tactics.

On another subject, we’re dealing with trickiness due to extremely limited options. There are very very few space hardened processors.

From: Bryan Hunt
Sent: Monday, July 1, 2013 3:49 PM
To: Scott Vigil
Subject: Re: Evolution source

God said he made us in His image and He is perfectly good.  We have a conscious to guide us and I think the "holy spirit" is guidance information that God periodically puts into our consciousness mechanism to guide us.  We all have a core version, I think, but we also all get tweaks.  I also think we communicate wirelessly with God, why not?  So our soul is probably stored physically somewhere else which is why Jesus tells us not to worry about our body.

From: Scott Vigil
Sent: Monday, July 1, 2013 4:36 PM
To: Bryan Hunt
Subject: RE: Evolution source - a

Descartes thought there was this particular lobe near the center of the brain that acted like an antenna.

So, the soul was thought to interact with the brain through this lobe. As recently as a few months ago I spoke to a young Afghanistan vet who thought this was true.

There are problems with the model, and I can’t recall what they are. One is the level that our personality is so closely linked with particular structures and therefore particular genes. When the structures go bad, the behavior and personality goes bad.

If our soul is disconnected from our memories and personality, one has to ask, “What is it… if anything?”

fascinating coverage of this in Cog Sci 102. I’m not sure I can find the actual lecture though. It was about 25 lectures total.

One argument against our brain talking with a soul is that it would break conservation of energy. This was recognized very early. ‘not sure by whom.

From: Bryan Hunt
Sent: Monday, July 1, 2013 3:51 PM
To: Scott Vigil
Subject: Re: Consciousness

I believe we don't have sufficient intelligence!  Why would we?
Besides, God tells us we don't in Issiah.

It's all there in the Bible man, I am telling you.  Just trust.

From: Scott Vigil
Sent: Monday, July 1, 2013 4:40 PM
To: Bryan Hunt
Subject: RE: Consciousness  - b

Actually, it’s not all in the bible. Descarte’s thinking is an example that is not in the bible. And of course, there has been much additional thinking on this since Descartes.

“Trust”… wonderful words of a man of faith.

But one cannot be a scientist and pursue knowledge that way. Interesting lecture on how individual scientist’s progress reached an end when they reached an impasse and gave the rest to God.

One physicist remarked on Newton, how he could have gone much further into mechanics. But he just stopped and left the rest up to God.

Next: Homo Habilis        Prev: Molecular Genetics II         TOC