The FQA Blog

[anti-nonsense]

that's OK, I was thinking of really basic things people get wrong, like thinking that if you've flipped a coin and got heads 10 times the next time is more likely to be tails and stuff like that. I'm not actually sure how useful/necessary advanced stats are for interpreting poll or experiment results and that kind of thing.

[SimSim]

It is very possible to create an extension to the forum software to facilitate a blog integrated for commenting and such. The blog platform would avoid having people having to maintain separate usernames/passwords and be as easy as posting a new thread in a specially set up forum and authors could just be added into a special usergroup. Comments would be handled by the forums as normal.

Potentially push the forums from http://fqa.digibase.ca/ to http://fqa.digibase.ca/forums/ and have the blog/site at http://fqa.digibase.ca unless a domain name is in the works at some point.

Keeping everything unified would be an advantage, but a blogging-specific platform might be better suited.

You can still do some of what Kradorex suggested and use a blogging-specific platform, assuming you self-host the blog, by bridging. Lots of information about it here. http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?board=33.0.

I can't remember if it was in this thread or another, but JohnE mentioned having headers to link to author pages in a blog. That really isn't needed, most blog platforms include author pages by default. Typically when you see an author's name that's also a link to their author page that lists their posts/articles/whatever.

[Sigmaleph]

That is a good idea. I could write about Baye's Theorem and why the prior probability for God is unknown and probably unknowable, the difference between correlation and causation (though I think that's been done to death already), and/or how a sample can be biased (or just how statistics can be done badly in general).

My knowledge on the matter is pretty basic, but that seems like it can't be right.

It is very possible to create an extension to the forum software to facilitate a blog integrated for commenting and such. The blog platform would avoid having people having to maintain separate usernames/passwords and be as easy as posting a new thread in a specially set up forum and authors could just be added into a special usergroup. Comments would be handled by the forums as normal.

Potentially push the forums from http://fqa.digibase.ca/ to http://fqa.digibase.ca/forums/ and have the blog/site at http://fqa.digibase.ca unless a domain name is in the works at some point.

Keeping everything unified would be an advantage, but a blogging-specific platform might be better suited.

You can still do some of what Kradorex suggested and use a blogging-specific platform, assuming you self-host the blog, by bridging. Lots of information about it here. http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?board=33.0.

Interesting. I'll have to consult with Kradorex.

[Stormwarden]

I'm gonna need some sources. My PC is having some serious issues right now. Another theory is that Jesus died not for our sins, but to save us from his Father. But I have a lot of research to confirm some of these things, or at the very least to make them plausible. My explanations for certain things are not what a lot of believers want to hear.

[Sigmaleph]

Kicking this a bit.

I have a couple posts I'm working on (it was originally just one, realised I'd have to split it into at least two, might end up as more...). I'll be posting them here when I've finished a first draft, because I'm constantly worrying about "Wait, didn't get enough detail here, it won't make sense!" vs "Wait, this is too long-winded, remove some detail!" and I could use some feedback.

Anyone else that might have any not-fully-baked ideas is invited to make a post or start a thread, to ask for criticism or help, or whatever else. Fully baked ideas are also welcome, of course.

[Shane for Wax]

I'm considering doing a basic intro to Celtic Paganism, as it were. Nothing in-depth, just a way of separating Celtic Paganism from other things such as Wicca. People tend to mix and match with them both but I wouldn't say it's wrong to. Just that you need to figure out which thing is a part of what religion.

I was also hoping to write an article about animal totems. The problem is there's a lot of stuff to sift through to find the true stuff and what is people making assumptions. I would like to have someone help me with fact checking but we have to be able to get along and they have to be able to give me the time of day for more than a few minutes.

And to do something non-religious, I want to do something with anthropology. Explaining Out of Africa theory, etc.,

[Her3tiK]

I'm considering doing a basic intro to Celtic Paganism, as it were. Nothing in-depth, just a way of separating Celtic Paganism from other things such as Wicca. People tend to mix and match with them both but I wouldn't say it's wrong to. Just that you need to figure out which thing is a part of what religion.

I was also hoping to write an article about animal totems. The problem is there's a lot of stuff to sift through to find the true stuff and what is people making assumptions. I would like to have someone help me with fact checking but we have to be able to get along and they have to be able to give me the time of day for more than a few minutes.

And to do something non-religious, I want to do something with anthropology. Explaining Out of Africa theory, etc.,

Given the forum's general take on religion, are the former topics going in a religion category, or a mythology category?

And just for a general update; do we have a site for this, yet?

[Sigmaleph]

I grabbed http://fqanswers.wordpress.com/ a while back, seems our best option.

[JohnE]

I'm doing research for an article (or possibly pa series of short articles) about vikings, specifically about how they weren't as dirty and barbaric as they're usually portrayed, and in many ways they were more civilized and progressive than other Europeans at the time.

It's a little off topic, I know, but I think it still fits the general theme of debunking misconceptions.

[Her3tiK]

Perhaps, before we start uploading these seemingly disconnected topics, we should vote on what we're actually going to discuss. We've clearly got a broad range of topics, but 'Frequently Questioned Answers' lends itself to a certain range of subjects. Pop culture and music, for example, probably don't fall within said range, and we may want to make a distinction between history and religion/mythology when posting corrections to preconceived notions. It'd be better to have a defined set of categories, and subcategories if Wordpress allows, so we at least have things organized by subject.

[PosthumanHeresy]

Perhaps, before we start uploading these seemingly disconnected topics, we should vote on what we're actually going to discuss. We've clearly got a broad range of topics, but 'Frequently Questioned Answers' lends itself to a certain range of subjects. Pop culture and music, for example, probably don't fall within said range, and we may want to make a distinction between history and religion/mythology when posting corrections to preconceived notions. It'd be better to have a defined set of categories, and subcategories if Wordpress allows, so we at least have things organized by subject.

I was actually thinking about that myself, and I figured that it would be more reasonable to not say anything is not in the range of it. I mean, there could easily be articles about music, like "Secularism In Music", "Music and Progressivism" (like, analysing how music tends to be ahead of the curve in some places but behind it in others) or "Music and Cultural Change" (about how music has been a part of bringing cultural change). The same goes for anything else, too.

[Her3tiK]

Perhaps, before we start uploading these seemingly disconnected topics, we should vote on what we're actually going to discuss. We've clearly got a broad range of topics, but 'Frequently Questioned Answers' lends itself to a certain range of subjects. Pop culture and music, for example, probably don't fall within said range, and we may want to make a distinction between history and religion/mythology when posting corrections to preconceived notions. It'd be better to have a defined set of categories, and subcategories if Wordpress allows, so we at least have things organized by subject.

I was actually thinking about that myself, and I figured that it would be more reasonable to not say anything is not in the range of it. I mean, there could easily be articles about music, like "Secularism In Music", "Music and Progressivism" (like, analysing how music tends to be ahead of the curve in some places but behind it in others) or "Music and Cultural Change" (about how music has been a part of bringing cultural change). The same goes for anything else, too.

This is true, though I don't know that there are any bands at the forefront of social stage in this day and age. At least, if there are, they are somehow off of my radar.

Sticking to the original topic, what categories should we consider? Science and Religion, obviously, as well as politics. I argue that 'Religion' and 'Mythology' should be the same thing, cultural sensitivity be damned, but that may alienate otherwise prospective readers. And regarding politics: we should do our best to admit to our personal biases. I'd much prefer to know where one stands on an issue, or issues in general, in order to assess any weak points in their logic, as both sides are prone to flaws that they are not always aware of.

[PosthumanHeresy]

Perhaps, before we start uploading these seemingly disconnected topics, we should vote on what we're actually going to discuss. We've clearly got a broad range of topics, but 'Frequently Questioned Answers' lends itself to a certain range of subjects. Pop culture and music, for example, probably don't fall within said range, and we may want to make a distinction between history and religion/mythology when posting corrections to preconceived notions. It'd be better to have a defined set of categories, and subcategories if Wordpress allows, so we at least have things organized by subject.

I was actually thinking about that myself, and I figured that it would be more reasonable to not say anything is not in the range of it. I mean, there could easily be articles about music, like "Secularism In Music", "Music and Progressivism" (like, analysing how music tends to be ahead of the curve in some places but behind it in others) or "Music and Cultural Change" (about how music has been a part of bringing cultural change). The same goes for anything else, too.

This is true, though I don't know that there are any bands at the forefront of social stage in this day and age. At least, if there are, they are somehow off of my radar.

Sticking to the original topic, what categories should we consider? Science and Religion, obviously, as well as politics. I argue that 'Religion' and 'Mythology' should be the same thing, cultural sensitivity be damned, but that may alienate otherwise prospective readers. And regarding politics: we should do our best to admit to our personal biases. I'd much prefer to know where one stands on an issue, or issues in general, in order to assess any weak points in their logic, as both sides are prone to flaws that they are not always aware of.

I'd say it depends. With the ability to house yourself in your favorite subculture these days, it's harder for anyone to be at the forefront of anything, which is why generic pop music gets so much attention, but I'd say that within the more progressive spheres, musicians like Otep (lesbian metal singer) are more ahead of the curve. Bringing more exposure to musicians in various genres with a more political and social change ideology (again with using Otep, as well as Device, David Draiman's new band that continues in the vein of Disturbed, but with a more industrial metal sound, as an example) would be a good idea.

[Shane for Wax]

I'm considering doing a basic intro to Celtic Paganism, as it were. Nothing in-depth, just a way of separating Celtic Paganism from other things such as Wicca. People tend to mix and match with them both but I wouldn't say it's wrong to. Just that you need to figure out which thing is a part of what religion.

I was also hoping to write an article about animal totems. The problem is there's a lot of stuff to sift through to find the true stuff and what is people making assumptions. I would like to have someone help me with fact checking but we have to be able to get along and they have to be able to give me the time of day for more than a few minutes.

And to do something non-religious, I want to do something with anthropology. Explaining Out of Africa theory, etc.,

Given the forum's general take on religion, are the former topics going in a religion category, or a mythology category?

And just for a general update; do we have a site for this, yet?

Considering what was said before, there's no reason to go completely agnostic, is there? Though it really depends. It could be either one. To get peoples' facts straight. Since people tend to go for stereotypes and such no matter the religion.

[anti-nonsense]

I think it would be easiest just to combine religion and mythology into one category. Mythology is just religion that isn't popular anymore.