SteveThaiBinh

Well, you can get lost in an argument about 'belief' and 'faith', but this is my interpretation of these terms in this context. I believe that the sun rises and sets because of the rotation of the Earth, but that belief is not faith because it is inspired by observation and evidence. It is the most reasonable explanation of the observed facts. Faith, on the other hand, is belief without proof and without feeling the need for proof. We have the observed evidence of our day-to-day lives that one cannot turn water into wine. Christians nevertheless believe that Jesus did just that, and without proof. I would call this 'faith' rather than 'belief'. But I don't think most people, including myself, make the distinction in everyday speech.

Not really, although some people do take it to that level if they develop 'faith' in a particular theory or set of theories. Rationalism is a belief system inspired by a scientific approach, but not a religion, I think.

As a rationalist, on what evidence do you base the assertion that God and Satan exist?

Yes. The Mandalorians made it clear that they wanted a fight, and if the Republic had done nothing, they would have kept on slaughtering millions and destroying worlds, confident that eventually that they would provoke a response. Pacifism could not have worked, because the Mandalorians would never truly have believed that the Republic would not eventually respond to their provocation. Fighting back would have been the least worst option. Unless, of course, the Jedi Council had sent you off to find the legendary Artifact of War-Stopping, probably involving collecting four parts of a key from across the galaxy, and so on, because that always works better.

I hope the makers of Kotor 3 don't engineer some ridiculous story that justifies bringing Vandar back. I don't care at all about the character, and would not derive the same satisfaction as I did in Kotor 2 seeing Carth or Bastila again. It's just not a priority.

Yes, that was particularly appalling, even for medieval Europe.

Unlikely. Darth Sion is Scottish, and Scotland doesn't get summer.

Obsidian is sticking to the story that the game was not rushed, and that while some elements were cut as the deadline approached, this didn't happen any more than is usual for games. Sadly, this suggests that the poor quality of the ending is the result of the developers' story-telling powers failing rather than pressure from LucasArts. However, not everyone considers the ending to be weak, even though it's probably a majority opinion on these forums. Aside from the ending, most of the game was pretty good.

Well, all games become a little tired after a while, even the best. The real test is whether, after a few months, or years, you go back and enjoy it all over again. There are only a handful of old games that I still replay (via Dosbox).

there are a ton of studies like these out there and they all say the same: smart people don't believe in god... :D <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Some of these studies are quite old and use relatively small samples. Even if they are true in the contexts in which they occurred, it would be dangerous to generalise. Were the studies all conducted in one country? Does it refer to only one religion, or were several included? Are SATs a reliable measure of IQ? Is IQ a reliable measure of intelligence? You need to do a bit more to persuade me that these aren't a handful of rather dated and unreliable studies with little to tell us.

Education in Freire's sense of conscientisation, perhaps. I certainly don't mean formal schooling. No, people are the solution.

I would say that banning organised religion is counter to the right to peaceful assembly and association set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I do understand what you're saying, and I am far from happy that there are people who accept dogma in this way. However, it is ultimately their choice to accept dogma, and they are free to leave, at least if they live in a liberal democracy. It's not easy even there, and I know that people who have turned their backs on the faith they were born into can have very negative experiences, but it does happen. At least, provided there is a separation between Church law and state law. There are places in the world where leaving your church is not a viable option, but this is better solved through education and development rather than banning organised religion.

Doesn't denying people with similar religious beliefs the right to assembly strike you as a bit...evil? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> It's cetainly illiberal, as it interferes with the rights of the individual. You could say as much for some other organisations, including political parties. There's nothing more pathetic than seeing some of the sheep that have been elected to our parliament voting for exactly what their masters tell them to vote for. Very little critical thinking, and quite a lot of bullying and abuse, I think.

yes but what is false to you could be a universal truth to somone else. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Which is why I said 'arguably', because of course different people have different opinions. I just don't agree that religions have a monopoly on moral values. But I do acknowledge that many religious people are also deeply moral and good people, judged by both their standards and mine.

Religion is not the only source of a moral framework. There are non-religious belief systems that do just as well, and arguably better, since they are not based upon a false premise.

It wasn't the best, I'll admit, but it had its moments. I often wish I could go outside the asylum..

Most computer games have a depressing lack of charging rhino, and it's good to see Gothic III addressing this issue. The trailer looks very impressive. If they can get the story and voice acting right, I'll be buying.

The fourth book, So Long and Thanks for All the Fish, has now been adapted for the radio with the original cast. The first part was broadcast here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/networks/ra...io4/hitchhikers

Very very unlikely, as the patch was only released a few weeks ago and was explicitly only for the PC version.

ATI cards seem to cause lots of problems. And this forum's search limitations makes it hard to find all the threads connected to it, but I know that there have been lots (and lots) of such threads, proposing little tweaks and changes that worked for some people, but not for everyone. The best I can suggest is to go through all these old threads and try everything they suggest until you find something that works for you. Edit: Did you get the game recently? You might try playing it without the patch, as that seemed to create as many problems as it solved.

Looking again at this puzzle, I've just noticed it seems to use the same letters and numbers that are most commonly used in this 'leet' (?) code that some people use on this forum. Is there a hidden message in the puzzle?

Pretty, but I wouldn't go that far. And pretty does not a great game make. Or something like that.

Well, maybe I'm just too credulous. Through my first game, I wanted to believe she wasn't evil, that she was a Jolee Bindo-type character, a former Jedi exiled from the order because her teachings were too individualistic, not evil, just encouraging her students to ask critical questions of accepted Jedi wisdom. As I played, I gradually had to abandon that position, but that was a strength of the story. Her revival of Tobin and Hanharr came in the second half of the game, just because of the order in which I did the planets, but it fitted in well there. If you have 14 intelligence though, you'll get this movie just after leaving Peragus. Too much concrete information too early - I'd rather keep the mystery for a while longer.

I agree that it was a flashback, and the events depicted were not intended to occur when the Exile arrived on Malachor V. But I think the flashback may have been intended to be shown during the ending. It reveals the fact that Kreia was a Sith Lord. Now, you may say that was obvious from the start, but I don't think it really was. We always knew there was something suspicious about her, but it's only through playing the game and hearing how she advises you and responds to your actions that you become confident that she's evil. Before that, it was a suspicion, without evidence. Otherwise, why would a LS Exile keep her on board after learning she was Darth Traya?

I'm so glad I didn't have 14 Intelligence the first time I played through the game. Seeing this video early on would have spoiled the story quite a bit. I get the feeling that it was somehow involved in the cut ending, and then just stuck in somewhere else because they didn't want to waste it.