Wow, you are a very lucky person! It is thrilling to me to hear one more true life story of how kind and gentle he was with us mere ordinary people!

I heard him give a talk at Swarthmore College when I was an undergraduate. It was one of the best I heard in four years. And what I remember most was how good his jokes were!

You win! No story from my life can top that.

They say never meet your heros. You struck gold. Lucky.

Where the old wise man has gone... Now we have this wise 20 years old jumping around and telling us what life is...

Not, I think Isaac was too ahead of his time. His calm demeanor played a crucial role in that interview. The journalist was not prepared for this individual and had to use Issacs replies and information to get through the discussion. No research done and a bad taste on my mouth closing. All kudos to the rational person (Isaac) who needed to explain this view constantly. I love these discussions as it improves my bad English :)

@@nizaradams7391 you’re the first person in all of this commentary that I have found who actually gets it! I had already made similar comments above countering all the adulation for the interviewer who is a self-confident buffoon. Your assessment is completely accurate and I am relieved to have read your comments.

True he did his job well

@@sunset2.00 Sorry but this interviewer was way over his head and I'm sorry to say that your reaction puts you in the same boat. He arrived unprepared and self-confident that he could interview Isaac without preparation. Perhaps you have not read any of his books to know any better but the interviewer cannot feign ignorance. His decision to interview him required he be read up, but I it appears he just doesn't get how much more advanced Isaac's thinking is and thinks he did a good job. Isaac's cool did not allow the event to be ruined but the interviewer squandered a singular opportunity!

Great interview! Great to listen to this. I don't agree with everything being espoused, but I love to hear the dialogue and ideas.

Advertising has taken over

@@gwijiwamamboflani8225 $$$

An incredibly adept and intelligent interviewer. I'll be looking for more of his work.

To be fair, Asimov is an intelligent person, so there really aren't gonna be major disputes. If someone in an interview starts saying irrational things, it's the interviewers job to interject.

It's not "art", just common sense and basic decency. Media people in general have never had it, most good interviewers are laymen at heart.

@@thedukeofnuts optimist 😊

If rationality was the be all end all, then UKposts wouldn't need to exist. Irrationality is a human trait. In fact, your existence is a result of irrationality, because rationality would dictate a concrete constant of high-performance individuals performing at close-to-optimum levels of production and efficiency for the sake of a greater goal and discarding the unnecessary. You are unnecessary. To keep you around would be illogical. Doesn't sound so nice, does it? In fact, I'd go a step further: those industrial villains we see in the news, in the papers, giving talks ... they're the most rational of us all. If you want rationality so much, you and I would have to commit suicide to remove ourselves from the pool, because there is nothing that we can do that someone can do better and at a more economical opportunity cost. That's your rationality right there. Rationality would eliminate the arts: music, literature, anything you can think of. Entertainment is irrational; rationality is production, the ability to self-spur into the optimization of existence. Ballast is discarded. Ballast like you, ballast like me. So don't talk to me about rationality, because you're definitely not the one to give that lecture. Unless you're a scientist at NASA pushing the boundaries of available physics, rationality would dictate that you are a waste of space, ergo, irrelevant, unwanted and irrational. So many people want to talk about being rational, but all they really are at the end of the day are a bunch of hipsters thinking they're better than other people with nothing to show for it.

You make some good points. Though I don't agree that all art is irrational. Art is an expression or attempt of understanding. I was unaware I was lecturing anybody when leaving a short sad comment on an old video.

@@saxonkrautz Emotion is seen as the anathema to rationality, and art is usually an expression of it. You can disagree on that, but there's a reason the quote "it's soulless" exists.

@@Sizdothyx So many assumptions about someone you don't know, and generalizations about a bunch of people without data to back it up... that's quite irrational of you :) What you're saying is not rationality nor skepticism, it's cynicism, and cynicism gets nothing done, it doesn't help you nor help you nor help anyone else.

Huuuufffffff... «stares daggers at 2016 - 2020»

Golan Trevize plot

Certainty repels curiosity ☝️

Was he talking about science.?

@@questioneverything8876 Science & scientists know that their ideas are just close approximations to reality, and ever-closer every time that there is more data collected. It is up to the public to understand that, as well.

Who are the others?

This is exactly what journalism is all about. Excellent journalist

I can only say that Sagan and Asimov were good teachers of science and logic but the unknown is a lot more then the known . We need to be careful when being close minded to new things many scientist have closed themselves off to only what they can measure with their knowledge and that knowledge is limited and best ! I can understand the lack of wisdom in science has well has occult both have many theories yet also both have many things that are in sync with each other " logic is only the beginning of wisdom " .

​@@moejaime2654 Isn't that a closed minded opinion in and of itself though? I mean, when you say "most scientists" what I can only assume you mean is most which we hear from, in which case I'd rebute that we only hear from most scientists in regards to their research (opposed to their wider views on the world). As far as Asimov goes, he's not a scientist. He's an author who's informed by science (beyond a singular domain). Sagan often speaks about social unity and life beyond our solar system, which is something which resides far from the known. To say "knowledge is limiting at best" seems excessive. Surely knowledge is a prerequisite of logic/wisdom? We can't act with wisdom if we lack the knowledge which forms the foundation of logic.

@@AvatarOfBhaal I agree that knowledge supports wisdom. It can temper our actions. For example, Asimov was a Professor of Biochemistry at Boston U. He was actually a scientist for whom fiction was actually his side interest. Knowing this I'd assume that he went to symposia and conferences and had a pretty good grasp of other practitioners his field's assumptions. Also, and I write this respectfully, "rebute" is not a word; there's refute (a verb) and refutation (a noun) and there's rebuttal ( a noun) but there no verb to 'rebute'.

I spent the whole lockdown watching your channel 🤗

It's been ages since I saw something on your channel. This comment is bringing back all my memories.

He was not a wise man. Asimov was an intelligent man, who came up with some genuinely good ideas, but was devoid of common sense. He was the product of his time, and initial formation, just as most men are. Indeed he is rather mundane in that sense.

I, rapist

​@@havock89could you elaborate why you think he was devoid of common sense? I don't know this man, I'm just curious

I included this type of analytical thinking in my medical ethics classes in medical school. There is much good education out there - sadly, in line with what Isaac Asimov says here, people have the tendency to focus on some less-typical class offerings to (incorrectly) prove that a university education is not worth it. Simply put, a cop-out of weaker minds.

Who was the interviewer? He was PERFECT!

Smart... and listening to his host! A lost art...

It's not that intelligent interviewers no longer exist, it's just that the odds of being interviewed by one of the bad ones have increased.

lmao

@Rude Kitty I'm from the US. Just ignore the republican. They don't have sense.

You are so right...we need to speak out - respectfully , of course!

"So what you're saying is..." xD

In other words, Donald Trump is sitting in one of the chairs.

Dude ppl say that every year. ‘The state of the world in [insert current year]’ holy shit what whining, do you ever think about how privileged we are? The technology we have where we can live in such comfort. Every year its this doomsday talk about how this year is the worst humanity ever has been, clearly you dont read up on your history. The world might end but humanity certainly isnt any worse than it used to be

My dear Socrates once wrote, '“The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.” It is not surprising.......

​@@GuineaPigEverydayGood and wise words 😊

I imagine not as disgusted as he'd be about his son getting caught with the biggest child p**n collection in California history just 6 years after his father's death. For those wondering, he got probation and a 200$ fine 😶😠 The prosecutor? Robert Mueller. What a disgrace to his great father.

A brilliant good visionary man interviewer smart as a whip very respectful you can tell he wants to hear and is interested in what Dr Asimov has to say

The last one went when Charlie Rose got booted, similar interview format with a very wide range of guests not just popular celebrities plugging their latest movie, album or book. Hasn't been a replacement since.

It's called the Joe Rogan Experience, a podcast on UKposts where one on one conversations on many different topics routinely run for two or three hours. You're welcome.

I mean, this sort of interview was rare back then too. Nothing has really changed in this regard.

I'm afraid you could not do that nowadays. That would be too politicall-correct so no one would watch it. People seem to need all the coursing, extremism and blaming others all the sudden.

@@mcgeufer couldn't do that back then, either. It was only on 2 types of shows... on PBS where there was no advertising or commercial sponsors... or on community service programs by the stations and networks that were REQUIRED broadcasts due to FCC regulations (which are no longer required bc of deregulation). Commercialization won...and so we all lose.

Very professional compared to the antagonists that we have today.

serge N - so true, which makes this interview unique and rare. Imagine a world today where every interviewer had such understanding, poise and intellect to reciprocate adequately.

Agreed. I knew Asimov was going to be a great interview, but I was struck with the quality of the interviewer. That's a lost art. " Imagine a world today where every interviewer had such understanding, poise and intellect to reciprocate adequately." Sadly, television doesn't value any of those qualities anymore. It's confrontation and provocation that sells the ads nowadays.

I always appreciate a good interviewer. This guy does a good job. You can see that he listens, pays attention, and adds thoughtful, appropriate questions at appropriate times. Charlie Rose was good at this; he had a show on PBS for may years -- a round-table discussion show -- but he was kicked out after the Me Too movement brought his sexual offenses to light. Sadly, Tavis Smiley, who also had an interview show on PBS was another great interviewer who also lost his job after sexual harassment allegations came to light. Sometimes Joe Rogan does a good job at interviewing; he is thoughtful and listens well. He will occasionally interrupt, but it is usually fairly appropriate. Can't think of others right now. It is an art, and the masters are too few.

I was just going to say this, he's asking really good questions

I'm glad I caught it in last days of this year! I'm sure I've seen parts of this interview, my older brother was a huge Asimov fan even back in the time this was recorded. But it hits hard this year, watching my brother fight against right-wing politicians and their wacky Covid misinformation

The psychological basics have always been the same. To a degree human society is basically still cavepeople, and what we call society or civilization is a wild jungle and a survival game.

Yes. Somehow, the requirement for *evidence* to support a person's viewpoint has disappeared and any claim seems to have the same validity as any other.

It's about time we started compiling an encyclopedia.

@@suryakumars Agreed

@@JustWasted3HoursHere I reject your truth and replace it with my own...now let's discuss how wearing a mask is a government conspiracy!

@@cookiemadison8529 Sadly, some people think it is (Trump supporters).

Join the Atheist Community of Discord :)

Yeh, you raise a really good point, hard to express yourself these days with out everyone taking offence, and then tying too "negatise" (may have made that word up?!) your viewpoint, because after all, it is just a view point, and debate is only a way to shine light on all our views, it's how we learn t be better human beings. It's a form of mass narcissism, we cant all be trauma kids!!

Wouldn't that be refreshing, instead of so many interviews or conversations being based on the premise of ginning up outrage? Hard to believe - and so, so sad - that one of the major news networks has chosen to base its business model not on information or exchanging ideas civilly, but simply to focus on deliberately creating false outrage, pushing buttons just to get an emotional response out of their viewers instead of providing real information or stimulating them to think critically about a topic. Faux isn't the only guilty party, but they're certainly the most prominent and worst offender, leaving aside outlets such as One America and similar nonsense.

@Lord Methane what does this mean?

@@tempestive1 atheists are arrogant and everyone on discord is an utter idiot, no thanks. All you get is irrationality with those condescending hypocritical retard assholes full of logical fallacy and low intellect.

@Saint Ratus have you heard of anybody raised atheist turned religious or superstitious? Are their perceptions poorly calibrated? Aren't all our perceptions poorly calibrated? We are all subjected to some sort of bias or slant whether one way or the other. If we are all poorly calibrated in some way or another, how can we judge who or what is calibrated correctly?

@@irvhh143 I'm sorry about that 😢which religion or church?

​@@maddyv5660 good comment

Were you ever able to ascertain whether your own parents merely put forth the religious beliefs as a means to manipulate you towards good behavior, or did they truly believe their stories?

I never thought about what they ate after they got off the ark. Thanks for the thought.

Haha

Isaac was essentially my 3rd parent when I was a kid. Starting with Lucky Starr when I was in 5th grade I loved his books. And his way of looking at the world. I grew up in a very rural & conservative part of Indiana. The last of 5 kids in a very catholic family. Religion never made sense to me. Even as a kid. Isaac made sense to me.

there's many more like him. Everyone is just as bright. But not enough.

​@@johnstinchcomb8156wonderful comment

​@@megavarenik8804There is no one like him. Like minded fantastic people but none can compare.

Says someone with that old mindset of winning and losing.

BUT THE LIBS ARE GONNA TAKE AWAY OUR GUNS!!11

@@sinki19841984 more lies - stop listening to the Fox propaganda.

@@sinki19841984 I sure as heck hope that's an attempt at sarcasm. At this point, I really can't tell anymore. I'd ridicule people who think the election was stolen, but there's just too damn many that do.

Weak people. They do care, in order to give some fake trascendence to their futile existence. Power is held purely by mentally weak people. Those who would actually be capable of holding power in a responsible way do not care about it. The very few who would do it just because they understand that would be the only way to improve society in a wide and effective way, just get murdered by the establishment run by weaklings who fear to be dethroned. It's a very hard situation to solve. If we try to do something, we get killed. If not, nothing changes. The only solution I see is to change things without people noticing it... and it's very hard to make important changes that way. What to do? I don't know, but to stop trying isn't an option

Wow, this is a strong statement sir. How is this possible? Please tell us your story?

@@nizaradams7391 My father was a warm loving man but he believed every crazy story and anything he read no matter what the source and being in the house I read the same books he did.This all changed when I went with him to the bookstore and I got the asimov book of his essays only a trillion after that my entire belief system changed actually not long after that my friends started calling me Spock.their is no way to thank Isaac Asimov enough for how much he changed my life.

@@jedi4049 Obviously you don't know him.

Great to hear about that brother. Keep learning man!

@@johneaton8101 true reading can truly open up your eyes to virtual portals of an infinite knowledge. That's how I went from my normal childhood into a curious questioning everything adult hood. Keep reading and keep learning brother

I paused in shock of how true this is for 5 minutes.

It's how Hitler came to power.

So true....without any consideration of the fact that, unless it's true, it isn't certain. Which is only to say, they'll go for the illusion of certainty, even if it's wrong.

Thankfully; President Biden took the bull by the horns and the virus is being controlled l!

The Jayleno Fly Do look online for more by this interviewer. A public TV series called The Open Mind.

Amen, brother/sister ;)

morons

@@charleshoops2307 Why the plural? It seems you can use the singular... there's just one here.

True , the host is almost invisible as he ask just the right questions. He's probably read some of his work.

Praise be! :P

@@rowens7721 I spoke of Issac Asimov an hour ago while speaking to my sister, and I have already gotten the recommendation from UKposts.

Roam free@Sarah's Riding The Storm Wave.

Lolllll, Sameee

Ya dude i too got this recommendation and now I am enlightened

He was FREE

Had not realised about HIV status. Actually despite him being one of my favourite authors growing up, never thought to read about his life! Catching up now.

Trouper, not trooper :-) However he is clearly a calm and sensible person and that would reduce his medical complications from the HIV infection.

So sad that he contracted HIV at a time when we couldn't do much to treat it. If he had been able to live a little bit longer, until the better treatments came along, he might have had many more years on this Earth. He is one of my favourite authors.

That was a different era. Smoking was everywhere. A potbelly was something to be proud of. Ppl drank so much that if someone was an alcoholic, you'd hardly know the difference. Now, everyone is getting on the fitness bandwagon.

Trouble is in this day and age even in the USA people are still so ignorant. WHY?

@@toni4729 true

TMPanos96 Plutarch, Lives: Pericles(c. 495-429 bc.) ...”he seems to have learned to despise those superstitious fears which the common phenomena of the heavens produce in those who, ignorant of their cause, and knowing nothing about them, refer them all to the immediate action of the gods. Knowledge of physical science, while it puts an end to superstitious terrors, replaces them by a sound basis...

If you are seeking a new and different explanation of the truth that makes sense, search for "Global Truth Project" in Google and click the 1st result, then click on "The Present" and read what it says. This is truth you can check. I recommend that you do not disregard this message.

But religions and superstitions don't really try to make sense of the physical world, they're about people and society - which we still don't understand very well. Science has shown that there are seeds smaller than mustard seeds, so Jesus was wrong. But what does science say about whether or not to give unto Caesar? Maybe Jesus was wrong about that too, IDK, but there are no underlying rational, objective facts involved.

I cannot imagine nowadays a man like Mr. Heffner being successful on the degenerate and dumbed down mainstream media today.

@@MisterSplendy That means you're not watching the right channels. This interview was on PBS, and that media outlet is still alive and well, broadcasting all kinds of intellectually stimulating programs. CNN and MSNBC produce one-hour specials dealing with serious news events, employing all the tried and true journalistic tools of proper verification of sources and striving for factual accuracy as well as interviewing nationally renowned experts. On the other hand, channels like Fox News are propaganda outlets for the GOP and the worst kinds of right wing lies and conspiracy theories, often using as guests kooks, liars, and criminals. But, it's obvious why you like Heffner - because he's challenging Asimov's religious skepticism. Asimov was able to refute his lame challenges better than anyone. The weakness of Heffner's arguments is illustrated in his calling Asimov for saying "Heaven only knows..." - as if that contradicts his non-belief in "god" and is not just a figure of speech. Atheists use the word "god" all the time because it's part of the language, not because they are inadvertent believers.

The mark of a honest, well informed man: no need to dance around any topics, no need to weasel out of previous affirmations

@@MadsterV I just hope he was wrong about religion because it would be great if he might someday reincarnate.

@Gernot Schrader I grew up with Asimov, read all his scifi and many of his scientific books. Looking back, I am sure he was one of my most important influencers, along with my brilliant self-taught father and my wonderful mother who was a pillar of our family. Both of them, back in the early 1900's and 1910's, had to quit 7th and 8th grades to go to work. Neither had much schooling, but they educated themselves and raised successful children and grandchildren, all of whom are successful, thinking, rational people. I feel so lucky to be part of that. Asimov was far from a perfect man, but his good far outweighs his faults.

@@jjbud3124 he was also one of my childhood heroes. I was so devastated that he didn't live long enough to get to talk to him. I tried to contact his wife, but she was hiding from the public. You say Asimov was not perfect (not that any of us are), but you seem to refer to specific issues. What would those be?

@@flychomperfly He was a sexist through and through.

@@jjbud3124 ah... yes. While it is an issue, at least people were warned about him -- he never hid his reputation. Also, at the time he lived, the females often encouraged or were "honored" to have men oogling them. I don't get it, but there were enough females like that, that he wouldn't have gotten the message to stop. He also lived at a time when women had fewer rights and even relegated THEMSELVES to stereotypes that were very frustrating to me. I would bet that if he had made it through to our current mindset, he would have re-thought and adjusted his actions/opinions. But, there was no logic for him to do so at the time.

@@flychomperfly Agree, it was much more acceptable at that time. He was still a hero of mine, regardless. His other qualities were strong.

Lucy Legtwister: Solid comment.

Cathy Whitney the exact same thing could be said of Charlie Chaplin and his movie The Dictator the speech he gave that was written 72 years ago and if you would kindly just look at the world around you you'd see a terrifying truth to his words Isaac Asimov is the absolute best I agree with your comment 100%

Cathy Whitney Houston

Nice! You have an eye for good people!

Actually as an interviewer he is an ignorant buffoon and this interview was a disaster.

@@nixl3518 care to explain yourself?

Any relation? Haha

Keep in mind politicians do what serves them and their people. Much like Asimov or anyone else in history.

Have you read or listened to Noam Chomsky ? His voice can put me to sleep, but I like his books. What's your take, on Chomsky ?

@@robbiddlecombe8392 I guess that's what religions have done to the people over thousands of years. We want to believe rather thank know....that's the end if it then, since beliefs are not enough to get us out of this mess.

@@robbiddlecombe8392 Damn, well said. I'm going to copy and paste that one.

He was way smarter than them in 1945! Let alone 2023!

June 8th 2021 scary statement now.

Nailed what? If God is real, than everyone will not lose... well, except him and all those that follow his ideas.

@@NeilRoy There's no doubt, no question. God is a made up fiction.

chocolate squiggle Unfortunately, so is the Chocolate Squiggle. 😢

And they say we are currently living in “the Information Age”! It’s just plain depressing to know that we humans today carry all of the worlds knowledge and evidence in our pockets, yet most people would rather talk to imaginary people who live in the sky to make all their important decisions. It just seems completely ludicrous to me!

Well, that's what you get if you let market market forces decide what is favorable.

@@danie7kovacs Yes! The lowest common denominator is what TV is all about. That is the level of the population that watches TV anymore.

@@Futuresolidsnake what are you some kind of prophet ? :-)

@@nixl3518 That depends on the amount you wish to donate to the church? I might be persuaded to use my divine power if the denominations are high enough. 😉😁

he was a math professor and wrote some mind blowing real science, science fiction , you should look him up

Never heard of Isaac Asimov? That blows my mind.

#J Lee He was a Golden Age scifi writer (the Golden Age was between the mid 30's though the mid 50's).

Isaac Asimov was one of the biggest names in Science Fiction - he was as highly regarded as Tolkein

He wrote over 200 books, and though he is best known for science fiction and science non-fiction, he wrote books on many subjects. There is an Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare! I grew up reading his sci-fi and his non-fiction science books. Asimov on Physics was cool! Loved the Foundation Series!

And beware of the quality of the science we are using to shape policy and beliefs. So much junk science has been done to "muddy the waters" on issues like anthropogenic climate change, exact same M.O. as tobacco/ cancer relation. Anti-science interests are using "science" against the masses, it's become so politicised.

@@Skittenmeow yes, and the day to day aspects of science itself is so political. speaking from seeing my own friends climbing the ranks of academia/large biotech etc. It's no different than any other human endeavour on the micro level. Speaking on a macro level...at least with science, over time the truth wins out....but sometimes it takes way longer than it should.

Elders are allowed to cause a permanent trauma to minors with their made up stories, but when a biology book shows a penis, and vagina hell breaks loose.

He got enough recognition and was world famous !!

Yes it is. And his use of English is impeccable. Not a word out of order! Calm and so collective.

Exactly

One of the most intelligent person who ever existed. He is very underrated

Yes, I forgot what that was like.

Except that the experience gets ruined by the unintelligent one trying to keep up and failing miserably!

That's okay, but we do have the Richard Dawkins Prize.

.

no one would win it ...

@@sidDkid87 Not in today's world anyway. I'd consider Bill Nye or Neil DeGrasse Tyson among the few, but it's a shamefully small group.

@@captainpharaoh we could submit our names for the prize ; ),

Zendium

Miss Asimov everyday.

Right there with you.

This is taken from a PBS series called "The Open Mind".The interviewer is Richard Heffner(a university professor),he created the show back in the 1950's and remained it's host until his death about 5 years ago,after which his grandson took over.It's always been a show of the highest caliber and you can find complete episodes of it on UKposts.

yes, his mind was as excellent as his sense of fashion. What did he think those clown sideburns said about him?

just happened to me as well. damn, how did I wait so long?

Same here, even though I had read some of this books. This interview was pure class.

Now watch one more interview, the time has come

And will remain relevant for many many years to come.

We're caught in a Prisoner's Dilemma, no nation can trust that one of the other nations won't defect.

@@calebmauer1751 that's not the only reason though. There is immense wealth to be made for those that can tap inte to the tax money allocated to the military. Regardless if there is a enemy or not, weapons must be built for these people to make money. The solution? Invent an enemy if there is none. Sweet, right?

@in777sight there are more religioius people killed by religious terrorists than non religous... you should do some research about the true numbers ...

And today we spend trillions of dollars on wars that don't need to be fought

​@@jacksmoke3731 I 'm worried of an accidental war...

Isn’t that AMAZIN’!

Yes. Not one sign of wanting to 'cancel' the other; a willingness to listen and potentially disagree without screaming that the other shut up while searching for the closest 'safe space'. Truly it was a marvelous time where free thought and discussion was encouraged rather than feared.

@@veganconservative1109 LOL you're projecting, while pretending that conservatism actually HAS anything to offer worth discussing any more.

I so agree.

@Stephen Anthony If Asimov is there sure it would be a better place than here (btw, made me recall stories he wrote with the protagonist outsmarting the devil >:v)

@Stephen Anthony here eyeballs are burning by screens by thousands of apps and posts. Worms eating them would be a relief. hehe, you wrote "burning *alive*" I thought the idea of hell was about being dead x)

@Stephen Anthony It depends of the version of Christianity you follow (I know, I know, yours is the true one), some interpretations of the word "sheol" are related with just the tomb. Your hell is just a gymnasium without rest time, world is worse than what you imagine. Where I live Christianity is an imported religion; so I am not mocking you for belief in hell, just joking about your choice of words.

@Stephen Anthony There is no Hell mentioned in the bible (the one that we think of nowadays). Think there is? Read this: www.tentmaker.org/articles/ifhellisreal.htm This is from a Christian. The concept of Hell is not supported in either the Old or New Testaments. From the article: ******************************************************************************************************************************** Popular myth : Hell is an established Biblical doctrine that is in the Bible from start to finish. This is not true! Two thirds of the Bible (the Old Testament) does not mention Hell at all. ("Sheol," the Old Testament word that is sometimes translated as Hell, only means "grave" by definition, and it is where everyone in the Old Testament went when they died--good or evil, Jew or Gentile). Thus the Old Testament does not contain the concept of Hell! Think about it... If Hell is real, why didn't God make that warning plain right at the beginning of the Bible? God said the penalty for eating of the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was death- -not "eternal life" in fire and brimstone. If Hell is real, why wasn't Cain warned about it, or Sodom and Gomorrah , or any of those who committed the earliest recorded "sins?" If Hell is real why didn't Moses warn about this fate in the Ten Commandments or the Mosaic Covenant consisting of over 600 laws, ordinances, and warnings? The Mosaic Law simply stated blessings and cursings in this lifetime. If Hell is real, why are its roots in paganism, rather than the Bible? Many nations surrounding Israel in the Old Testament believed in Hell-like punishment in the afterlife, for they served bloodthirsty and evil "gods," while Israel simply taught the grave (sheol) and a hope of a resurrection. If Hell is real, why was the revelation of it first given to pagan nations, instead of God's covenant people? Did God expect Israel to learn about the afterlife from the Pagan Gentiles? If so, why did He repeatedly warn Israel to not learn of their ways? If Hell is real, why did God tell the Jews that burning their children alive in the fire to the false god Molech, (in the valley of Gehenna ) was so detestable to Him? God said that such a thing "never even entered His mind" (Jer. 32:35). How could God say such a thing to Israel , if He has plans to burn alive a good majority of His own creation in a spiritual and eternal Gehenna of His own making? **FACT: The King James Bible erroneously translates the word "Sheol" as Hell a total of 31 times in the Old Testament, thus setting a foundation for that doctrine in the New Testament as well as the majority of Bible translations to follow the KJV. Even so, most new translations have completely eliminated Hell from the Old Testament, as honest and better scholarship has demanded. The Jewish version of the Old Testament (the Tanakh) has no concept of Hell in it. The importance of this fact cannot be over-emphasized. If a doctrine does not appear as seed form in the books of the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms, it cannot fairly be taught as a major biblical doctrine, if indeed it can be taught as biblical at all! ******************************************************************************************************************************** So not only is Hell not supported by atheists and agnostics, it's not even supported by the bible itself.

@Stephen Anthony appalled we can see. burning in hell.......go ahead, child, conjure up your demon images. and envision the heavenly choirs which will certainly welcome you . you apparently need cartoon imagery and bogus promises (and threats) to complete your picture of life. and death.....zzzzzz.....boring...childish.....superstitious.....primitive...useless

Spread the word of science. We must now come up with new health technologies.

Probably will always be relevant, but it does seem like rationality is having a rough time in the West right now.

“I have a foreboding of an America in my children's or grandchildren's time -- when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what's true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness..." - - Carl Sagan, excerpt from his book "The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark" 1995. Now you can be more properly scared.

Its only 32 years later. Humans have been this way for 2 million years. Everything is human psychology, and humans are still emotionally based, not logically based.

Being rational will always be relevant

@Rishi Jha Thank you! Am I available here? Absolutely, and I would _love_ to hear your thoughts about the phenomenon I'm trying to illustrate in my comment above :)

@Rishi J I'm sorry to tell you that I haven't seen any of your replies :( I checked my email as well, but the only notifications I have received from UKposts are about the reply you just wrote and your first one.

@@kasperchristensen8416 Hey are you still here. I am rishi. I would love to continue this discussion. Your original post was profound.

In the movie Back to the future, the professor looks at a video camera and says 'this is a tv studio in a box. Now everyone has their own tv channel.

Lucky you!!! I am just listening to him and feeling great!!!

Stephen Fry and Mike Tyson? 😅

@@raminybhatti5740 Neil DeGrasse-Tyson.

@@jjbud3124 That makes more sense.

Just saw your comment for the 1st time now... do you teach or do research? And, where? I like learning from those with good logic and ethics.

Yes, a bad, really bad academic🤣... what is your field? Pseudoscience?

Christopher Hitchens did that. Only, he did make you feel like an idiot... and he had the ability to make you feel good about it... to make you no longer an idiot.

Back in the early 1990s, after I had read several of his foundation series books, I wrote him a letter with a question about a technical detail in his writing. He actually wrote me a very thoughtful response! I was astounded! Asimov is one of the great treasures of humanity.

thhall459 Thank you for sharing it I probably wouldn’t even know how to reach him

NET MATE if I remember correctly, in the back of the books the publisher gave an address to write him! That was long before the internet, and even before I got my first computer in 1991, which was a Dell 386 with a 100 megabyte hard drive, with 4 megabytes of RAM and a 14” VGA color monitor!

@@thhall459 I am sure you cherished that letter. If it was me that would be the most precious that i could have. What a great man he was.

Well said, and this was before the likes of 9/11 conspiracy theories, COVID conspiracies and the ridiculous flat Earth nonsense. If Isaac was around now he'd be tearing his hair out at the beliefs being spouted on social media

@@reessoft9416 it really is everywhere through the very same technology science has achieved through. The issue with scientific advances is we are giving free platforms for more idiots to scream at. But at the same time internet is also abundance of knowledge and information. We truly never can make an ideal society.. there will always be a head to a tail. Is it a favourable balance ? No. But is it entirely changeable? no again. I mean Soviet union banned religion and anti intellectual way of thinking and ideolgies and focused on science and advancement but in the modern world they are evil enemies who fell. So in a world of blind the one eyed man becomes the freak.

i actually think that elder media didn't knew the extent to which stupidity could be so sold. we would, as he did, think we are doomed if we were in the 80's or 90's and saw the kind of entertainment and information they were loving to have, but if the media understood that ideas as Qanon and flat earth would actually thrive among the population, i guess they would have had it all day on. the cheapest entertainment usually wins society, but who would guess the cheapest information would aswell?

No just the Yanks, but the entire world. So climate change is real, covid is a dangerous disease, more blacks are killed by cops than whites, mohammendan terrorism is a threat..... sure we should debate these in a rational way, and not be closed down by cancel culture. This only leaves to conspiracy theories and people taking up the false comforts of absolutism.

@@gustavalbericchidurocher9764 I don't think a theory like Qanon could've flourished in the 80's. There's a fear that is, kind of paradoxically, caused by the abundance of information our modern society delivers every day. Qanon and other stuff like that is an irrational answer to those fears.

@LeftRight not quite, modern Marxists hate rationality. There was a big thing recently where they were literally trying to think up pointless situations where 2 + 2 = 5. They love to start with conflicting assertions that make any logical outcome possible

rationalism brings rapid change, why so many dislike it.

@@Alistair As opposed to the conservative nut jobs who are the paragons of rationality?

@@Alistair Shut the fuck up you pathetic ignorant prick.

@@Noises nothing rational about being a socialist as well. IT DOES NOT WORK. NEVER DID. NEVER WILL. And we'll be here to keep it from happening.

Yes, I think that the interviewer was inspired by Asimov's optimism, realism, and rationality!

And sideburns.

I think Isaac made him look good. He looked quite lost if you ask me!

Thank you. I think he was very good as well.

I was looking for this comment. Thanks!

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Heffner

Heffner’s magazine was a groundbreaker in the 1960’s.