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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> extropy-chat-bounces@lists.extropy.org [mailto:extropy-chat-bounces@lists.extropy.org] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Brent Allsop<br><b>Sent:</b> Thursday, November 29, 2012 1:17 PM<br><b>To:</b> ExI chat list<br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [ExI] atheists on the elevator<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>>…For the moment, do let me put aside my attitude towards the bastards that set this up. Watch a couple of them and I have a question for you:</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'> <a href="http://vod.io/bNSwB/" target="_blank">http://vod.io/bNSwB/</a></span><br><br><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>>…What if you are a hardcore atheist, and you are the victim of this? Would you react differently from these people? I think I would. I would freak out of course, but I seriously doubt I would shriek or do any of these graphics these people did. I honestly think I would look around after the girl is gone and try to figure out how the thing was done…spike</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><span style='color:#1F497D'>>…</span>That was very entertaining, thanks! I had the same thoughts as you, about all of them being ‘believing’ idiots, and I would behave very differently. Life must be pure hell for people that are really like that<span style='color:#1F497D'>…</span> Brent<span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><span style='color:#1F497D'>I admit I howled at this, and I do love these kinds of gags. However… this is an example of one I would not do. Reasoning: it is too risky. Any one of the victims could keel over with a heart attack, and then your whole life is ruined. Furthermore, there is too much risk to the little girl.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><span style='color:#1F497D'>I had a related theory I want to have you guys comment on, if you are willing. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><span style='color:#1F497D'>Clearly, a victim’s belief structure influenced the way they reacted to the ghost girl. If that gag was played on us, we would be startled, but would immediately assume either 1) I am having a hallucination or 2) she was in the elevator when I got on but I was thinking of something else and didn’t notice her, and she sure doesn’t look healthy, or 3) someone is playing a gag on me, a good one. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><span style='color:#1F497D'>But we would not assume a ghost. If Jacob Marley himself were to show up, I would be thinking Damn, that’s a good hologram. Perhaps this attitude is natural in a person who has actually set up these kinds of gags himself. {8^D I had fun. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><span style='color:#1F497D'>Prechristian Viking civilizations learned how to ply the seas almost before anyone, so they were wandering around the globe early in history. Their particular brand of Paganism had a number of superstitions that greatly influenced the way they did things whenever they encountered a strange new civilization. They are said to have believed that other civilizations had magical powers, but were not omnipotent. For instance they had gnomes, elves, faeries and things, all examples of beings with powers but not unlimited powers. A sturdy Viking lad could defeat them through ordinary might and a strong sword arm, and often did exactly that: come into a village of small people (everyone was small compared to the Vikings), freak out, kill everyone. Or if they decided the locals did not have magical powers, then two or three would offer to stay behind. The locals would likely welcome or at least tolerate the sturdy blonde guy, and I can imagine he was popular with the ladies. This would explain why Viking genes are found everywhere.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><span style='color:#1F497D'>Theory: in the north country, the home of the Vikings, there were no poisonous plants or frogs for instance, so the Vikings never did learn the basic chemistry required to do such things as making poison darts. The people from the tropics, on the other hand, had plenty of poisons they could distill from their local biota, so they did. The use of poison darts would appear as magic to a Viking, all of whose biota was perfectly non-toxic. The whole notion of making a poison from the glands of a tree frog would be witchcraft and magic. So the Vikings encountered a population who knew how to mysteriously kill proles. The survivors returned to Sweden with the stories, and this influenced their belief system. So the later generations of Vikings, not wanting to take a chance there may be dark magic at work, would slay the lot of them whenever possible.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><span style='color:#1F497D'>An ancient Viking, or one with a similar mindset, in the elevator with the zombie girl might attack and seriously injure her, rather than cowering in the corner as these people did.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><span style='color:#1F497D'>Commentary welcome by anyone with knowledge of actual Vikings, or any direct descendants of actual Vikings, Anders.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><span style='color:#1F497D'>spike <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>