WonderPat Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 I've been off my medication for awhile (just been able to get back on it again and have begun taking it again today). So, in the past few weeks, some things have really been eating at me and bothering me. That's what tends to happen when I'm off my medication. Then, paranoia and extreme worry sets in over silly things. Right now, I need some rational and scientific help in setting me at ease over the TimeCube website (do a google search). It wouldn't bother me, whether or not it was true, but the website author is quite extreme and apocalyptic, having prophesied that those that ignore, disagree with and, I think, even those who are unaware of his website will "burn in Hell." The author doesn't believe in God, of course, but he does call himself the wisest person in the world, so I guess he believes that if he feels that way, it's true. This, in my opinion, is a "cultic" mindset and I have long been bothered by cults and people with such extreme mindsets and opinions. Please read on. Here's what I can grasp of his theory (not all of this may be completely accurate) - Everything is based on Cubic geometry, including time, hence "Time Cube." Life and the universe is centered around the #4. There are 4 24 hour days/nights in a real day. This has something to do with a full day for each of the 4 corners of the earth (also the 4 metaphorical corners of a circle), discounting the Poles which aren't supposed to be of much importance. There are 4 sides to a human face, 4 human limbs, 4 sides to practically everything, including, most importantly - 4 members of the Cubic family - Father, Mother, Son, Daughter. 4 members of the Cubic races - Caucasian, Asian, African American and Indian (including Latino?) The author also believes that each race has a corresponding corner of the Earth that they should be segregated to, eliminated the "chaos" of mixed races. "Corner" is a bad word - 4 congruent geographical locations that experience day and night, each at different times, is a more accurate way of conveying what the author is saying. The author also made mention of 4 important people - Jesus, Socrates, someone I forget, and Clinton - I can't remember what this part was about, but I know that the author is "conspiratorial" and, I think, believes in "conspiracy theories." _________ It's interesting and I guess sounds maybe "sensible" when laid out that way. As I said, I wouldn't be bothered by whether it was true or not, if it wasn't for the author's extreme stance and apocalyptic visions about things; he basically claims that the entire human race's literal salvation depends upon accepting his TimeCube theory. And this is what bothers me - It sounds fairly "sensible," meaning for all I know it could be true (even though TimeCube is the subject of numerous internet jokes and is often listend #1 on "Internet Crackpot" sites). If it is true, the author of the theory claims that those that don't accept the theory will "burn in Hell." The concept of "burning in Hell," whatever religion is espousing it, has always bothered me; not just the idea of me burning in Hell, but the idea of the majority of the world burning in Hell and all based on one's acceptance of something (be it Jesus or TimeCube theory or whatever). It bothers me a GREAT DEAL. So, I need some help rationalizing all of this, also debunking it and making it seem irrational in the face of science and logic. Please help me out and talk to me about this and think on it. If you want more information, here is a "profile" of the author and the website on a "crackpot watch" site that goes into detail - http://www.insolitology.com/topten/generay.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dhampir Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 I know you probably want us to look at the site itself and debunk it point by point. I keep saying that's not necessary however. First of all, if being off your meds exacerbates this paranoia, then I'd suggest staying on it as much as possible. That said, I'll repeat that anyone can find patterns where there need be none. As to this list of "4's", it's very easily fractured. For instance, what is the significance of any individual point on this list of yours? What about the 24 hour day? It's not exactly 24 hours, and no 2 days have the same exact amount of minutes and seconds exactly, because of the shifting of the axis of the earth. I don't even know what "Cubic Race" even means, and for that matter, the Australoid, the native Australian is considered to be its own race, meaning there's at least 5 racial classifications. (Latino, btw, is closer to caucasian) How many sides are there to a dog's face? Does the fact that us four limbed mamals have 5 digits on each limb have some significance? At any rate, a cube is a 4 sided hexahedron. If anything, that would mean that 6 is actually the magic number of the universe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OpheliaGinger Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Delusion, pure and simple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefranden Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Seriously, there are better things to worry about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator florduh Posted July 22, 2009 Super Moderator Share Posted July 22, 2009 You can't debunk a paranoid delusion. There are no facts involved. People believe all kinds of crazy shit. Some think there's a race of people living inside the earth. Some think aliens live among us. Some think dolphins are the most highly evolved spiritual creatures. Others are convinced that the world is 6,000 years old. Arguing with such nonsense is a waste of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouroboros Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Everything is based on Cubic geometry, including time, hence "Time Cube." I guess he consider the x, y, z to be cubic, but in today's science, time, and perhaps several more dimensions are included. Besides, geometry can be based on vectors too. And perfect cubes only exists in euclidean geometry, but it's more likely (and there are supporting arguments for this) that space is non-euclidean, meaning, cubes really don't exist, they're more like bulging boxes. There are 4 24 hour days/nights in a real day. This has something to do with a full day for each of the 4 corners of the earth (also the 4 metaphorical corners of a circle), discounting the Poles which aren't supposed to be of much importance. Sounds like a constructed principle. There's no evidence for the argument that the "real day" is 4 of the 24 hour days. Besides a day/night is not exact 24 hours. There is a slight drift between the atom-clock and the sun-clock. And the reason is that Earth does not rotate evenly, nor does it do one rotation in exactly 24 hours. There are 4 sides to a human face, 4 human limbs, 4 sides to practically everything, including, most importantly - Well, okay. Four limbs. But what about fingers? Or toes? They're extremities too, and the nose. And guys have yet one more thing sticking out. If I count only the things that I want to count, then I can build all my belief around any number. I could say everything is based on 5. That there's 5 days in a "real" day. The ears, eyes and the nose, forms perfectly the "basic" sense (or whatever I'd like to call it). And that we have 5 fingers on each hand. And so on... 4 members of the Cubic family - Father, Mother, Son, Daughter. Grandfather, Grandmother (on both sides), grandchildren, step-kids, ... He doesn't count what he doesn't want to count. 4 members of the Cubic races - Caucasian, Asian, African American and Indian (including Latino?) Cubic race? Yeah, where does Latino fit in? They are originally from Spain, hence Caucasian, but also from Indian, so they're just a corner of the cube then, instead of a side? Race is an arbitrary definition and there are no clear and absolute lines between them. Some consider Jews to be a race. So are they my #5 instead? The author also believes that each race has a corresponding corner of the Earth that they should be segregated to, eliminated the "chaos" of mixed races. "Corner" is a bad word - 4 congruent geographical locations that experience day and night, each at different times, is a more accurate way of conveying what the author is saying. Earth doesn't have any corners...??? He believe in a flat Earth? There are only two poles. East and West are only abstract directions, not actual places. The author also made mention of 4 important people - Jesus, Socrates, someone I forget, and Clinton - I can't remember what this part was about, but I know that the author is "conspiratorial" and, I think, believes in "conspiracy theories." Doesn't surprise me. He is obviously paranoid, delusional, and he might have schizophrenia. He's obsessed with numbers and patters, and the number 4 and cubes is stuck in his mind. Give him a banana, and he'll find 4's in it. Give him a bowlingball and he'll find a cube in it. You see. he's crazy, so don't get pulled into it. It's interesting and I guess sounds maybe "sensible" when laid out that way. As I said, I wouldn't be bothered by whether it was true or not, if it wasn't for the author's extreme stance and apocalyptic visions about things; he basically claims that the entire human race's literal salvation depends upon accepting his TimeCube theory. And this is what bothers me - It shouldn't. Just because someone say something, it does not make it true. It sounds fairly "sensible," meaning for all I know it could be true (even though TimeCube is the subject of numerous internet jokes and is often listend #1 on "Internet Crackpot" sites). If it is true, the author of the theory claims that those that don't accept the theory will "burn in Hell." The concept of "burning in Hell," whatever religion is espousing it, has always bothered me; not just the idea of me burning in Hell, but the idea of the majority of the world burning in Hell and all based on one's acceptance of something (be it Jesus or TimeCube theory or whatever). It bothers me a GREAT DEAL. I've noticed that some people have exactly that same problem. We have had, and still have, members here, who are now Ex-Christians, but they constantly fall back to belief out of fear, or they are constantly asking and thinking about it. I guess that some part of your, and their, brain, is overactive and is building up this fear and you have no control over it. So, I need some help rationalizing all of this, also debunking it and making it seem irrational in the face of science and logic. Please help me out and talk to me about this and think on it. Like I said above, the guy is finding the number and the cube in everything, because he's looking for anything that fits it. But at the same time he disregard everything that does not fit. Some things are cubic in nature. And some things (most things) are not. Trees are not cubes. Dogs are not cubes. Spaghetti is not cubic. Carmina Burana by Carl Orff, is not cubic. Etc... Is your handwriting, pen, fingers, ears, car wheels, milk, coffee, favorite TV-show, rocks in the park, and so on, cubic? No, it's not. So the guy has selected the things, and only the things, that he somehow can fit to his theory, and blow it out of proportions. 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Super Moderator florduh Posted July 22, 2009 Super Moderator Share Posted July 22, 2009 That was an excellent reply from Hans. You can go through these steps with every whacked out website or book, but why take the time? The people that come up with this crazy shit are delusional, insane, or just having some fun seeing how many people will believe their silly stuff. There are those who can make a "case" for a fake moon landing, that 9-11 was an inside job, and that aliens are abducting us. All one has to do is lie, leave out some pertinent information, and voilá! Instant conspiracy theory or new doomsday scenario! Study science and history instead of wasting time on this crap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WonderPat Posted July 23, 2009 Author Share Posted July 23, 2009 I appreciate all of the responses; thanks especially to HanSolo for putting a lot of it in perspective. "We have had, and still have, members here, who are now Ex-Christians, but they constantly fall back to belief out of fear, or they are constantly asking and thinking about it. I guess that some part of your, and their, brain, is overactive and is building up this fear and you have no control over it." It's something that I think I'll always struggle with. Extreme fundamentalist Christianity caused some bad psychological damage to me. But, even before then, I had started experiencing extreme paranoia in my early 20s. I take medication for it now, which I just got back on yesterday. It works really well for me, generally. Anyways, one more thing that's bothering me about this - It's not like this guy is some lone nutjob with no one who believes him. There are TimeCube supporters out there. There's a link to a message board discussing TimeCube that you can find in the link at the bottom of my first post. On there, there are plenty of CubeHeads who rigorously defend TimeCube and espouse the same apocalyptic/possibly conspiratorial view. On the Wikipedia page for TimeCube, it notes a Tiawanese professor (I think he's a professor) who has written favorably about TimeCube and who compares the author's discovery to the works of Pythagorus (spelling?). There's also a person that runs a blog dedicated to laying out the authors theories in Geometrical terms and elaborating on them and attempting to prove them. There's even an online petition with signatres to get TimeCube considered in colleges as something to be taught. On a bit more eccentric note, there was also a man who had a website wholly dedicated to the author's TimeCube theory and who dedicated his life to the theory and trying to prove it to people and spread the word. But, the author felt that this man was toying too much with his theory and didn't like some of the man's conclusions. Distraught, the man jumped in front of a train and committed suicide. So, as you can see, the author does have some supporters, even in possible intellectual circles. Naturally, this doesn't automatically make it true or false, as there are a wide variety of people who believe a wide variety of different things for different reasons. But, would anyone be able to describe why this belief is catching on with some people online and why some people in intellectual circles are even jumping through hulla-hoops, metaphorically, trying to prove the theory and make people believe it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qec Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 There are nuclear physicists with P.H.D s that believe in the whole "Alien-abductions-happen-but-thegovernment-has-covered-it-up-we-need-to-uncover-the-truth" paranoid delusion. There is no evidence for any of it and yet scientists with PHD s, one in Nuclear Physics no less, believe in the bullshit. You have to realize that some things have no evidence, and are non-falsifiable. Repeat the words "I can only know what's falsifiable" and take a deep breath... The best way to tell apart a fantasy story from what is factual is to realize that all factual narratives can be backed up by replicable/verifiable experiments/evidence in an honest and comprehensive manner, and are falsifiable<--this is key. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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