Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

2008-05-07T06:08:44Z

Mariowhaa:

[[Image:Pokemon.jpg|right|thumb|The ''Pokemon'' logo]]
The highly successful Japanese franchise '''Pokemon''' was created by Satoshi Tajiri, and was introduced by [[Nintendo]] in the 1990s. The name is a [[transliteration]] of "Pocket Monsters" (''po-ké'' + ''mo-n'' = ''po-ké-mo-n'', which serves as the Japanese title of the series. It spread to several other countries in a short time. The game is centered around rewarding children for [[evolution|evolving]] their pokemon to make them better at turn based combat until one of them faints or dies.

The video game was the basis for the popular children's television show, Pokémon and helped to spawn a large amount of merchandise and a successful trading card game.

To those unfamiliar with the video games, the world is explored from an aerial view, in a way similar to "[[The Legend of Zelda]]" games (also by [[Nintendo]]). The player captures wild animals called "Pokemon," using a device called a "Pokéball." Pokémon often have cutesy species names such as "Rattata", "Pidgey", "Pikachu" & "Nidoran." Pokémon are also collected in the same way some people collect [[Baseball]] cards or "[[Garbage Pail Kids]]" stickers, and cataloged in a "Pokédex." Once captured, you can battle Pokémon against wild Pokemon to either scare them away or weaken them enough to capture them with a Pokeball. Each species of Pokémon has one or two elemental "types," and during turn-based battles, certain types trump others, in a [[Rock-Paper-Scissors]] manner. The most commonly-known of these are probably the starter Pokémons' types from each version: Fire trumps Grass; Grass trumps Water; Water trumps Fire, and for Yellow Version, Lightning trumps water.

==Gameplay==
In every mainstream version of the handheld Pokemon games, there are eight gym leaders, as well as a group called the Elite Four that one must beat, in order to win the game. Also, every different version gives each character a rival that constantly attempts to best you in your progress throughout the game.
As you move along, stronger Pokemon and harder trainers become increasingly present, forcing the main character to quickly adapt and become stronger.

==Games==
So far, there have been fourteen mainstream Pokémon games: Red and Green first appeared in Japan, but when the franchise came to the United States, Green was replaced by Blue, due to several bugs in Green. This was known as Generation I of Pokemon. Generation I was capped off by Yellow Version, a special Pikachu edition, in which the main character receives a Pikachu as his first Pokemon. Generation II introduced many new Pokémon in Gold and Silver, which was followed up by Crystal Version. Generation III, which also introduced new Pokémon, included Ruby and Sapphire, which was capped off by Emerald, however remakes of Red and Green, called Fire Red and Leaf Green were also released during Generation III. Pokémon is currently in Generation IV, where Diamond and Pearl are the only games that have been released yet, along with a whole string of cute, collectible beasts.It is worth noting that for each Generation of games, a new system is used. Generation 1 was first released for the Game Boy, Generation 2 for the Game Boy Color, Generation 3 for the Game Boy Advance, and Generation 4 for the Nintendo DS.

There are also many spinoff games, such as the Pokemon Stadium series for the [[Nintendo 64]], in which players could put their Pokémon cartridges into special adapters and battle Pokémon in 3D. Also for the Nintendo 64 is Pokemon Snap, in which the player is a Pokémon photographer, and travels around through Pokemon's habitats and snaps photos of them. Pokemon Pinball also came out for Game Boy Color, which was a pinball game in which Pokémon could also be caught in order to fill a Pokédex. Pokemon have also appeared in every one of Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. series. In the same vein as Pokemon Stadium, there are also Pokemon Colosseum (Game Cube) and Pokemon Battle Revolution (Wii) There is also Pokemon Red and Blue Rescue Teams for the DS, which are based on a short-lived cartoon series by the same name.

==Vatican's OK==

:''The Vatican has announced that the trading-card and computer-game versions of Pokémon are “full of inventive imagination,” have no “harmful moral side effects” and celebrate “ties of intense friendship.” Whether that extends to the TV show, His Holiness didn’t say. The New York Post, quoting a Thursday story in The Times of London, says The Vatican made its announcement on its satellite TV station, Sat2000, run by the Italian Bishops’ Conference.'' - from the New York Times

[[Category:Nintendo Franchises]]
[[Category:Television Shows]]
[[Category:Pop Culture]]

Debate:Is atheism a religion?

2008-05-07T06:04:44Z

Mariowhaa: /* Yes */

{{Debate}}
This is a debate about whether or not atheism is a religion (as can be shown by the title). Well, don't just read this sentence, go read what other people have to say and rebuttle them or back them up you dolt. Yeesh. Don't deleate what someone else has written, please. 
 
:'''Answer''': this is not a debate topic since the answer can already be found at [[religion]]. Depending on the definition one goes by, atheism may or may not be considered a religion. --[[User:Elton|Elton]] 14:24, 30 April 2008 (EDT){{Debate-religion}}

==Yes==
Athiesm is a religion. This is because, to a certain extent, they are worshipping something. As Christians, Jews, and Muslims are one god, atheists worship the fact that there is no god. This might sound contradicting and might make no sense, but bare with me. If you are a Christian, you take to heart the fact that Jesus was the savior of man. You believe that Jesus is the savior. However, if you are athiest, you are taking to heart the fact that there is no god. --[[User:Rocky|Rocky]]
:As an atheist, I also have to sleep denying Mohammemed, Buddha, Jesus, and the Flying Spaghetti Monster. It's hard, but it must also e hard for you Rocky, having your religion defined as ''not'' believing in everything but Jesus. It must also be hard taking to heart that there are no super-intelligent aliens living among us, no unicorns, and no centaurs. All of those things are believed by some in a religious sense, so what does it feel like to say "I am a Christian, defined by not believing in x,y,z,... for 10 minutes". Boy, your definition really makes sense!--[[User:Mariowhaa|Mariowhaa]] 02:04, 7 May 2008 (EDT)

==No==
Atheism does not fit the definition of religion:
<blockquote>1.a. Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe. b. A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship.
2. The life or condition of a person in a religious order.
3. A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader.
4. A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion.<ref>"religion." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. 30 Apr. 2008. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/religion>.</ref></blockquote>

One could argue that for some atheists atheism fits definition number four, but that is really a metaphorical usage of the word. [[User:Dadsnagem2|Dadsnagem2]] 14:35, 30 April 2008 (EDT)

"Atheism is a belief the same way that not collecting stamps is a hobby." (Overheard on another forum) --[[User:Gulik5|Gulik5]] 20:41, 30 April 2008 (EDT)
:In the same vein: "Calling Atheism a religion is like calling bald a hair color." --Don Hirschberg [[User:Dadsnagem2|Dadsnagem2]] 11:17, 1 May 2008 (EDT)

No, although there have been Atheistic quasi-religions, such as the positivist 'Church of Humanity' in the late 19th/early 20th century. [[User:Bugler|Bugler]] 11:18, 1 May 2008 (EDT)

===References===
{{reflist}}

Bayes Factor

2008-05-07T05:58:56Z

Mariowhaa:

The ''Bayes Factor'' of model class M1 to model class M2 for some set of observations ''X'' is the ratio of their associated marginal class likelihoods. The marginal class likelihood of some set of observations is the [[marginal likelihood]] of the observations for the model class obtained by marginalizing the [[joint probability distribution]] of the observations and the model class parameters by treating the model class parameters <math>\theta</math> as [[nuisance parameters]]. I.e.,

::<math>m_{\theta}(X|M) = \int_\theta p(X,\theta|M) \, d\theta = \int_\theta p(X|\theta , M) \, p(\theta|M) \, d\theta </math>

illustrating that it may be calculated directly using the [[joint probability distribution]] or from the [[conditional probability distribution]] where the second form of the integral was obtained using the [[Bayesian Product Rule]]. Thus the ''Bayes factor'' for model class M1 with parameters <math>\theta_1</math> to model class M2 with parameters <math>\theta_2</math> is

::<math>BF(X,M_1,M_2) = \frac{m_{\theta_1}(X|M_1)}{m_{\theta_2}(X|M_2)} </math>

By integrating out the model class parameters for comparative classes of likelihood models, one is effectively comparing the weighted strengths of the predictions of the two model classes concerning the observed data. In particular, in determining which model class has the largest [[posterior odds ratio]] (of which the ''Bayes factor'' is a principle component) when compared against all others, the model class or [[mathematical model]] which best explains the data among the competition is determined. It is then left to determine the best inference as to the values of that models parameters via [[parameter estimation]].

[[Category:Probability]]

Hypocrisy

2008-05-07T05:57:02Z

Mariowhaa:

'''Hypocrisy''' literally means criticism of others, by a standard one does not apply to oneself. It is hypocritical to use a [[double standard]] which strictly applies a rule to one group of people, while exempting or excusing another group.

For example: Suppose a politician criticizes an opponent for "catering to special interests," rather than saying and doing things which benefit every constituent. If this politician is also "in the pocket" of special interests, it would be hypocritical to critique an opponent for doing the same.

[[category:psychology]]

Axon

2008-05-07T05:56:21Z

Mariowhaa: Replacing page with 'This page has eeen redacted due to policy set by the Department of Homeland Security.'

This page has eeen redacted due to policy set by the [[Department of Homeland Security]].

Motor nervous system

2008-05-07T05:51:46Z

Mariowhaa:

{{stub2}}
The '''motor nervous system''' is the system of nerves which carries instructions from the PNS to the skeletal muscles.<ref>Wile, Dr. Jay L. ''Exploring Creation With General Science''. Anderson: Apologia Educational Ministries, Inc. 2000</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}