The battle to stop clever people betting • Hacker News Board

Re: The battle to stop clever people betting

#131

Post by RickJWagner » Tue, Dec 30, 2025, 1:47 AM UTC

BrandoElFollito wrote: post #130

RickJWagner wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The point remains that religious people give more time and money to charitable causes than non-religious people. The motivators may be sinful (vanity, etc), but the good works are what should matter. Better to have hypocrites feeding the hungry than no food at all. I’m glad to hear you’re getting to see the world. I hope your journeys are enjoyable.

> The point remains that religious people give more time and money to charitable causes than non-religious people No, the point is that they mostly do this publicly . The others do the same, but without the need for an audience to witness their gesture.

You seem to be missing the point.

There are people who need help. They need food, clothing, counseling.

The people getting help don’t care about why somebody gives. They just need things and are glad when they get them.

Re: The battle to stop clever people betting

#132

Post by BrandoElFollito » Tue, Dec 30, 2025, 8:55 AM UTC

RickJWagner wrote: post #131

BrandoElFollito wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The point remains that religious people give more time and money to charitable causes than non-religious people No, the point is that they mostly do this publicly . The others do the same, but without the need for an audience to witness their gesture.

You seem to be missing the point. There are people who need help. They need food, clothing, counseling. The people getting help don’t care about why somebody gives. They just need things and are glad when they get them.

No, you are not getting the point. Giving is not related to religiousness. So there is no need to state this as this is factually wrong. We give as much as you do, without making it public for everyone to see.

Re: The battle to stop clever people betting

#133

Post by RickJWagner » Tue, Dec 30, 2025, 1:53 PM UTC

BrandoElFollito wrote: post #132

RickJWagner wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You seem to be missing the point. There are people who need help. They need food, clothing, counseling. The people getting help don’t care about why somebody gives. They just need things and are glad when they get them.

No, you are not getting the point. Giving is not related to religiousness. So there is no need to state this as this is factually wrong. We give as much as you do, without making it public for everyone to see.

That’s wrong.

The studies ( and they are many ) show that religious people give more.

You were trying to argue about why religious people give more, now you abruptly switch course to saying they don’t.

I will respond no more, it makes no sense to continue this discussion.

Re: The battle to stop clever people betting

#134

Post by BrandoElFollito » Tue, Dec 30, 2025, 4:10 PM UTC

RickJWagner wrote: post #133

BrandoElFollito wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, you are not getting the point. Giving is not related to religiousness. So there is no need to state this as this is factually wrong. We give as much as you do, without making it public for everyone to see.

That’s wrong. The studies ( and they are many ) show that religious people give more. You were trying to argue about why religious people give more, now you abruptly switch course to saying they don’t. I will respond no more, it makes no sense to continue this discussion.

> The studies ( and they are many ) show that religious people give more.

I provided you a meta research covering several thousand cases. Feel free to provide yours.

> You were trying to argue about why religious people give more, now you abruptly switch course to saying they don’t.

Absolutely not - my point was that everybody gives the same, no matter the religiosity (and the research says so). Religious people just make it public. Why this is the case is left to them and their conscience.

If you want to have an informed discussion, you must be ready to face the numbers. But science and logical thinking is exactly the opposite of religion so if you are blinded by it, well that's it.

I have had numerous discussions over the years about religion (including a well-known radio program). Whenever it came to facts, suddenly there was a lot of hand waving and trying to move the discussion elsewhere.

But you are right - we got to a final point. Happy Christmas and New Year (yes, I am happy Christmas is there even though the religious part is irrelevant -- I like the family traditions)