Wow. So much effort. So much time. So much work. What a waste.
What we see in this thread is the classic separation of motives (see
"Tools of The Debate Imposter"). On the surface, it may seem that these debaters are here for the same thing. If you look carefully, you will see that zero progress has been made in the discussion. That is because Tom will not tolerate any.
Never mind that the topic has been completely off the subject so badly and for so long. That fact is completely lost on the participants. The believer is happy because he is getting the attention he needs so disparately. The scientist is not really "happy", but he is still hoping that there is a chance for progress in the debate. Sadly we can see there is not. Tom is so firmly entrenched in his belief structure that he simply cannot ever allow any outside opinion to penetrate it.
The primary differences between the participants is that Tom is getting exactly what he wants; an endless back and forth that goes nowhere, but Tesla is not. I just hope that Tesla can see that before he gets provoked by Tom into saying something he regrets. That can be a real trophy for some.
Tesla, Tom's only goal at this stage is to anger and frustrate you. If you can step back and look at things from the context of my OP, I think you may see that there is no possibility of anything productive coming from this debate.
What I've learned is to not even read Tom's posts. His behavior is so predictable and inane, it gets to the point where reading becomes a terrible chore. Tom is more willing than most (perhaps any) to dive in and have it out, but he's so unwilling to provide even the most basic foundations to his style that there's just no point in understanding his position any longer. It's too much work and too painful coming from him. There just must be someone here that can be an advocate for the RET without dancing the dance like Tom. If there is, please post IN ANOTHER THREAD!
I am, however still thankful this thread is popular, so I encourage others to post about the actual topic as found in my OP.
Thanks to Tom for the great demonstration of a "True Believer."