Links With Your Coffee - Tuesday
Avoid waiting for your comments to be approved register using TypeKey if you choose not to use typekey I have to approve your comments. That may take only a few minutes but often takes several hours.
If you leave a comment please follow the rules. Criticize ideas. Do not criticize people. This means do not substitute criticism of the person for criticism of the idea. Do not make off-topic comments. Repeated abuse of the rules will result in your commenting privileges being revoked or your comments being deleted.
"All truth is simple." Is that not doubly a lie?—Nietzsche
I'm now using FeedBurner for RSS feeds to subscribe just click here
One of my advertisers the Jason Crane Show has a particularly interesting program this week that includes an interview of David Rovics. David is an activist singer songwriter. His latest album is Halliburton Boardroom Massacre which ought to give you an idea of what he's about. You can access this specific show here
Humans 'hardwired for religion'
The battle by scientists against "irrational" beliefs such as creationism is ultimately futile, a leading experimental psychologist said today . . ."For example, many people would be reluctant to part with a wedding ring for an identical ring because of the personal significance it holds. Conversely, many people are disgusted by an object if it has associations with 'evil'."
I think he's got it wrong when he talks about sentimentality being irrational. Sentimentallity is not the same as superstition, nor are things that are not 100% utilitarian irrational. Music and art for example. His example of the wedding ring for example. The reason you would want to keep it has to do with the memories you have associated with it. If you replace it you add the memory of replacing it, changing the associations you have with it. The case of sweater on the other hand seems to me to be more superstition. I'd certainly put the sweater on for a few bucks. The fact that I thought a killer had worn it is really not significant. There are people who if they find out someone has died in a house wouldn't want to purchase it a practice I also find stupid. But even if it's true that humans tend to be irrational it doesn't follow that it is hopeless to offer rational arguments there are countless examples of people discarding irrational beliefs after a little education.
Economist The Trouble with YouTube It attracts a lot of viewers, but can “user-generated” video make money?
Bush told reporter Jews are 'all going to hell'
The Who Performs 'Bush Won't Fool Us Again a song parody by Don Davis
Comments
actually, I think there is quite a bit of merit to the argument that you can't expect to sway the opinion of hardcore believers with overwhelmingly rational arguments.. all I have to do is reflect on my brother's belief in Dubya and I recognize that there is in fact also an inane stubbornness preprogrammed into the human condition that won't allow us so simply to let go..
The scientist Dr Hood makes a jump of faith it seems to me. I mean sure who'd want to wear a sweater supposedly worn by a mass murderer, besides the fact that it sounds really ugly, there's probably a UGH factor at work more than anything. But to leap from these examples to being hardwired for religious belief systems is a big stretch. I still firmly believe for a vast majority of religious people, this is a mental "virus" learned in childhood from their parents, peers and other social influences.
Post a comment