tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12171673.post298118688310404607..comments2024-02-13T01:25:33.947-05:00Comments on The Gods Are Bored: Shallow Thinking about God, etc.Anne Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15478513906953607043noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12171673.post-90535693260642813432009-09-17T21:42:23.861-04:002009-09-17T21:42:23.861-04:00*Anne loves it when smart people have discussions ...*Anne loves it when smart people have discussions in her thread*Anne Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18083739996560380258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12171673.post-64730840227125179582009-09-17T13:53:53.349-04:002009-09-17T13:53:53.349-04:00To continue the thought: The point usually drawn f...To continue the thought: The point usually drawn from this observation is that biologists assume everything has a well worked out scientific basis, while as Aquila ka Hecate points out, the "basis" of physics is just not apparent at all in the required way. RCAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12171673.post-65179686442070558472009-09-17T13:50:38.040-04:002009-09-17T13:50:38.040-04:00The fact that there are more atheists among chemis...The fact that there are more atheists among chemists than among physicists isn't a "conclusion" of mine. I have the impression that it's a well-known observation among scientits, of whom I was trained as one (a chemist). I can't cite a source and may be wrong, but at any rate it's a claimed observation, not an inference. RCAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12171673.post-71578718156218237502009-09-16T00:14:43.151-04:002009-09-16T00:14:43.151-04:00[I just lost my comment so I have to write this al...[I just lost my comment so I have to write this all out again. My apologies if this appears as a double-post.]<br /><br />@Anne: I don't see that on your blog or your profile now, but perhaps I'm not looking in the right place. Anyway, I seem to recall reading it before and it certainly sounds like something you would do. You have my apologies. (You also have me wondering if I'm losing my sense of irony.)<br /><br />@Makarios: That's not what I'm trying to say. Just because we can't detect/measure/determine something doesn't mean it doesn't exist-it just means we can't detect/measure/determine that something yet. Until such a time arises, I'll stick with Occam's Razor. <br /><br />@Anonymous/Rodger Cunningham: That sounds reasonable, but I ultimately find it hard to believe. If we also accept that physics is the the underlying basis of chemistry, would it be reasonable to expect an increasing trend of atheism as we move from physics to chemistry to biology? Further, how do we know that there isn't another underlying social factor or if it's the result of a statistical variation? I'm not trying to be argumentative, I'm just curious as to how you arrived at that conclusion.<br /><br />~The Musejarjar_headhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02019396208763592572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12171673.post-74286423716271582962009-09-15T16:11:15.207-04:002009-09-15T16:11:15.207-04:00In his essay, Dawkins talked mostly about Darwin b...In his essay, Dawkins talked mostly about Darwin but also widened his argument to include the laws of physics.<br /><br />JarJar, if you read the fine print on the "Gods Are Bored" template, you'll find that the author reserves the right to say stupid things at every opportunity, just to make herself laugh.Anne Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18083739996560380258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12171673.post-39154324190478292312009-09-15T15:27:35.262-04:002009-09-15T15:27:35.262-04:00Dawkins is a biologist, not a physicist. Biologist...Dawkins is a biologist, not a physicist. Biologists tend to think that since the chemical basis of biology is well understood, Science has everything sewed up. That's why there's a higher proportion of atheists among biologists than among physicists. Rodger CunninghamAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12171673.post-74943539262756337692009-09-15T01:18:19.157-04:002009-09-15T01:18:19.157-04:00The proposition that underlies most scientific ath...The proposition that underlies most scientific atheism is that anything that can't be measured by machinery doesn't exist. This is an old argument, and one that was blown off by Shakespeare's Hamlet (I:5):<br /><br /><i>There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,<br />Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.</i>Makarioshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08392249532355639518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12171673.post-26580468008245037962009-09-14T23:24:11.510-04:002009-09-14T23:24:11.510-04:00It's been a long time since I've posted a ...It's been a long time since I've posted a comment here, but I'm going to have a go at it.<br /><br />Regarding your second point, not all atheists assume that we have learned so much as to know that a deity (or deities) do not exist. When a claim is made that a deity exists beyond our comprehension, then a claim is being made that is not empirically verifiable. We still train physicists because there is much we don't know about the universe. (What causes gravity? What is mass?)<br /><br />Now I suppose you could make the argument that this would make me an agnostic. Atheism and agnosticism are not mutually exclusive however. I do not believe in a higher power, but neither do I believe that I can truly know if I am right or not. (For the record, I identify as an agnostic atheist.)<br /><br />I don't really have anything to say on the matter beyond that. I just think making a blanket statement as was made in your second point was unfair and mis-representative. <br /><br />For me, I don't just want to feel something to be true. I want to know as well. But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy the mystery.<br /><br />~The Musejarjar_headhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02019396208763592572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12171673.post-53611037050552260272009-09-14T22:36:18.075-04:002009-09-14T22:36:18.075-04:00Ooo, YellowDog Granny, I've got to share a &qu...Ooo, YellowDog Granny, I've got to share a "Hank the Cowdog" quote (not 100% accurately, but I'll get the jest of it): "I didn't believe in that ghost, but that didn't stop the ghost from believing in me!"Dancing With Feyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03493553137383118631noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12171673.post-91172696449327698092009-09-14T22:34:47.822-04:002009-09-14T22:34:47.822-04:00I am a physicist, and I have two things to say on ...I <em>am</em> a physicist, and I have two things to say on this score:<br /><br />1)The laws of physics are so far from being nailed down that it's laughable.<br />2) At some point, I have to believe the evidence of my own senses.<br /><br />Love,<br />Terri in JoburgAquila ka Hecatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00725237187718174157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12171673.post-17501645196308737892009-09-14T22:19:49.786-04:002009-09-14T22:19:49.786-04:00i believe in the goddess and she believes in me..i believe in the goddess and she believes in me..yellowdoggrannyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14906624317290990109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12171673.post-89954422208710560262009-09-14T22:08:23.717-04:002009-09-14T22:08:23.717-04:00I would never attempt to "convince" anyb...I would never attempt to "convince" anybody of the existence of dieties, since I myself have no proof whatsoever that they exist outside that "warm, fuzzy" sense deep inside which is happy to ignore realities for a bit of mystical antacid.<br /><br />We'll be long gone from this plane before science rids us of every opportunity to exercise faith.Alex Pendragonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15877845166621794334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12171673.post-19810886197074547912009-09-14T19:59:06.535-04:002009-09-14T19:59:06.535-04:00Personally, I think that trying to convince people...Personally, I think that trying to convince people of the existence of deities (or even one deity) is a waste of time. Really, if they're going to be convinced, it'll probably be due to divine intervention, and last time I checked I'm not a goddess.Dancing With Feyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03493553137383118631noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12171673.post-57925505668486067802009-09-14T19:52:59.340-04:002009-09-14T19:52:59.340-04:00Religion is a brain-blankie? That's reassurin...Religion is a brain-blankie? That's reassuring!Lori F-MNnoreply@blogger.com