The Other Michael

A favorite article of mine:

<a href="http://www.mentalsoup.com/mentalsoup/basic.htm" target="_blank">http://www.mentalsoup.com/mentalsoup/basic.htm</a>

It is very enlightening.

cheers,
Michael

SteveD

When I first started reading this I thought it was just going to be a humorous piece of fluff. But I actually found it to be quite profound and a scarily accurate model of the real world.

Steve

The Other Michael

Hi Steve,

and unlike ineffable supernatural beings, EVERYONE has had experience with stupidity (either in other people or themselves, most likely both).

cheers,
Michael

Answerer

Well, most of the montheists are the best examples for stupidity in humans.

seebs

Wow, you guys are really welcoming around here, y'know that?

I've met so many mind-numbingly stupid people, from all walks of life, that I don't think generalizations do much good. I know a number of very smart atheists, and a number of very smart monotheists of various sorts. I know one polytheist who seems pretty intelligent, but I don't know him well enough to be sure.

I have met monotheists whose inability to comprehend simple reasoning is perceived directly by my nervous system as pain. I have met atheists whose blindness to anything not completely consistent with some weird misunderstanding of science required me to switch to uncountable infinities to make useful measurements.

PEOPLE ARE DUMB. DUMB ALL OVER.

You know who the dumbest people are? The ones who think their group is the smart one. (Luckily, I'm not a member of this group, so I'm not dumb.)

Daydreamer

I agree, Answerer was rather rude there, however:

This leads to an infinte regression:

Since you create a binary category ('I am perfect' vs. 'I am not perfect'), and place yourself in the 'better' one you think your group is smarter than the other, and fall prey to your own generalization.

Someone7

This forum has needed a Netiquette Officer for awhile. Have fun trying to get some of us to be more polite to theists.

And welcome to the board.

Gurdur

First off: welcome to the forum, and to the board.

Second off: you will meet a lot of similar comments.
Try not to confuse such posters with the majority. We are not all the same, nor does one speak for all.

Third off: I myself judge on character: should I, for example, call someone an idiot, it is for reasons of character, not reasons of putative intelligence.

To me, the explicit desire to be straightforward, honest, ethical and capable of taking criticism --- as well as concentrating on the substance, rather than ego --- is all-important.

leonarde

bonduca

seebs, I wouldn't take it personally. You may be thinking of the intelligent and reasonable theists you know, and someone else may be thinking of a foaming-at-the-mouth fundamentalist type (which we do get a few of here).