The Postulation of a Designer (The nature of a \'Creator\')

by John Clinch , London, Tuesday, March 04, 2008, 17:41 (5894 days ago) @ dhw

Be careful you're not so open-minded that your brain falls out. 
 
I agree that it can be difficult for some people to know to what extent they should be open to fresh ideas and to what extent this openness should be tempered by scepticism. Sometimes, the rational thing is to be receptive to new possibilities (e.g. SETI was set up because maybe one day we may make contact with an alien civilisation) and sometimes it is downright stupid (e.g. trying to make contact with fairies at the bottom of the garden when you've dropped a tab of acid). The scientific method provides the necessary degree of discrimination. - The fact that you admitted to being open-minded about ESP and all that hokum does rather suggest that open-mindedness has its hazards. I'm afraid that it is just plain silly to imagine that perfectly workaday events like remarkable coincidences, being spooked in a creaky old house, or the cold-calling of gullible people is evidence of anything other than the suggestibility of weak creatures like ourselves with a human nature designed (obviously not literally) to make patterns of nature. Science has demonstrated that we do so frequently when there is no real pattern at all. So, let's get real, shall we? Houses aren't haunted - people are. Watch Darren Brown, for goodness' sake. - To argue that these so-called phenomena are somehow outside the scope of science really will not do. Sorry, but with the greatest respect, to deploy such a childish argument hugely undermines your broader case for agnosticism. You'll be telling me you're a conspiracy theorist next. - Loads of people are "open-minded" about whether the Holocaust happened (though thankfully they are mainly isolated on the pro-Nazi fringes); or about whether Apollo 11 landed on the moon; or that Islamist fundamentalists were responsible for the 9/11 atrocities. They can believe what they like - as can you - but they shouldn't expect grown-ups to pay much heed (except to counter their often poisonous influence).