<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/eV1r4fxaZsE&hl=en"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/eV1r4fxaZsE&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> Awesome speech about the intersection of science and religion in history... and its consequences ...more about the Islamic history of science and religion <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tIMifWU5ucU&hl=en"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tIMifWU5ucU&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
Not surprising Intelligent folx are a bit more arrogant about the ability of humanity the smarter you get . . or rather the more you know . .the more likely you are to think . . . IF I CANNOT DO IT . .. NO ONE CAN Rocket River If humanity cannot do it. . . .then no one in the universe can . . . . right?
It's arrogance that asks us to believe we're made in Gods image. We're nothing, from a cosmological perspective. It's more arrogance to think that because we haven't figured out what begat the universe that it must be some all powerful being. I think the simpler explanation is that we haven't figured it out yet, or that we're incapable of doing so because we're just not smart enough, or maybe some variation of what Godel was getting at.
I completely disagree. Usually as human beings become more intelligent they become more self-aware, meaning they understand their place in the universe more, and mainly how insignificant our existence really is, though unique and rare. It is not arrogance which brings about a change in faith, but rather humility, for it is quite arrogant to believe that we are a special race or breed of people conceived in the picture of the most powerful being in the universe, instead of just a random happening of particles that somehow floated and collided their way into formation.
Speaking of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pale_Blue_Dot Mind-blowing stuff. Arrogance and humility can't really be the exclusive domain of either camp, as their is plenty on both sides.
The people I know who are intelligent (not anyone here! ) present a mixed bag. Several are agnostic, one or two are atheists, several attend church sometimes and say they believe in some sort of supreme being, and a few are very religious. Actually, most of the very religious people I know are relatives of mine and older than me. Not all, certainly, but the majority. To sum up, I'd say a majority of the "intelligent people" I know are either standing with their toe in the religious water, or outside the bathroom, wondering when it'll be safe to go in. Impeach Bush and Sentence Him to Go to Church... in Antarctica. Every damn Day.
I completely agree that it has much do to with arrogance. Vast majority of "intelligent" people have to earn their intelligence ... IE: They aren't sitting in a trailer in the middle of BFE watching TV all day, drinking beer and shooting the road signs. When you rely on yourself, you tend to credit yourself for your own accomplishments. Conversely, religious people tend to be ignorant in general. These people tend to be the G.E.D type of people (Good enough diploma), putting in just enough to get out what they need, and letting "the good Lord" fill in the rest.
I pertain to a small circle of "friends" that is mostly comprised of.. pretentious artists, med-students, and aspiring authors/writers.. I suppose they qualify.. as possessing some level of intelligence.. not one of them believes in a "god".. or is religious.. except one.. who is buddhist.. so there you go.. however.. the girl with whom I currently share my life with.. does believe in a "god".. but by her own admittance.. with the crazy, chaotic/reckless life she was leading.. she had to turn to something..
Christianity is sort of the De Facto religion in this country. If someone doesn't have a questing intellect and is happy just believing what their parents believed they will probably at least pay lip service to believing in God. Now if someone is intelligent, and questions things...then they can choose among a number of things to believe. One of those choices is the Christian God. However not everyone who seeks is going to find the same answer certainly not to the extent people who just do as their parents before them did. Plus I am sure there is an economic aspect. Educated people tend to do a little better economically, and probably are more satisfied with their lives here on earth and have less need for a next world where "it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven". As it happens I am a Christian, but it is something I chose for myself and I freely admit it is more a product of my faith than my intellect.
I dont think faith vs atheism is a matter of being intelligent in general as much a matter of being learned on the subject matter. nowhere in an IQ test does it determine how much time you have spent considering the cases of science and faith.
You'll have to wait and see. I'm staying up late at night, working on it. Impeach Bush and Sentence Him to Go to Church... in Antarctica. Every damn Day.
I only watched the first one, and I'm a bit dubious about what he said with respect to Newton. He said that Newton found it too complicated to calculate the gravitational pull of all the major objects in the solar system to earth, and had to use the "intelligent creator" as the explanation. I'm not debating the accuracy of his description on Newton, but I just don't find this calculation to be complicated. Everyone who's done physics would know that the formula for gravitational pull between two objects is: F = G * mass of obj1 * mass of obj2 / distance^2 and the the final force on an object is the (vector) sum of all the forces applied on that object. So, other than earth, there are like 8 other planets in the solar system, and some of these planets also have moons, so together there may be a few dozen objects in the solar system big enough to be counted. Therefore, once you have the locational information on all the objects in the solar system, it's simply a matter of (vector) addition to calculate the direction and magnitude of the gravitational pull on earth. Yes, this may take a guy a couple of hours to calculate, but surely it's not hard enough to stump a guy like Newton? Furthermore, given the fact that the combined mass of all the planets in the solar system is less than 1/1000 of the mass of the Sun. Surely, it's not that hard to work out that most of the gravitational pull on earth is directed towards the Sun?
