What are your thoughts on the comment in this audio?
- Thread starter op2
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I'm not asking you to listen to an hour, just 40 seconds. Although I have listened to all if it, usually while doing other stuff. Having something interesting to listen to on audio while I do other things or while I just sit and rest is actually one of my favorite things to do.
The C-Span Book TV website is a good source. They have lots of videos (but you can just listen instead of watching) of authors giving talks about their new books. Find one you like and turn it on. Maybe turn the audio up if you'll be listening to it while you're moving about the house doing stuff. Or maybe you'll prefer just sitting and relaxing in your easy chair while you listen. Listening to smart people talk about interesting topics is lots of fun, for me at least.
I love the point Sam Harris makes in that video. No matter how smart or cultured you are and no matter how much of a blue blood you are or how regal you think your ancestors were, if you go back just 100 generations you'll see that they believed things that are appalling by current standards. It's humbling to think about, both in terms of where we came from and in terms of what our descendents may think about our beliefs today.
Was this notion something you had never considered? This is why i have said you cant judge past generations for their views on slavery or a caste system. Something that seems appalling today was business as usual. In 50 years people will look back at this era and be aghast that we allowed the killing of millions of unborn babies for a reason no greater than birth control and a 70 year old countryroads will still bring up rape and incest.
Ha ha. I'm not 20. Probably almost as old as you are, definitely more intelligent and definitely more fit. LOL.
This reflects, to a degree, one of my viewpoints on the belief of God. I've stated several times that at one point certain civilizations thought that the Sun was Apollo riding his chariot across the sky. Later we found out that it actually wasn't. And lots and lots of other things that we attributed to some kind of God or another and took actions based on that.
I think religion makes sense to many because it's what we've heard from birth. But imagine if you never heard of any kind of concept of God at all. You are out of college and you've learned about evolution and our ancestors and the dinosaurs and the sun and moon, other galaxies, and everything else. Then, at 24-25 years old somebody said, "no, there's an invisible man in the sky that created everything". "This invisible man is controlling every aspect of your life and if you pray for things he will answer your prayers and provide for you". If it wasn't until that point in your life that you heard the story of the bible (or any other religion) after having already heard everything else. It would probably sound absolutely insane.
I will also say though, that it touches no another thought that I've held and that's that we are still very primitive. Way more primitive than we even realize.
That went over my head, like most things you say. Then it struck a note when I saw "tee".
Very good.
I think you and I have a different definition of intelligent but good for you stuart smalley.
Just catching up on this and saw your post. Not sure of your comment but if you don't understand Coop's comment, it was a crack calling out the poster of being Knox-like.
That was the note struck. My first reading, I only picked up white shirt which had little meaning. Then I saw tee and that rung a bell. Thanks tho,