virus: Newsweek - Science finds God

Hakeeb A. Nandalal (nanco@trinidad.net)
Wed, 29 Jul 1998 09:09:54 +0000

Tim Rhodes wrote:
>
> Hakeeb A. Nandalal writes:
>
> >Has either the Virus or Zero lists been able to answer the question :-
> >"Why do different people subscribe to different memes?"
> >
> >Reason, logic, critical thinking : doesn't a person first have to
> >accept that logic is superior to faith etc. before one can use
> >logic to dispute faith?
>
> Your second question makes the unspoken assumption that the decision to
> adopt a meme is based on an objective evalution. In the most scientific of
> terms: There is simply NO evidence for this assumption. (But if someone
> can site some for me...)

I was thinking along the lines of "evaluating" ideas based on
non-subjective information like fossils, the age of the universe, etc.
which would allow us to "reject" one meme (say creationism) for
another (say evolution).

The most interesting thing about the Newsweek article was that these
religious scientists kept looking for ways to let science validate
their religious beliefs. It is as though God was "unrejectable".
The God meme is here to stay.

> In fact, most scientific studies to date have shown that the subjective
> opinions about the /experience/ of having a meme (that one gathers from
> friends and acquainances) and the advantages that they /perceive/ as coming
> with holding such a meme (regardless of whether those perceptions are
> correct) are the most important factors in an adoption-decision. [1] A
> strictly objective evaluation is seldom a deciding factor for the majority
> of adopters.
>
> I think talking about "logic" when discussioning a memetic adoption-decision
> falls clearly the the catagory of things we think "should" be, rather than
> being one of the things that scientific study has told us "is" the case in
> reality.

This for me is by far the most facinating thing about memetics : that
quantum uncertainty of "why" host "this" meme rather than "that" meme.
Over the years I've gathered much about memetics but I still say the
"why" is unexplored. It's like those sci-fi's where a virus kills 90%
of the population : my area of interest is what differentiates the 10%
from the others (a subtle allegory for theists vs. atheists).

> [1] Other factors influencing the adoption-decision include compatiblity
> with currently held memes (perhaps an answer to your first question,
> Hakeeb), trailablity (can the meme be "test driven" before a full
> adoption-decision is made), and complexity (memes that are hard to
> understand are adopted less readily).

Exactly : scientists (i.e. the most brilliant minds) who believe in God.
Why do we have atheists who can't pass high school but scientists
who believe in God?

Can we create a new category of intelligence : the "God-smart" ability
like physics and art? Can we say "He's math bright, but God-stupid"?

-----------------------------
Hakeeb A. Nandalal
nanco@trinidad.net
http://www.caribinfo.com/als/
-----------------------------