So I read this whole thread and three or four times I thought "I should reply to that" but then I had like two lines of stuff to say and someone said it already so I didn't think it was worth it. It seems like I'm going to try to put some thoughts together anyway. Really they're replies to messages all over the place which I have probably misunderstood and misremembered. I'm not going back to look at them again. I'm also not actually going to much talk about either Superstitions or Psychics.

It seems to me that all this is really about people. People believe stuff (whatever that stuff may be) and some other people go "Huh?"

It also seems to me that quite a few of us posting on this thread are in the same kind of boat. We like to think about stuff, wrap our heads around it and make it make sense, go off and look up information about our chosen stuff, make sure that that makes sense, and then make sure that it fits with the stuff we had before. We like to debate, to take a stand even if it's not the one that we think makes the most sense and see how much sense we can make of it.

But while we can wrap our heads around all kinds of interesting ideas, we have a horrible time wrapping our heads around the idea that not everyone does like to think. For a lot of people it's easier to just accept what they're given and go on with the business of living. This doesn't mean that they're not capable of remembering things or learning or even coming up with new ideas. It just means they can't be bothered to subject the things they know to a rigorous inspection. Naturally this happens to varying degrees. They might accept science, religion, or astrology as true but they want to talk about "Where did you get that great jacket?" "Were we going to plan a ski trip?" and "Isn't that guy hot?".

Now we all dispair about this. We worry about the future of the world and about the future of all the knowledge that has been stored up. We complain about school systems and attitudes. The world is going to the dogs and no one cares, we moan.

But really it's not such a big deal. This has always been the case. Science is not dead because only a few people understand it, or care to. Civilization is not headed off a cliff because most people don't bother to think through what they believe. It's always been this way. Of course there are dangers here. Just because people don't think things through doesn't mean they can't (and don't) have power and lead people.

Granted, the life that these people are living is considerably different than it would have been in the past. These changes rest on the shoulders of scientists, technologists, and philosophers but they don't have to think about that. All they have to do is accept that it is and they can get on with life. If they happen to also accept that the stars determine their future it makes very little difference in the bigger picture.

Even if all the little differences add up to be a big difference there's not a lot that can be done about it. By extreme censorship and rigourous school system with a great deal of rote learning you might be able to get them to believe the "right" things, but you are unlikely to be able to get many more people to actually think things through for themselves. If someone already has the inclination to do this training will help them develop their skills but without the initial spark, training is useless. Some people will think naturally, some won't. That's the way people are.

This has been a little off topic hasn't it?

Rivikah