[ExI] Human extinction

[Anna Taylor]

--- On Mon, 8/18/08, Emlyn <emlynoregan at gmail.com> wrote:

>The faithful, especially that variety, tend not to run on rationality; >they prefer I think to be guided by gut instinct. Also, when you don't >have any way to measure merit in a group, you have to structure in other >ways, notably by baser measures of status (political ability will be the >thing). And, they are absolutely awesome at ignoring the elephant in the >livingroom; they wont feel bound by such simplistic things as the bald >truth.

Emlyn I'm confused.  You don't appear to be a person that believes in faith so how do you base your opinion? I believe myself someone of high rationality and still think that my gut reactions are worth some debate.  It could be simply mean that I've had many experiences that have led me to believe my opinions have some merit.  Bald truth is mathematical unless it has not yet been computed therefore if someone simply ignores the elephant in the room is because "they choose" and/or "don't know" that it is there, is this what you mean?

>I read somewhere that cults go through this kind of process, and you get >this refining process happen, where, when the objective world intrudes, >those on the fence can lose faith and leave, but the truly devoted become >even more devoted, more closed to the outside world, plus overall the >consensus moves away from reality by the simple fact of losing the least >committed people.

Are you talking about cults or societies?

Just curious
Anna



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