[ExI] Religious Idiocy Triumphs Over Science Yet Again

[William Flynn Wallace]

On Fri, Dec 4, 2015 at 2:16 PM, John Clark <johnkclark at gmail.com> wrote:

> The Thirty Meter Telescope on top of Mauna Kea would have been by far the
> largest telescope in the world
> ​,​
> but
> ​ now it looks like it will never be built because​
> today the Hawaiian Supreme Court rescinded
> ​its​
>  construction permit
> ​;
> they think ​
> it would offend the religious sensibilities of the native Hawaiians who
> believe
> ​ the place​
> ​is not really a​
>  mountain
> ​but ​
> is "Wao Akua," the realm of the
> ​G​
> ods where the Earth Mother met the Sky Father
> ​,​
>
> ​or some such crapola. The court decreed that building an instrument that
> would teach us more about the universe would somehow defile the sacredness
> of the place.
> So in the fight between cosmology and
> Wao Akua
> ​ ​the law decreed that
> Wao Akua
> ​ and ignorance is more important than Science and knowledge. The
> Republican presidential candidates should be pleased.
>
>   John K Clark ​
>

​Are you surprised?  Nah.  Supersensitivity seems catching now, doesn't
it?

But it's not just the religious people.  It started with horses, then
boats, then planes - the world moved in on nearly everyone on earth and
disrupted their lives in many 'good' ways (our music, soft drinks, meds,
etc.) but also threatened cultures thousands of years old with change.
This is part of the Islam problem.

When threat appears, fear rules first and logic and morality disappear like
a knee jerk response.  Yeah, this is just good common sense and not
esoteric psychology, and but every time it happens people seem surprised
that conservatives don't give it up and join the modern world (never mind
learning probability and diagnosing the real threat from terrorists!).


bill w​


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