[ExI] ai is the easy road

[Ben Zaiboc]

On 17/10/2026 17:50, Keith Henson wrote:
> The question is, why do humans have religions? Or maybe that is the wrong way around. Why do religions (considered as mental parasites) have people?
>
> Some of the elements are obvious: the ability of humans to spread memes around. EP says common behavior has evolved. I suspect that the common ability of humans to be mentally infested with religions is a side effect of something else that was selected. Somewhat like the ability to be addicted is a side effect of reward mechanisms in the brain.
>
> In spite of thinking about this for decades, my understanding of this subject is not clear. I strongly suspect religions are related to selection for war, but the model is not obvious. 



It was always my understanding that religion stemmed from our tendency to ascribe agency to natural phenomena that we didn't understand (the 'Lion in the bush' vs. the 'wind in the bush' thing: Those who assume it's a Lion tend to live longer than those who assume it's the wind), combined with our drive to have answers for unknown things, whether or not the answers make sense. We think in terms of stories, so if we don't have or invent a story for something that we don't understand, we are uncomfortable, there's a kind of mental gap. We fill the gap with an explanation, any explanation, a story, and that kind of 'tames' it, and keeps us happy. It seems humans are built to be afraid of "I don't know", or at least uneasy with it, and any old nonsense is better than admitting ignorance. Which explains a lot of the problems we have in education, imo.

So if we experience a storm, how do we explain it to ourselves? Rather than the rational thing, which is to shrug and say "I dunno (yet. Further study is needed!)", we make up a story about the Heavy-breathing Sea-slapper, or about some giant who can throw lightning bolts around. Instant religion.

I think that something along these lines can explain the origin of religions. Spreading them may well be linked to the 'war-mode', though.
-- 
Ben
"The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything." - Pablo Casals, via Albert Einstein