post hoc ergo propter hoc will be the death of us all (805 hits)
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Submitted by loki (View user info) at 2006-04-19 13:36:56 EDT
I realize that humans are hard wired to see patterns around them. Without this ability, we would never have made it out of the trees, or perhaps even into the trees. The ability to recognize patterns is necessary to find food and avoid predators.
"Gosh, every time I hear that roaring sound, a lion jumps out and eats someone. Odd really, must just be a coincidence. Oh there it is again."
The thing is though that this ability to recognize patterns leads us to see patterns whether they really exist or not.
You've done it too.
"I washed the car this weekend just to make sure it rains."
"I swear just when I buy a stock, the damn thing tanks."
"Every time the dice go off the craps table, the next number is sure to be a 7."
The point is, we don't often know the cause of things that go on around us and since the teeming little human brain does not like gaps in knowledge, there is the tendency to make something up. Then, once an idea gets locked in, no power on heaven or earth can change it.
Our beliefs become religion.
And once something becomes "religion" it can no longer be questioned because we don't consider it proper to question someone's religious beliefs no matter how stupid, backward, or illogical it may be.
Here is a quiz, which one of the following statements is beyond reproach:
Diet Coke is better than Diet Pepsi
JJ Reddick is going to suck in the NBA just like every other Duke basketball player.
Hockey is boring.
Homosexuality is a sin.
If you combine an acid with a base, you get water and some type of salt.
A nutrient concentration of over 1800 PPM will damage plants in a hydroponics system.
So, if we combine the brain's natural tendency to recognize patterns even those that may not actually exist with the complete inability to question religious beliefs, you end up with a dangerous environment by which seemingly moderate beliefs pave the way for violent extremism.
Shall we have an example?
Sure why not.
100 years ago this week there was an earthquake that damn near destroyed San Francisco. We all know that and we all know that it was caused by plate tectonics along the San Andreas Fault.
Or maybe just maybe it was the wrath of GOD.
Because in 1906, nobody knew about the San Andreas Fault. What they did know was that there was a religious tract circulating around the city claiming that the earthquake was God's way of passing judgment and issuing a warning to the city. This ultimately gave rise to what was at the time a fledgling Pentecostal movement.
As in "speaking in tongues".
The faithful thought of San Francisco as a modern day Sodom & Gomorrah. I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that even today were the "big one" to hit the city, there would be waves of this very sentiment expressed today.
absolutely
There were claims that New Orleans brought Katrina on themselves for being a party town.
When hurricane Hugo wiped out Charlotte back in 1989, there was talk that it was God's way of getting back at the city for having brought down Jim and Tammy Baker. No one could explain what Charleston, SC had done wrong but people confuse Charlotte and Charleston all the time so maybe God was just being thorough.
As a side note, I have always thought it odd in the whole Sodom and Gomorrah story that Lot was considered a goodly man despite the fact that he not only offered his own daughters to be used as sex slaves and then personally impregnated them once they had escaped from the city. Charming is it not.
My concern here is not what the lunatic fringe thinks or claims about the actions of God. I prefer to think that most people are reasonable enough to see these outrageous claims as mere superstition. The problem is that by not allowing religious beliefs to be questioned and debated like any other belief, moderates are paving the way for extremism.
The very inability to question someone's firmly held belief that the Jewish Messiah was born to a virgin or that homosexuality is a sin, how then are we to debate people when they claim that they are of God's chosen people sent to bring infidels to justice by blowing themselves up in a public square.
That being said, the Holy City of Charlotte is infested with inch worms. The things are fucking awful, you cannot go outside without getting covered with the damn things. I can't help but notice that the worms hit right after the state enacted the North Carolina education lottery.
coincidence?
I think NOT.
User Reviews
Submitted by inion_de_trua (user info) at 2006-04-23 23:41:07 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
hehehehe. there's a sodom, new york just off 22. i keep wondering why they named their town that. i mean this was an area founded by puritans. i'm waiting for some biblical smiting. or at least a sign somewhere in the area that says "church of sodom."
Submitted by MandaPanda (user info) at 2006-04-23 23:26:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
We had a big inflatable indoor soccer dome in our town. It had just applied for and had been granted a liquor license when a big snow storm hit. The weight of all the snow caused the dome to collapse on itself. Someone called into my newspaper's speakout and claimed that the soccer dome had been smote by God himself because he didn't want them to serve the evil alcohol.
Submitted by Caulaincourt (user info) at 2006-04-20 21:39:22 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by apollo88 (user info) at 2006-04-19 19:06:39 (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Caulaincourt (user info) at 2006-04-19 15:45:33 (#)
Ranking: 2
OK, I read the post...interesting.
Caul is a pathetic little pseudofrenchman who lacks the capability of rational thought and most likely smells either like body odor or some kiddie metrosexual crap he thinks makes him sexy. """
I take offense in this. My perfume is FCUK and it's a good attraction for my rape victim. """
HAHAHAHA FROGGY FROG FROG WANTS TO SMELL LIKE A BRIT.
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FCUK = French Connection United Kingdom
It fits perfectly with my franco-canadianness.
Submitted by loki (user info) at 2006-04-20 08:58:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Monarch, actually I do blame moderate Christians for the extremists of this world. It is the very notion of a moderate that paves the way for the abortion bombers and "fags must die" crowd. Moderates cherry pick what they want to follow out of the Bible and yet still claim that it is the word of God while continuing to ignore the inconsistencies. It is not a far jump from the high church to fundamentalism.
So you tell me, which is it, is the Bible the word of God or it is a collection of essays written by his followers and others selected for inclusion in the Bible for a variety of reasons some more nefarious than others?
Submitted by BLITZKREIG_BOB (user info) at 2006-04-19 21:21:10 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
The Lottery is a tax on stupidity.
Submitted by apollo88 (user info) at 2006-04-19 19:06:39 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Caulaincourt (user info) at 2006-04-19 15:45:33 (#)
Ranking: 2
OK, I read the post...interesting.
Caul is a pathetic little pseudofrenchman who lacks the capability of rational thought and most likely smells either like body odor or some kiddie metrosexual crap he thinks makes him sexy. """
I take offense in this. My perfume is FCUK and it's a good attraction for my rape victim. """
HAHAHAHA FROGGY FROG FROG WANTS TO SMELL LIKE A BRIT.
Submitted by Monarch (user info) at 2006-04-19 19:00:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
"My concern here is not what the lunatic fringe thinks or claims about the actions of God. I prefer to think that most people are reasonable enough to see these outrageous claims as mere superstition. The problem is that by not allowing religious beliefs to be questioned and debated like any other belief, moderates are paving the way for extremism."
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I'll echo that, and I'm Christian myself.
I sure hope you aren't judging ALL of us by the loud, ignorant minority of hypocritical zealots. Anyone who isn't willing to entertain questions and objections regarding their own faith is mostly likely unable to do any real thinking for themselves, and instead relies on their comfort base to tell them what to believe.
In my experience, those people are commonly refered to as "fake."
+1.
Submitted by Berty (user info) at 2006-04-19 18:49:13 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
People do discuss religion. Certain people just don't discuss certain aspects of things.
Submitted by BranDo (user info) at 2006-04-19 17:57:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
We're too many doing wrong things at the wrong place.
Submitted by WildcatMcGee (user info) at 2006-04-19 15:53:24 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
The Education Lottery, sheesh. You know that the little hood rats and ghetto urchins in Charlotte are going to gut you now that you've talked shit about their only means of getting out of the hood.
Geez, even us in the Outer Banks know better than to defile the idea of their savior.
Submitted by loki (user info) at 2006-04-19 15:48:49 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
It seems like a long time ago really, but the whole Alabama bus boycott and Martin King Luther marches was all in the early 60's. The passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was when blacks were really given equal access. Before that everything was "separate but equal", if you're willing to call substandard "equal".
good times in US history
Submitted by Caulaincourt (user info) at 2006-04-19 15:45:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
OK, I read the post...interesting.
Caul is a pathetic little pseudofrenchman who lacks the capability of rational thought and most likely smells either like body odor or some kiddie metrosexual crap he thinks makes him sexy. """
I take offense in this. My perfume is FCUK and it's a good attraction for my rape victim.
Submitted by c1ndy (user info) at 2006-04-19 15:41:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
There was still segregation in the 1960s? Blimey, it makes me realise how much (and how little) things have changed.
Submitted by Caulaincourt (user info) at 2006-04-19 15:40:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
i just picked the sentence hockey is boring and i'm milking it because i'm bored to death.
Submitted by Caulaincourt (user info) at 2006-04-19 15:39:13 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
loki- i still haven't read your post so I have no idea what point you're reffering about :-D
Submitted by loki (user info) at 2006-04-19 15:24:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Caul, could you stop being a thick headed jackass for just a second and put that statement into context?
Would something like that even be possible for you?
Do I have to spell it out?
Oh I suppose I do.
The "hockey is boring" statement was one of several statements that I threw out there to illustrate that anything, anything at all that anyone says be it opinion, fact, or pure conjecture was open to debate and discussion EXCEPT for anything that is deemed religious in nature.
Maybe I should try again to see if the point can be made:
Caul is a pathetic little pseudofrenchman who lacks the capability of rational thought and most likely smells either like body odor or some kiddie metrosexual crap he thinks makes him sexy.
Andruw Jones is one of the best hitters in baseball although clearly his mama did not know how to spell the name Andrew.
Red clay is the best kind of soil to grow azaleas.
The Bible is the divine and infallible word of God.
Wearing Capri pants with boots makes you look like a Star Trek character.
Submitted by Orgasmatron (user info) at 2006-04-19 15:22:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060419/od_nm/harper_dc
Submitted by Caulaincourt (user info) at 2006-04-19 15:05:54 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Submitted by badassmofo (user info) at 2006-04-19 14:44:42 (#)
Ranking: 0
hockey is not boring, the neutral zone trap is boring
hate the Devils if you are going to hate on hockey
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loki doesn't hate hockey, she hates what's non-american. She is a patriotic zealot disguised as a feminist. She's quite weird actually.
I'm willing to believe that she is denigrating hockey because it's not an american sport and because it bothers her that its popularity is on the rise.
Think this is a far-fetched theory? That woman has gone into a patriotic rants for MUCH less! I'll point it out to you when she does it again. It's actually quite obvious!
Submitted by loki (user info) at 2006-04-19 14:55:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
The structure of the school system here is an absolute nightmare. I don't have kids so I don't follow it all exactly, but pretty much this is a run down
1. There was a lawsuit to end school segregation, this was sometime back in the 1960's.
2. Scores of private schools sprang up in order to keep the precious white boys and girls from having to go to school with "them".
3. Sometime in the early 90's there was another lawsuit that ended bussing. For reasons that I never understood, by "bussing" they meant all white schools in all black neighborhoods and all black schools in all white neighborhoods. This is partially because when the little white boys and girls were informed that they were to go to a black school, their parents would yank them out and put them in private schools.
4. There was a push to start neighborhood schools in the argument that that issue was not racial segregation, but economic segregation. I don't know what that was about.
5. the solution - magnet schools
These are special schools that emphasize one particular area of study. I don't mean "special" as in short bus TIMMMAAA I mean special as in gifted. There are language schools, art schools, science and math schools. The way it works is that anyone can go to any one of the schools and then they are given tests in 3rd or 4th grade to determine whether or not they get to stay in the gifted school.
Personally, I would think it would be tough to essentially pick a major at the age of 6 but damnit we simply MUST BEAT THE JAPANESE.
The fact that the lottery is tied in to education has nothing to do with education really. The truth is, we were one of the only states that didn't have a lottery and the only way they could get it passed was to claim that it was all about education.
think of the children here people
Submitted by badassmofo (user info) at 2006-04-19 14:44:42 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
hockey is not boring, the neutral zone trap is boring
hate the Devils if you are going to hate on hockey
Submitted by c1ndy (user info) at 2006-04-19 14:43:13 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I did this Fulbright exchange where I spent time in schools in North Carolina. It was mental. What's all that magnet school business? and white flight? racist if you ask me.
Submitted by Caulaincourt (user info) at 2006-04-19 14:39:35 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Submitted by loki (user info) at 2006-04-19 14:31:10 (#)
Ranking: 0
That argument might work better Caul if it:
a. had jack shit to do with the point of the post
b. Canada actually won the Stanley cup in over a decade
c. the Carolina Hurricanes were not in the playoffs
In fact, you prove my point that arguments can only be about non-religious issues.
now back to the kid's table with you
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a. I didn't actually read your post. You offended hockey and I stopped reading. :-|
b. I don't mind not winning the cup. In fact, I think I prefer that an American team wins it if Montreal won't!
c. I don't mind the Hurricanes participation in the playoffs either. The only team I hate twith a passion is New Jersey.
Hockey is a religion for Godless people like me and I will gleefully go back to the kid's table and enjoy some good homemade child rape.
Submitted by loki (user info) at 2006-04-19 14:31:10 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
That argument might work better Caul if it:
a. had jack shit to do with the point of the post
b. Canada actually won the Stanley cup in over a decade
c. the Carolina Hurricanes were not in the playoffs
In fact, you prove my point that arguments can only be about non-religious issues.
now back to the kid's table with you
Submitted by cuberat (user info) at 2006-04-19 14:30:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
And once something becomes "religion" it can no longer be questioned because we don't consider it proper to question someone's religious beliefs no matter how stupid, backward, or illogical it may be.
===================================================================================================
See that's one of the problems with living in the south. Everybody is worried about manners or what's "proper". You say us northerners are mean and unmannered, but atleast we call people out on bullshit (i.e. - question shit).
Submitted by Caulaincourt (user info) at 2006-04-19 14:29:24 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Submitted by ess-arr (user info) at 2006-04-19 14:23:09 (#)
Ranking: 0
hockey- boring?
Boo-urns..
Montreal will kick Carolina's ass. six or seven games.. we'll i guess that ain't kicking ass but they will win..!
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I hope so!
Hockey is more important than anything. Many Americans are starting to realize this fact of life. Therefore, I love America (minus loki)
Submitted by ess-arr (user info) at 2006-04-19 14:23:09 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
hockey- boring?
Boo-urns..
Montreal will kick Carolina's ass. six or seven games.. we'll i guess that ain't kicking ass but they will win..!
Submitted by dove666 (user info) at 2006-04-19 14:15:09 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Goddam Rednecks!
The North Carolina Education Lottery to determine who gets educated?
Submitted by Caulaincourt (user info) at 2006-04-19 14:08:12 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Hockey is boring."""
The hockey playoffs are starting. North America is shaking in anticipation and hastiness.
Except maybe for southerners, the self-admitted niggers of this continent whose collection opinion on sport is not only impertinent but also unwelcomed. Concentrate on your Nascar and Pro Wrestling and leave civilized people enjoying REAL competition.
Submitted by sicosemen (user info) at 2006-04-19 14:05:29 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
While I found this amusing and entertaining following it was like doing a trapeze show with the lights out and no harness or safety net. From out of left field...
Submitted by Fartman (user info) at 2006-04-19 14:00:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by ampersand (user info) at 2006-04-19 13:54:31 (#)
Ranking: 0
Wanders a lot without getting anywhere.
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Hmm. You must be one of the new kids.
Submitted by Snark (user info) at 2006-04-19 14:00:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Orgasmatron (user info) at 2006-04-19 13:58:45 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Diet Coke isn't suitable enough for me to use while giving my nethers a whore's bath.
Submitted by ampersand (user info) at 2006-04-19 13:54:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Wanders a lot without getting anywhere.
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2006-04-19 13:53:49 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Without post hoc ergo propter hoc, Bradley Linzy would have no reason to live...
Submitted by shadow (user info) at 2006-04-19 13:52:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
That's weird. It's like something out of that twilighty show about
that zone.
-- Homer Simpson
Treehouse of Horror VI
Submitted by Crystle (user info) at 2006-04-19 13:48:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
the statement that is beyond reproach: Diet Coke is better than Diet Pepsi
and a plague of inchworms for enacting a lottery? I see the connection..