My absurd belief is that ethical truths exist, can be known, and are independent of any supernatural being. Or if that's not bizarre enough for you, I also believe that in one hundred years or less calculus will be regularly taught to children of eight or ten.
What is the most absurd claim that you believe? This was a question recently asked on a blog I regularly read, www.marginalrevolution.com . To paraphrase the poster, Tyler Cowen, by absurd I mean a view that you truly do hold, but that many (or most) other smart people consider untenable and bizarre.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
In the beginning, G'd created the heaven and the Earth...
Posted by littlemissattitude (Member # 4514) on :
My absurd belief is that everything is true, somewhere in some parallel time or universe if not in this universe. I know that it is completely absurd, but this is something that I've believed for as long as I can remember.
It is also a really depressing thing to believe, when looked at in certain lights because it means that there are some pretty objectionable things true somewhere out there in space or in time or in some alternate existence.
This goes along with another absurd belief of mine - that anything that I, or any of us, can possibly imagine has already happened somewhere, sometime.
Yeah, I know. But you asked, and I'm just tired enough that my internal censor hasn't told me that it probably isn't a good idea to go ahead and post this. Nah. It told me; I'm just not listening.
Posted by Sharpie (Member # 482) on :
The most absurd thing I REALLY believe? I believe that there were two Mondays in a row when I was five. I remember it happening. My parents told me that, no, it didn't. But. I do remember it. Posted by starLisa (Member # 8384) on :
"I believe I'll have another drink." --someone or other
Posted by Amilia (Member # 8912) on :
quote:I believe that there were two Mondays in a row when I was five.
Yet more proof that Harry Potter is real.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
That is a scary link.
Wow, some folks are obsessed! Posted by Nato (Member # 1448) on :
Calculus really could be useful for earlier math students. The basic principles of tangential relationships, slope, and area under a curve are simple and can have a profound impact on a student's understanding of hundreds of real-life situations.
Posted by KarlEd (Member # 571) on :
quote:Originally posted by rivka: That is a scary link.
Wow, some folks are obsessed!
I'm not sure if I should lament the time and industry wasted, or be grateful they've been distracted from their plans for world domination. Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
My absurd beliefs would spark a right-wing riot in my neighborhood, so I'll keep them to myself for now.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
KarlEd, precisely!
Posted by Juxtapose (Member # 8837) on :
I really do believe I have superpowers. I just don't know what they are or how to use them. I've been waiting a while for the superpower-training-league to find me, but they've been surprisingly tardy, since I should have been acquainted with, and learned to control, these abilities from a young age. Now I'll be hopelessly behind and have to take telekinesis classes with people a decade or more younger than me. Oh well. I'm sure they'll wise up to their mistake sooner or later.
If I ever stop believing this, I'll probably just spontaneously discorporate from the infinite sadness.
Posted by SC Carver (Member # 8173) on :
I believe I will win the powerball one day, even though I hardly ever buy a ticket.
Posted by Yozhik (Member # 89) on :
quote:My absurd belief is that ethical truths exist, can be known, and are independent of any supernatural being
That one isn't so bizarre. Certain things just ARE evil, and if God did do something evil (which he won't), he would "cease to be God." This belief is very close to LDS thought on the issue.
Posted by Tresopax (Member # 1063) on :
quote:My absurd belief is that ethical truths exist, can be known, and are independent of any supernatural being.
I agree with Yozhik. Why is this abusrd?
Posted by Stephan (Member # 7549) on :
quote:Originally posted by littlemissattitude: My absurd belief is that everything is true, somewhere in some parallel time or universe if not in this universe. I know that it is completely absurd, but this is something that I've believed for as long as I can remember.
Well if there are an infinite number of universes out there, (as some think) wouldn't that mean an infinite number of possibilities?
Posted by Mabus (Member # 6320) on :
I'm not sure that's the case. I believe someone put it, "You can have an infinite number of apples without having any oranges."
(If any mathematicians know I'm wrong, please attempt to explain. I'm smarter than I look!)
Posted by Pinky (Member # 9161) on :
quote:Originally posted by Tante Shvester: In the beginning, G'd created the heaven and the Earth...
Posted by Stray (Member # 4056) on :
I believe that God is a sociopath. Basically, he's the psychotic child and we're the flies he pulls the wings off of. Most everyone will disagree with me on this, I expect, but I honestly do believe it.
Posted by Pinky (Member # 9161) on :
Speaking of "superpowers" : I believe that the human brain is already designed to work as perfectly as Bean's, that we're only not able to use our resources, yet. That the several parts of our brain in the head and our other brain (the nerve cells around the intestine) will learn to work together so smoothly that intuition becomes as reliable to us as Bean's to him. That we become completely aware of intuitive thoughts and are able to verify them conscousily (instead of only guessing).
Posted by FlyingCow (Member # 2150) on :
Man, someone's just asking to get fried by the magnifying glass....
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
FlyingCow
Posted by Pinky (Member # 9161) on :
quote:Originally posted by FlyingCow: Man, someone's just asking to get fried by the magnifying glass....
HÄ? Sorry, the literal translation doesn't make any sense to me. Posted by Mabus (Member # 6320) on :
It is a reference to Stray's post that "as flies to wanton boys, we are to the gods; they kill us for their sport" (had to get the Shakespeare reference in). Magnifying glasses, however, are more often used on ants.
Posted by Amanecer (Member # 4068) on :
Does a past belief count? When I was a little kid I really believed that if I tried hard enough I could teleport. I'd sit for hours trying to focus and will myself in to the closet.
Pinky- People sometimes hold magnifying glasses above ants. This focuses light from the sun and actually burns the ants. And I think that Flying Cow's comment was aimed at Stray.
Posted by Mrs.M (Member # 2943) on :
I believe that if I don't eat black-eyed peas on New Year's Day, I will have bad luck all year.
Posted by Pinky (Member # 9161) on :
@Mabus: Thank you!
Posted by Pinky (Member # 9161) on :
quote:Pinky- People sometimes hold magnifying glasses above ants. This focuses light from the sun and actually burns the ants. And I think that Flying Cow's comment was aimed at Stray.
Oh. We used to use flame-throwers (hair spray and a lighter) to torture FLIES... Children can be so cruel...
Posted by Amanecer (Member # 4068) on :
LOL! So true. Posted by Artemisia Tridentata (Member # 8746) on :
quote:Oh. We used to use flame-throwers (hair spray and a lighter) to torture FLIES
You're not commin campin with me!
Posted by Papa Moose (Member # 1992) on :
I prefer to save my absurd beliefs for landmarks.
Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
i don't think it's terribly bizarre, but someone else might. i wholly and truly believe (because it's true) that what we experience with our 5 senses is not what is actually going on in the world. there is a much deeper, "truer" existence going on under the surface and what we experience is just a glimmer on the surface of what is really going on. and if we train our minds and study enough we can access that true reality and discover the secrets of the universe.
[ March 23, 2006, 05:09 PM: Message edited by: vonk ]
Posted by TrapperKeeper (Member # 7680) on :
I believe that almost none of my beliefs are absurd.
Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
now thats just crazy!
Posted by Pinky (Member # 9161) on :
quote:Originally posted by Artemisia Tridentata:
quote:Oh. We used to use flame-throwers (hair spray and a lighter) to torture FLIES
You're not commin campin with me!
Think again; there wouldn't be any insects to sting you, then.
By the way, that was 20 years ago... now, my equipment is much better. Posted by Pinky (Member # 9161) on :
quote:Originally posted by vonk: i don't think it's terribly bizarre, but someone else might. i wholly and truly believe (because it's true) that what we experience with our 5 senses is not what is actually going on in the world. there is a much deeper, "truer" existence going on under the surface and what we experience is just a glimmer on the surface of what is really going on. and if we train our minds and study enough we can access that true reality and discover the secrets of the universe.
That's a bit Plato, isn't it? The Cave- Parabel? Although, in his version, we can only get out of the "cave" by dying. You're version is much more optimistic. Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
I don't know if I actually believe this. Intellectually I know it's ridiculous, but some part of me still clings to it, so I think it qualifies.
I believe that with every choice we make a universe is created in which we made the opposite choice. In cases in which more than one choice is present, I believe multiple universes open up.
Also
I believe I'm damned.
Posted by Pinky (Member # 9161) on :
Now I know why there has to be so much room in space...
When you say you're damned: do you mean your life NOW or after death? Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
quote:Originally posted by Pinky: That's a bit Plato, isn't it? The Cave- Parabel? Although, in his version, we can only get out of the "cave" by dying. You're version is much more optimistic.
on no, you don't have to die. in fact, i've been behind the frames of reality and caught a glimpse of what is behind everything. just a glimpse mind you, but it was enough to try for more.
Posted by Pinky (Member # 9161) on :
I thought that "this glimpse" could be the cause for the death. We're not worthy to see, our brain is not (yet) capable to understand: stroke or heart attack. Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
oh no, we are capable. unless i'm dead. am i dead? is hatrack heaven?
Edit to add: what does Plato know, he had to wait till he died to find out what's behind reality. i kick plato's ass.
Posted by Pinky (Member # 9161) on :
quote:Originally posted by vonk: oh no, we are capable. unless i'm dead. am i dead? is hatrack heaven?
Edit to add: what does Plato know, he had to wait till he died to find out what's behind reality. i kick plato's ass.
Pföööörg... you can try! But he didn't SAY that. I think. It must have been 15 years since I read "Sophie's world" .
We don't have to be dead, actually, but as long as we live in this cave, with our back towards the entry, we spent our lives watching the shadow of reality moving on the backwall. Or something like that. We can't turn around and face the actual reality, the things of which we only see the shadows (or shades) as long as we live... so?
Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
i dunno, so nothing. that was platos' opinion, but not mine. we can turn around and look and walk on out of this old cave, all it takes is the will to do it.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
quote:Originally posted by vonk: i've been behind the frames of reality and caught a glimpse of what is behind everything. just a glimpse mind you, but it was enough to try for more. [/QB]
If you're open to talking about it I'd be very interested to hear more about this, vonk. If you'd rather not discuss it here I understand, of course.
Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
its not that i mind talking about it. its just that it is very hard to find the right words to describe. any words i know to try to describe what happened sound so outlandish that it makes it all sound so incredible that i wouldn't believe it if i hadn't experienced it.
i've read several books on meditation, but i think the one that helped me focus (or not focus as it were) the best is Jack Kerouac's Some of the Dharma. after a day of fasting and centering, a small amount of specific herbal supplements, and and indeterminate (really i have no idea how long it lasted) amound of meditating i experienced something that was both life affirming and life changing. imagine the frames of a movie slowing down. i couldn't see of course, becaus my eyes were closed, and i wasn't paying attention to my surroundings at all, but that was the sensation. as if all of a sudden the frames of reallity slowed down enough for each one to be individually distinguishable. these "frames" further slowed down until they were stopped. i was then able to move in between the gaps in the frames and pass behind them. what was there i could not even hope to put into words. i can't even really bring it back into my minds eye because i can't register what happened with any of my 5 senses. i do know that it was at once very amazing, very frightening, and very very confusing. i think that if i spent more time there i would be able to get used to it, but that is based on something i've read: that what i experienced is what everyone experiences when they die, and the longer you spend there when alive the better adapted you will be once to you go there after life. but then, time doesn't really mean anything behind reality. woo, it gets me kinda confused thinking and talking about it, i could probably go on forever.
this was about a year ago, i've tried to get to the same place again, but to no success. usually because i am too stressed out or somehow or another too attached to my physical surroundings and normal thought patterns. if i didn't have to worry about food and rent and bills and a job and a girlfriend and friends and all that bull i could just go out to the woods for a week or month and really make a go of it, but that isn't feasable in the foreseable future.
Edit: this isn't something i wouldn't want to talk about, i want everyone to know so everyone can do it. its just that when i talk to much about it, people tend to take me less seriously.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
For what it's worth, I don't believe you experienced anything beyond a simple hallucination, but neither do I take you less seriously. Thank you for trusting us enough to share it.
Posted by 0range7Penguin (Member # 7337) on :
Meditation can be used for a lot of things. My one freind uses meditation to better detect and see ghosts.
I believe in ghosts/spirits. NOt sure wether they are dead people or just some sort of spirit though...
Posted by Enigmatic (Member # 7785) on :
I believe that I used to have dreams which showed me small glimpses (5-30 seconds) of the future. They were always inconsequential, and never gave any great revelations, but it happened often enough and with enough clarity that I'm confident that it wasn't just a sense of deja vu. On a few rare instances I would recognize "This is my dream happening again" before the dreamed sequence was over, and remember what was about to happen moments before it did.
These dreams were never, ever of anything useful. No lottery numbers, no saving me from oncoming cars, just weird little glimpses of my life that hadn't happened yet.
--Enigmatic
Posted by 0range7Penguin (Member # 7337) on :
That same dream thing has happened to me lots of times too. OR used to.
And I did have one where a car t-bones me but that was like a year ago and it hasnt happened yet so im hoping...
Posted by Kristen (Member # 9200) on :
I believe it is possible to have out-of-body experiences and not just when they are 'near death'. Astral projection is possible and achievable.
(Also, I am positively convinced that the Stroger-Claypool election was rigged. My fellow Chicagoans know EXACTLY what I am talking about!)
Posted by 0range7Penguin (Member # 7337) on :
hahahaha! (fellow chicagoan)
Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
I didn't think Jar-Jar was all that bad.
Posted by estavares (Member # 7170) on :
I toss salt over my shoulder when I spill it. Don't ask me why.
I also toss babies over my shoulder when I spill THEM. Again, no real reason.
Posted by Pinky (Member # 9161) on :
quote:Originally posted by vonk: i dunno, so nothing. that was platos' opinion, but not mine. we can turn around and look and walk on out of this old cave, all it takes is the will to do it.
Jup! I second that. I don't think Plato was right. Not even from a philosiphical point of view. I just tried to paraphrase his idea. I have my problems with Plato, I mean: platonic love! In this case, I'm rather with "Harry".
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Nah. It told me; I'm just not listening.
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FlyingCow
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