[megasprut]

because they are not having enough sex?

[sessoorale]

I had a roommate who believed a bit in homeopathy but was a physicist.

The biggest point is that physicists are like everyone else with biases/illogical inclinations/etc. Saying that they are more illogical than the general population is wrong.

What is true, and I think the writer is right about, is that physicists (and similar people) are likely to say that their logic is right and not realize their biases/etc when outside of their field.

Such as those who argue about 9/11. Or those who argue that God doesn't exist.

JM

[Eltabaco]

Faster than expected.

[appletango]

Not sure why JM would equate God with all that other stuff though. Only denigrates it.

[ScosyGissiok]

OP Article sounds very familiar, to myself as well as to others around me. Well put.

[somasideff]

My statement that a physicist (scientist) arguing that God doesn't exist is similar to a scientist arguing that 9/11 was an inside job denigrates belief in God?

JM
(Note I am basing this on both situations being a claim of expertise by those outside of their areas of expertise.)

Is it possible to have an area of expertise regarding religion? It's a belief after all, whether it's a theologian, physicist or garbage collector doesn't make any of them more expert on the matter. Each of them just focuses on different aspects of it.

[PRengine]

"Choose" to hold a belief? You can't just decide reality is one way or another. It is what it is. Unless you're talking about make believe.

[h4z1XBI7]

Are you saying that either you're born with something or you choose to have it? Like if someone is missing an arm, I can assume they were born without that arm or chose to hack it off?

[lagunaEl]

I don't see how that's a choice. Besides, why doesn't anyone choose to believe things like "ice doesn't exist" or "the sky is orange"?

[Sydrothcoathy]

Are you the sort of person who complains that baskin robins doesn't give you a choice because you go in and order the sun?

JM

[celddiskend]

Okay, I would like to believe there is no such thing as wood. How do I choose to believe that? Repeating to myself "wood isn't real" hasn't worked because I still think wood is real. Maybe I should ask for assistance from a philosopher.

[tactWeiccaf]

Okay, I would like to believe there is no such thing as wood. How do I choose to believe that? Repeating to myself "wood isn't real" hasn't worked because I still think wood is real. Maybe I should ask for assistance from a philosopher.

I would like two scoops of seminorm, please.

JM

[Narkeere]

I would like two scoops of seminorm, please.

JM

So basically, you think I could choose to believe in leprechauns because there is no way to prove me wrong. But as soon as I come up with a belief that obviously contradicts reality (in your eyes) you don't think I could choose to believe it. Am I getting it right.

[stastony]

Well you made the assertion beliefs are choices, didn't provide any evidence, and when I asked for clarification (because I think some beliefs are obviously not things people could choose) you started insulting me and claiming I can't think rationally.

[FinanseMikky]

Besides, the man that killed Wall Street was a Canadian-educated quant.

[Juersdodfs]

I didn't say that you were incapable of thinking rationally (on this subject) until you consistently failed do so by in every post you made in this thread.

I will repost again to help you to think. Please do so this time. Very carefully.

If you go into an icecream shop. They tell you, make a choice for any icecream you want.

You ask for prongs.

Should you then maintain that you didn't have a choice?

The belief that a cup is literally the sun is not something that most people can (rationally) choose. Just because there are beliefs that can not be rationally chosen, does not mean that beliefs are not chosen.

I have seen plenty of evidence that you are incapable of understanding simple concepts though. So I am not at all sure what else I can say.

The fact that you can't choose to believe that wood does not exist has no bearing on whether people choose what they believe. Just like the fact that you couldn't order a prong at the icecream shop doesn't mean that you couldn't choose what icecream you wanted.

JM

Thank you for repeating what I said in post #26. So I was correct and you were claiming people can only choose from a subset of all possible beliefs. That's not something I believe, I don't see how belief is a choice, at all.

[ordercigsnick]

No.

You said that there is a subset of all possible beliefs that can be chosen that are ones that I think that can be chosen (or something to that effect).

And the point is no. The whole point of my posts in this thread!

But you have a problem with understanding a point about rational thought.

I will point out it again:

rational choice

If you went into a prong shop, ordering prongs would be a rational choice.

All of your examples are possible choices. They are not all possible rational choices (for most people). But there is no belief which is a rational choice for any possible person.

JM

[suidinguilelf]

All of your examples are beliefs that (certain) people have chosen at various times.

JM

[nicktender]

Okay, I would like to believe there is no such thing as wood. How do I choose to believe that? Repeating to myself "wood isn't real" hasn't worked because I still think wood is real. Maybe I should ask for assistance from a philosopher.

You would "choose" based on context.

If you live in a world with no wood, and you've only heard about wood in books, you might be inclined to believe "wood" is lie.

[seperalem]

Dunno about that.