I'm quite interested in what Dawkins is saying, actually. It would be interesting to see whether bringing kids up to believe that magic is real (which almost everyone does to a greater or lesser extent) has effects later in life. But it may be that telling magical stories is a necessary part of getting children ready to survive in the world. I think the 'myth as important part of culture' point is key - our brains are wired to try to make sense of the world, which is why stories are so powerful, and why there is a persistent tendency to try to ascribe meaning to the world. I recommend The Science of Discworld II for more explorations and explanations of the storytelling chimpanzee that calls itself a wise man.
Having said that, you're right in that talking about this stuff in those terms on video was a silly thing to do, and makes him look a bit weird.
>It would be interesting to see whether bringing kids up to believe that magic is real (which almost everyone does to a greater or lesser extent) has effects later in life.
I'm not sure how interesting that would be, though, or even how you'd do it. As you say, almost everyone does it, so how would you ever find a control?
>our brains are wired to try to make sense of the world, which is why stories are so powerful, and why there is a persistent tendency to try to ascribe meaning to the world.Well, exactly. We still don't know everything about physics, for instance, so when someone like Stephen Hawking says "an electron does this", he doesn't really know what it means, not down to the very smallest quantum level. And yet he still has a picture of that event in his head; he's able to say "X does Y" without knowing the intermediate steps. That's fundamental to our thought processes and yet something happening with no causal chain is, by any reasonable definition, magic
( ... )
Actually, his science books are brilliant. I'd recommend them (probably starting with Climbing Mount Improbable) to anyone. The God Delusion is nowhere near as blinkered as most people seem to think, and contains sense and hyperbole in an approximate 3:1 ratio. But the above interview is just... weird.
Comments 4
Having said that, you're right in that talking about this stuff in those terms on video was a silly thing to do, and makes him look a bit weird.
Reply
I'm not sure how interesting that would be, though, or even how you'd do it. As you say, almost everyone does it, so how would you ever find a control?
>our brains are wired to try to make sense of the world, which is why stories are so powerful, and why there is a persistent tendency to try to ascribe meaning to the world.Well, exactly. We still don't know everything about physics, for instance, so when someone like Stephen Hawking says "an electron does this", he doesn't really know what it means, not down to the very smallest quantum level. And yet he still has a picture of that event in his head; he's able to say "X does Y" without knowing the intermediate steps. That's fundamental to our thought processes and yet something happening with no causal chain is, by any reasonable definition, magic ( ... )
Reply
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment