Nominative Determinism (Just for Fun)

Discussion in 'Science & Society' started by ConsequentAtheist, Feb 18, 2003.

  1. ConsequentAtheist Registered Senior Member

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  3. Dinosaur Rational Skeptic Valued Senior Member

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    Looks like nonsense inspired by coincidence.

    Most people are too impressed by coincidences, which might be a leftover genetic heritage from prehistory.

    Suppose a primitive tribe hears a strange sound after which a tiger attacks one of them. If it is a coincidence, there is no harm done being more alert the next time they hear that sound. If it really was an indication of a tiger about to spring, it is a damn good idea to be alert. It is believed there is an evolutionary basis for over-emphasizing coincidence.

    Coincidences do not imply anything and they certainly do not prove anything, with one exception.

    If there were no coincidences, I would suspect that some supernatural entity was preventing them. Hence, coincidences are good evidence that such an entity does not exist. Think a bit about the possibilities for coincidence.

    There are about 200 million adults in the United States. In a year that many people utter over a trillion sentences and do over a trillion acts. They have millions of dreams. If there were no strange coincidences or dreams that seemed to come true, you would have to believe that some force was preventing their occurrence.

    Of course some of the outstanding coincidences are due to outright lies, faulty memories, and exaggeration as time goes by. These are often used as evidence of ESP and other nonsense.
     
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  5. Charles Fleming Registered Senior Member

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    Well. I don't know what to make of this. Incontinence & America all in one thread.
     
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