This is something that bothers me. The human brain is set up to be logical by nature. Logic ensures survival in nature, and it makes sense that animals with a firm grasp on reality are better suited to survive than those who are off in never-never land. So the question is this: Where does the other side of our brain come into effect, the illogical side. This is the side that believes in luck, magic, and the supernatural. Are these things just a by-product of human creativity? Of human intelligence? If so, what use do they have in ensuring our survival as a species and when did the ability to believe in such things come about? ZERO MASS
I wouldn't say they are logical in nature, more so they are curious. And out of this curiosity people will pick options other than the logical one. They will do this to see if in fact it could be the more logical choice. You stand in front of two doors. On your first attempt you open the door that leads to a banana. Now why would you need to open the other door? Logic dictates that you have what you need, the banana, so you no longer need to risk your life opening the other door (maybe it is booby trapped). But the curious person will open the other door and in doing so might discover that there are two bananas instead of one. But I'm sure it's not as clear cut as my example. Just trying to show that logic does not always dictate.
I really liked your example Halo. It is a tricky problem and I have heard a similar statement to yours before. What about superstition? This is a strictly human trait. Why is it that people insist on believing in luck? There is no real harm in imagining that luck holds weight in the real world but it does not do very much good in some situations. A belief in luck might even cause death if taken to the extreme, so why was the ability adapted? Did it just come along with a large brain or did we acquire it for some purpose? ZERO MASS
I think the best explanation of superstition comes from the behaviorist. But first... Within the brain there are neurons that are highly sensitive to coincidences. I'm using the term coincidence loosely. The main reason for these cells are because of learning. For example, you pull a lever, then food comes out. The brain detects these two events and links them. The closer together the two events are in time the more likely these neurons will strengthen that bond. Now the behaviorists... They say that superstition comes from an unlikely pairing of two things. For instance, one day I decide to wear a different pair of shoes, let's call them jelly shoes (slipping back to the 80's). I'm walking down the street, when I notice an unusual spot on my shoes, perhaps mustard. I duck down to investigate. Just as I do this, shots fired in a drive-by shooting. One of the bullets smacks into the wall right where my head was. By all probability I should be dead. My brain then links the event closest to it since it's so unlikely. The shoes saved my life!!! They are lucky. Or maybe it's the mustard. I'll eat mustard on everything from now on!!! Now most superstitions don't originate so extremely. Sometimes they come from multiple instances - the linked thing would be what was common (and of importance) between each instance. A lot of times they are passed down. Let's say that I carry a rabbit's foot, because I hear they are lucky (couldn't hurt right). Now every event that happens that is good can be paired with the rabbit's foot. You can't disprove that the rabbit's foot was involved. I'm interested how the rabbit's foot superstition came about. Probably from a very fortunate hunter.
superstition is the result of bad listening to old information the old information is lost by the retarded ability to understand and then translate and also to listen most peope dont have time to even wait to hear the real answer to hi how are you and so such people are taught to be victim to superstition most religion is based on superstition thus being the miss-interpretation of events in the past wanted to be easily understood and easily re-told groove on Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Not a bad example halo! I also think along similar lines. Not so much with doors but if the universe really is pure chaos and it is as unstable as some people claim, then understanding the environment becomes the key to survival, as you have said. With rocks randomly flying about in space, or with trees crashing down to the earth, it is the animal that can sense these things, through sight and sound etc. that can therefore avoid the danger(s), and stay alive. Apparently we all have free will however if an environment such as the one described above existed at some time, as it must have done (if 'evolutionary' thinking is correct), then to what extent does each animal have free will? If an animal must spend all of it's time avoiding dangers then how does it have a free-will. There is nothing that says the environment has not always been as calm and stable as it is today and there is therefore nothing that says our main purpose is the pursuit of our (free) will. A moral test between God and 'the Devil' could only be concluded by the intorduction of objective and choosing beings. It seems we are in such a situation and this is the 'tragedy' that is presumed with blackmail and in cases where physical force is used; it is assumed in such cases that the free will has been taken from the victims. While this may be temporarily true in some cases, I would say that not many people truely have a free will. The laws of countries prohibit certain things and the disciplining of offenders presents a danger to those who act on their will. Here is the tragedy of those countries who boast 'freedom' and 'liberty'. If people are given the message that they can act on their free-will and they truly do so then what should be expected is evil! It is also a double standard of such countries because they boast liberty and freedom but they have the strictest controls of all! They boast freedom and liberty to outsiders, and they do so through films and the media etc, but underneath they merely wish to contain the evil that is within each person. It must be obvious what will happen in a country that attracts people who wish to act on their will. The will of every person is evil and an objective conscience is far from being proven to exist! 'Intellectual' Half-wits have created what they may think to be best, but they are wrong and they have done a lot of damage and they continue to do so! The people who can see how wrong the half-wits' thinking is just seem to leave the idiots to get on with it, but when such things have been established, and when it is then forced on the world in an attempt to spread their evil then a stop must be put to it! The ideas are what is needed to be ridden most of all because as long as they remain then the evil will do so too. The illogical side in question must surely come from an animal that does not have to avoid dangers to merely stay alive and it is therefore free to do what it wants, and truly has a free will. This would be forms of expression such as the arts etc. It would be interesting to note the difference in art displayed between communist 'oppressive' countries and the libertitious countries: one (presumably) allows less free will because they recognise what will be chosen by each person and they will therefore have less artistic display while the latter idiotic countries... well it speaks for itself.
"So the question is this: Where does the other side of our brain come into effect, the illogical side. This is the side that believes in luck, magic, and the supernatural. Are these things just a by-product of human creativity? Of human intelligence? If so, what use do they have in ensuring our survival as a species and when did the ability to believe in such things come about?" Not all parts of life and survival are best based on logic. Sometimes logic takes too long, or is rationalisation of emotion. Sometimes instinct is the best guide. Sometimes tradition may be-- traditions evolve for a reason- burping the baby come s to mind, or the use of aspirin fro a more scientific one. Perhaps superstition is itself a way of ensuring confidence and sometimes it may also be related to actual benefits. many regard astrology as superstition, and yet analysis of statistics show that peopel from certain starsigns are predominant in certain jobs and in certain statistics regard ing marriage. people are multilayered and emotional and imaginative and eimagination and empathy also play a large role in race and individual survival
The reason is a history of very limited knowledge. It's only fairly recently (in the last few centuries) that we're able to explain in any rational way most natural phenomena. Before that, a lot of stuff just wasn't known. Why does lightning strike where it does? Why does weather work the way it does. The point is that superstition and the illogic you witness in today's era was a valuable survival trait back then. You don't need to understand dangerous phenomena in order to behave properly around the danger. Just do what the superstitions or traditions say you're supposed to do.
I'm not so sure that it's possible to distinguish between logical and illogical beliefs as easily as it's been assumed in this thread. There is even some philosophical doubt as to whether what we normally call 'rational' thinking is ever entirely logical. Not taking sides - but the issue is a deep one.
