pafret Loc: Northeast

"Seven Rules for Believing"


"Seven Rules for Believing"
by Chet Raymo

"I was reading again recently Richard Dawkins' letter to his daughter Juliet on her tenth birthday, urging her to avoid tradition, authority and revelation as reasons for believing. Ask for evidence, he writes - evidence that is at least potentially available to all. Good advice, and I wouldn't mind passing on Dawkins' letter to my own children or grandchildren. But there is further advice I would add. Awhile ago I proposed here Four Rules of Rational Thinking, and had some savvy comments by readers. Let me now propose Seven Rules of Believing that I would offer for the consideration of young people, and all people, for that matter.

1. Respect what your parents and teachers tell you, but keep an open mind.
2. Be skeptical of anything told you by people who are themselves not a little bit skeptical. Be especially skeptical of anything told you by people who believe they know the mind of God.
3. Trust science as a reliable guide to truth, but attend to poets too. Every "fact" is an open door to mystery.
4. Be willing to say "I don't know."
5. Don't be afraid to say "I was wrong."
6. Keep a sense of humor.
7. Respect the beliefs of others, in so far as they are willing to respect your beliefs."
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"The 4 Rules of Rational Thinking"

"Brownie, dwarf, elf, Zeus, enchantress, crop circles, genie, gnome, goblin, gremlin, hob, imp, leprechaun, UFO, mermaid, unicorn, nymph, puck, siren, sprite, demon, phantom, Osiris, poltergeist, virgin birth, spoon bending, Bigfoot, revenant, shade, shadow, Leviathan, levitation, specter, spirit, ghoul, vampire, wraith, zombie, astrologer, seventy-two virgins, Athena, streets of gold, banshee, augur, auspex, clairvoyant, diviner, limbo, druid, dowser, fortuneteller, Beelzebub, dryad, haruspex, pyramid power, horoscopist, magus, medium, Thor, tarot, oracle, palmist, card reader, seer, sibyl, griffin, soothsayer, sorcerer, tea-leaf reader, witch, wizard, astrologer, augurer, Eros, clairvoyant, werewolf, conjurer, diviner, enchanter, dragon, gods, goddess, fortune teller, alien abduction, magician, ESP, magus, Cupid, alchemy, necromancer, Grendel, fairy, thaumaturge, warlock, witch, Elysium, Shangri-la, dreamland, perpetual motion, enchantment, fairyland, crystaline spheres, pearly gates, promised land, voodoo.

1. Do not use more when less will suffice.
2. Prefer the probable to the improbable.
3. Do not evoke the exotic when the commonplace will do.
4. Be prepared to admit you are wrong.”

- http://www.sciencemusings.com/

Quakerwidow Loc: Chestertown, MD

Sound like good rules to me.

out of the woods Loc: to hell and gone New York State

What up with the middle paragraph?

okie don

Remember:
"You don't know what you don't know"- Einstein
' When you run with the Masses, sometimes the M is missing'- (:

okie don

" We are all born ignorant, but one must WORK HARD to remain STUPID"- Ben Franklin

okie don

" We are all born ignorant, but one must WORK HARD to remain STUPID"- Ben Franklin

"Persistence and Determination are Omnipotent"- Calvin Cooledge

okie don

" We are all born ignorant, but one must WORK HARD to remain STUPID"- Ben Franklin

"Persistence and Determination are Omnipotent"- Calvin Cooledge

pafret Loc: Northeast

That is the author's cute way of identifying what he considers questionable concepts, beings or occurrences. He is an atheist so he generally includes any reference to religion or its beliefs. I am not an atheist so I removed some of them

Big dog