Why is something, anything, too "far fetched?"

feenx

First off with the contents of this post I am not here to upset anyone, nor am I promoting any singular (or collective) idea, thought or belief.

There have been some recent posts on the board the last couple days regarding UFO's, government coverups, etc. etc. Such topics always spark the debate between what can be proved, what hasn't been proved but is "realistic" and what is too "far fetched."

As JW's we all subscribed, as do a plethora of religions and people, that a singular and all powerful god created our entire universe as we know it, from scratch. He sent his son to earth to be born as a human, though because of his true spirit nature he was able to display abilities that no other human could match. This son then died, hence creating a system of penance for all sadly sinning humans, was raised from the dead, appeared to multiple people in multiple forms until he finally ascended back to heaven to sit at god's side, along with the "myriads" of angels. We believed our every action, good and bad, was seen and FELT (as in human emotions) by "god" and that this physical earth will be forever and permanently changed in the all too near future as a result of humans' treatment of the earth and all the sins human beings have committed in their history.

THESE theories are PERFECTLY logical to believe in. In fact there are many people who would think you're crazy if you DIDN'T believe in such things.

Yet anything outside those mental lines drawn is just absolutely preposterous. When in reality the very things that people say could never be true (aliens, UFO's, conspiracies, wisdom of the ancients, unknown elements of humans, unknown planets, etc. etc.) are not any more far off or different from this physical reality we all live in.

So for me, it creates firstly frustration that people walk around with their huge egos basically saying "my fairytale is better than yours. Your fairytale isn't good enough. It's just stupid."

It ALL came from the same sources people. The same age and era that the bible came from is the same as allllllllll these other theories. Just because something made it into a scroll, and among the MANY ancient scrolls, happened to make it into the bible it's somehow more authoritative than all the ancient inscriptions from many other cultures? And who is any HUMAN to say in any kind of authority that ANYTHING beyond their own existence is too "far fetched?" That's like an 8 year old telling a toddler they're stupid for believing in the tooth fairy, but that santa claus is real. WTF?

Second, I don't understand why any such theories are "far fetched." Is it because it's simply outside one's comfort zone to think of the possibility of such things, hence it's an element of fear? Or are we as humans just THAT stubborn and THAT stupid that we just that we can say we "know" everything true and false about the cosmos and any other theoretical entities?

I swear sometimes I'm actually ashamed to be labeled as a homo sapien.

Finally-Free

I can't speak for others, but I am not able to prove or disprove a hell of a lot of anything independently. I can't prove the existence or nonexistence of god, evolution, a round earth or UFOs without relying on someone else's experience and research. I have to rely on the accuracy and honesty of others for many of the "facts" I live with every day.

I won't assume that my knowledge is so vast that something is impossible simply because I don't know or understand it.

W

compound complex

Dear feenx,

Since I am not too far removed from belief in the fabulous bird which your handle conjures up in phonetical fashion, I admit that your post strikes a chord pleasing to my ears.

It ALL came from the same sources people.

I responded to religious and preternatural stimuli since very early childhood. Since learning, however, of the scholastic and intellectual dishonesty of the WT and consequent nonspiritual agenda, I have my "feet" more firmly planted upon the terra firma of critical thinking. Yet I cannot discount my religious experiences, though they qualify as little more than subjective and anecdotal phenomena. Reading Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin - deists all, I believe - has opened up the world of intellectual discovery for me, permitting a grasping onto the gold while tossing aside the dross.

Thank you for this. I shall return if all right with you ...

Compound-Complex

VoidEater

I think I would only scoff at ideas that have premises that contradict what I believe to be "facts", or that make some logical flaw in developing conclusions (all tabbies are cats, therefore all cats are tabbies - that kind of thing).

Often the religious beliefs you mention, once their premises are accepted, are logical to believe in. At times, the first principles can be shown to be flawed (e.g., not irreducible, contradictory to other known facts). But, once the premises are accepted, the logical progression can be accepted.

The other things you mention are, as concepts aside from specific instances, certainly posisble: aliens, UFO's, conspiracies, wisdom of the ancients, unknown elements of humans, unknown planets...well, the fact that something is unknown in itself defines possibility. Some of the arguments for the existence of these things seem weak to me, or are merely asserted (as premises) that can either be accepted for the purposes of the discussion or challenged.

I think I've at least avoided the pitfall of attacking the person, except to point out certain patterns that highlight the dishonesty of the argument they present. Beyond that...well, I actually do know what I do not know.

LockedChaos

"My fairytale is better than yours. Your fairytale isn't good enough. It's just stupid."

Good wording
Matters not what the "group" thinks
Only matters what the "individual" thinks

We are told in scripture to not believe in anyone who
acts and does those very things that Jesus did,
but we are to believe him on his own word and prophecy.

Are we a part of the dream that the dreamer is dreaming?

Will that spaceship one day land to whisk away
all the faithful slaves/servants.

I remember an "Outerlimits" episode as a youngster.
Aliens landed and were oh so kind and helpful
They were taking people away for a better life
They had a book left to all the great minds
titled "To Serve Man"
No one could interpret the writing inside.
Finally someone did. After much of the population
had departed. Turns out the great book was a
COOKBOOK.

That little piece of science fiction really
got me thinking way back when.

Terry

I really want to give you a brief answer.

I want my answer to be of benefit to you.

Simple is best. Think of the problem this way.

From earliest history until now man has tried four ways of figuring out what is real and how things work.

1.Superstition and mystical thinking

2.Religion

3.Philosophy

4.Science

Of those four, the method which has given man a longer lifespan, greater health, efficient technology, knowledge of germs and the actual workings of the universe, only the SCIENTIFIC method remains.

Almost everything you possess and use that makes your daily life worth living comes from science.

Why?

Ask yourself why it is Science?

Science measures actually existing things and describes those things with math.

Science accumulates it's observations and measurements and makes an educated guess.

But--unlike superstition and religion--it doesn't stop there and make an authoritative assertion of TRUTH.

Science tests its guesses and finds a way to disprove itself, if possible.

Neither superstition nor religion seek to disprove their own cherished ideas.

Science calls this FALSIFIABILITY. If you can't test (to disprove) what you think is true--it is worthless.

I'll stop here.

All the crackpot things you name which people get excited about (UFO's, conspiracy theories, bigfoot, etc.) are just people jaw-jacking until DATA can be measured and falsified in order to PROVE them.

Think about that and compare that to what science has achieved.

Religion didn't give us anything. Philosophy gave us logic. Mysticism makes us deny cause and effect in the same universe we live in.

Only Science has worked.

Far fetched really means: we can't falsifiy or measure or test with logic.

That's a pretty handy method.

Why is something, anything, too "far fetched?"

feenx

Finally-Free

compound complex

VoidEater

LockedChaos

Terry

feenx

compound complex

Andy C

compound complex

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