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Irrational is accurate. The "syncretism" that is mentioned can only be achieved through ignoring contradictions. Science can be employed by irrational people,

by nwah1 8y ago

Irrational is accurate. The "syncretism" that is mentioned can only be achieved through ignoring contradictions. Science can be employed by irrational people, and scientists themselves can be irrational. There's been lots of people who note that engineers are disproportionately represented among terrorist groups. You have Nobel prize winners like Kary Mullis who take copious amounts of psychedelics and deny that HIV causes AIDS.

coldtea 8y ago
There's nothing irrational per se in taking "copious amounts of psychedelics". It's no more rational that not taking them. Reason (ratio) itself, has no inherent values (as in "sober is better") -- it's all about deductive chains and what works. Denying that HIV causes AIDS can also be perfectly rational as long as he justifies it with certain arguments that are not crazy themselves. Merely straying off the established scientific view is not irrational -- else all kind of now established scientists should also be labelled as irrational, for that's what they did when they proposed and insisted on their theories before they ever got accepted (and some took decades or more to be accepted). In which case tons of now established theories would never have come to pass.
- nwah1 8y ago
  I like the guy, but he does seem fairly irrational. He thinks astrology doesn't get a fair shake. And in any event, a scientist while under the influence of neuroactive substances could be said to be an example of a person who is both a scientist and irrational.
  - murftown 8y ago
    > a scientist while under the influence of neuroactive substances could be said to be ... irrational. Just for thoroughness, what's your rational, logical deduction that someone under the influence of neuroactive substances is more irrational than someone who isn't? The whole brain is filled with neuroactive substances regardless of whether you ingest more.
jonhendry18 8y ago
"There's been lots of people who note that engineers are disproportionately represented among terrorist groups." It's also been noted that engineers are common among creationists. (The "Salem Hypothesis")
- nwah1 8y ago
  Pretty much every religious terrorist who murders others does so while believing they are representing a religion of peace. While it seems our resident psychonauts objected to my label of irrational for Kary Mullis, at least nobody thought to object to that description for terrorists. But under an expansive enough definition of "rational," surely terrorists and currently-tripping psychonauts both could be considered rational.

by nwah1 8y ago

coldtea 8y ago

There's nothing irrational per se in taking "copious amounts of psychedelics". It's no more rational that not taking them. Reason (ratio) itself, has no inherent values (as in "sober is better") -- it's all about deductive chains and what works. Denying that HIV causes AIDS can also be perfectly rational as long as he justifies it with certain arguments that are not crazy themselves. Merely straying off the established scientific view is not irrational -- else all kind of now established scientists should also be labelled as irrational, for that's what they did when they proposed and insisted on their theories before they ever got accepted (and some took decades or more to be accepted). In which case tons of now established theories would never have come to pass.

nwah1 8y ago
I like the guy, but he does seem fairly irrational. He thinks astrology doesn't get a fair shake. And in any event, a scientist while under the influence of neuroactive substances could be said to be an example of a person who is both a scientist and irrational.
- murftown 8y ago
  > a scientist while under the influence of neuroactive substances could be said to be ... irrational. Just for thoroughness, what's your rational, logical deduction that someone under the influence of neuroactive substances is more irrational than someone who isn't? The whole brain is filled with neuroactive substances regardless of whether you ingest more.

jonhendry18 8y ago

"There's been lots of people who note that engineers are disproportionately represented among terrorist groups." It's also been noted that engineers are common among creationists. (The "Salem Hypothesis")

nwah1 8y ago
Pretty much every religious terrorist who murders others does so while believing they are representing a religion of peace. While it seems our resident psychonauts objected to my label of irrational for Kary Mullis, at least nobody thought to object to that description for terrorists. But under an expansive enough definition of "rational," surely terrorists and currently-tripping psychonauts both could be considered rational.