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Indeed. There are many ways you can explain away these things without resorting to superstition. Trust me I know, I tried and still am trying every time I see t

Indeed. There are many ways you can explain away these things without resorting to superstition. Trust me I know, I tried and still am trying every time I see these things. It is hard to explain, but it is something that even though you can find an explanation that answer most questions, it still can't account for everything. And within those gaps are where I have doubts about whether I was actually right and these are just my mind playing tricks on me, or there is something more. Unfortunately, there isn't any concrete answer yet. We can't even definitely say why all things with a mind need to sleep, much less what happens in their dreams. In the end, like I said, I have come to understand that it doesn't matter if it is right or wrong, as long as it helps someone, it is ultimately good enough.

pazimzadeh 4y ago
When I was about 5 years old I asked my mom what happens after we die. She thought for a second a said "no one has ever come back and told me." There will always be gaps. While hypotheses, religious or naturalistic, are important, it's also important to be ok not having all the answers.
- tomohelix 4y ago
  I work in biotech and as I am sure you know, it is the field where unknown phenomena are the expected norms. So yes, I made peace with not being able to know everything a long time ago. But by the same virtue, it means I can't dismiss anything unless I have concrete evidence against it. It is better to leave rooms for doubts rather than settling with a half-answer and consider it a solved matter. To do so would mean I am either supremely confident in my ability to explain something or I am unable to admit there are things that prove me wrong.
  - pazimzadeh 4y ago
    Agreed. I'm just confused why so many people are pre-facing their comments with some version of "I'm a life-long atheist but I can relate to this story somehow" as if there is a discrepancy between atheism and the article. For the record, I think strong atheism, or the confidence that there is no god or after-life, is just as wrong as being confident that there is. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_and_positive_atheism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_and_positive_atheism
    - elzbardico 4y ago
      Oh, thanks for that! As an atheist I always wondered what annoyed me so much in other more vocal and militant atheists. I'd love to believe in God, a superior power, benevolent aliens, re-incarnation, anything! The problem is that I just can't, no matter how much I try.
      - pazimzadeh 4y ago
        And there have probably been people who think like you since the beginning, otherwise the bible wouldn't have to go out of its way to say: > The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good Psalms 14:1
      - XorNot 4y ago
        "strong" atheists are asking you to treat your lack of belief like you'd treat any other thing you don't believe in - i.e. faires, fae, ogres, trolls, Babayanka etc. I don't preface a comment on "those don't exist" by saying "well there's no evidence but..." because very obviously I don't live my life as though there's any probability they exist. "I don't know god exists" is a meaningless statement because the alternative is not binary. You don't believe 'god' exists when you do, you believe a rather specific God exists.
      - dctoedt 4y ago
        > I'd love to believe in God, a superior power, benevolent aliens, re-incarnation, anything! The problem is that I just can't, no matter how much I try. I hope people here don't get tired of my self-cite about how I came around to a sort of agnosto-theism: https://www.questioningchristian.org/2005/05/why_i_call_myse.html https://www.questioningchristian.org/2005/05/why_i_call_myse...
    - andrepd 4y ago
      Of course it isn't. Believing there's a kettle orbiting Neptune is infinitely more implausible that believing there isn't, even though there is zero empirical evidence to either position.
  - XorNot 4y ago
    There's a difference between not knowing everything and inventing rather specific alternatives which you declare are valid because "we don't know everything". Not knowing means not knowing. Not "well we don't know so maybe it's...".
    - yadingus 4y ago
      It's also not "we don't know so maybe no black swans exist". Knowing and belief are different things too. I don't know for a fact that the tree outside my house is still there when I'm not looking at it, but I believe it will be. These discussions get muddy quickly precisely because sometimes you're arguing thinking that you know what the other person believes, which is a bit of an arrogant assumption, and then you're off having an argument with a specter of your own making.
  - NovaDudely 4y ago
    We have to occasionally remember that as an individual, the thinking part of us is but 6 inches across of jelly. To think that the brain can conceive and understand the entire function of the universe is somewhat laughable. "I used to think that the brain was the most wonderful organ in my body. Then I realized who was telling me this." - Emo Philips

pazimzadeh 4y ago

When I was about 5 years old I asked my mom what happens after we die. She thought for a second a said "no one has ever come back and told me." There will always be gaps. While hypotheses, religious or naturalistic, are important, it's also important to be ok not having all the answers.

tomohelix 4y ago
I work in biotech and as I am sure you know, it is the field where unknown phenomena are the expected norms. So yes, I made peace with not being able to know everything a long time ago. But by the same virtue, it means I can't dismiss anything unless I have concrete evidence against it. It is better to leave rooms for doubts rather than settling with a half-answer and consider it a solved matter. To do so would mean I am either supremely confident in my ability to explain something or I am unable to admit there are things that prove me wrong.
- pazimzadeh 4y ago
  Agreed. I'm just confused why so many people are pre-facing their comments with some version of "I'm a life-long atheist but I can relate to this story somehow" as if there is a discrepancy between atheism and the article. For the record, I think strong atheism, or the confidence that there is no god or after-life, is just as wrong as being confident that there is. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_and_positive_atheism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_and_positive_atheism
  - elzbardico 4y ago
    Oh, thanks for that! As an atheist I always wondered what annoyed me so much in other more vocal and militant atheists. I'd love to believe in God, a superior power, benevolent aliens, re-incarnation, anything! The problem is that I just can't, no matter how much I try.
    - pazimzadeh 4y ago
      And there have probably been people who think like you since the beginning, otherwise the bible wouldn't have to go out of its way to say: > The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good Psalms 14:1
    - XorNot 4y ago
      "strong" atheists are asking you to treat your lack of belief like you'd treat any other thing you don't believe in - i.e. faires, fae, ogres, trolls, Babayanka etc. I don't preface a comment on "those don't exist" by saying "well there's no evidence but..." because very obviously I don't live my life as though there's any probability they exist. "I don't know god exists" is a meaningless statement because the alternative is not binary. You don't believe 'god' exists when you do, you believe a rather specific God exists.
    - dctoedt 4y ago
      > I'd love to believe in God, a superior power, benevolent aliens, re-incarnation, anything! The problem is that I just can't, no matter how much I try. I hope people here don't get tired of my self-cite about how I came around to a sort of agnosto-theism: https://www.questioningchristian.org/2005/05/why_i_call_myse.html https://www.questioningchristian.org/2005/05/why_i_call_myse...
  - andrepd 4y ago
    Of course it isn't. Believing there's a kettle orbiting Neptune is infinitely more implausible that believing there isn't, even though there is zero empirical evidence to either position.
- XorNot 4y ago
  There's a difference between not knowing everything and inventing rather specific alternatives which you declare are valid because "we don't know everything". Not knowing means not knowing. Not "well we don't know so maybe it's...".
  - yadingus 4y ago
    It's also not "we don't know so maybe no black swans exist". Knowing and belief are different things too. I don't know for a fact that the tree outside my house is still there when I'm not looking at it, but I believe it will be. These discussions get muddy quickly precisely because sometimes you're arguing thinking that you know what the other person believes, which is a bit of an arrogant assumption, and then you're off having an argument with a specter of your own making.
- NovaDudely 4y ago
  We have to occasionally remember that as an individual, the thinking part of us is but 6 inches across of jelly. To think that the brain can conceive and understand the entire function of the universe is somewhat laughable. "I used to think that the brain was the most wonderful organ in my body. Then I realized who was telling me this." - Emo Philips