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I'm not sure how appropriate this discussion is for Hacker News, but I find it rather insulting that religion is listed as a 'weird' belief here (and repeatedly

I'm not sure how appropriate this discussion is for Hacker News, but I find it rather insulting that religion is listed as a 'weird' belief here (and repeatedly). A huge majority of the world has some kind of religion [1], which would suggest (to me) that there's something pervasive about religion in our humanity. (Although I'll be the first to admit that I am not a religious scholar.) Does the author have something against Judeo-Christianity that makes it especially weird, and fitting with the context of the rest of the list? [1]: http://www.pewforum.org/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-exec/ http://www.pewforum.org/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscap...

giarc 11y ago
I thought the same thing. I'm not religious but I wouldn't call this "weird". "Georges Lemaître proposed what became known as the Big Bang theory of the origin of the Universe. He was a Belgian Roman Catholic priest."
- ksenzee 11y ago
  Yes, and Donald Knuth is a Lutheran. Hold my handbag so I can clutch my pearls.
  - tdees40 11y ago
    Hey guys, Saul Kripke is an observant Jew. WEIRD!!!
worldsayshi 11y ago
The author describes himself as transhumanist and many of the weird beliefs are related to transhumanism. I wouldn't assume that the author is principally against the views described.
deleted 11y ago
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reitanqild 11y ago
That said for that kind of a person he seemed refreshingly open-minded : >Also note that I am not claiming that the beliefs hold by these people are necessarily wrong (although some of them almost certainly are).
totalrobe 11y ago
As there is really no way currently to prove a religion's tenets are true, religion is highly qualified as a "weird" belief by this criteria in the article: "The point of the list is partly to show that it is possible to be very smart, and successful, and yet hold beliefs that are widely regarded as unsupported, absurd, or simply flawed." Religion is a construct of the powerful, and to follow one without tangibly benefiting from it is quite weird. I personally believe many "religious" people just go to church to participate and benefit from the community and cultural aspects.

giarc 11y ago

I thought the same thing. I'm not religious but I wouldn't call this "weird". "Georges Lemaître proposed what became known as the Big Bang theory of the origin of the Universe. He was a Belgian Roman Catholic priest."

ksenzee 11y ago
Yes, and Donald Knuth is a Lutheran. Hold my handbag so I can clutch my pearls.
- tdees40 11y ago
  Hey guys, Saul Kripke is an observant Jew. WEIRD!!!

worldsayshi 11y ago

The author describes himself as transhumanist and many of the weird beliefs are related to transhumanism. I wouldn't assume that the author is principally against the views described.

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

reitanqild 11y ago

That said for that kind of a person he seemed refreshingly open-minded : >Also note that I am not claiming that the beliefs hold by these people are necessarily wrong (although some of them almost certainly are).

totalrobe 11y ago

As there is really no way currently to prove a religion's tenets are true, religion is highly qualified as a "weird" belief by this criteria in the article: "The point of the list is partly to show that it is possible to be very smart, and successful, and yet hold beliefs that are widely regarded as unsupported, absurd, or simply flawed." Religion is a construct of the powerful, and to follow one without tangibly benefiting from it is quite weird. I personally believe many "religious" people just go to church to participate and benefit from the community and cultural aspects.