Self-Mutation #fundie

Self-Mutation #fundie iidb.infidels.org

Once you involve the supernatural in your life, you become more creative. A lot of atheists look "too logically" about everything when we really should be having fun! It's no fun to keep analyzing and thinking logically about everything. It hinders the creative side of your brains. I was trying WAY TOO HARD to find a natural explanation and my friend went, "Dude, you've exhausted every possible situation and explanation. Just let it go and just accept it was probably a ghost. Why is that so bad? It's pretty fun." He was right. Why WAS I fighting it so much and trying to push naturalism so much? It wasn't fun and there was no point.

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old comment by

Total nonsense. I consider myself extremely creative and I am perfectly able to maintain a logical out look on life. How, you ask? Simply put, I know the difference between fantasy and reality. So while my mind often goes to places that involve all sorts of fantastic elements of fiction, (some of which include supernatural aspects) I by no means think that would apply to the world around me. In fact, I sometimes think that my understanding of the cold reality around me is what inspires me to look to my imagination for excitment. Especially as a child, the world I experienced was boring to me so I created my own entertainment.

But anyway, on the other hand, my logical outlook on life often improves upon my creative side. Let's say for say for example I was working on a story where superpowers were prossible (it's not my thing, but it's an easy example with superhero movies being so out there right now). The idea that superpowers could exist in the real world is completely illogical, but for the sake of storytelling we ignore that aspect and add a fantastic element to it via what I call the "magic bullet." However, we try to do so in a way that makes sense within the rules we establish for the fictional world and we determine what makes sense within these rules through logic. The end result is a believable superhero story in that sense that once we allow ourselves to accept a fantasy element, such as the idea that someone can fly, we are invited into a world that makes sense within itself. This is what audiences want. They're generally tired of comics that are poorly written and add chaotic elements to make a story more interesting to children.

With what I do, I see a lot of people who claim to be creative but have no direction so they end up suggesting all crazy things that just do not work. You need to structure your creativity if you want it to be anything more than something you do to pass the time and for that, a logical and grounded outlook is your friend. It doesn't hinder me from coming up with things at all, it just helps me to put it all together once I come up with various elements.

Btw, I consider it completely uncreative and unoriginal to just say a "ghost did it." You're taking the easy way out. If you want to claim you're creative try to present an example where your explaination for something is fresh and involves outside the box thinking. The ghost thing was creative when the idea of a ghost was first thought up by Humans and they defined the attributes of the ghost and a possible backstory. It was also creative when further elements were added to the myth by future Humans that better fleshed out what we've come to think a ghost is. However, what you're doing now requires no effort whatsoever and is the least creative thing you can do.

old comment by Wandering Discordian

I feel like his observation has some amount of truth. Speaking from my own experience (who else's experience could I speak from?), my friends that are atheists are, all things considered, kinda boring and while they practice creative pursuits as a hobby, everything they produce is rather formulaic. Not bad, just... predictable and generally unchanging. My shaman, druid and Lokite friends, on the other hand, are some of the most passionate, creative and fun people I've ever met and produce some engaging, inspiring and generally interesting creative works. They're also rather more fun to hang around with. Maybe that's just taste, though.

In any case, I think life really is about having fun, and I'm glad there are people who have fun being rational and inventing things so I don't have to.

old comment by Anon-e-moose

"A lot of atheists look "too logically" about everything when we really should be having fun! It's no fun to keep analyzing and thinking logically about everything. It hinders the creative side of your brains. I was trying WAY TOO HARD to find a natural explanation"

Just as Penn & Teller make explaining of how 'magic tricks'/illusions are done fun, so is science explaining everything

Johnny Ball (for we in the UK):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Ball

Dr. Magnus Pyke:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnus_Pyke

Eric Laithwaite:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Laithwaite

('Is it something to do with Gyroscopes?!')

Prof. Heinz Wolff:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinz_Wolff

("The Great Egg Race", anyone? Nostalgia bombs all round, I'll wager!)

Prof. Noel Sharkey:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noel_Sharkey

3... 2... 1... Activate! [/"Robot Wars"]

Dr. Karl (or as I refer to him: 'The Aussie Brainiac'):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Kruszelnicki

(I never miss his one-hour Q&A sessions on Rhod Sharp's programme on BBC Radio 5, 3AM Thursday mornings)

Bill Nye ('The Science Guy'):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Nye

All great popularisers of science, mathematics, you name it.

Now, what's wrong with having scientific explanations? What's wrong with knowing everything? As proven by the likes of Arthur C. Clarke, adding a bit of hard science can make the fantastical even more fun.

Your call, Self-Mutilation.

@Quantum Mechanic

"It was probably a ghost" is no substitute for "I don't know."

And as any scientist will tell you (especially Dr. Karl), those three words 'I don't know' are the beginning of wisdom.

old comment by Anon-e-moose

"Once you involve the supernatural in your life, you become more creative. A lot of atheists look "too logically" about everything when we really should be having fun! It's no fun to keep analyzing and thinking logically about everything. It hinders the creative side of your brains. I was trying WAY TOO HARD to find a natural explanation and my friend went, "Dude, you've exhausted every possible situation and explanation. Just let it go and just accept it was probably a ghost. Why is that so bad? It's pretty fun." He was right. Why WAS I fighting it so much and trying to push naturalism so much? It wasn't fun and there was no point."

Professor Heinz Wolff; pioneer of Bioengineering. Presenter of the TV series "The Great Egg Race", and populariser of Science.

Being Serious. Fun Business.

...oh, and James Randi would like a word with you, Self-Mutilation. As would his JREF. About a great. Many. Things. [/Palpatine] 'Creativity' = Superstition? Bollocks.

Self-Mutation #fundie iidb.infidels.org

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