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#21
09-01-2005, 08:28 AM
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Re: % of religious and smart people vis a vis Hurricane Katrina?
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] it [finding a method to stop hurricanes] requires among other things an intimate knowledge of partial differential equations [/ QUOTE ] Is this a joke? (edited for clarity) [/ QUOTE ] No. Modelling fluid and gas flow is largely partial differential equations. The weather forecasts you get on TV are the outcomes of solving partial differential equations using super computers in America and Japan. Raw data (comprising pressure, temperature, humidity, etc) is sampled at various altititudes and locations around the planet, gathered by devices such as weather balloons. This data is then plugged into the equations and the partial differential equations are solved using numerical formulas, which involves an obscene amount of number crunching. 
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#22
09-01-2005, 08:19 PM
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Re: % of religious and smart people vis a vis Hurricane Katrina?
[ QUOTE ]
PS it is not necessary that the excellent thinkers know the intricacies of Christianity for the point to hold. They need only know that Christians believe that there is a God who intervenes in our lives, that Mary was a virgin, that Jesus was ressurected, etc. [/ QUOTE ] who believes that hogwash?
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#23
09-02-2005, 04:04 PM
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Re: % of religious and smart people vis a vis Hurricane Katrina?
[ QUOTE ]
bet a lot more math and physics would be needed than just diff eq. [/ QUOTE ] To stop a hurricane you'd need divine intervention, for which you obviously must have faith in God. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] But seriously, Sklanksy's wrong. The choice to believe in a God is obviously not an "adverse selection." The belief provides many benefits- automatic social network, purpose in life etc. Does Sklanksy only believe that Christians are stupider than everyone else, or does he extend his claim to other religions. Many of the people widely recognized as the most intelligent in history were religious.
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#25
09-03-2005, 08:43 PM
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Re: % of religious and smart people vis a vis Hurricane Katrina?
“Does Sklanksy only believe that Christians are stupider than everyone else, or does he extend his claim to other religions.”
He said “religious Christians”. So, I am not quite sure what he means. He could mean the Jerry Fallwell/Pat Robertson types. In which case that makes much more sense to me, than if he is using the term redundantly to mean all Christians. Who knows?
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#26
09-03-2005, 09:07 PM
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Re: % of religious and smart people vis a vis Hurricane Katrina?
[ QUOTE ]
I say that not because believing makes you stupid but rather because a belief that the stories of the Christian religion are probably true (as opposed to simply hoping they are true) is not something as likely to occur in a brain that is capable of doing excellent thinking. [/ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] Religious Christians are not just likely to have an underrepresentation of scientists. They have an underepresentation of people smart enough to become scientists. [/ QUOTE ] Logical fallacy of affirming a consequent from a negative premise. [ QUOTE ] Suppose instead of "religious follower" above I substituted the words "someone who is sure dice can be beaten"? [/ QUOTE ] And now you have substituted a term that denotes someone holding beliefs that cannot be proved to be false, only at best to have a lower probability of being true, with a term that denotes someone who holds beliefs that are 100% demonstrably false. Nice. Guess I should consider not debating with you in the future like you did with Andy.
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