FarflungWanderer Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 ... but I'm having a hard time putting it to words. Maybe you'll have better luck. http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/06/19/studies-shocking-conclusion-about-what-some-atheists-really-believe-about-a-creator/ I know that we're dealing with a none-too-credible source in the Blaze, but I'd like to at least try to figure out what's wrong with this article in particular. The tl;dr, from what I saw when I read it, was that atheists pointed to "purpose in nature" (paraphrase) almost as much as theists do. I'm sure I'm not the only one who finds this whole thing just... wrong, but I really can't nail it down right now. I blame too many late nights. Anyone want to help me deconstruct this thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator florduh Posted June 19, 2015 Super Moderator Share Posted June 19, 2015 The "study" doesn't look at anyone's beliefs or logical arguments for their position. It doesn't address anything other than visual perception and the human tendency to assign meaning and order to that which is perceived. A person may have very good reasons to reject nature as a creation of some magical being, yet can have his perception trigger the "make sense of it" circuits. I suspect that in the "85 millisecond test" I might instinctively choose "created" more often than if I had time to think. The reason is that certain random patterns in nature evoke our natural response to see order where there is none; faces in clouds and the moon are common examples. But there are less common examples if we were to get a quick glimpse of some natural formation or event. A closeup picture of crystal formations could be quickly assessed as a deliberate construction rather than crystals going about their natural business. A certain view of a stand of trees may look as if they were deliberately planted in a pattern; a different view may result in a different perception. I've seen the potato that looks like Nixon and the burnt toast that looks like the popular artists' version of Jesus or his mom. I don't know what images were used in the test, and I don't know how it was framed and what was said to the participants, so it's difficult to come to any definitive conclusion without enough information; probably much like the conditions of the test. At the very least, the headline is misleading. There is no information about what atheists may or may not believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarflungWanderer Posted June 19, 2015 Author Share Posted June 19, 2015 At the very least, the headline is misleading. There is no information about what atheists may or may not believe. I think, without a doubt, the headline is very misleading. But what do you expect? It's the Blaze. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwc Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 I can accept that if I were flashed a series of photos of nature for less than a second that I would tend to say that things were purposely made or created by some being. Some things in nature sure look that way. Things like the Giants Steps (is that right) over in the UK. They don't look like they should just happen. And those underwater things off of Japan. They look like someone made them. Lots of stuff like that look like they were made. The calcium waterfalls in Turkey I think. The colorful mountains in China. I'm trying to remember all the things I've seen that just make me wonder at them (and I'm sure there's more and I hope I've got these few right or at least close). But I see this test as a type of Rorschach or an optical illusion. I saw that stupid black/blue dress as white/gold (with a tinge of blue/black). My wife saw it as blue/black. Anyhow, so what if think I see a creator in the clouds? The next person might see a tea pot. We just tend towards our biology and/or biases unless we can otherwise reason our way out. We know clouds aren't tea pots and tea pots aren't clouds yet we haven't accepted the same about gods. mwc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mymistake Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 Beliefs are more than first impressions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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