>And yet, if _we_ are right (i.e., Evolution rulez), then _we_ are mad, >because it seems that believing in nonsense is a reproductive advantage...
>Survival of the craziest Maru >Alberto Monteiro No, it means that it had an advantage in the past, not that it still has survival value now. In our evolutionary past, belonging to a small, xenophobic group that shut out outsiders and was run by tough authoritarian leaders probably did have survival value and the groups who distrusted the world and set themselves off from it prospered. The closed belief system served to keep them unified in the face of outside threats, and prompted obedience in a world where taking time out to think too much might have been fatal. But that isn't true anymore, and that same behavior, hardwired into the genes, can be maladaptive in today's world. Just like a taste for high-fat food was beneficial when we were hunter gatherers and that kind of food was scarce -- you ate as much of it as you could because who knew when you would see it again, and the calories would keep you alive. But in a world with a McDonald's on every corner that same taste, that kept our ancestors alive can kill us. These kinds of insular, tribal belief systems, that create tight little pockets of delusional thinking and cut their believers off from the outside world, are the same thing. In an increasingly interconnected and crowded world they do not have survival value. They make these people a threat to themselves and everyone around them. ----- Original Message ----- From: Alberto Vieira Ferreira Monteiro<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion<mailto:[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, August 17, 2008 2:58 PM Subject: Re: Sanity prevails William T Goodall quoted: > > "World History and Cultures in Christian Perspective > This well-researched text stands on the conviction that God is the > Creator of the world and the Controller of history. > (...) and concluded: > > These people are mad Maru > And yet, if _we_ are right (i.e., Evolution rulez), then _we_ are mad, because it seems that believing in nonsense is a reproductive advantage... Survival of the craziest Maru Alberto Monteiro _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l<http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l> _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
