I’ve always thought that the biggest difference between religious people and atheists is that we’re willing to just say “I don’t know”.
I don’t know if there was something before the universe, how it’ll end or if there will be something after, or if we’re in some kind of simulation, or whatever else. But I’m willing to leave it at that and I don’t feel the need to point to some deity to fill in the gaps of my knowledge.
Years ago I ordered a bunch of science books, On The Shoulders of Giants, The Selfish Gene, Not Even Wrong, The Big Bang Origins of our Universe, and some others while on a deployment in the military and when I opened my big bundle my boss “made fun of me,” by saying something along the lines of, “Y’all think you’re so smart, but you need so many books and I just need one.” Referring to his Bible.
The irony being that the more I read, the more I realize I don’t know, and the more he reads, the more certain he becomes. So yeah, “I don’t know” is my fucking motto these days because I don’t know shit.
Got my undergrad in physics and commissioned as a Lt. The first taught me how little I actually know. The second taught me how little everyone else actually knows. But damn, some of them are confident in it
Nothing more humbling than telling a professor about your very niche undergrad research and they know more about it off the cuff, lol. What did you end up going to grad school for, I’m curious? My undergrad was physics but I ended up falling into coding.
The government wouldn’t release me for any degree I wanted, so I haven’t gone yet. My plans got derailed because I either applied to a program outside my career field, or I didn’t have a background related to a masters in my career field. Perfect catch 22. Currently trying to get accepted to an electrical engineering program. But it’s tough after being away from school for so long
In my person interactions, the religious conservative folks seem to care most about having clear answers for things. Once they “know” something, they’re good, and they will repeat it confidently to anybody else who asks. If they particularly like the answer, or it is financially or personally beneficial to them, they might just make it part of their core identity.
Of course, not all conservatives are like that, and progressives are not completely immune to it. It’s a problem with the irrational human mind, after all.
Your definition is of an agnostic atheist. I agree with you, as I believe it’s more scientific to be agnostic. There are also gnostic atheists, who believe with certainty that there is no god. There are many of them commenting here as well. It’s an interesting discussion.
I’ve always thought that the biggest difference between religious people and atheists is that we’re willing to just say “I don’t know”.
I don’t know if there was something before the universe, how it’ll end or if there will be something after, or if we’re in some kind of simulation, or whatever else. But I’m willing to leave it at that and I don’t feel the need to point to some deity to fill in the gaps of my knowledge.
Years ago I ordered a bunch of science books, On The Shoulders of Giants, The Selfish Gene, Not Even Wrong, The Big Bang Origins of our Universe, and some others while on a deployment in the military and when I opened my big bundle my boss “made fun of me,” by saying something along the lines of, “Y’all think you’re so smart, but you need so many books and I just need one.” Referring to his Bible.
The irony being that the more I read, the more I realize I don’t know, and the more he reads, the more certain he becomes. So yeah, “I don’t know” is my fucking motto these days because I don’t know shit.
Got my undergrad in physics and commissioned as a Lt. The first taught me how little I actually know. The second taught me how little everyone else actually knows. But damn, some of them are confident in it
Nothing more humbling than telling a professor about your very niche undergrad research and they know more about it off the cuff, lol. What did you end up going to grad school for, I’m curious? My undergrad was physics but I ended up falling into coding.
The government wouldn’t release me for any degree I wanted, so I haven’t gone yet. My plans got derailed because I either applied to a program outside my career field, or I didn’t have a background related to a masters in my career field. Perfect catch 22. Currently trying to get accepted to an electrical engineering program. But it’s tough after being away from school for so long
In my person interactions, the religious conservative folks seem to care most about having clear answers for things. Once they “know” something, they’re good, and they will repeat it confidently to anybody else who asks. If they particularly like the answer, or it is financially or personally beneficial to them, they might just make it part of their core identity.
Of course, not all conservatives are like that, and progressives are not completely immune to it. It’s a problem with the irrational human mind, after all.
Your definition is of an agnostic atheist. I agree with you, as I believe it’s more scientific to be agnostic. There are also gnostic atheists, who believe with certainty that there is no god. There are many of them commenting here as well. It’s an interesting discussion.