tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10882105.post193631030507829345..comments2023-11-02T06:28:23.104-07:00Comments on ... and now for something completely different.: Doubt is not necessarily a bad thingdbackdadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10700991588554336491noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10882105.post-33945574820753690792008-11-01T08:17:00.000-07:002008-11-01T08:17:00.000-07:00Wunelle said, "Doubt--skepticism--is something qui...Wunelle said, <I>"Doubt--skepticism--is something quite different from cynicism ...."</I> -- Good point and an important distinction. A lot of those of faith think that non-believers are depressed because there is no after-life (or we don't know if there is). It's the exact opposite for me. I find more wonder in the life I'm living and the world around me because I'm not just biding my time till Heaven or the Rapture.<BR/><BR/>JA - I agree. "Conviction" and "resoluteness" have not exactly been serving us well in foreign policy or the economy. Real life is making even stout idealist-Ayn Rand-types question some of their "conviction".<BR/><BR/>Shrimplate, CK -- Hear, hear.<BR/><BR/>Laura said, <I>"There's ALWAYS something new to learn, and changing your mind isn't weak, it's human."</I> -- Couldn't have said it better myself.dbackdadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10700991588554336491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10882105.post-51392149863205556412008-10-31T13:07:00.000-07:002008-10-31T13:07:00.000-07:00the scary thing is that people who are so certain ...the scary thing is that people who are so certain also think they have nothing new to learn. There's ALWAYS something new to learn, and changing your mind isn't weak, it's human.Laurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17129109937230440481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10882105.post-61700900980920334062008-10-31T12:46:00.000-07:002008-10-31T12:46:00.000-07:00Doubt is good... Doubt is my friend....Doubt is good... Doubt is my friend....CyberKittenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06394155516712665665noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10882105.post-88161092826198408952008-10-31T12:43:00.000-07:002008-10-31T12:43:00.000-07:00Suits me well enough.Suits me well enough.shrimplatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08347542266047278227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10882105.post-33125486133933161882008-10-31T11:32:00.000-07:002008-10-31T11:32:00.000-07:00Yes yes yes. I go nuts when I hear Republicans ta...Yes yes yes. I go nuts when I hear Republicans talk about "conviction" and "resoluteness" as if that's the most important thing.Jewish Atheisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04616617537150446818noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10882105.post-39019626507982156192008-10-31T06:08:00.000-07:002008-10-31T06:08:00.000-07:00That's really excellent.I think this is another of...That's really excellent.<BR/><BR/>I think this is another of the great lessons of the hard-won scientific method: that we refrain from absolute conviction until evidence warrants it (and it does so on a very measured number of things).<BR/><BR/>Doubt--skepticism--is something quite different from cynicism, and it's a natural byproduct of knowledge being provisional upon the strength of the evidence. We learn that just about everything is amendable if new evidence dictates. And so we stop being certain and learn to say "Well, this seems the most <I>probable</I> explanation... stay tuned!"<BR/><BR/>This seems wondrously healthy to me.wstachourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12447198404608861357noreply@blogger.com