Ricki Tarr @[email protected]
There is this strange idea, that if we understand the facts or science behind how something works, we will lose our sense of wonder. But this has never felt true for me, understanding prisms doesn’t take away the beauty of a rainbow, understanding evolution doesn’t negate the miracle of our existence. The Universe is a magical place, and the more I learn, the more my wonder deepens.
This is the thing I find so disappointing about theists and spiritual people.
I once had a long conversation with a spiritist and they were convinced you could talk to the dead. What struck me wasn’t the fact that they genuinely believed this to be true it was their certainty that no other explanation was conceivable.
Their wonder about the universe was diminished because they had ‘the answer’. It was solved.
I still don’t know the answers to the big questions but I’m not scared of that fact, I’m excited by the opportunity to find the answers. I’m still able to wonder.
also like, having the answers lets us do cool shit like create lasers, or space telescopes that let us photograph the most absurdly beautiful creations of nature.
Even if it was true that knowing how it works made it less wonderous, it also allows for new wonders, so at worst it evens out in the end.
What you’re describing isn’t “theists,” but fundamentalists. Plenty of theists don’t talk to the dead, know that Earth is 4.5 billion years old, and modern astronomy would look quite different were it not for the catholic church.
Their post wasn’t accusing theists of being young earth creationists, and the anecdote given was explicitly about a spiritist. You’re refuting a stance that wasn’t taken.
It was actually saying that “theists” think that scientists can’t appreciate beauty, whether that was intentional or not.