Comments on: The problem with judging an argument by its merits

By: ScruffyDan

ScruffyDan — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 19:30:34 +0000

I just don’t think that we’re really the Masters of the Universe that we cast ourselves as.

Yes that is true, and it fits in very nicely with my point of recognizing our limits.

By: 300baud

300baud — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 17:04:03 +0000

I don’t disagree, I just don’t think that we’re really the Masters of the Universe that we cast ourselves as. We have just learned a couple more tricks than most animals. It’s quirks like our ability to rationalize anything from a complete lack of information that lay it bare.

By: ScruffyDan

ScruffyDan — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 00:39:26 +0000

Not sure where you are going with your comment, but I have to disagree with the statement:

It *feels* like we’re so smart, but we’re really just a smidgen more clever than prairie dogs and beavers.

I was just commenting that we need to realize our limits.

By: 300baud

300baud — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 13:48:55 +0000

It sucks being human, doesn’t it? It *feels* like we’re so smart, but we’re really just a smidgen more clever than prairie dogs and beavers. We seem to have a much greater capacity for and interest in abstract thought, but it’s a double edged sword that has us living in a fantasy Universe of superstition and misinformed hearsay. We’ve gained the ability to put together a really convincing argument but lost the ability to understand what is real.