(June 5, 2024 at 9:34 pm)Denzil99 Wrote:

(June 5, 2024 at 8:44 pm)Nay_Sayer Wrote: Confirmation bias. Look into it.

FSM bless you

You could be right. I am probably prone to that. Thank you for your comment I appreciate it very much

Don't sweat it. It's a known defect in the human psyche that we all suffer along with a whole host of other cognitive biases. Our heads are messy places.

The short version is that unlikely coincidences crop up all the time. That's simply because you're exposed to millions of events every day, many of them incredibly improbable. The overwhelming majority of them are also incredibly mundane, so nobody ever notices them.

So if you want to check that there aren't any gods lurking don't ask for the unlikely. That'll just get you something that might be mistaken for Jesus on your toast or some equally laughable "miracle". Ask instead for the impossible, and what you get is a whole lot of amputees that don't spontaneously regenerate limbs.

(June 9, 2024 at 5:06 am)Paleophyte Wrote:

(June 5, 2024 at 9:34 pm)Denzil99 Wrote: You could be right. I am probably prone to that. Thank you for your comment I appreciate it very much

Don't sweat it. It's a known defect in the human psyche that we all suffer along with a whole host of other cognitive biases. Our heads are messy places.

The short version is that unlikely coincidences crop up all the time. That's simply because you're exposed to millions of events every day, many of them incredibly improbable. The overwhelming majority of them are also incredibly mundane, so nobody ever notices them.

So if you want to check that there aren't any gods lurking don't ask for the unlikely. That'll just get you something that might be mistaken for Jesus on your toast or some equally laughable "miracle". Ask instead for the impossible, and what you get is a whole lot of amputees that don't spontaneously regenerate limbs.

'How hard to you have to pray to make water run uphill? Hard enough to make water run uphill, of course!' - Lazarus Long

Boru

Praying does nothing. Don't bother.

^Point epically missed.

Boru

(June 9, 2024 at 7:04 am)BrianSoddingBoru4 Wrote: ^Point epically missed.

Boru

No I mean it's general advice.

(June 9, 2024 at 7:20 am)Ahriman Wrote:

(June 9, 2024 at 7:04 am)BrianSoddingBoru4 Wrote: ^Point epically missed.

Boru

No I mean it's general advice.

Actually, there are some benefits to prayer. For the penitent, at least.

Boru

As others have said, confirmation bias.

People tend to remember the hits, and forget the misses.

And lets say, for arguments sake, you really did see these "rare' things after you prayed to see them as a sign.

How would you be able to demonstrate that there was a connection between your prayer and seeing them?

This is known as a "Post hoc ergo propter hoc" fallacy. It basically translates to "after this, therefore because of this". But it means, since event Y followed event X, event Y must have been caused by event X.

It's the fallacy behind almost every dumb superstition there is.

“What is ‘God’? Well. You know, when you want something really bad and you close your eyes and wish for it? God’s the guy that ignores you.” (Steve Buscemi)