[FoRK] His Not-So-Dark Materials

[Jeff Bone]

On Nov 30, 2007, at 8:14 PM, Lion Kimbro wrote:

> On Nov 30, 2007 5:49 PM, Jeff Bone <jbone at place.org> wrote:
>> On Nov 30, 2007, at 7:23 PM, Lion Kimbro wrote:
>>>> Why?  Why isn't it just wonderful enough --- in itself?
>> What exactly do you mean by *mystical?*  Therein, I suspect, lies the
>> rub;  I say it's in no way mystical, merely physical --- and very
>> complex.
>
>   Yeah, but, ...
>
>   It's **mystically** complex.

And here we go again.

You're using words like "mystical" and "religion" and so forth in an  
absolutely ridiculous, metaphorical sense --- in a very truly ironic  
way (though I suspect that you don't intend irony.)

The problem with this is, it's hogwash.  It *confuses* some very  
unobjectionable things -- wonder at life, appreciation of complexity,  
etc. -- with some very vague, troublesome, and even *dangerous*  
things that have long plagued human attempts to understand the  
world.  You claim this is in some way *useful.*  I disagree --- it's  
vague, imprecise, confused, counterproductive at best, and even  
dangerous if the purpose is achieving a consensus understanding of  
the world we live in.

$0.02, that's really all I've got to say about the topic.  I've got  
my plate full arguing against actual religion, much less your silly  
attempt to define the problem away and rhetorically sweep all the  
trouble under the rug.

jb