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This is Gonzo, and it's my blog about nothing in particular.
Despite the continual rise of science and rationality in our society, researchers believe that religion will never completely die out because humans are hard-wired to believe in the supernatural. Professor Bruce Hood, of the University of Bristol in England, said that "magical thinking" is a natural human condition and that consequently, religion will persist because we are not going to evolve more rational minds.
Challenging the theories held by Professor Richard Dawkins (author of controversial bestseller The God Delusion) and other "ultra rationalists" that belief in the supernatural is spread by religions in gullible minds, Professor Hood said that "religions may simply capitalise on a natural bias to assume the existence of supernatural forces.
"It is pointless to get people to abandon their belief systems because they operate at such a fundamental level that no amount of rational evidence or counter evidence is going to be taken on board to get people to abandon these ideas."
This may explain why otherwise intelligent, often well-educated people will not abandon their religions for anything, regardless of the overwhelming lack of evidence to show that a God really does exist. They are not being gullible, they are simply just not challenging their natural inclination to believe in the supernatural.
Hood has carried out studies to show how the brains of even young babies organise sensory information, supply what is missing and use the information to generate theories about the world. In adulthood, this "intuitive reasoning" persists. "Intuitive reasoning observed in children explains many aspects of adult magical beliefs," he said.
So what do you think? Do you believe, as Dawkins does, that belief in the supernatural is spread by religions, or do you agree with Hood that religion persists because of a natural inclination towards magical thinking? And will religion ever be a thing of the past? Let me know orblers!
The weirdest thing happened to me a few months ago, so weird that I just had to share (well, this IS my blog about nothing!) I was perched on a bench at the north end of my local beach, after a surf with my brother, waiting for him to finish up so we could head home. It was warm and calm, and I was feeling relaxed and happy as I always do after a surf.
After watching my bro catch his final wave, my gaze drifted to the southern end of the beach, to the headland where several pricey apartments sit atop the cliff. There, in one of the apartments, was a tall figure holding binoculars - I stared directly at him for a couple of seconds before he quickly lowered the binoculars and dashed out of sight.
He'd obviously been watching me, and I'd looked at him directly in the eyes - from nearly a kilometre away! I must have scared the absolute shit out of him. Even now, the thought makes me laugh. Think about it - how creepy to be watching someone through binoculars, only for them to look at you as though they were seeing you from just a few metres away.
Now, it was a complete coincidence that I happened to look there, and it was his quick moving away that confirmed he'd been watching me - I'm not psychic, I had no idea I was being watched, but he's not to know that. Rather than dealing with someone who merely has good distance vision, he undoubtedly believes he was dealing with some kind of mind-reading freak.
Serves him right for spying on me!
Now I'm not the superstitious type, but already I've had two strokes of bad luck today - first in the form of dinging my car, and secondly with a cigarette craving stronger than I've experienced in a long while. It'll cost me several hundred dollars to have my rear door replaced on my car (blast!) - I really hit it hard, but fortunately (I suppose) hit a parked truck so didn't do any noticeable damage to the other vehicle. As for the cigarette craving, it really unsettled me because since quitting a week ago, I haven't really had any strong cravings. This one lasted almost twenty minutes, so I excused myself to go for a brisk walk to get it out of my system. Not a nice feeling, let me tell you!
What I'm wondering is, what will the third stroke of bad luck be? Because bad things, I've noticed, tend to happen in threes. Maybe I am superstitious after all. At any rate, I'll be careful not to do anything reckless that might result in injury or further cost.
Damn you, Friday the 13th.
So it's been five days since I smoked a cigarette, and six days since I smoked pot. For me, that's a major achievement, because until very recently I was spending $40 a week on ciggies and $50, sometimes more, on marijuana. The funny thing is, I haven't been craving either at all - I've just been feeling euphoric with pride in myself.
I have to expect that cravings will come in time - I've gone longer than this without smoking before, then became desperate for a smoke after two weeks - but after all my attempts at quitting, I've developed excellent coping skills when it comes to cravings. Namely, I go for a walk, and if that doesn't work, I eat something sweet
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I've been neglecting Gonzo lately, I'll admit it. Mostly because nothing new or exciting has happened in my life for, well, let's just say a long time. It's also partly blogger's paranoia - sometimes I worry that if I give away too much information, I'll give away my identity. Horror of all horrors! Needless to say, I value my anonymity highly.
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The detox lasted a full nine days before I caved. I went out to dinner with some friends, at a Mexican restaurant renowned for its margaritas, so naturally I had to have one. One turned into three and then suddenly I'm bumming a cigarette from a stranger outside. It was probably the best cigarette I'd ever had - I had the full headspin going on. The problem was, this put the nicotine back into my body and I had to buy a packet.
Then we went across the road to the pub, where one of my fave local bands were playing. I bought a Smirnoff (hey, I'd already come this far, why not get drunk?) And then another. And another. And I was chain-smoking the whole time
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Well, well, well. Looks like she couldn't pull it off after all. Needless to say, the detox failed dismally.
That's one creepy clown
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The last cigarette has been smoked, the last sip of alcohol taken, and now I'm finally ready to begin my detox. May is to be a month of no substances, because I want to get my brain and body as healthy as possible. If I'm ever bored at home with nothing to do, instead of lighting up a joint I'll go to the gym. By the end of May I want to be feeling on top of the world.
But first I need to get through the detox phase. I know I'll be cranky and irritable for the first few days, but as the poisons slowly leave my body, things will improve. I'm determined to stay on this detox, regardless of how miserable I may be at first
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Journeyman and I are no more - we had "the talk" last night, and decided that we weren't meant for each other. It all went so smoothly - he felt the same way I did. When he arrived I knew something was up because he didn't kiss me straightaway. He was avoiding looking me in the face, so I sat him down and said, "You're having second thoughts about us, aren't you?" He smiled ruefully and said yes. Then we had a huge discussion about love - both of us have felt it before so we knew that it wasn't what was between us. When you're in love, you know. You just know.
So I have a great friend now, as opposed to a boyfriend. I'm happy we broke up early without stringing each other along, as that would only have become complicated and painful. And it really was the easiest breakup of my life; because we communicated so well we were both on the same page
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22 Posts dating from March 2008
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