We only get one chance in life to see something this cool.

submitted by radicalcentristNational Centrism from (self.debatealtright)

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[–]ifuckredditsnitches_Resident Pajeet 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

For all we know, they could have began life when the Ancient Egyptians existed.

Well in that case unless we somehow develop omniscience or vice versa, we would never know the other existed.

I don't believe these religions to be correct just because from the start, they all contradict each other (i.e Christianity says there's one god, but Hindus believe in multiple)

Outside of Semite religions and sometime even with them there's lots of common themes between religions. Unironically read Guenon and Evola. Hindus actually believe that the gods are just facets of one Being, they're not exactly polytheists.

from a scientific point of view, I would love to learn more about why do hyper intelligent species always come together and worship these figures? Could it actually be a key to understanding why the universe exist

Do more studying on religion you might find commonalities that challenge your worldview

[–]radicalcentristNational Centrism[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

Well in that case unless we somehow develop omniscience or vice versa, we would never know the other existed.

Then it's important for man to keep trying. But here's something that's more interesting. You know how the Earth is round and revolves around the sun? For thousands of years, we didn't have satellites that could fly into outer space to tell us. But there where already humans on this Earth who figured this out, by using math & science to predict this model with 100% accuracy.

Similarly, as we do learn more about about the origin of life on Earth, we could just as easily use the same prediction tools to confirm what actually exists in the vacuum of space. That doesn't mean we'll come up or have the formulas ready right away. But with computers almost beginning to rival humans in intelligence, we could start reaching an era of running "life simulations" and that could greatly confirm the existence of aliens or not.

Outside of Semite religions and sometime even with them there's lots of common themes between religions. Unironically read Guenon and Evola. Hindus actually believe that the gods are just facets of one Being, they're not exactly polytheists.

I don't deny they have common themes, and that may even be very important to understand them. I guess when I say "contradictions" I'm referring to how some religions depend on alternate history. For example, the Japanese religion believes they all came from a god, and before they lost WW2, the Japanese were suppose to be the race that controlled all of Asia. In retrospect, the story still holds weight. Japan is obviously one of the most advanced and powerful countries on Earth. But I guess losing the war also debunked the notion they were always destined to succeed or if they were somehow flawless.

Do more studying on religion you might find commonalities that challenge your worldview

Whenever I have a free time, I absolutely do try and read about different religions. I actually remember in High School, I even completed a class based on studying world beliefs and got good grades. So I have experience and it still influences me to this day.

[–]ifuckredditsnitches_Resident Pajeet 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

For thousands of years, we didn't have satellites that could fly into outer space to tell us. But there where already humans on this Earth who figured this out, by using math & science to predict this model with 100% accuracy.

Similarly, as we do learn more about about the origin of life on Earth, we could just as easily use the same prediction tools to confirm what actually exists in the vacuum of space. That doesn't mean we'll come up or have the formulas ready right away. But with computers almost beginning to rival humans in intelligence, we could start reaching an era of running "life simulations" and that could greatly confirm the existence of aliens or not.

I don't think those situations are really analogous since our ancestors made these calculations based on objective measurements of other objects moving relative to the earth. A simulation predicting the chances for a planet to harbor life is based on far smaller amounts of direct information, and often that information is millions of years out of date because of how slowly light travels.

I guess when I say "contradictions" I'm referring to how some religions depend on alternate history. For example, the Japanese religion believes they all came from a god, and before they lost WW2, the Japanese were suppose to be the race that controlled all of Asia.

The cult of the Emperor in Japan actually didn't hold that much importance in Shinto until the Meiji Restoration so it was a pretty brief point in history for them.

I actually remember in High School, I even completed a class based on studying world beliefs and got good grades. So I have experience and it still influences me to this day.

That's really great, I'd recommend to read beyond the HS level though as those classes tend to be very surface level and often have their own biases.

[–]radicalcentristNational Centrism[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I don't think those situations are really analogous since our ancestors made these calculations based on objective measurements of other objects moving relative to the earth. A simulation predicting the chances for a planet to harbor life is based on far smaller amounts of direct information, and often that information is millions of years out of date because of how slowly light travels.

We already have information here on Earth. Like the Miller-Urey experiment conducted in 1952 that showed they could create the building blocks of life in a lab. And even the wiki link mentions there is/where (?) examples of this experiment in space as well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miller%E2%80%93Urey_experiment

And Charles Darwin theory of evolution basically promotes the idea life could theoretically exist anywhere, if the right set of genes get passed down and manages to survive their environment. Theoretically speaking, there could be life on Mars if the Martians that lived there adapted to the planet's conditions. So we don't necessarily have to chase after exact Earth-like behavior. Even something as simple as bacteria would still suffice as an "alien".

I don't deny however, there are a billion combinations and ideas to work with. But the inverse is also true. You also mentioned before that complex alien life could have originated very recently. In which case, maybe a new alien civilization is being born this very second, but it's now our goal to reach them.

The cult of the Emperor in Japan actually didn't hold that much importance in Shinto until the Meiji Restoration so it was a pretty brief point in history for them.

Yes, but the beliefs where still popular enough to influence how the Japanese behaved during WW2. They were like the Taliban/ISIS and saw their struggle in Asia (and later against America) as being a holy one. Once they surrendered, the fundamentalism also got gutted.

That's really great, I'd recommend to read beyond the HS level though as those classes tend to be very surface level and often have their own biases.

When I have time, I definitely like reading more about the mythos. But religion is still a low priority for me because there are other world issues that deserve more attention. Perhaps if we ever do achieve a more perfect world, then I would absolutely devote all my time to studying world beliefs and where they come from. But we're still a long way from reaching that target.