Opus 2025-294: Truth and Mirrors

I am noticing something in the thinking of people in the secular world.  The thought process applies whether it is in science, business, government, theology, anything.

It first jumped out at me when I was watching Joe Rogan interview Elon Musk, #2281.  It was a good interview but Rogan would not accept statements of Musk and kept pushing for a sudden breakthrough that would fit with his world view.  Instead of following the evidence he kept bringing up the “what if” of doubt.  He would say, “But I want to believe”, and so he just kept pushing.

I noticed it again watching Peter Robinson interview three men on Uncommon Knowledge about the progress science was making in looking for answers in the universe.

It was an interesting discussion.  Early on you realized that Robinson had assembled a panel that did not agree on things.  That often can lead to a more interesting exchange.

What struck me was the perspective of the odd-man-out.  At first I thought it was simply because he was a bit skeptical of the implications of the fine tuning of the universe.  It implies that there is a fine tuner.  He would not even approach that.  Eventually it became clear that he was a practicing Jew of the non-believing type.  He was a cultural Jew who was too sophisticated to actually believe the religious stuff.  Because of that I include him in the “secular” group I mentioned above.

His thinking followed the same pattern of Joe Rogan.  He kept asking, “What if?”  That is a good question to ask in science and needs to be followed up by the next steps of the scientific method:  Develop an hypothesis and test it.  Unfortunately he did not go there.  One reason he did not go there was because his “what if” was based on a refusal to recognize facts.  It was similar to the “Why?” of you five year old in the back seat of the car.

We are facing a culture that has its mind made up.  Science, sociology, psychology and even theology are not longer looking for truth.  They are looking for affirmation.  They want the approval of the universe.  If they can’t get that then they are quite content to achieve the approval of the mirror.

Don’t fall for it.  Don’t be afraid of the big questions.  Don’t be afraid of the big answers.  Remember that the science is never settled and in a sense we can also develop deeper understanding of the fundamental truths found in the Bible.

homo unius libri