On Belief and Reasonable Positions to Hold...

[mattmn]

Over the past couple of years, I've gone into a bit of a more withdrawn "fortress of solitude" mode as I figure shit out.  A lot of that has to do with religion.  I was raised (which is a polite way of saying indoctrinated) to be Roman Catholic as a child and my family was pretty hardcore about it.  I didn't question it too much until high school

Comments

[mle292]

I still feel embarrassed/ashamed that, up until the age of 29 or 30 (when I started critically examining my beliefs) I dallied with conspiracy theories, ancient astronaut theory, afterlife stories, etc. - none of which stand up to the scrutiny of the scientific method.

I grew up with James Randi's books in the house and always available. I remember reading "Flim-Flam!" in my late pre-teen years and thinking how brave he was in his unshakable criticism of people who are nothing more than very highly paid con-artists. James Randi is one of my childhood heroes.

Even then, I'm still superstitious. I've got a handle on it by accepting that though there's no factual basis, it's just something my brain does. I allow myself the indulgence as long as it's benign. F'rinstance - I don't think that I will ever be able to read a fortune before I eat the cookie. It's just wrong.

It's like you quoted - "always seeing patterns in things that aren't there."