over my head
My best blogging buddy, Ark, who loves cakes, bees, dogs and ranting, brought up an important point today. A point about knowledge. I’m personally not very knowledgeable about much in this world. My favourite activity is sleeping, closely followed by staring into space and then wandering in places with trees. Facts are interesting but often float through my brain leaving no permanent marks. So I’m reliant on other people to help piece together my understanding of life. I’d like to present a couple examples of things that are way over my head.
- There is a medium sized dark box in the corner of my sitting room that on occasion emits light and sound. People speak from the box and amazing images flit across it’s shiny surface. Perhaps a dark sprite placed it in my sitting room to distract me from childbearing and cooking. However, I’m more inclined to believe the story sold to me by the experts in my society, which is that this television is an entertainment module made of comprehensible pieces of material found in the natural world, and that there is a rational explanation beyond my grasp for the mysterious way it beams these programmes into my house.
- I am an amazing creature. I seem to have all the perfect bits of body to function – I have eyes that see and ears that hear. I even have a mouth to eat food! The ability I possess to reflect on complex matters and to communicate with other creatures is totally amazing. I’m drawn to the notion that I was designed by some utterly perfect and devastatingly intelligent being. However, I’m more inclined to believe the story sold to me by the experts in my society, which is that I am just another animal who has naturally evolved on this naturally occurring planet, and there is a rational explanation beyond my grasp (and perhaps beyond the grasp of all humans) for the conditions that kick-started this whole existence.
To sum up, I seriously have no idea how my television works. It’s so amazing I could be convinced that supernatural forces designed and created it. But I know that other people understand exactly how this lump of plastic, metal and glass fits together from naturally derived sources and links with invisible waves in the sky to bring images and sound into my home. I accept these people are correct. As do my fellow human beings, many of whom understand as little as I do about how the television works. Why then is it so easy for some people of a religious persuasion to dismiss the knowledge of our esteemed scientific experts on whether there is evidence for the hand of an intelligent designer in our amazing existence? It’s all over my head but, as I understand it, no-one with even an ounce of credibility believes there is …
I agree. The TV is an amazing piece of technology and they keep improving it year in year out. Funny thing though, my box still shows garbage like Days of Our Lives.
And the fact that is has been on the telly for SO bloody long tells you that lots of people watch it. Dare I say, religiously?
Maybe the people that watch such drivel are the same people who never ever wonder about how their telly works, but merely say “Phew, thank god.” when they get home in time for the opening credits of said Soapie.
However, the television is proof of an intelligent design if not intelligent design.
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It’s nice that you read the post and commented on the content, even agreeing with it. But I may remove the ‘best blogging buddy’ tag if you don’t comment on the stunning Scottish bumble bee shot!!!
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It was hidden because of its Tartan stripes!
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Sigh. Still no praise? Honestly, I’m getting more picture praise from total strangers.
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I am just Totally Strange.Sorry….
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Violet this is such an interesting post. There are many things I don’t know so on my lazy days, which is always I just say I don’t know then I go read about it unless it is something so boring or so complex I can’t wrap my head around it. If there is one thing I have wanted to know is how the ancient Egyptians built the pyramids without precision tools
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I’d love to read about everything I don’t understand, but there’s just too much and I need to squeeze lots of naps in. Aliens?
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That is true, our time is so limited here that we can’t spend it reading about all things we don’t know
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They built them because they didn’t have television … and who needs precision tools to stack a load of old blocks? All they had to remember is that the pointy bit goes at the very top—how hard can that be?
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Haha, maybe lack of TV and a lot of time in their hands would explain building the pyramids but wouldn’t explain why with our precision instruments we are trying so hard to get as close to their masterpieces! The nearest to them is the inverted pyramid by I.M Pei at the Louvre Museum
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I really enjoyed this post. It is strange that Christians can be so accepting of certain things they do not know and do not pretend to know and yet so vehemently certain of others (that they also do not know).
As a side note, I think I am going to have to choose this photo as my favorite one so far. I don’t think I have ever seen a more beautiful bee!
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Thank you Missy! You’re the perfect replacement candidate for my ‘best blogging buddy’. Ark’s getting rather lax in his photo praise of late. Besides, your posts are miles better than his! 🙂
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YESSSS! Although, I wouldn’t want to get in between two best blogging buddies! 🙂
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Geez…some people will say ANYTHING merely to get into someone’s Good books. Mine gott und himmel…
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My tellie speaks in a different language. I can, however, push buttons and then i magically understand the words. I think there are little blue men inside.
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It seems to be the logical explanation. I certainly would be unable to make one if I was abandoned in an uninhabited area with the raw materials. Therefore, it’s magic!
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Blue men are logical, yes. They blend in with the sky, reason being why we can’t often see them… but they exist. How else could the box work the way it does? Checkmate Atheists!
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So all this talk of little green men from Mars serves to prove that Mars does have an atmosphere and lots of grass …
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Violet,
Your example is exactly what people who support intelligent design would describe. Your television did not get into your living room by mere chance. While it may not have been put together with loving hands by a benevolent god who has a personal interest in you, it was put together by hands or by machines that were put together by hands.
Your television did not pop out of a whirlwind going through a junkyard. It was purposeful. It is comforting, however, to realize that I do not have to understand all the inner workings of the television to enjoy reruns of Monk.
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”Your example is exactly what people who support intelligent design would describe.”
You mean it’s stuck on one channel that only displays a never ending diatribe of inane nonsense?
In fact the telly goes one better than the ID lot…it has an OFF button.
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Ha ha. But at least you didn’t try to argue that the television is not created by intelligence and/or design.
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It is an intelligent design, created by intelligent people.
I don’t recall mention of a Ghost in the Machine.
Furthermore, if there was a benign all loving god he would have made damn sure Days of our Lives never even saw the light of day!
I have replled with links to other sites but the comment seems to be in Violet’s ‘Pending’ file…Maybe she will see it and drag it out.My comments do that on occasion.
She thinks your god gets peed off with me sometimes.
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http://attaleuntold.wordpress.com/2013/04/14/islam-lets-raise-the-stakes/
Here’s one link to my own blog you can follow through to the Muslim blog via this link.
Hope you have a strong constitution.
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“Your example is exactly what people who support intelligent design would describe” Yes, I quite liked using it because it is an example that can be nonsensically hijacked. I think it’s more interesting as an illustration in terms of our faith in the understanding and knowledge of other people.
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Hijacked is an interesting term. It is an apropos analogy and because you disagree, you describe it as hijacked.
One day when we’re all gone and our toys and gadgets are the only things remaining, some other life form may find them and deduce they were intelligently designed. They would be right, of course, but their derisive sidekick might shame them into some other theory.
Anyway, while I do enjoy discussing things, it gets a little old hearing words like nonsensical, idiotic and silly as the foundation for the opposing argument.
Your picture is pretty, by the way.
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Haha, you’re right, I’m spending too much time with Ark and picking up his silly words! Thank you for noticing the picture. I hope you won’t get bored of the bad arguments here, I do always enjoy your input and you always bring up interesting points.
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This post inspires me not only to increase the scope of my intelligence but to better my writing, because yours rocks! Love how you took this topic in an entirely different direction than I was expecting.
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Seriously?? Thank you Thomas! That’s the best thing anyone’s ever said about any of my posts. I’m positively glowing!
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You like places with trees … ah, a kindred spirit~!
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Hmm, almost, I like my places with trees to be accessible to immigrants from all nations. 🙂
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Aha! What more can I say, I got so rapt in the post itself I completely forgot about the gorgeous wee fluffy bumble.
I’ll step outside and howl at the moon as an act of contrition … (actually I’ll postpone that for a few months, it’s bloody cold out there right now).
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While we’re admiring bees, the best one is here! (not a bumble)
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