Comments on: A Video Plea to a Young Believer

By: Mars Rising

Mars Rising — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 05:56:58 +0000

Hey, some good remarks out there. I think the video was a simple and considerate message from a creative and young thinker. Obviously it will not change anyones mind that is a believer. Some of them are smart and some of them are not so smart but they are all a tough and stubborn bunch. I am inspired by the more intelligent and toughtfull remarks here. I do think however that saying you don’t know anything is the key to all true philosphy and free thinking. What more there may be to life is simply a perception, how it all began is tangible in the physical world. I am not sure it really matters to any of us in our life as it is but remember it ain’t over yet. Even though we may not see this in our lifetime an answer may be revealed a long time from now. I just hope mankind can make it that long with religion and belief guiding the way. I agree that life just is and that we die and that is it. However there is no 100% certainty in a 50-50 proposition. The meaning in our life is in how we live it and our perception is our life. Life is just a fantasy anyway. As to how it all began it probably always has been and will be long after we are all gone. I just want to ask more questions, it’s the journey, not the destination.
Sincerely’

By: Donna

Donna — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:50:13 +0000

I’m sorry but that just… plain… sucked.

It was tedious and self-righteous as hell. And gimme a break, can’t be sure of anything:

Just for beginners: I’m sure the sun will come up tomorrow. I’m sure if I don’t eat, I’ll starve. I’m sure I will die some day and so will you. I’m sure I’ll still be overly proud of my grandson tomorrow and that I’ll probably continue to obnoxiously post about him.

I think this was just too freaking agnostic for me. With that usual irritating agnostic snark: I’m smarter than you because I say we can’t know anything. What a retarded supposition. No, you’re just too lazy to think it through.

Besides, Jeff Hope beat me to it. There is no secret or meaning of life. Life just is. Accept that. I do. Hence, I’m not still searching for a deeper meaning that the film maker claims we all are.

However, life is still an adventure. Always has been and always will be.

(Whoops! Is that something else that I’m sure of? Did they claim to be sure of that also?)

By: Benoit

Benoit — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:03:15 +0000

Re “Uncertainty is the virtue.”

I know a Christian who will reply (no uncertainty there) that this statement is self-refuting.

By: Jenny Bliss

Jenny Bliss — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:24:03 +0000

you know the whole not being 100% sure of anything is the very basis of science, the point being that we dont know things for sure we can only base things on those that we observe and make logical conclusions based on those observations and to allow these conclusions to change with further discoveries, which is kind of ironic that religious people often acuse scientists of pretending to know everything

By: Derek

Derek — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 03:58:11 +0000

I can’t be sure of it, but I suspect that I just completely wasted three minutes and fifty-two seconds of my life.

However, I can be 100% certain that I won’t get them back.

Also, I’m not convinced uncertainty could be considered a virtue…and quite frankly neither could belief. I had a similar conversation with a friend not long ago, who said faith is a virtue. I’m quite sure that faithfulness is a virtue, but just faith? I dunno.

Cheers and Excelsior!

By: Jeff P.

Jeff P. — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 03:46:02 +0000

@Jeff Hope,

Good point.

By: Risi

Risi — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:46:43 +0000

“Nobody has a clue what life is really about”

WTF? Are biologists extinct species where this guy comes from? Of course we have many clues what life (more precisely all living organisms) is/are about. They are all about proliferating imperfect copies of themselves.
I get the need for positive messages like this video, as well as for not sounding overly confident about things but puh-leeze, let’s not disregard what is easily observable in nature and what’s obvious. By claiming the above, the author is implying that there *must* be something more about life than meets the eye – which itself is just another quasi-spiritualistic and to-be-questioned dogma.

By: Daniel H.

Daniel H. — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:34:35 +0000

Is this video a joke? It’s a masterpiece of irony. Do I need to point out why?

By: Mikko

Mikko — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:51:33 +0000

The song in the video is “No Surprise by Radiohead”

By: Jeff Hope

Jeff Hope — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:47:07 +0000

I think the producer of the video really missed the whole point of free thought. Instead of claiming “Nobody has a clue what life is really about” and then listing people that don’t know and challenging the watcher to accept they may never know, he/she could have pointed out that our life does not necessarily have to have any higher meaning at all. By assuming there is a higher meaning (i.e. what life is really about), many people will ultimately turn to belief in the supernatural as a substitute for a real answer, when in all likelihood, there is no answer. I would venture to say, based on what we know about evolution of life on Earth, that the evolution of homo sapiens into what we are today was in no way preordained. I think it would be more effective to get people to accept the fact that there very likely is not a higher meaning to even search for.