Re:VLC contributor living in Aleppo writing about the Paris ...
by jacquesm on Tuesday November 17, 2015 @07:39AM
(#10580655)
You're not addressing me so apologies for butting in but the human brain is perfectly capable of holding contradicting viewpoints at the same time.
This quote is attributed to F Scott Fitzgerald: "The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function."
My grandmother was deeply religious (Catholic) and yet was very much down to earth and practical when it came to every day life. It never seemed as if she had any apparent problem with this. Religious people are not computer programs and do not need to pass some kind of unit test for consistency before they are allowed into production.
And plenty of so called rational people hold contradictory beliefs as well, in fact I'd be surprised if anybody had a completely consistent set of beliefs and facts that they subscribed to.
Case in point: I have a close family member that is extremely rational except for that one point where we are descended from primates, that's one step too far.
This quote is attributed to F Scott Fitzgerald: "The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function."
My grandmother was deeply religious (Catholic) and yet was very much down to earth and practical when it came to every day life. It never seemed as if she had any apparent problem with this. Religious people are not computer programs and do not need to pass some kind of unit test for consistency before they are allowed into production.
And plenty of so called rational people hold contradictory beliefs as well, in fact I'd be surprised if anybody had a completely consistent set of beliefs and facts that they subscribed to.
Case in point: I have a close family member that is extremely rational except for that one point where we are descended from primates, that's one step too far.