> I have never been able to understand why so many other scientists and "rationalist" look back on humans early "superstitious" ideas with contempt. To my mind these superstitious ideas are the beginning of the rationalist mindset.

First of all, pstuart nailed it: "I would suggest that any contempt of early superstitious ideas has to do with the fact that many live on today.". Also, one could argue that not all modes of thinking eventually lead to rationalist mindset, at least not directly - one problem with superstitions is that people don't have or need proofs for them and that they as memes fight the same space truth does.

True concept of, for example, evolution still is fighting with creationism because they solve the same problem, but one of them was made completely made up and people still believe in it because it was here earlier. I think it would be better if we had no answers rather than ones that are utterly wrong. Especially since people who make them up and believe based on "faith" alone are so convinced that their concept is true that they actually harm the actual, proven truth.