The competitive advantage of ideas that are easy to understand

[Leslie B]

No.

Can I ask you a favor?

 

[crjmurray]

Can I ask you a favor?

Sure.

 

[Leslie B]

I have to get back to work but I'll pm you later if I get the chance.

 

[whois]

Improving the mind, as you put it, isnt the solution for improving hunanity.

what i speak of is not improving, or changing, ones own mind, but affecting the destiny of humanity itself.
i've often wondered why "faith", instead of love or happiness, is so important in religion.

what i speak of in no way diminishes the concept of god and why it's important
it does, however, open the door to an entirely new way of looking at it.
epigenetics and the placebo effect aren't some make believe things, they are scientific realities.

 

[whois]

@whois are you a Christian?

i was raised in a very fundamentalist christian household.
in that respect i'm of christian origins, instead of, say, islamic.
i was "saved" and baptized at a very young age.

my "belief in god" is somewhere right down the middle.
i guess my true feelings would be, there must be something to this god stuff because humanity has always believed in it.
i really can't elaborate too much on the site about this stuff.
suffice it to say i'm the typical person looking for rational answers.

 

[Strathos]

once one is taught that the Bible only accounts for the universe being in existence for 6000 years

Except it doesn't.

 

[AV1611VET]

Except it doesn't.

Yes, I know.

It does, in fact, only account for 4000 years.

Secular history adds the other 2000 years.

 

[AirPo]

But that's what we observe; kind begetting kind.



That's a very big "if".

That aside it is the mechanism of evolution that is troubling, and questions about it are routinely waved away as unimportant. Talking to an evolutionist is like talking to a politician; ask him the time and he tells you the weather (or he builds you a clock).

This is an excellant example of what the OP is getting at. A single begetting is easy to get. A chain of 100,000 begettings is much harder to get. Take that to 1,000,000 it gets even harder.

 

[Strathos]

Yes, I know.

It does, in fact, only account for 4000 years.

Secular history adds the other 2000 years.

Not what I meant...

 

[AV1611VET]

Not what I meant...

Then I'm at a loss as to what you mean.

Unless your calculator has a decimal place problem, it doesn't take rocket science to see that the Bible accounts for 4000 years of universal existence.

 

[Mister_Al]

When someone gives a complex answer it just means that they don't understand the subject well enough to be able to express that answer in simple terms.

Alan

 

[Job8]

When discussing evolution versus creationism with a typical (non-scientific) audience, do discussions/explanations/claims that are easy for non-specialists to understand have a big advantage over discussions/explanations/claims that are harder to understand, e.g. where the logic is complex.

Absolutely. If an expert is incapable of presenting complexities in a simple and easily understood manner, then he really is not an expert. Jesus, who is the Wisdom of God, spoke simply, plainly, and profoundly. And He was "the Expert" in theological and spiritual matters.

And, importantly, can this simplicity and ease of understanding mean that discussions/explanations/claims that are actually wrong sometimes have an advantage over the correct discussions/explanations/claims?

Not at all. Quite the reverse in fact.

 

[Job8]

When someone gives a complex answer it just means that they don't understand the subject well enough to be able to express that answer in simple terms.

Exactly. Some people believe that technical jargon and polysyllabic words are impressive. But they are the exact opposite. The K-I-S-S principle applies across the board.

 

[Job8]

actually, when you find out that the chemistry of carbon can become quite complex it's easy to accept evolution.

If anything, it disproves evolution.

 

[crjmurray]

When someone gives a complex answer it just means that they don't understand the subject well enough to be able to express that answer in simple terms.

Alan

No it generally means that the average person just can't comprehend the material being discussed. Sorry to bust the folk wisdom bubble.

 

[crjmurray]

Exactly. Some people believe that technical jargon and polysyllabic words are impressive. But they are the exact opposite. The K-I-S-S principle applies across the board.

And some people actually understand the material and are aware that big words are necessary to get the point across.

 

[AirPo]

If anything, it disproves evolution.

Really? How so? And please, keep it simple.

 

[grasping the after wind]

No it generally means that the average person just can't comprehend the material being discussed. Sorry to bust the folk wisdom bubble.

Sure, the reason people don't understand is because they are all just stupid not because the speaker is an incompetent communicator.

 

[AV1611VET]

When someone gives a complex answer it just means that they don't understand the subject well enough to be able to express that answer in simple terms.

Alan

It especially bothers me when I ask a simple YES or NO question and get two paragraphs that, after reading them, I'm no more informed as to what they believe than before I asked.

I get the impression a lot of times they don't know, but are covering up their ignorance with verbage to please and/or impress those who are like-minded.

 

[Strathos]

Then I'm at a loss as to what you mean.

Unless your calculator has a decimal place problem, it doesn't take rocket science to see that the Bible accounts for 4000 years of universal existence.

How much time passes between Genesis 1 and Genesis 2? (I know how much you hate Genesis 2, but bear with me)