[FoRK] Practicing Science: Secular vs. Religious Ideology

[Dr. Ernie Prabhakar]

Hi Jeff,

On Jan 9, 2008, at 6:04 PM, Jeff Bone wrote:
>> Heck, I'll go further -- most of the "religious evil" problems Jeff  
>> is fond of complaining about can be traced directly to Surowiecki's  
>> list of failures:
>>
>> * homogeneity
>> * centralization
>> * divisions
>> * imitation
>> * emotionality
>
> Absolutely true, but the "systematic belief in completely  
> preposterous bullshit" aspect of things is a force multiplier for  
> all of the above. :-P ;-)

That is the one area where we disagree, and I would _love_ to see you  
provide some empirical support for your position.

 From all the data I observe, materialistic (Marxist, Maoist,  
Confucionist, etc.) groups have *exactly* the same failure modes as  
religious groups, with consequences at least as devastating.

Since you're so fond of the scientific method, do you think you can  
come up with rigorous definitions and verifiable data to back up your  
claim?

Or would you consider that kowtowing to the "institutionalized  
science" you don't see as worthy of your allegiance?

-- Ernest N. Prabhakar, Ph. D.