Deckard’s gun in Blade Runner was always my favorite. Somewhat uncanny because it was clearly sci-fi, but retained that hard boiled detective aesthetic, like you misremembered a noir shootout.
People think that the immune system is like this pinpoint accurate machine that kills invaders. In reality, it is more like a carpet bomber that functions under the principle that we can heal and viruses/bacteria cannot. Inflammation is basically your body carpet bombing and healing.
We would also not be able to build muscle mass as the repair of microtears is what leads to hypertrophy.
So we would all be dead. Healing if fundamental to life.
I was thinking of purely physical injuries, so nothing immune system related. But the muscle building part… Damn. Yea we’d all be a bunch of wet noodles. Hadn’t thought of that.
I have recently come to the conclusion that there are cognitively functional people with a sound mind that believe that it is not possible to know anything for sure. Like, it’s not possible to know if the scientists are telling the truth. We just have to take their word for it. Why not stick to the thousand year old belief system then? It has better apologists, armed with an experience of hundreds of years of demagogy and dogma regarding fending of criticism of said belief system.
That’s just the excuse they use. Sadly it works on a lot of people who think it’s a legitimate question when it’s not, and is in fact easily disproved.
Take away their wallet, phone or medicine and then ask them if they still aren’t sure. Or point a gun at their head and ask them if they’re not sure a bullet will blast through their skull and kill them if they don’t stop talking.
Or just tell them that means their religion is still bupkis because if we can’t be sure, we can’t accept it as true. Hold them to their standards.
The Tex Mechanica guns are my favorite. Especially Cayde’s revolver, Ace of Spades. The clockwork sounds and the holster and ready animations where you twirl it… very satisfying.
It’s not about what an individual could know, it’s about what they do know and how structured is a person’s thinking.
So just because out there somewhere there are tons of explanations for tons of things doesn’t mean people actually know them (lots if not most is quite obscure or requires understanding of a lot of other things first before you can trully understand those things) plus people have to think in very structure ways to spot gaps or flaws in what they thing they know and go look for better info.
And this is just the Logic level problem.
The Emotional level stuff is way more important. Religion:
provides easy non-scary explanations for tons of things which can be terrifying to accept as just random (Massive Earthquake, killing hundreds of thousands: “It’s the will of Deity” is a calming explanation which implies “someDeity” has control)
provides hope for one’s and one’s loved one’s future (Granny died: “She’s gone to Heaven!”)
makes the World seem so much simpler and hence understandeable for anybody by explaining away all complexity (All those lights in the night-sky: “There was a fight between the SunGod and the MoonGod during which his rays pierced the black veil that surrounds us”).
for those born into it, it’s just familiar and “the way people think”.
And last but not least, Religion is a ready made tribe, generally mutually supporting, so it satisfies people’s lowest tribalist instincts and provides concrete benefits from being part of a social circle from which you can get help.
This also explains why supposedly Religious people are selective in what they believe from their religion (notice how almost none of Christians take to hearth the whole point of Christ casting out the Money Lenders from the Temple), why they don’t actually know all that much detail about their own Religion (if they don’t think in a way that helps them spot what they do not know, that gets reflected on not looking for more info both outside and inside religion) and why it’s so easy to manipulate people with religion (if the complexity of the world is explained as “blady, blady, blah, Deity”, those trusted to understand the Deity can make sure pretty much all complex things get reasoned as “Deity wills it so because my bullshit reason” - plus remember, religious types are the non-structured non-skeptic thinkers).
Eh…it’s easier than that. You know what you’re told growing up.
Kids who are abused think that’s normal. Kids who are abused with religion also think that’s normal.
Kind of like how your dad’s fav sports team is your fav too cuz reasons. If your dad was Muslim you probably will be too.
Edit: not because CDPR did a poor job on it. The Witcher games are my most played games on Steam. I’d just be super interested to see a FromSoft take on the combat and storytelling.
I know many extremely bright people who are religious, but I do agree with what your saying. Nothing wrong with having existential dread. Such is the human condition.
asklemmy
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