War of the Worldviews: Science vs. Spirituality by Leonard Mlodinow and Deepak

[Belgarath]

I have begun listening to this audiobook.  It's read by the authors and here is how it is going:

1) Deepak talks - mumbo jumbo.  Randomness is just a way to get from one state of orderliness to another.  WTF?

2) Leonard talks - well here's why all that is wrong:  evidence, evidence evidence.

I'm going from 'very cool' to 'WTF, that doesn't even make sense.  WTF are you saying?'

[Belgarath]

Oh man,

Deepak thinks evolution happens because the universe is conscious, and completely and utterly misleads.  He says that if DNA misses a sequence, it has to just disintegrate into component atoms and start over again...... WTF

[Chew]

They were on NPR.

Deepak Chopra vs. Leonard Mlodinow tonight...

[Belgarath]

Oh man,

Deepak thinks evolution happens because the universe is conscious, and completely and utterly misleads.  He says that if DNA misses a sequence, it has to just disintegrate into component atoms and start over again...... WTF

Oh yea!!!  Mlodinow destroys his argument.....

[Neon Genesis]

So you should just skip the Chopra parts and read the Mlodinow parts instead?  This is the one thing that I don't like about these debate books between two authors in that you're paying the price for a whole book when only half of it is only worth reading.

[Belgarath]

While I don't like his view, I think that it's important to listen to it in order to understand what Mlodinow is talking about.

[Belgarath]

I so want to kill Deepak.  Here's  his logic.

Hypothesis: Mind and Brain are separate.

Evidence:  We say 'I made up my mind, not I made up my brain'

Therefore:  Hypothesis proven.


WTF.

I so want to punch a kitten right now.

[teethering]

Whyyy... why do people give him money... 

[Belgarath]

All he does is spew aphorisms with no substance, no evidence and no logic.

He points to various independent data points and says that proves his bald assertion.

Mlodinow does a really good job of countering.  He shows that Deepak starts with a premise and just cherry picks data.

He just said 'The fact that mind isn't matter.....'   No, that isn't a fact Deepak, where does that come from?

Anyway, I've listened to a lot of woo woo on the web.  NO ONE packs it in as densely as Deepak.

It's becoming painful, I suspect I'm a masochist.

[JurijD]

I so want to kill Deepak.  Here's  his logic.

Hypothesis: Mind and Brain are separate.

Evidence:  We say 'I made up my mind, not I made up my brain'

Therefore:  Hypothesis proven.


WTF.

I so want to punch a kitten right now.

I wonder how Copernicus would have reacted to someone telling him (in a half drunken stupor) that -language- proves geocentrism is correct as we all say that "The Sun rises" ... and not that "the Earth rotates to bring the Sun over the local horizon".

Now you have to wonder if Deepak buys into this shit. He can't be that stupid. Noone with half a brain can seriously entertain the notion that the mere formulation of language with all its obvious historical contingencies can be a basis for a sound argument as to how the world really works. This smacks of a conscious fraudster just weaving together strings of words that sound fancy to the lay mind, BRAIN, I meant BRAIN!.

[Belgarath]

I think he seriously makes up stuff on the spot.  It's actually pathetically horrible if you actually listen to him.  He's not even internally consistent.

[JuniorSpaceman]

Whyyy... why do people give him money... 

This is really central. I mean, if this was some random guy spouting crap that happened to be vaguely interesting or funny, I'd be fine. But this fucker has so many people following his nonsense, he's just laughing at the world. He's not laughing at us (because we'll never give him money) ... he's laughing at the believers. Fuck him.

I'm not a believer in the idea that victims of fraud deserve what they get. I think the fraudsters should get beaten up, then stomped on, then shot, then burned, tossed in a river of shit. And then arrested.