News and Views

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Attitudes at the Amazing Meeting

July 22nd, 2011 · 8 Comments

I didn’t do or read of any surveys, but based on the discussions and questions, I brought back the following impressions from the Amazing Meeting in Las Vegas.

The focus on the meeting was “Science, Skepticism and Critical Thinking”. Many different topics were discussed, but the beliefs of the participants probably roughly went this way, from fewest people believing to most people believing:

Probably less than 1% believe in:
Talking with the dead
Fairies, gnomes, trolls, etc.
Moving objects with your mind
Mind readers
Power bands (bands worn on the wrist that increase your strength)
Ghosts
Bigfoot, Loch Ness monster
The moon landing was faked
Obama is a Muslim
9/11 was an inside conspiracy (i.e. Bush, Cheney or Jews, etc.)

Maybe 5% or less believe in:
Homeopathic medicine
Aliens visiting the earth (might belong in the 1% category)
Creationism
Vaccines may cause autism

Maybe 10% believe in:
Acupuncture
Chiropractic medicine can work for other than bones and joints
Intelligent life probably exists somewhere else in the universe
God or Gods
People possess a soul, something other than the physical body

Maybe 50% believe:
Chiropractic medicine can work for bones and joints
Life probably exists somewhere else in the universe
Science can help make moral decisions about right and wrong

Maybe 80% believe:
Humans caused global warming
All mind and mental activity is completely based on brain function

Maybe 90% believe:
Global warming is real, whether caused by humans or not
Science can help determine what is true

Maybe 95% believe:
Life evolved on earth by natural selection
If a God exists, it doesn’t interfere with the world. Everything happens by natural causes.
Science is the best way to determine what is true

These numbers reflect what I believe too, roughly in order of probability.

What superstitions or valid beliefs did I leave out?

Tags: Opinion

8 responses so far ↓

  • 1 Don // Jul 22, 2011 at 5:28 pm

    Did you come up with the percentages or did they come from a survey of attendees?

    You left out Obama being born in Kenya.

  • 2 Donna // Jul 23, 2011 at 7:30 am

    Is the universe evolving or disintegrating? Or a combination of both?

    It was interesting to see where my own beliefs stack up with these numbers. I’m not so terribly different from an amazing thinker, after all.

  • 3 Dale // Jul 23, 2011 at 7:32 am

    What I want to know is… Did you help Mom mail that package yet?

  • 4 Daryl // Jul 23, 2011 at 8:55 am

    Don: Right, Obama born in Kenya is certainly down there in the sub-1% category.

    Donna: I think Big Bang theory and expanding universe would probably be somewhere around 80%. I’m not sure about “evolving” or “disintegrating”. I haven’t heard those theories.

    Dale: 95% of the participants would believe that I have mailed Mom’s package, and that Dianna should receive it in a day or two.

  • 5 Daryl // Jul 23, 2011 at 8:58 am

    I thought about adding, as a joke:
    Fox News is fair and balanced.
    and
    MSNBC News is fair and balanced.

    but in truth I didn’t get a strong political flavor from the crowd, though they did seem to lean left on social issues (abortion, gay rights, …).

  • 6 Don // Jul 23, 2011 at 9:21 am

    You didn’t answer my question. Did you come up with these or was it from a survey of the people there?

    If you came up with them then I can consider your bias as a filter.

  • 7 Daryl // Jul 23, 2011 at 9:32 am

    Oh yeah, Don, I don’t know of any surveys that were done. I came up with these estimates based on the topics discussed and the audience reaction and questions.

  • 8 Mom // Jul 23, 2011 at 11:52 am

    Yes, Dale, he mailed the package, and he also went grocery shopping for me. I tell you, there is just no end to that boy’s talents.