1. Many more of the propositions increased your perceived self-importance than decreased it. Very long life or immortality was an especially popular notion. No one expected to die tomorrow, or suggested that they might be more of a rat-faced git than the rest of us.
2. I was surprised how long it took for non-human animals to be mentioned.
3. Frankly I found most of your ideas pretty absurd.
4. That being said, I too thought Ishtar was a good movie.
5. Only in the blogosphere might it be considered "absurd" to call space elevators "a dead end."
6. My favorite absurd idea was from Megan (not McArdle, at least I think not): "I believe that if you go to the beach, but you do not give the ocean a
chance to taste you, she will come take her taste when she chooses."
7. I also like am’s notion that: "beliefs are they are defined do not exist in any meaningful sense. We
use the word only to provide a sense of narrative continuity to our
decisions and actions."
8. After reading other people’s absurd ideas, how many of you have begun to view your own idea as not only absurd but downright wrong? If so, please enter and explain your recent epistemic revelation in the comments.
I used to think christians couldn’t type. now I know!
Actually, compared to some of these other nutty ideas, I’m thinking mine
sounds pretty good now.
There is a self-selection effect where people are more likely to propose the absurd ideas that attract the excitement of others, rather than those which are depressing. And postulating extended lifespan isn’t all that absurd in light of historical trends – it’s similar to postulating smaller and faster electronic devices, just slightly more personal.
Let’s see. 100 years ago the absolute maximum human lifespan was 111 and now it is 122. This is after a century of medical advances of every conceivable stripe and a huge increase in population. And we managed to get 11 more years of decrepitude out of a human body. Singularity here I come!
But I don’t think it’s absurd to think I’m more of a git than most other people, or that coffee stinks and tastes awful, or that Earth is home to the only intelligent life as we know it.
Nope, not Megan McArdle. Thanks for the mention!
You should all hope my idea is absurd. I thought carefully about the risk, then decided against tithing to the Atlantic last week, despite walking on an East Coast beach before I flew home to California.
I would never be so foolhardy with the Pacific. The Coast Range isn’t that big.
My absurd belief was that I had few friends because I am happier without much human interaction. I now realise that the reason may be because I am a bit of a git. This epiphany came from some recent navel gazing.
I’m definitely guilty of wishful thinking, but I guess I’m able to recognize that. I did identify which of my beliefs are absurd.
Does anybody else think there’s a member of the homo genus running around somewhere?
While I couldn’t think of any absurd notions I believed at the time I saw your last post, after reading the subsequent post, I discovered an absurd notion that I — and almost everyone else — believes: That I and other males can successfully pee standing up at a urinal or bowl.
While we guys don’t talk about it, the fact remains that the vector of the initial stream is largely unknowable, strength of stream can change, and backsplash is a common occurrence.
It is shocking that no one is willing to stand up and admit, “Men can’t pee standing up, either.”
If you sprinkle when you tinkle,
Be a sweetie,
Wipe the seatie.
Earth is home to the only intelligent life as we know it. None of the vast range of intelligent life throughout the rest of the universe is as we know it. In particular, no sentient species from elsewhere differs only by having a wrinkly nose or pointy ears.
Note that the believe I posted in response to the original inquiry was chosen for maximum absurdity, and not one I actually hold.
With probability .9, between 5% and 95% of the humans who will ever exist have already been born.
Paul: That one was thoroughly debunked here already. Check your priors.
I forgot one of my, well not really absurd, but non-proveable beliefs:
I think A.I. pretty much impossible with binary systems. And likewise even if we could create true “thinking AI” we’d want nothing to do with them shortly after discovering them.
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