Excellent conversation! The reason for doing Street Epistemology is to get people to reflect upon their reasons for believing something. And it seems to me that you succeeded in doing just that. And you did it without being formulaic with your questions. Instead you seized the right moment to offer your honest thoughts and show a bit of yourself. Just like two people talking. Full marks for both you and Melissa.
Melissa was full on passive aggressive at the end. She projected that "others" would react with violence when in actuality she was feeling a lot of internal conflict and anger because you had exposed her "happy go lucky" philosophy and "love of the truth" to be nothing but irrational comforting lies she was telling herself.
I'd disagree with this statement. I think her concerns are warranted, especially when you have things like fatwas existing. People generally get pissed off when you challenge dearly-held beliefs because of their emotional investment and when that happens to someone who is volatile and assertive, that's just a dynamite keg waiting to go off.
I thought that too. Right about the time she pointed out her friend was waiting on her, her demeanor dampened a bit. And then she launched into the "Be careful" bit.
I always love observing your facial expressions as you talk to people, haha. I've come across many a person like Melissa, they don't care about truth. Believe in what you want, believe what makes you feel good, and create your own truths- that's what it is pretty much. "And it probably makes no sense to you, but it doesn't have to." I can't help but think her opinions on this will never change. I love when you bring up truth vs comfort, and her response is that she would value truth more than comfort (which flies in the face of everything she said previously). She's clearly uncomfortable being probed and at certain times becomes just slightly defensive. Who knows, maybe she simply isn't used to being questioned like this or putting this much thought into her beliefs. I hope she reflects more upon this conversation in her own time. Ps I was your 1000th subscriber! Also, love your tagline of "Practicing cool-headed conversation instead of heated debate". Really got me to think about the ways in which I approach and interact with people.Thanks for making these videos, Reid!
Great talk. I'm not sure about Melissa's warning at the end. You're too calm and sincere to provoke any violence, I think she just felt challenged by the questions. There's a pretty clear contradiction between the "ugly truth;pretty lie" thing and the "I believe what makes me happy" thing, it seemed she was trying to avoid.
Well done keeping focus. I know I would be very frustrated with someone claiming to value truth over comfort, yet in the same conversation talk about "what does it matter if I believe something that's not true / it makes me feel good / it's my personal truth."
Something seemed to go wrong in this one, but I can't really put my finger on it. She seemed very reasonable in the beginning, but as the conversation went deeper, she seemed to get very guarded and defensive. I don't know of any significant change Reid could have made to bring her back to reality, but it is clear she was not in a good place at the end. She went as far as to make a veiled threat, which is troubling. I know she made it seem as if _'other'_ people would be the ones to inflict violence, but the fact that her mind went there at the end is disturbing to me. I hope she is able to reflect rationally about their conversation after the fact.
@@Kerm448 It was not a veiled threat (although it was close to being one) IMHO. I think she felt slapping him, and then sincerely speculated on the basis of that, that he was lucky that she was not some big strapping Christian. I think that good looking young man with the foreign (Spanish?) accent who told Reid not to think about whether God exists was perhaps giving a subtle threat (whether deliberately on not), but not this woman.
"I'm actually more of a logical thinker" no, no you're not - how many times do people say that who base their beliefs on feelings rather than evidence eh?
Me thinks there was a hint of her own passive-aggressiveness mixed in with that "warning" at the very end. Made it all a bit scary at that point. Some imaginative embellishments thereafter could've developed this into a horror movie.
She soured at the end because she felt tricked I think. It's a relief in a way that you confronted her but you strayed from the usual SE objective of passively revealing the unreliability of her methods. I don't want this to be taken as a complaint. It's really frustrating when when the person is closed off as she was. She obviously chose to ignore her cognitive dissonance regarding the dirty truth sweet lie claim. I feel a better person would have taken a moment to reflect. I took it that she was being passive aggressive with her parting warning. That's lady I'm glad I don't know personally. Keep up the good work.
Hmm. I don't comment on TH-cam much. It stuck in my mind that I felt negatively about Melissa's personality by the end of the video. After re-watching the video I'm not sure why I though she "soured". I probably should just delete my comment. Instead I'll just say "Oops, maybe I'm as crazy as I thought she was. I'm sure she's as nice to know as anyone". I should really just delete my comment. Maybe because I was passively observing it was easy for my mind to run with whatever. "Mental note; watch videos twice before commenting".
@@IDC807 I agree. There was nothing particularly unpleasant about her. She got her cherished beliefs challenged a bit more than she had bargained for, that's all. In fact, I think she would be quite a nice person to know personally.
She was a tough one to commit to any particular method of epistemology to arrive at her beliefs and eventually Reid noticed this . When Melissa brought up the Omni God, she seemed to confuse Reid as much as herself. She asked about the tic-tacs again -- and from there Reid was explaining things more and more and stopped asking questions. And it was here where I thought Melissa actually began controlling the conversation and showed some delight in doing so as SHE started asking questions. And near right at the end she said "I love debating" and started warning Reid about his approach. You're doing great Reid, and the more I'm watching your videos and Anthony's, I am learning a lot about your technique and more and more I realise how difficult it is to be consistently effective to undertake the street epistemological approach.
That was great. I like the way you went from epistemology to discussing the logic and words that she used, which then triggered her to indirectly threaten you to stop doing Street epistemology which I hope you never stop.
I just found your videos and have subscribed. These are amazing and so good. You are making people think and that is so important. I was raised in a fundie household and I would have found these interviews profoundly disturbing and I think that speaks very strongly to the power of indoctrination.
people like her will always be stuck in what she calls spiritual mumbo jumbo.. ppl sometimes like it when they are not sure about something. it makes them middle-grounded, friends with everyone from religious believers to atheists..it's some kind of pragmatism. I have to say I loathe this way of thinking..seek truth...she wasnt even true to herself and the saying she adopts from her mother. But you shaked that part in her and that's where that be safe warning came from. She probably didn't have such a challenging conversation in ages. Shes happy and comfortable to be in her limbo and she felt she was being dragged out of it. I'm loving this thing you do with ppl, the way you stir the conversation and everything I'm also learning from it.
8:10 "If 100 is like if I drop this it will fall." I love this. It directs attention to common sense, and what epistemology you are using in everyday life in opposition to epistemologies used for supernatural beliefs. 10:35 "If it exists, I just like to think that it does" I think at this point a good question would be "How much of that 75% confidence if you liking to think that it exist?" I think, generally, that you're really rushing to the tic-tac thing.
Interesting. "nam ryoho renge kyo" - what a trip down memory lane! I was an exchange student in Japan when I was 17 and this is what one of my host fathers, a Buddhist monk, used to chant in his temple with his parishioners. Unlike Melissa, I've never said it again since then, nor do I attribute any supernatural power to it, but it could be partly why now, 40 years later, I find epistemology absolutely fascinating.
Out of all the Christian religious mumbo jumbo I have heard…I actually like this lady the best so far. She is well aware of anything is possible and aware her own beliefs could me a delusion and is conscience of the fact that her beliefs make her feel good even though it could be false…Kudos to her👏🏾
I'm kind of sad that there aren't any street epistemologists in my 'area' (or my country for that matter), I've love to have a few nice (face-to-face) conversations about (unjustified) beliefs I might hold.
Hi, great conversation I really enjoyed it. I'm new to SE so I'm trying to learn as much as I can. At 8:30 she mentions that she was dying and she prayed and she didn't die. Then she said that this is sufficient evidence to prove some God exists. If I was having a conversation with someone who said something similar, I would ask "do you think it's possible for you to have survived [whatever they were going though] without the existence of a God". Assuming they say yes I would say "imagine a different universe where God doesn't exist, yet someone prayed to a God they thought existed and was healed from their illness. You can see that if that person used the same logic (that praying and being healed is good evidence) as you they'd be wrong, as they prayed to no one and just happened to be healed as well". If they agree then I'd say "Since it's possible you may be wrong, as we've just demonstrated you logic isn't perfect, do you still think it's safe to assume this is good evidence for the existence of God?" Hoping they'd say no, but if they don't I'd ask them why and take it from there We obviously took different angles, so do you see any flaws in my angle here? Any advice would be much appreciated, thanks :)
I'm watching to learn how *not* to raise my voice at people who I find to be irrational. Edit: I'm surprised she didn't ask to talk to your manager after this 😂
I think alot of people like to claim they love truth and logic but when they are confronted on deeply held beliefs like this lady had, they tend to fall back on a new age version of Pascal's wager. I hear alot of things like my belief is true for me and makes me a better person so it doesn't matter, or it brings me comfort and happiness and has no negative effects, so it is true for me. But yeah if you could prove a negative I would change my mind....
Reid: "It only matters if you value truth." That came across to me as confrontational. I think that going to behaviors/outcomes of the belief could be more useful. i.e., how does the belief impact her life ("makes me feel good"). If the belief makes her happy and SE can't find a harm or opportunity cost of that belief, then in her eyes, SE is primarily an exercise to take away happiness.
It saddens me to see just how many people pay lip service to the value of truth. There's way too many people like that around me, sometimes I feel like am walking among zombies.
I enjoyed that.. although I atill can't see howshe can hold to one method for her spiritual side, and another for 'the real world.. and to be doing it so consciously...I thought it was lovely to see her concern for safety... I didn't see it as passive aggressive at all...
Well.... interesting. Quick q Reid, what is the legality of setting up a table/umbrella in a public place where you are? Did you have to ask permission or is it legal in your area?
I totally understand her. She struck me as being on the higher end of pragmatism. * until the last minute when I realized she is as paranoid as I am. Maybe we're the same person.
"True for me" is copping a lot of flack and I can understand why. It's becoming a common phrase that apparently means "I believe it to be true" but probably comparatively armoured against the possibility of being mistaken. When people who insist on formal meanings applied consistently talk with those who don't, common understanding is difficult. However disagreements based on differing definitions are low quality disagreements in my opinion, they're shallow and may obscure a deeper agreement or, a disagreement based on common understanding and shared language.
If people get violent that is a victory for reason. Those that cannot control their emotions seek to control the behaviours of others, and those unable to reason well turn to violence and intolerance out of frustration. The ways in which we behave when we are confronted with so much as the possibility of being wrong. Lols.
I think you got this interview wrong. This woman has what I would consider a harmless god belief. She doesn't believe in any specific god and she doesn't use her beliefs politically like Christians tend to do. She just gets comfort from it. I recall that even Richard Dawkins had said that if he was on a plane and there was some kind of trouble he would say something like, "Oh God." It doesn't mean he now believes in the Christian god, it's just an expression and a very human thing to do. I think that real religious people take false support of their position from such situations. But there is a real big difference in a state of emergency to call out to the "universe" in some way to help you to believing in some specific god and proclaiming the texts related to that god to be true. Anyhow, I discovered your channel recently and have watched several of your videos and enjoy them. But I don't think the lady was saying anything too controversial and it felt like you were challenging her. She even said that if she was wrong -- if there was such a way to know she was wrong -- that she would be okay with that (I'm paraphrasing here).
He kind of lost the SE method on the last part of talk as evidence by her shutting down. Always remember that logic and emotion are independent. She was very open to the idea of no God existing. However, she saw the difference between Truth and emotion.
I think it's interesting that you come across a lot of relativists (in comparison to Anthony). Do you think this is just a coincidence? do you upload these more often than other talks?
She's a walking contradiction. Also, the "I have my beliefs and whatever you believe is fine" attitude always struck me as somewhat, um... insincere and condescending. It's almost as if she KNOWS the truth, and you can believe whatever the hell you want. Anyway, another good job, Reid. Keep up the great works!
For some people faith in the supernatural is used as a valuable placebo. Danger emerges when you share it as truth with others. Admit it is a placebo and then share the details.
What a defense mechanism of an answer: "I'd change my mind if science disproved god". 1. Science doesn't prove or disprove anything. 2. You can't disprove a nonexistent being. In other words, "I'll change mind if the impossible happens".
#1 is not accurate... "...scientists don't on the whole, prove facts. What they do is fail to disprove them." ~ Richard Dawkins Science does disprove things all the time. However, it is unnecessary and redundant to try to disprove that which has not been validated (ie, "god).
She's oddly fixated on her "warning" at the end. Maybe she is legitimately concerned. Maybe she has seen a lot of violence during her life. Maybe she feels she knows better than you and that's why she "warns" you for a good minute or minute and a half. Either way, good talk.
aren't people funny (or totally insane, it's hard to tell) the truth is really important, until i want to retreat into my fantasy. can you hear yourself melissa? i think a lot of people do this, including me, i make believe for comfort, but it really is stupid and definitely not to be taken seriously. 16:50 "i wish you'd asked me that at the beginning" er, i think he did, that's where we got I WANT THE UGLY TRUTH. christianity 2.4 billion islam 1.8 secular 1.2 hindu 1.15 buddhist 521 million 7.16 billion pop there are 2.4 billion christians (they don't all agree though) but that means 3 billion other people got the message (believers) but misread it, and 1.2 of us missed it altogether. god needs to hone his communication skills, isn't he perfect or something?
Although I see the dangers in fundimentalists' beliefs and actions . . . at least I know were they're coming from. There are so much sloppy lazy ignorant thinking in people nowadays it makes me weary. They are all around, seemingly normal when they first appear, but scratch the surface and you get a loon-ball. She gives a quote from her mother . . . but doesn't even understand how she contradicts it. Not a logical thinker . . . in fact she doesn't understand the basics of logic.
At least this person will accept evidence disproving her God belief ... now she can go one step further to the default state of waiting for sufficient evidence before believing .. that is when one should believe, not before!
I'm familiar with the approach you're using but it's too cordial. It may be doing more harm than good. The approach of SE may have been acceptable at some time . . . but there is not enough time left . . . it's too slow and we are outnumbered. It doesn't stimulate their thinking enough to make a change. I see the Dillahunty method as the best method. Sure you get them to open up but it only gives them a platform to preach their beliefs. Others in the herd will be encouraged, and have their own beliefs re-enforced. IT CULTIVATES MORE IGNORANT THINKING, THAN IT DOES LOGICAL THINKING. (There are many more people who will agree that 24 Tic-Tacs is true, rather than the correct answer of 23.) So maybe neither approach will confirm which is the most successful . . . I say: Can we take the chance ? ARE YOU BEING COMPLETELY HONEST AFTER YOU INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO THESE PEOPLE ? ? It appears to be a weaselly approach. (I question your allegiance)
I understand what epistemology is trying to show however they’re missing some thing of the point quantum physics is supporting a consciousness of the universe I would enjoy conversation with an epistemologist this lady has something going on but she’s not quite there there is a scientific understanding of consciousness and order of magnitude to the universe that we really need to look on how we define things and understand if we have the same definition he is addressing this woman’s believe in God but the word God here is not accurate just because someone has come to a conclusion with evidence that they find valid doesn’t mean they’re wrong means they don’t know how to explain themselves there are people out there are scientists gnostics and others that have a greater understanding of their abilities and their connection to the universe like in martial arts magic is a practice that needs to be studied and observed and tested what needs to come to their own conclusion how they connect with a greater consciousness and just their own like ants in an ant hill they all work as one body the human condition also can work as one body and divinely we can all as a universe work as one consciousness or a god mind.
Believing in something and needing proof for it NOT to exist is not logical...
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How can a Jew have a belief in any caring God after the Holocaust? If there were a God he sat through WWII and watched the death of 60 million Humans Worldwide and did absolutely nothing.
it’s a stew of incredulity, irrationality, cognitive dissonance, heavily seasoned with cultural cliches and cherry picking and an ultimate lack of critical thinking.
This woman is the walking definition of Cognitive Dissonance.
Ha! I was going to post the exact same thing.
She did admit it at least. The first step is recognition.
Excellent conversation! The reason for doing Street Epistemology is to get people to reflect upon their reasons for believing something. And it seems to me that you succeeded in doing just that. And you did it without being formulaic with your questions. Instead you seized the right moment to offer your honest thoughts and show a bit of yourself. Just like two people talking. Full marks for both you and Melissa.
Melissa was full on passive aggressive at the end. She projected that "others" would react with violence when in actuality she was feeling a lot of internal conflict and anger because you had exposed her "happy go lucky" philosophy and "love of the truth" to be nothing but irrational comforting lies she was telling herself.
ditto :-)
Agreed notmarr2000 :O)
Katalyzt
I'd disagree with this statement. I think her concerns are warranted, especially when you have things like fatwas existing. People generally get pissed off when you challenge dearly-held beliefs because of their emotional investment and when that happens to someone who is volatile and assertive, that's just a dynamite keg waiting to go off.
I thought that too. Right about the time she pointed out her friend was waiting on her, her demeanor dampened a bit. And then she launched into the "Be careful" bit.
I always love observing your facial expressions as you talk to people, haha. I've come across many a person like Melissa, they don't care about truth. Believe in what you want, believe what makes you feel good, and create your own truths- that's what it is pretty much. "And it probably makes no sense to you, but it doesn't have to." I can't help but think her opinions on this will never change. I love when you bring up truth vs comfort, and her response is that she would value truth more than comfort (which flies in the face of everything she said previously). She's clearly uncomfortable being probed and at certain times becomes just slightly defensive. Who knows, maybe she simply isn't used to being questioned like this or putting this much thought into her beliefs. I hope she reflects more upon this conversation in her own time.
Ps I was your 1000th subscriber! Also, love your tagline of "Practicing cool-headed conversation instead of heated debate". Really got me to think about the ways in which I approach and interact with people.Thanks for making these videos, Reid!
PhantomOfDelphi Thanks so much, man!
PhantomOfDelphi There's no proof either way so she's perfect as she is
Great talk. I'm not sure about Melissa's warning at the end. You're too calm and sincere to provoke any violence, I think she just felt challenged by the questions. There's a pretty clear contradiction between the "ugly truth;pretty lie" thing and the "I believe what makes me happy" thing, it seemed she was trying to avoid.
No, she's right. Some people become hostile once their deeply held beliefs come under scrutiny. There are whacko people in America willing to do harm.
Well done keeping focus. I know I would be very frustrated with someone claiming to value truth over comfort, yet in the same conversation talk about "what does it matter if I believe something that's not true / it makes me feel good / it's my personal truth."
Something seemed to go wrong in this one, but I can't really put my finger on it. She seemed very reasonable in the beginning, but as the conversation went deeper, she seemed to get very guarded and defensive. I don't know of any significant change Reid could have made to bring her back to reality, but it is clear she was not in a good place at the end. She went as far as to make a veiled threat, which is troubling. I know she made it seem as if _'other'_ people would be the ones to inflict violence, but the fact that her mind went there at the end is disturbing to me. I hope she is able to reflect rationally about their conversation after the fact.
Exactly! Same value as driving acid, U can believe is good for you, right?! 🙄
@@Kerm448 It was not a veiled threat (although it was close to being one) IMHO. I think she felt slapping him, and then sincerely speculated on the basis of that, that he was lucky that she was not some big strapping Christian. I think that good looking young man with the foreign (Spanish?) accent who told Reid not to think about whether God exists was perhaps giving a subtle threat (whether deliberately on not), but not this woman.
"I'm actually more of a logical thinker" no, no you're not - how many times do people say that who base their beliefs on feelings rather than evidence eh?
Yep...same with “I’m open mind”.. the same BS!
Me thinks there was a hint of her own passive-aggressiveness mixed in with that "warning" at the very end. Made it all a bit scary at that point. Some imaginative embellishments thereafter could've developed this into a horror movie.
She soured at the end because she felt tricked I think. It's a relief in a way that you confronted her but you strayed from the usual SE objective of passively revealing the unreliability of her methods. I don't want this to be taken as a complaint. It's really frustrating when when the person is closed off as she was. She obviously chose to ignore her cognitive dissonance regarding the dirty truth sweet lie claim. I feel a better person would have taken a moment to reflect. I took it that she was being passive aggressive with her parting warning. That's lady I'm glad I don't know personally. Keep up the good work.
Hmm. I don't comment on TH-cam much. It stuck in my mind that I felt negatively about Melissa's personality by the end of the video. After re-watching the video I'm not sure why I though she "soured". I probably should just delete my comment. Instead I'll just say "Oops, maybe I'm as crazy as I thought she was. I'm sure she's as nice to know as anyone". I should really just delete my comment. Maybe because I was passively observing it was easy for my mind to run with whatever. "Mental note; watch videos twice before commenting".
@@IDC807 I agree. There was nothing particularly unpleasant about her. She got her cherished beliefs challenged a bit more than she had bargained for, that's all. In fact, I think she would be quite a nice person to know personally.
She was a tough one to commit to any particular method of epistemology to arrive at her beliefs and eventually Reid noticed this . When Melissa brought up the Omni God, she seemed to confuse Reid as much as herself. She asked about the tic-tacs again -- and from there Reid was explaining things more and more and stopped asking questions. And it was here where I thought Melissa actually began controlling the conversation and showed some delight in doing so as SHE started asking questions. And near right at the end she said "I love debating" and started warning Reid about his approach.
You're doing great Reid, and the more I'm watching your videos and Anthony's, I am learning a lot about your technique and more and more I realise how difficult it is to be consistently effective to undertake the street epistemological approach.
That was great. I like the way you went from epistemology to discussing the logic and words that she used, which then triggered her to indirectly threaten you to stop doing Street epistemology which I hope you never stop.
I just found your videos and have subscribed. These are amazing and so good. You are making people think and that is so important. I was raised in a fundie household and I would have found these interviews profoundly disturbing and I think that speaks very strongly to the power of indoctrination.
The next Anthony Magnabosco in the making. Love your approach.
people like her will always be stuck in what she calls spiritual mumbo jumbo.. ppl sometimes like it when they are not sure about something. it makes them middle-grounded, friends with everyone from religious believers to atheists..it's some kind of pragmatism. I have to say I loathe this way of thinking..seek truth...she wasnt even true to herself and the saying she adopts from her mother. But you shaked that part in her and that's where that be safe warning came from. She probably didn't have such a challenging conversation in ages. Shes happy and comfortable to be in her limbo and she felt she was being dragged out of it. I'm loving this thing you do with ppl, the way you stir the conversation and everything I'm also learning from it.
8:10 "If 100 is like if I drop this it will fall." I love this. It directs attention to common sense, and what epistemology you are using in everyday life in opposition to epistemologies used for supernatural beliefs.
10:35 "If it exists, I just like to think that it does" I think at this point a good question would be "How much of that 75% confidence if you liking to think that it exist?"
I think, generally, that you're really rushing to the tic-tac thing.
Interesting.
"nam ryoho renge kyo" - what a trip down memory lane! I was an exchange student in Japan when I was 17 and this is what one of my host fathers, a Buddhist monk, used to chant in his temple with his parishioners. Unlike Melissa, I've never said it again since then, nor do I attribute any supernatural power to it, but it could be partly why now, 40 years later, I find epistemology absolutely fascinating.
Out of all the Christian religious mumbo jumbo I have heard…I actually like this lady the best so far. She is well aware of anything is possible and aware her own beliefs could me a delusion and is conscience of the fact that her beliefs make her feel good even though it could be false…Kudos to her👏🏾
I'm kind of sad that there aren't any street epistemologists in my 'area' (or my country for that matter), I've love to have a few nice (face-to-face) conversations about (unjustified) beliefs I might hold.
On another note : happy 1K man! What will you do? throw a party?
I will pray my atheist God to give 100 times more!
Good talk and great video. I would have brought up psychopaths when talking about happy limbo. #happylimbo
I have one question for you. Why don't you have more subscribers? I mean 8K isn't bad, but you deserve much more.
Hi, great conversation I really enjoyed it.
I'm new to SE so I'm trying to learn as much as I can. At 8:30 she mentions that she was dying and she prayed and she didn't die. Then she said that this is sufficient evidence to prove some God exists. If I was having a conversation with someone who said something similar, I would ask "do you think it's possible for you to have survived [whatever they were going though] without the existence of a God". Assuming they say yes I would say "imagine a different universe where God doesn't exist, yet someone prayed to a God they thought existed and was healed from their illness. You can see that if that person used the same logic (that praying and being healed is good evidence) as you they'd be wrong, as they prayed to no one and just happened to be healed as well". If they agree then I'd say "Since it's possible you may be wrong, as we've just demonstrated you logic isn't perfect, do you still think it's safe to assume this is good evidence for the existence of God?" Hoping they'd say no, but if they don't I'd ask them why and take it from there
We obviously took different angles, so do you see any flaws in my angle here? Any advice would be much appreciated, thanks :)
I'm watching to learn how *not* to raise my voice at people who I find to be irrational.
Edit: I'm surprised she didn't ask to talk to your manager after this 😂
I don't think she was close to doing anything like that.
I love this lady! Did she come back?
I think alot of people like to claim they love truth and logic but when they are confronted on deeply held beliefs like this lady had, they tend to fall back on a new age version of Pascal's wager. I hear alot of things like my belief is true for me and makes me a better person so it doesn't matter, or it brings me comfort and happiness and has no negative effects, so it is true for me. But yeah if you could prove a negative I would change my mind....
Aaron Alldredge Anthony dealt with that too
Extra like for the amazing t-shirt!
that sounded like a threat at the end
Dig your Sagan/NDG shirt. Where did you find that?
What a friendly smile you have!
This lady is awesome, I love her!
She hurts my brain.
dude you rock, patience pays off. just subbed.. you give them plenty of rope to make their spaghetti monster.
Reid: "It only matters if you value truth."
That came across to me as confrontational. I think that going to behaviors/outcomes of the belief could be more useful. i.e., how does the belief impact her life ("makes me feel good").
If the belief makes her happy and SE can't find a harm or opportunity cost of that belief, then in her eyes, SE is primarily an exercise to take away happiness.
It saddens me to see just how many people pay lip service to the value of truth. There's way too many people like that around me, sometimes I feel like am walking among zombies.
I enjoyed that.. although I atill can't see howshe can hold to one method for her spiritual side, and another for 'the real world.. and to be doing it so consciously...I thought it was lovely to see her concern for safety... I didn't see it as passive aggressive at all...
Interesting that she brought up your safety. I’ve thought about that before.
keep it up you´re great dude!
Revenge of the nerds 2 did that chant. What does it mean?
12:54 Reid was like Jordan with the 3pt buzzer beater game 7.
Well.... interesting.
Quick q Reid, what is the legality of setting up a table/umbrella in a public place where you are? Did you have to ask permission or is it legal in your area?
+Trent Bell I don't know. I didn't ask for permission. So far I haven't had any trouble with city or park officials.
Cheers, hopefully there won't be any issues- keep up the great convos
"I'd rather hear an ugly truth than a pretty lie... but ignorance is bliss." If you prefer truth surely you should abhor ignorance.
I totally understand her. She struck me as being on the higher end of pragmatism.
* until the last minute when I realized she is as paranoid as I am. Maybe we're the same person.
"True for me" is copping a lot of flack and I can understand why.
It's becoming a common phrase that apparently means "I believe it to be true" but probably comparatively armoured against the possibility of being mistaken.
When people who insist on formal meanings applied consistently talk with those who don't, common understanding is difficult. However disagreements based on differing definitions are low quality disagreements in my opinion, they're shallow and may obscure a deeper agreement or, a disagreement based on common understanding and shared language.
It makes me feel good....
Thats actually a very dangerous stance.. Many many things could make us feel good
She s a nice lady, im seeing VW bus thrift store dresses and a lot of LSD 25 yrs ago. Again , lovely lady.
If people get violent that is a victory for reason. Those that cannot control their emotions seek to control the behaviours of others, and those unable to reason well turn to violence and intolerance out of frustration.
The ways in which we behave when we are confronted with so much as the possibility of being wrong. Lols.
"I am a logical thinker. I just don't have any understanding of formal logic."
Be safe and watch your back when you finish interviewing...I am not offended...
I remember watching the Atheist Experience and Matt got a threat from the caller too.
I like this one...yeah, this one's good.
Wow, she brought up Anthony’s TicTacs!
Spiritual Mumbo Jumbo confirmed? 🤔
I think you got this interview wrong. This woman has what I would consider a harmless god belief. She doesn't believe in any specific god and she doesn't use her beliefs politically like Christians tend to do. She just gets comfort from it. I recall that even Richard Dawkins had said that if he was on a plane and there was some kind of trouble he would say something like, "Oh God." It doesn't mean he now believes in the Christian god, it's just an expression and a very human thing to do. I think that real religious people take false support of their position from such situations. But there is a real big difference in a state of emergency to call out to the "universe" in some way to help you to believing in some specific god and proclaiming the texts related to that god to be true. Anyhow, I discovered your channel recently and have watched several of your videos and enjoy them. But I don't think the lady was saying anything too controversial and it felt like you were challenging her. She even said that if she was wrong -- if there was such a way to know she was wrong -- that she would be okay with that (I'm paraphrasing here).
He kind of lost the SE method on the last part of talk as evidence by her shutting down. Always remember that logic and emotion are independent. She was very open to the idea of no God existing. However, she saw the difference between Truth and emotion.
I think it's interesting that you come across a lot of relativists (in comparison to Anthony). Do you think this is just a coincidence? do you upload these more often than other talks?
Anthony does SE in Texas. Reid does SE in California.
She started interviewing you! Ha ha!
What's funny about that?
She's a walking contradiction. Also, the "I have my beliefs and whatever you believe is fine" attitude always struck me as somewhat, um... insincere and condescending. It's almost as if she KNOWS the truth, and you can believe whatever the hell you want. Anyway, another good job, Reid. Keep up the great works!
Apparently, she'd rather believe in something that puts her in a "happy limbo" (a beautiful lie) than acknowledge an ugly truth.
Adam Jensen doing street epistemology
For some people faith in the supernatural is used as a valuable placebo. Danger emerges when you share it as truth with others. Admit it is a placebo and then share the details.
I cannot stand "personal truth". What an utter load of crap.
She definitely prefers pretty lies over ugly/uncomfortable truth.
Also, if surviving when you should have died is proof of God, is dying when you should have lived proof he does not exist?
She needs to read some Peter Boghossian
;~)
"... to scientifically prove... ". That's not a thing. People use the word "science" without having any idea what it means.
What a defense mechanism of an answer: "I'd change my mind if science disproved god". 1. Science doesn't prove or disprove anything. 2. You can't disprove a nonexistent being. In other words, "I'll change mind if the impossible happens".
#1 is not accurate...
"...scientists don't on the whole, prove facts. What they do is fail to disprove them." ~ Richard Dawkins
Science does disprove things all the time. However, it is unnecessary and redundant to try to disprove that which has not been validated (ie, "god).
She's oddly fixated on her "warning" at the end. Maybe she is legitimately concerned. Maybe she has seen a lot of violence during her life. Maybe she feels she knows better than you and that's why she "warns" you for a good minute or minute and a half.
Either way, good talk.
Jeez, that mic is bassy.
9:00 Help me Jesus! Help me Tom Cruise!!
🤔💭Oooooookaaay!
aren't people funny (or totally insane, it's hard to tell) the truth is really important, until i want to retreat into my fantasy. can you hear yourself melissa? i think a lot of people do this, including me, i make believe for comfort, but it really is stupid and definitely not to be taken seriously.
16:50 "i wish you'd asked me that at the beginning" er, i think he did, that's where we got I WANT THE UGLY TRUTH.
christianity 2.4 billion
islam 1.8
secular 1.2
hindu 1.15
buddhist 521 million
7.16 billion pop
there are 2.4 billion christians (they don't all agree though) but that means 3 billion other people got the message (believers) but misread it, and 1.2 of us missed it altogether. god needs to hone his communication skills, isn't he perfect or something?
She sounds like Susan Sarandon
I am happy to believe in Santa...................LOL
"I'm more of a logical thinker" .... right. 🙄
When your in your studio you look a bit like mr Bean
th-cam.com/video/CLTomEHgSog/w-d-xo.html
13:05 BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB...ut !!!!
Although I see the dangers in fundimentalists' beliefs and actions . . . at least I know were they're coming from. There are so much sloppy lazy ignorant thinking in people nowadays it makes me weary. They are all around, seemingly normal when they first appear, but scratch the surface and you get a loon-ball. She gives a quote from her mother . . . but doesn't even understand how she contradicts it. Not a logical thinker . . . in fact she doesn't understand the basics of logic.
At least this person will accept evidence disproving her God belief ... now she can go one step further to the default state of waiting for sufficient evidence before believing .. that is when one should believe, not before!
On 16:15 you can see her become passive aggressive af. 😜🙃
I'm familiar with the approach you're using but it's too cordial. It may be doing more harm than good. The approach of SE may have been acceptable at some time . . . but there is not enough time left . . . it's too slow and we are outnumbered. It doesn't stimulate their thinking enough to make a change. I see the Dillahunty method as the best method. Sure you get them to open up but it only gives them a platform to preach their beliefs. Others in the herd will be encouraged, and have their own beliefs re-enforced. IT CULTIVATES MORE IGNORANT THINKING, THAN IT DOES LOGICAL THINKING. (There are many more people who will agree that 24 Tic-Tacs is true, rather than the correct answer of 23.) So maybe neither approach will confirm which is the most successful . . . I say: Can we take the chance ? ARE YOU BEING COMPLETELY HONEST AFTER YOU INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO THESE PEOPLE ? ? It appears to be a weaselly approach. (I question your allegiance)
I really hate speaking to people like this. I probably would of finished the interview quite early just to save the mental dizziness
The truth is you get to choose what you think is true and then one day you disappear.Choose happiness.
oho, Reid was really confrontational on this video and trying to impose his views. lol
fakts n loyik
I understand what epistemology is trying to show however they’re missing some thing of the point quantum physics is supporting a consciousness of the universe I would enjoy conversation with an epistemologist this lady has something going on but she’s not quite there there is a scientific understanding of consciousness and order of magnitude to the universe that we really need to look on how we define things and understand if we have the same definition he is addressing this woman’s believe in God but the word God here is not accurate just because someone has come to a conclusion with evidence that they find valid doesn’t mean they’re wrong means they don’t know how to explain themselves there are people out there are scientists gnostics and others that have a greater understanding of their abilities and their connection to the universe like in martial arts magic is a practice that needs to be studied and observed and tested what needs to come to their own conclusion how they connect with a greater consciousness and just their own like ants in an ant hill they all work as one body the human condition also can work as one body and divinely we can all as a universe work as one consciousness or a god mind.
l like to think I'm a millionaire. it makes me happy.
She definitely cares more about comfort than truth but seems to lack the self awareness to realize it.
fuck, l almost die everyday, therefore god
chronic's a hell of a drug
Relativist says she thinks logically.
mumbo jumbo... yup
Ignorance is a happy place
Hmm, was she thinking that whole time that she may be deconverting a bible thumper?
I think she was initially concerned, but not the whole time.
I like her motto but she doesn't seem to adhere to it.
she'll never really truly grow up untill she gives up her specious beliefs and quits seeking comfort from imaginary sources.
Ohhh sooo big is the big one. Soooooooo big. 🙄
I don't agree with her, who is going to find the questions offensive??
Believing in something and needing proof for it NOT to exist is not logical...
How can a Jew have a belief in any caring God after the Holocaust?
If there were a God he sat through WWII and watched the death of 60 million Humans Worldwide and did absolutely nothing.
i think fundamentalist are less annoying
I'll still believe in a pretty lie. Thata what your really saying.
it’s a stew of incredulity, irrationality, cognitive dissonance, heavily seasoned with cultural cliches and cherry picking and an ultimate lack of critical thinking.