Quote:
Originally Posted by Larry Caldwell
I just read an article in Scientific American about anti-science prejudice. They mentioned that, when pressed for time, people retreat to heuristic decision processes. They make judgments on superficial features and peer group consensus. When given more time to consider, they have a chance of coming closer to analytical thought.
We all know that when people are feeling pressured or insecure, they retreat to magical thinking and religion. They don't feel they have the luxury of reality.
Right now, the good times are rolling. Unemployment is low, people's lives are stable, and church membership is dropping. When the next crash comes along, people will pile right back into religion. Just because there has been a long term drop in religious affiliation, don't imagine that atheism is an inevitable conclusion. Thinking for yourself is hard work. We'll always be a minority.
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The problem is that heuristics has different flavors. Some heuristic methods will often or always lead to a valid result. Opening a dictionary in the middle and then splitting the relevant section in two rather than going through it page by page is an example.
Others fail more often than work (leading to cognitive biases) but work when required. Responding to a hose pipe as if it was a snake in a place where there are no snakes works when you DO come across a snake.
There was a study done that showed religion thrived where there was low education standards and poor living standards. So I would guess the change to having more religious people would be slow when crashes come and go.
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