Category: philosophy

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People Who Used To Be Atheists Share Their Conversion Stories

I grew up in a fundamentalist Christian community and around high school essentially started a very slow “deconversion” process that eventually led to my comfortable adoption of the word “atheist” several years later.

I’m very familiar with what it’s like to go from a believer to a non-believer, but I have often wondered what it must be like to go the other way, and even whether it could happen to me at some point.

Former atheists of Reddit, what made you turn to religion? from AskReddit

So why do the skeptical find themselves entering the fold? Let’s hear from some self-professed former atheists of Reddit.

1. At death’s door

I wouldn’t say I was ever an atheist as most would describe. I never actively denounced religion or Christ. But I never really thought of it a whole lot growing up or thru my 20s.

Almost two years ago I set next to my grandfather basically my father as he was the one who raised me while he passed from a long battle with cancer. He was on hospice for 2-3 days at home before he finally passed. I was there right beside him the whole time. The whole experience was so profound. One thing that stood out to me was how he kept calling for his mother and reaching out like he was trying to grab her hands.

She had passed about 7-8 years prior. He would call to her screaming her name. This was steady for 2-3 days before he went.

I know without a doubt there has to be an afterlife after that experience. She came to get her son. And I have no doubt she was in that room with us. You could feel her. The whole family could.

– jb_run29

2. The experience

Not me, a friend of my parents. He suffered a minor heart attack during a business trip, and the moment he arrived at the hospital, he got a massive heart attack.

He was clinically dead for about 2 minutes before he was brought back.

He hasn’t told anyone what he saw, and whenever someone asks, he just says “I really don’t want to talk about it”.

But from that day on, not a Sunday goes by that he doesn’t show up for mass.

– TheDangerHeisenberg

3. Regaining control

I was raised Catholic and was very strong in my faith until I was 26. I don’t think anything took me away from God, I just got busy and wouldn’t go to church, or wouldn’t pray more and more. Then, I found myself agreeing with some atheist thoughts.

It’s weird because the more I parted from the God, the harder life was, and the harder life was, the more I parted from God. It was like a terrible positive feedback loop. By the age of 32, I stopped calling myself Catholic and life was the lowest (loneliness, finance issues, depression, health, anxiety, relationship issues, etc).

About a month before my 33rd birthday, I surrendered my life to God. I told God, I can’t bare the load on my own. I thanked Him for everything and prayed for strength, wisdom, and to guide me on His path. I felt like God told me He was with me through all my suffering and never left my side. He was just kind of waiting for me to come around.

I have been praying again daily. I’m not exaggerating, so many things bad things reversed and I feel better. I’m going to church for the first time today in… years? I like having God in my life—much more peace and happiness.

– Environmental-End115

4. In honor of her

My great uncle was a lifelong atheist til his wife of 50 years died.

She was always begging him to go to church and he would never go with her. When she died he was so devastated he started going to church to feel closer to her. That naturally resulted in him converting.

He loved and missed her so much that he was willing to believe anything that would reunite them. He was a tough man but her death broke him.

He always gave me sh*t for not going to church and it annoyed me but I respected how deeply he loved my aunt. On occasion I would go with him and he was grateful I humored him.

– valerieswrld

5. The how and the why

To be honest? Because I separated the “how” and the “why”.

I accept science explaining the “how’s” (evolution, Big Bang, etc), but they never explained the “whys” for me (and, as an objective tool, science was never intended to explain it regardless).

Religion and science answer different questions, and both are incredibly fulfilling to me.

– Jforest99

6. The phantom radio station

My sister became born again later in life. I had always believed in God but didn’t really have a relationship with him. She became so pushy and changed so much it turned me off to the whole idea of christianity.

She had a son who I was very close with and for a few years after he turned 13 lived with my family. Unfortunately at 17 he got into drugs and ran away. For months we didn’t hear from him then one day he popped up at my sister’s house. Pretty much completely worn down. He looked and smelled terrible.

On my way out to my sister’s I was at such a loss on what to do that I prayed out loud to God to help guide me. I decided to find a worship station and there was a sermon playing that felt like it was directed right at me. Everything that preacher said felt like he was talking to me. A commercial came on and as an inpatient person I looked at the station number and decided to go back in a few minutes…I went back and that station was nothing but static. No music, no sermon it just didn’t exist.

I tried going up and down thinking I mixed up a number but still nothing. I know have a much close relationship with God. Not a full fledged every Sunday at church relationship but a good one.

– littlefootrac

7. Hope is good

I’m starting to realize that it might be actually incredibly good for humans to believe that everything will be ok. Like, in general. Having a purpose and believing that there is a point produces positive brain chemicals.

I’m getting into a specific religion now, including aspects that I don’t necessarily believe are true. Take prayer for example- it doesn’t matter if there’s a beardy dude in the clouds taking notes. It’s not the point – regularly contemplating community and loved ones is a good thing to do. If you need to frame it as talking to a fella in the sky, well then do it to it. To me, faith is more about believing that living a certain way is the best way to live. Whether it’s true or not is besides the point.

That being said, religion is not an excuse to treat others poorly. If someone uses their religion to treat other people poorly, I still look at them the way I look at anyone that treats people poorly.

– lovegiblet

8. Overcoming addiction

I was raised Christian, became an atheist in college and was atheist for more than a decade, but became a Christian again about three months ago.

I fought a war against everything I hated most about myself and lost. When I had lost all hope of ever being able to overcome depression and addiction, I tried praying and, to my great surprise, I received an answer.

In that moment I surrendered my life to God. I will never be able to explain my experience, I don’t have scientifically conclusive evidence, but I will never doubt that God is real after what I experienced. I have overcome my addiction and depression and, while I still have a long way to go, am doing much better than I ever dreamed possible.

– CitizenReborn

9. Less a believer, more a student

Instead of being a Christian, I chose to follow the teachings of Christ. That changed my entire opinion about religion.

I was an atheist throughout college. My major was Philosophy/Religion. Most of what I learned, I used to justify my atheist beliefs. The more I studied, the idea of a creator became more and more intriguing. The ontological perspective just makes practical sense to me.

I dont think I believe the way most people believe, but that’s okay. I’m happy with my worldview and it gives me purpose and meaning. It inspires me to be a better person. No matter your beliefs, if you are striving to do that, and whatever helps you do it everyday, must not be so bad.

– headrons

10. Practices are bigger than truth

I was raised atheist but have always been very open minded. A friend invited me to their church one day. It was a pretty progressive church but also they were serious about faith.

I decided to participate fully in the church for a year regardless of my belief.

As I took part in the practices of christian faith I realized they were as true and something can be true. In the sense that with discernment and rational thinking participating in the Christian faith leads to being a more forgiving, loving, other-centric way of living.

The actual stories in the Bible may be historically true or not true, who really knows. But the practices are bigger than historical truth. They are a deep truth that rattles down in the part of my soul that expands beyond my personal awareness.

So I got baptized and committed to Christianity flaws and all ?

– zakmcdonald

11. The slow dawning

I was staunch atheist who hated all religion until I had a professor (also an atheist) who convinced me to respect people’s religion.

Around the same time I had a lot of Muslim friends and started learning about Islam and came to appreciate a lot of the “why” behind the practices. I tried fasting and joined in some daily prayers and appreciated the benefits of it.

One day as I was joining in the prayer I realized I was praying and I felt a connection to God that I’d never felt before in my life. I realized I was a believer, and the rest is history.

– cpleasants

12. Finding light

Depression.

I’ve been going to church for a little over a year now and I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my entire life.

– Foxtrot4321

13. The struggle

Raised atheist, and born gay.

My ex boyfriend taught me all about the Gospel and how Jesus died for me on the cross, all about God’s love and all about Christianity. We stayed together for a bit over a year (my longest relationship), and now we’re not together anymore, because he believes homosexuality is something that can be “resisted” like any other sin.

I’m still lost and confused, but I’m clinging onto my faith more than ever right now because it’s all I have left that’s keeping me up

– rattboy74

14. I agree with the lifestyle

I realized that in my ancestral region of the Maghreb (tamazigha), virtually everyone identifies as Muslim. The idea of atheism just doesn’t process in their minds.

Therefore, I converted to Islam, not because I believe in god but because I agree with the lifestyle.

I enjoy fasting for Ramadan, praying (meditating) 5x/day, abstaining and giving back to the community, et al.

– freedrako

15. Weighing the options

The philosophical answer: I could no longer defend the decision to choose “lack of evidence” over “actual, tangible, and profound impact in my life.”

The religious fanatic answer: I found a religion that’s right for me (Buddhism).

– fonefreek

It’s important that people be allowed to follow the truth where it leads them and to find happiness. So long as your faith is not used as a weapon, I say live and let live.

Do you have a conversion/deconversion story?

Tell us about it in the comments.

The post People Who Used To Be Atheists Share Their Conversion Stories appeared first on UberFacts.

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Important Academic Lessons From the World of Tumblr

We could definitely learn things by “reading books” or “taking classes” or whatever, but wouldn’t it be more interesting to just scroll through Tumblr until we found some posts that taught us things?

That’s what I do, and now I have an absolute wealth of dubious, fascinating knowledge with which to annoy my friends at parties!

Check out these twelve incredible topics I learned all about from the Humans of Tumblr.

12. Psychiatry and diagnostics

Back in my day, we didn’t have all this dark matter! You kids and your quantum physics!

https://skylitreina.tumblr.com/post/146315694178/roachpatrol-jumpingjacktrash-lark-in-ink

11. Economic theory

Turns out very few of us are happy about anything ever but we all need money. Who knew.

https://sadurie.tumblr.com/post/121639171288/trashrabbits-me-writing-a-resume-hello-im-a

10. Psychology and mortification

This is literally why I cannot watch the first couple seasons of The Office.

https://thedeadflag.tumblr.com/post/619117487517253632/kelssiel-ahaze-vaspider-robotmoxie

9. Currency and debt

It’s almost like we have a system designed to make money trickle up.

https://reesa-chan.tumblr.com/post/169572335264/robstmartin-wagecucks-oh-boy-its-a-fucking

8. Personal motivation

The voice in our head has much to teach us, and I don’t wanna hear a word of it.

https://fauxkaren.tumblr.com/post/155830123889/beyoncepatronus-me-about-to-sleep-my

7. Mexican-Japanese history

I smell a smash hit HBO series in the works.

https://mckitterick.tumblr.com/post/157849162740

6. Biblical literature

Blessed are the meek, for they will have righteous gains.

https://perpetualbbps.tumblr.com/post/145651049389/neutralnewt-bombchel534-why-jesus-ripped

5. Marketing and sexuality

Come on Barbie, let’s go party.

https://muffinsandmatriarchy.tumblr.com/post/159835017105/m00nqueer-ok-this-is-earring-magic-ken-who-was

4. Photography and cultural etiquette

I would buy rice from this man any day of the week.

https://notthatcrowley.tumblr.com/post/156974614674/libertybill-glumshoe-fearwax

3. Literary analysis

Once upon a time…

https://queen-erika-the-songful.tumblr.com/post/190262190610/i-think-now-that-were-in-2017-we-can-stop

2. Locomotion and human enterprise

Can’t stop won’t stop.

https://abstractandedgyname.tumblr.com/post/167895538446/the-universe-okay-youre-a-human-i-gave-you

1. Grammatical structure

I’m going to need this entire post to just get out.

https://hugealienpie.tumblr.com/post/146517700301/thechubbynerd-just-shower-thoughts

I think this list basically counts as some kind of undergraduate degree. You’re welcome.

What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned on the internet recently?

Tell us in the comments.

The post Important Academic Lessons From the World of Tumblr appeared first on UberFacts.

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8 Philosophical Thought Experiments That Are Easy to Understand

Many of us love philosophy and can sit around the table for hours discussing the events of the world and thought experiments.

The idea of combining philosophy with illustration is appealing, and many of you will probably enjoy this project that philosopher and artist Helen De Cruz put together of 8 illustrated philosophical thought experiments.

As Helen explains, many philosophers use thought experiments to contextualize and reveal the intuitions behind their ideas. Thought experiments are basically like short stories that help give meaning to ideas that can be difficult to grasp.

See if you can figure out how each of these thought experiences work!

1. The missing shade of blue

In this thought experiment, the man pictured has seen every color except for one specific shade of blue. However, if he’s seen other gradations of blue, he could arrange them in his mind and understand that one is missing.

The question: will the man be able to fill in the missing color using only the power of his imagination?

The story behind it:

Philosopher David Hume came up with this thought experiment while developing his idea that people learn about the world by experiencing it. This experiment is meant to be a counterexample of his argument.

If we really all learn about the world through our experiences, then the man would not be able to fill in the missing shade.

However: most of us can fill in the shade! But it might not be as easy as you suspect.

2. The experience machine

Here’s another one for you!

What if you had a device that could make any experience you want to happen? That’s what the experience machine is.

The experience machine can convince you that whatever you want is really happening. If you want to believe you are racing a horse, you will be. Amazing!

But the reality is that you are floating in a tank with electrodes attached to your brain.

The question is: would you plug into the experience machine for the rest of your life? You would be happy, but you would also be “living” a life that doesn’t really exist.

The story behind it:

Philosophers have asked themselves a key question for thousands of years. What is happiness? Is happiness more than just experiencing pleasure?

The belief that pleasure alone is all you need to be happy is known as hedonism, and the experience machine offers a direct challenge to hedonism.

If pleasure was the direct line to being happy forever, just about everyone would plug themselves in. But it’s not, and we know it.

The philosopher Robert Nozick believed this is because humans know that we want more than just pleasure in our journeys. We have dreams and goals that go far beyond anything being plugged into a machine can offer us.

3. The child at the well

The philosopher Mèng kē, or Mengzi, was a Confucianist who is widely celebrated as the “Second Sage” (second only to Kongzi, also known as Confucius).

Mengzi believed that compassion is a fundamental trait in humans, and he used this thought experiment about a child who is about to fall into a well to prove his belief.

Nearly all of us who see this image will immediately feel worried about the child, right? That’s a dangerous situation!

We wouldn’t feel alarmed and worried because we want someone to tell us we’re a good person for being worried about the child — we would feel worried because the child could get hurt, and others might think less of us if we didn’t try to prevent that from happening.

The story behind it:

Mengzi believed that all humans have four roots (or “sprouts”) that guide our morality.

The roots are ren (compassion), yi (rightness), li (ritual propriety), and zhi (wisdom).

While we each have these roots or sprouts inside of us, like any good gardener, we have to nurture them.

4. Sleeping Beauty

Many of us know the fable about Sleeping Beauty, right? In this thought experiment, the story has been modernized. Sleeping Beauty is participating in a research experiment, and she’s been put to sleep by the researchers.

Here’s how the experiment works: when Sleeping Beauty wakes up, she will be put back to sleep with a medication that will make her forget that she woke up in the first place. The researchers will toss a coin.

If it lands on tails, Sleeping Beauty will be awoken on Monday and Tuesday for a short while.

If the coin lands on tails, she will only be awoken on Monday.

And here’s the crux of the experiment: when Sleeping Beauty wakes on Monday without any idea what day it is, what proof does she have that the coin landed on heads?

The story behind it: 

Many of us believe that the odds of the coin landing on heads is 1/2, which makes sense — there are only 2 sides to a coin.

However, philosopher Adam Elga, who specializes in game theory, would argue that Sleeping Beauty should believe there is a 1/3 chance that the coin landed on heads.

Why? Because she doesn’t know whether it’s Monday or Tuesday, so she likely believes it’s either.

When Sleeping Beauty wakes up, P(Tails and Tuesday) = P(Tails and Monday) = P(Heads and Monday), so the probability of each occurrence is 1/3.

5. Otto and Inga visit a museum

This is a pretty fun one! Otto and Inga want to go visit the Museum of Modern Art.

There’s a catch, though: Otto has Alzheimer’s, and he has a notebook he carries with him that will help him remember how to get to the museum. The notebook tells him that the museum can be found on 53rd Street.

Inga, however, can use her biological memory to recall the same information.

Many of us would understand that Inga has an intuitive, understood belief about where the museum is because she can recall it from her memory. Would we assume Otto has the same belief even though he uses his notebook?

The story behind it:

There is one big question being asked here. Do thoughts only happen in our brains, or do they also happen in the world?

In this experiment, both Otto and Inga have a tool that they use to retrieve information. Their tools work in the same way, but are they the same tool?

It can be reasonably argued that Inga’s belief about the location of the museum is no more or less useful than Otto’s belief, though one is based on memory and one is based on information in a notebook.

Both memory and the notebook are not fail-proof; Inga’s memory can be impacted by something like having a drink at lunch, and someone could steal  Otto’s notebook (or he could lose it).

6. The invisible gardener

Photo by Emiel Molenaar on Unsplash

Two partners or roommates have returned home and their garden is overgrown and neglected.

However, they notice that there are still flowers blooming, and one comments that someone must have been sneaking in and taking care of the garden. The other doesn’t agree.

They decide to ask their neighbors if anyone has been in the garden, but everyone says no.

So then they commit to learning about what happens to a garden when no one takes care of it.

The skeptical partner believes that their research proves there is no gardener, but the other partner believes the gardener is invisible but that there is evidence of this person’s presence that can’t be seen or heard.

How will they ever solve their disagreement?

The story behind it:

If you haven’t caught on yet, this experiment is definitely an analogy about whether or not God exists.

The skeptical friend is not a believer, and he doesn’t see a larger sense of design in the world around him.

The experiment forces us to ask ourselves: to what degree will we bend reality so that it can support (or refute) a belief in God?

There’s also a second question to ask: is the debate really about God, or is it about having two different ways to look at the world? I might see a garden, but you might see a wilderness.

7. The Russian nobleman

A young Russian nobleman is planning to split his estate among peasants instead of his family members, but he knows he is young and idealistic and he’s not sure if he will have the same ideals in his old age.

He decides to put his idealistic plan into a legal document and to place his wife in charge of revoking the plan.

He then asks his wife to promise that she will not revoke his plan even if she does change his mind.

He also tells his wife that the ideals are so important to him that “If I lose these ideals, I want you to think that I cease to exist.”

Fast-forward a few dozen years, and now the man is middle-aged and wants to revoke the documents. What choice does she have?

The story behind it:

This experiment calls into question the idea of personal identity. Is the middle-aged Russian nobleman the same man he once was?

Should his wife have to decide what to do, or should she be relinquished from the agreement? After all, if she has changed, hasn’t she?

8. The floating man

Photo by Alex Iby on Unsplash

Ibn Sina, or Avicenna as he is often referred to in the West, was one of the most important thinkers of the Islamic Golden Age.

He frequently debated the nature of existence. In this experiment, we imagine a man who is brought into the world as an adult.

The man just appears and has no memories of having lived any other part of his life.

The man is floating in the air with his eyes closed, he can’t hear a thing, and his limbs are spread out wide so that he cannot feel his own body.

With all this in mind, we now ask ourselves: is the man aware that he exists?

The story behind it:

Ibn Sina is asking whether our selves are the same as our bodies. The great philosopher did not believe that our bodies are the summation of ourselves.

If this were the case, the man would have some awareness of his body’s experience, and he would have memories as well.

Ibn Sina’s conclusion? Our awareness comes from our souls, not our physical experiences.

Those were pretty amazing, right? Don’t forget to share with your friends, and let us know which of the experiments is your favorite in the comments!

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People Unmask “Virtues” That Are Really Toxic

We’re about to go down a morality rabbit hole. Parsing out what is noble and ignoble behavior is definitely nothing new. It’s been the obsession of religion and philosophy for pretty much as long as we’ve been able to put thoughts into words.

But as time goes on, and fields like psychology become more robust and accessible, the discussion around what’s good and bad behavior has stopped being the exclusive realm of a few, and has become more democratized, with a larger conversation opening up in the general public. A great example of that phenomenon is this post on r/AskReddit by user darkwulf1:

What is a toxic behavior that is disguised as virtue? from AskReddit

It’s a great question, and it prompted a lot of pretty thoughtful answers.

Here are some of the more interesting ones to consider.

1. I’ve heard this referred to as a sort of martyr mentality.

I had an in-law who talked constantly about how generous and compassionate she was.

She could be both… But she had a tendency to get carried away by what she wanted for you rather than what you actually wanted.

She was the kind of person who would throw a big party for you when you explicitly told her you didn’t want a party, and she would talk constantly about how overwhelmed she was planning the party and how you should help in all these ways because, “I can’t do this on my own.”

– Squiddification

2. Know when you’re needed.

Mum says several people on her facebook are ANGRY that they were told their services weren’t needed when they signed up to the towns volunteer service to help folk during this crisis (we had an amazing number of people come forward).

They’re mad because they “want to help” and “do their bit” and honestly she realised so many of them are the ones who do charity drives and stuff like that just to show off how much of a #GoodPerson they are and to have others praise them for being a #GoodPerson

The ones we know who are helping are getting on and doing it. Odd picture or post but certainly not what these people would be doing.

– VulcanHullo

3. Support where it’s due.

Supporting a person to a fault. In other words, being an enabler.

– mingmingcat

4. You’re nobody’s referee.

When people get involved in and regulate other people’s relationships.

They try to act like they’re helping but they always make it worse.

– IDressUpAsBroccoli

5. Romanticism has given us a lot of bad ideas.

Grand “romantic” gestures.

I teach high school and it’s crazy how many times you see a kid basically bully their crush into being with them.

They make this huge public display and the kid is too shy to say no in front of everyone. It’s embarrassing and distressing for that poor kid.

– PanoramicTrouble

6. As a former academic over-achiever, oof.

Over-studying, over-burdening, and excessive academic anxiety/self-doubt does not make for a dedicated pupil, but an unbalanced and miserable human being.

– DudeAbides101

7. Suffering is not a contest.

When you tell people about how you’re feeling (to vent or when they ask how you’re doing in general) and they one-up you to make you feel like you don’t get to feel tired or sad or stressed etc cause they’re clearly having it harder than you are.

I was tired from school and work one day and I told my old roommate that I was feeling a little tired, and he hits me with “Oh YOU’RE tired? I only had 5 hours of sleep and I had to wake up early this morning cause I had PT (he’s in ROTC)”

– japanesepopstars

8. Don’t validate yourself at the expense of others.

Telling kids that they are so different than everyone else while implying that they are somehow better.

The actual healthy thing to do is to stress that everyone is unique, and the kid’s natural gifts make them who you are just like other kids’ gifts make them unique.

– InnocuousDaisy

9. As a freelance artist: SCREW. THIS.

Working for “exposure”.

This one gets me because companies use it as an excuse to not pay someone or not pay them the amount they deserve.

They claim “exposure is your payment” but last I checked exposure doesn’t pay the bills.

– christian_daddy1

10. “Strong” can be a euphamism.

The entire “I hAvE sTrOnG pErSoNaLiTy” kind of people

– JSteus

11. The American worth ethic in a nutshell.

The rise and grind mentality, saying if you’re not working towards something you’re wasting your time.

It’s important to take time to just relax or pursue a passion without monetary gain.

But society as a whole has deemed this as wasting your time.

– RedditRum87

12. Blood doesn’t necessarily mean devotion.

“Family comes first.”

I grew up thinking that I had a very close extended family until I realized just how sh^tty and miserable most of them were.

I have cut them out and feel so much better about it.

– cosmonaut205

13. Not all that glitters is gold.

Toxic positivity, ie: people who try to find the good in everything.

There’s a lot to be said for having a positive outlook but it quickly becomes toxic when you start defending abusers (I’m sure your parents still loved you in their own way) or trivializing people’s sadness (so you got fired – it just means you get to pursue a new opportunity!).

Sometimes the appropriate answer to a situation is to just acknowledge that things suck.

– schnit123

14. Corporate morality is literally “what can I get away with?”

Corporate passive aggressive behavior.

Yes, you’re saying all the right things and everything checks out if read back on a transcript, but you and I both know you’ve simply found a way to abuse the rules for your own gain.

– InternetKidsAreMean

15. You’re not special for being mean.

People who say ” This is just the way I am; If you can’t handle that, oh well”.

Like… No. You’re wrong.

I understand to an extent that if people don’t like you for being yourself, they can go f*ck themselves; BUT, if you are a person who seriously does not know how to speak to people or are just rude in general and claim “that’s just how I am”, you’re wrong.

People need to know it is not okay to be rude or obnoxious and that you should be able to know the difference of being yourself and just being a d%ck.

– Dos_Henny

It’s a pretty fascinating thread to get lost in, and there are thousands more comments to comb through if you want to check out the original page. Remember everybody, be kind. Don’t make excuses. Consider others.

What are some other examples of this sort of thing?

Tell us in the comments.

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Pythagoras had a weird cult that…

Pythagoras had a weird cult that lasted for centuries after his death. They worshiped numbers, invented the first robot (a steam-powered pigeon) and were afraid of beans because they cause excessive flatulence. He was murdered when he was chased to a bean field and refused to cross it.

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The concept of a soulmate was originally…

The concept of a soulmate was originally put forth by Plato. According to his story humans originally had 4 arms, 4 legs and 2 faces. The gods feared humans were too powerful and so Zeus split them in two, condemning them to spend their lives searching for the other half of their soul.

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“Inverted Spectrum” is a philosophy that states the possibility of people agreeing…

“Inverted Spectrum” is a philosophy that states the possibility of people agreeing on the names and characteristics of certain colors, though one person is essentially seeing a totally different color. If I have an inverted spectrum, we both say we see a bright blue sky, but if you saw it through my eyes, you could be looking at a bright red or purple or green sky. Compare to the fact that dogs are proven to have a very limited spectrum of color, humans may also be born with access to a limited or inverted spectrum, and never be aware of it.