Originally posted by Jan Ardena
Could you please reiterate it?
Sure. Here's the quote from my post on 12/18: " Life is a system of interdependent processes that begins to break down if the process is halted... for us to create this from scratch we would have to have the ability to hold such a system together while we were building it."
Without evidence it is purely an assumption. While I would not go so far as to say that existence and intervention of a supernatural entity is absolutely impossible I find it highly improbable and the assertion to be incredibly presumptuous. Particularly after noting that there is a very plausible mundane explanation the does have supporting (although not conclusive) evidence. Given an unsupported fantastical explanation and a plausible mundane explanation I find it much more reasonable and intelligent to choose the mundane explanation.
You mean the sciences which you accept?
I accept all true sciences and many non-sciences.
Why ask, you know what I think life is, it is very nicely explained in the Srimad Bhagavad Gita.
As I understand it the BG deals with the meaning and goals of human life in regards to the human soul. An entirely different meaning of the word life that that with which we are using here. But I could definitely be wrong or forgetting something, could you please give me a synopsis of what you are referring to?
If you only accept western history as credible, then your judgement could seriously be clouded.
Don't worry, I don't. In fact I find the ubiquity of 'modern' western presumptions to be extremely problematic and erroneous.
But from what I can see, it is a perfectly mundane explanation, how else could these primitive people obtain such knowledge and understanding, when the scientists in the west were unable to, at that time.
The scientists of the west had hypothesized the existence of Sirius-B due to the wobble in 1844. Almost 100 years before Griaule studied the Dogon. Missionaries and explorers could definitely have related this information... such visitors often used their astronomical knowledge to impress aboriginal peoples. Columbus, for instance, is known to have used his prediction of a lunar eclipse to impress the Carib people. There is also the fact that many young men from French West Africa spent time in France during WW1 where they definitely could have been exposed to this knowledge and later related it the Dogon.
The assumed 'impossibility' of this knowledge is also greatly influenced by a western perspective. There are many ancient cultures that had a very high degree of astronomical knowledge. Much of this information was only rediscovered by western societies hundreds and even thousands of years later. There is also evidence that telescopes had been invented centuries prior to 1608... knowledge that had been discovered and lost it seems since ancient times.
Give these mundane facts the fantastic assumption that the information 'must' have come from visiting extraterrestrials becomes a rather absurd proposition.
Who said anything about the supernatural?
I was speaking generally, not specifically about the Dogon reference. Although perhaps it would be more accurate to say that I find that you accept fantastical propositions far more quickly than I find reasonable. I could be wrong but I do not see evidence of it in you posts.
There are trillions of planets, don't you think it is possible that life exists on some if not all of them?
There are probably many more planets than that and I do indeed believe that it is probable that life has evolved many times over. However, I find it rather unlikely that some advanced civilization traveled many light-years across the galaxy to teach a tiny tribe in Africa that Sirius has a companion star. One would think that such a civilization would have something quite a bit more important to relate to us primitive humans. One must also wonder why, if extraterrestrials did indeed visit us once upon a time, why they have not continued their contact with us. Particularly when we are now, generally, would be so much more able to understand who and what they are and what they would have to say to us.
Why should I dis-believe them?
What is it about their history and culture that you find hard to accept?
Only the fact that there are explanations that are far more reasonable.
~Raithere
soz!!