This question was asked of 14 scientists. Their answers are given here (free registration required):
I’d love to hear Doper responses. I need to think about this for a while so I’ll post my opinion later.
To clarify, I’d like people to answer the question, not necessarily to comment on the scientists’ answers.
Thanks.
That this all isn’t just a dream.
Christian faith is my big one.
Ditto.
Huh. I’ve actually met 5 of those people. What are the odds?
My speculation is that the universe has simply always existed in some form. People feel compelled to imagine a creator, because we’ve never encountered anything that doesn’t seem to come “from” somewhere. It’s simply beyond most of us to really grasp the idea of something being eternal in the sense of always existing, not only in the future, but in the past as well.
Extraterrestrial life, whether it be microbial, single celled, or humanoid.
I don’t want to hijack the thread or start a fight but that’s a very dismissive assumption.
(a) There are no gods, or supernatural deity or deities, or indeed supernatural forces of any sort. (b) Intelligent life exists elsewhere in the galaxy.
And yes, I recognize the contradiction in denying one statement of faith, and then turning around and asserting another statement of faith. But if I’m honest with myself, this is what I believe.
I believe you.
That there is Sentient Life in the Universe other than on Earth
That there is a God
It’s something I believe but can’t prove. As a psychologist and an atheist, I don’t think it’s surprising that I would have hypotheses about why people believe things, do you? I don’t think less of people who hold a different view of the source of their beliefs, as long as they extend me the same courtesy.
I’m not questioning what you believe or don’t believe, just asking you not to make assumptions about what or why I believe. [/hijack]
Oh, and one other thing I believe but will never be able to prove (at least during my lifetime):
The Cubs will never win the World Series.
i believe in karma and that everything you do comes back to you three-fold yet i cannot prove it.
The Gödel sentence for my favorite axiomatization of arithmetic.
Here is a more direct link http://www.edge.org/.
I beleive that the Human mind is made up of more than one center of conciousness in co-operation, and that many insanities are caused by these centers of conciousness not co-operating. Similarly altered mental states occur when different centers of conciousness have the upper hand within your mind.
I believe the complexity of the Human mind within the measurable physical universe is sufficient to account for all the experiences and capabilities we have. That there is no need for some non-physical soul.
I believe that even if God did not exist, a sufficiently complex mind such as ours would invent such a thing and feel the need to believe in it.
I believe God exists at some level, though that level could merely be that God=the Universe and has no mind of its own, I feel that God is complex and organised enough to have a mind (or minds see belief one).
I believe they’re about 7%.
[sub]Yeah, I know pravnik already made a very similar joke, but I didn’t get where I am today by only saying stuff that’s original and interesting.[/sub]
I believe there is no god(s), and the fact that we don’t know anything about the universe before the Big Bang is an artifact of our limited understanding of space and time. I also believe that we’ll likely never understand more – we’re like bacteria in a puddle of water trying to deduce dirt and air and clouds and weather without any way to experience it.
No fight or hijack but dismissve of what exactly?
Not to hijack, but I believe it is harder to grasp the concept that the universe begins without a creator is much harder to grasp than an eternal universe without a creator. (Where did it come from? And how?) One that continues to exist, once created, is easier to grasp. The Greeks, and even Thomas Aquinas, preferred a universe that has always existed; even Hawking suggested circular time, despite any evidence. Physics can’t answer that, and probably won’t until a “theory of everything” exists.
Otherwise, my biggest, groundless belief is vanilla protestant christianity. And that I’m right.