Friday, February 12, 2010
CURIOUS INCIDENT... Blog Post 4
In Chapter 199, Christopher continues his explanation as to why he thinks people believe in God. He also discusses the origins of life, saying that "there is life on earth because of an accident." What makes Christopher so certain about this? Does it go against his need for pattern and structure? Why or why not?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
37 comments:
Christopher cannot handle the concept of God for he is blinded by his own fears.
Christopher already is weary of humans which are highly erratic; the idea of a being controlling
all of existence would add an inconstant factor to his law-abiding life. As a measure of self reassurance, Christopher states that humans have yet to find souls being spirited to heaven, or any other form of divine of presence. To Christopher, humans created god in order to understand the world they live in. However, Christopher himself stated that science does not forbid the existence of aliens or ghosts. But to a boy who is afraid of being “lost in time” he needs rules and logic to help himself function. If God exists that means everything we know could be a lie or an illusion, everything we do or think is meaningless. I presume this why Christopher so greatly shuns the concept of God. A similar event took place when Steven Hawking proposed that once a singularity absorbed information it was lost forever. An idea like this broke the fundamental law of quantum physics that matter is not created nor destroyed. If information is destroyed that means everything we do is a lie. Steven Hawking eventually admitted error, however,
this confirms people’s fear of the unknown. I find it a bit ironic that people defend the idea that matter is neither created nor destroyed but the Steady State Theory [ the idea that the universe always existed] was discredited. Only a fool would try to give the universe complete logic, they would go “God mad” or in the case of Christopher, “logic mad.” Everything that occurs has to be understood and placed in a category. Eventually one would become lost in his own pursuit of reason. Such a case resulted in the death of the conquistador Ponce de Leon who was certain that he found Eden. If this was true he reasoned, the Fountain of Youth was near. He spent his entire life searching for it, he drank from nearly every stream in Puerto Rico.
Christopher seems to think about what is and is not realistic to deal with things he does not know, and what he wants to figure out. When Christopher calls life on earth an accident, we are shown how fact is so important to him: he talks about how there are other planets that don't have discovered life, so the fact that earth is one of the only planets with discovered life seems to make sense. I agree with nicholas, in the way that his inability to believe in God is caused by fear, because when handling concepts, Christopher needs to face reality. The idea of the mistake of life also makes sense because it seems that Christopher knows he's different than other people. He has talked about how he is in a different math class than the rest of his peers, and how he is better than the rest of the people in his class. Also, he is treated differently by strangers. The idea of life as mistake is so certain by Christopher because it explains why he is so different.
This does not go against his need for pattern and structure, because we can tell that he needed to figure out the structure and the math of genetics and heredity. The need for patterns and structure is based on the ability to predict and/or, which Christopher can do by this theory.
Christopher doesn't believe in God because he relies on logic. Science is part of the logic that he relies on. Christopher is certain that life is an accident though because he knows that the unexpected happens. He is positive that the unexpected happens because in a way he is part of the unexpected. Christopher is not like everybody else in the world. Christopher is different. He knows that his case is rare. He knows that whatever happens in life is rare in general. This does go against his need for pattern and structure because there is not one pattern for life. Life can change dramatically or it can change in a small way. There is no pattern for how a person will come out or how life changes.
I think the fact that Christopher even believes that there is such a thing as a mistake goes against his need for logic and patterns. The fact that Christopher thinks something as scientific as the creation of humans is a mistake is amazing. I can understand why he doesn't understand god. I can understand why Christopher doesn't see why humans are better then other animals, why he just sees that scientifically humans are animals just the same as squirrels. I thought Christopher would have a very logical, scientific and mathematical way that he thought humans had been created. I think this definitely goes against every thing we've learned about him and the way he feels about emotions compared to logic. I did not think Christopher believed in mistakes because a mistake is the opposite of patterns and math and logic, a mistake is the opposite of the way Christopher thinks.
Just like what Ana said, Christopher bases things on the logic of everything. And in the chapter, he gives 3 parts of the "special" accident that makes up life, which are replication, mutation, and heritability. The 3 conditions create life. Christopher also gave an example of how the eye was created and he said it was evolved from something that looked very alike to the eye.
I think that he does go against his patterns and structures because life comes randomly and you never know what will happen. He likes things in order and life is rarely in a specific way because nothing is perfect. In the beginning of the book, Christopher talked about prime numbers in the beginning of the book and i think that life relates to them because they both don't come in a certain pattern, its not like saying your ABCs, you know what the order for it is. Christopher is different than most people because of his syndrome and does and thinks differently than other people would which makes him one of a kind.
-Brii ♥
Christopher is certain that there is life on earth because of an accident. Like the process of elimination he's used before, Christopher is convinced that it is the most reasonable and logical explanation he can think of. Christopher's explanation on God show's that he thinks people who believe in God are just looking for an easy way to explain complicated situations and complex idea's like brains and how humans were created. I think that Christopher sees himself different compared to other people and that he is able to think of the realistic answers for life. He is convinced that he is correct because he thinks in the most mathematical and logical way. I don’t think that Christopher understands concepts like God because it is something people believe in unlike Christopher’s mind which is all based on facts and knowing. I don’t think that the concept of there being life on earth because of an accident goes against his thoughts on structure and pattern because Christopher can think and understand processes. There is an explanation on how the earth was created. It was an accident that you could understand because it made sense for how it happened if you researched about it. There’s a pattern and structure on how this event happened and that comforts Christopher to know that it wasn’t completely unstructured and spontaneous but there is an explanation for it. It’s like figuring out a puzzle in order to continue the pattern.
Christopher thinks that the reason people believe in god is that he thinks that humans use god as a theory for complex ideas which they cannot comprehend scientifically or in a factual sense. Believing in god or any sort of higher power is only a matter of faith. It is very hard for many people to have faith in something that is not visible or scientifically proven. So to Christopher, this idea of faith must be even more difficult.
I agree what Kira has said about how Christopher knows that life has not be proven on other planets as it has been proven on Earth. In the Bible, which is what most Christians read as their source for knowing what happened in the days of God and his son Jesus, it says that God created the Earth and Heaven on the first day of the week that the Universe and Solar System were created. I could understand why Chirstopher, as someone who believes in logical information, would not believe something that is related to religion because religion is not logic, religion is what people believe in, it is what people think that they know about. People believe in God sometimes because they can not think of any other higher power that can create the world, but Christopher believes that people believe in God because they do not know or can not clarify information that they think that they might have "packed down".
I agree with mayo in saying that Christopher's theory on the way that the world was created does not go against his idea of structure and pattern because there is a scientific and realistic way that the creation of earth occurred. This also connects back to the idea of god because most people who believe in god believe that god created earth and all living things on it. This is one of the complex ideas that Christopher believes that those who believe on god do not understand in a factual and realistic sense. - this is a continued section to my first comment.
Christopher states that he thinks that people believe in God because of their own fears of the unknown and uncertainty of how the world and the human mind function. With this statement Christopher seems to be reflecting mainly on his own fear of the unknown. When he doesn’t understand how something works and when there is no known way that something works, he tries to visualize and create his own logic to it. God isn’t a fact of life that can be proven through science. There is no specific logic to religion. His explanation for why people believe in God fits perfectly in with his reasoning and logical needs mentally because he is trying to make sense of something that can’t be approached in a normal scientific way. The scientific/mathematical concept he uses throughout his explanation is that of chance, which he knows to be complex, but quantifiable. He doesn’t seem to understand that other people don’t think in the same views that he does. He acknowledges that the concept of God is a belief. In this sense, it’s different than how we know him because he shows empathy or an attempt to understand the perspectives of others.
Christopher cannot belive that there is a god because faith would go against everything he stands for. He likes things set in stone for him, and religion is complicated and unpredictable, just like life. This is why life has many hardships for Christopher. And as Ana said, his thinking is contingent upon logic and science. The words belive, or faith mean nothing to him. If it isn't in front of his face, he cannot belive in it. Partly because it contains to many parts to tie your brain around. Therefore, Christopher cannot belive in god or faith.
Christopher's explanation is supposedly logical to himself. This want for structure makes even an illogical statement true. This can be described as ironic as what is logic to the average population is illogical to him and vice versa.
Christopher's explanation is that life was an accident due to the three rare conditions of Replication, Mutation, and Heritability. The structure and pattern of this is that it differs for every subject. For Christopher, the illogical part of it is what makes it logical. The accident. This does not go against his need for structure as it is structured to be random and he explains the randomness is considered in a wide variety of probabilities-chances. This fact maintains that there is a structure and pattern in this, Christopher's support in him being an athiest.
Christopher only believes what he creates. He believes in patterns and making life seem like everything is logical. Christopher believes in more Science and math then believing in god. Christopher is certain about this because of the 3 conditions which is replication, mutation and heritability. He believes using these 3 conditions that life is spontaneous. I think this doesn't go against his need for pattern because he believes in science and logic.
Christopher doesnt believe in god, faith, religion, etc. because it goes against everything he thinks is true and real and to him, does not make sense when compared to logic. Christopher has to see something to believe it. There has to be some evidence to back up that something is real.
The quote "there is life on earth because of an accident" goes against his pattern and idea of logic because even though the many theories of how life ws started are just theories, ideas, it is all humanity has to believe that has evidence. Religion does not have evidence which makes it kind of hard to believe.
Christopher’s sole source of knowledge or reference is based exclusively on logicality. He states that our world possesses a level of complexity that one might not understand or consider occurring simply by chance. For someone like Christopher, religion is an arduous notion to grasp. Even for the average person, religion is indeed a large and perplexing topic that man has dwelled on for centuries. Religion is certainly not a logical subject therefore Christopher is sure that science and complex arithmetic can explain our existence. Like Heaven, Christopher can only consider that God is a mere comfort to people who don’t really understand our existence. To him God is fake explanation; a cover.
Christopher’s sentiment doesn’t surprise me, just like every other view on life he has. He doesn’t allow himself to read between the lines or dig deeper. This reinforces Christopher’s need of structure. If everything can be explained by science or arithmetic, then he feels safe. He won’t step outside of his comfort zone because he can’t grasp the larger picture.
-Kai Marcel
Christopher believes that life on earth was cause by an accident because the processes of mutation and evolution don't have a set program. Science doesn't have a set program. When something mutates normally it becomes something different. For example in teenage mutant ninja turtles the turtles used to be normal regular sized turtles but because of an accident when an ooze was spilled on them, they grew to human size and were able to talk. They had human characteristics yet they were still turtles. The turtles growing to human size was an accident not on purpose.
In my opinion the fact that life started because of an accident and the fact that science is completely unpredictable does go against Christopher's need for pattern and structure.
Christopher is certain he is right because he believes that all parts of life like DNA and genetics are technically accidents for their creating wasn't planned. i think that christopher is using the word accident differently than what it means. its true that the origin of life, which scientist believe was the big bang is an accident. so christopher believes this and he agrees. he proves to himself that there can not be a god and thus he goes to science for the answer. this is what christopher would do.
Christopher's need for pattern and structure relates to this in many ways. first the idea of pattern pops up when christopher thinks of life and evolution and DNA and all of life, it also has a structure to it. in all christopher can see life as a pattern or a structure and he can understand it and he also knows that we don't know everything so somehow he speaks the truth without at the same time knowing he could be wrong.
Christopher is so certain that life is an accident because of the way all of his ideals are based on a logical standpoint. He thinks there is a reasoning behind everything. But life is so "unreasonable" or "illogical", that to Christopher the only possibility could be that life is an accident. I think this does in a way, go against his pattern theory, but I think that so much about life is logical, that it is just one of the things that just doesn't bother him, like the fiction in the "Hounds of Baskerville" or in the computer games he plays. I think that life is just indisputable and, to Christopher trying to find logic in it just seems to waste his time, which is why he avoids getting lost in it.
Pablo
Christopher believes that life on earth was an accident and that replication, mutation, and heritability all affected this accident. He believes that we are all replicas with different features, and this accident also affects the looks of a person and how a person will be and look in the future. Christopher states that it's logical to question how this accident came or about, or how life began but h never states that the three affects were very logical. This doesn't follow up with his patterns and structures of life because if it did these complications wouldn't have been brought about and figuring out how life was created would have a simple answer to it, which obviously it doesn't. Christopher always finds away though so it seems that he didn't contradict himself, so by saying that replication, mutation, and heritability takes place in the process of life that this is considered a pattern. So it is hard to decide if he is contradicting his need of patterns and structure.
As we know Christopher loves science. He believes everything in science is true because its logical. Because of this he doesnt believe in certain things like religion. In Catholicism god created the first human beings, Adam and Eve. He also created animals. I am a religous person, but I kind of think about this to. How was god created original, its a mystery we may never find out about. According to scientists the earth was created by "The Big Bang". After this organisms were created and eventually they evolved. Christopher believes in this, not religion. Science for him, is sort of like his religion too. Science answers almost all questions in life. Christopher always uses math and science to figure things out. We also know that Christopher also likes to organize and plan out his daily routine. He does everything on purpose, so yes it does intefere with his pattern and structure. Because he always does things on purpose, not accidental like the life on earth being accidental.
I think Christopher does and will have a hard time understanding and digesting the story of there being a higher authority. Christopher doesn't have the proof or the research that he is accustomed to that helps him understand things. It is also that Christopher takes a lot of things literally. He doesn't quite grasp the fact that not every thing is meant to be taken seriously. For example when the question was popped earlier in the book he though heaven wasn't real. He broke down space and beyond, as he knew it. But towards the end you do start to get the feeling that Christopher is beginning to second guess whether or not this place is real.
I think this is showing a shift in Christopher he is staying with his directed path but is learning how to stray away from it. It is Kind of like having the best of both worlds.
Christopher thinks people believe in god because they believe that there must be something to create them. A higher power would fit the bill. People wanted something to explain their existence, and so created a being with the power to create life. Certain humans are like Christopher and need some form of order and something perfect that controls them and keeps them in line. This is the basis for religions that believe in one god.
I think that Christopher has a problem with life and decides that it must be a mistake in the logic he loves. Because he appreciates logic, he can't understand why something like the humans who destroy and injure the planet could be created through logic of any kind
this is kwame
christopher doesn't believe in god because of the extent into logic of which he believes. he also sees so many imperfections in the human race that he cannot see the logic in someone making them that way. so he thinks that the only logical reason they would have so many imperfections might be that they were a mistake. the major thing that makes christopher so sure of this is how he has a need for structure in his life and this idea of imperfections and especially someone making them on purpose seems to be an impossiblity to christopher.
Christopher cannot believe in God, it would make everything he has ever believed in nothing. He believes that there are orders in things. He knows that there is a code to life and that there is a reason why the earth looks the way it does, and that tree's are green for a reason. It would mess up all of his knowledge to believe that the earth was made by God. If he thought that God controlled everything that happened and that there are clouds because God wanted them there. Christopher beleives what the scientists tell him. To him the scientists are like the people who are always right. they decide if the grass is green because it has to do with chemicals or its just chance. Christopher points out that the is life on earth because of a accident. This goes along with his firm belife in Science.
Christopher needs to understand the reason for the origin of things in order to be able to live with them. This is why he spends so much time thinking about science, and the reason for things, the way they function, and why. If Christopher were to believe that a thing like God were to exist, it would rip his carefully organized and logical world apart. Because religion is largely based on belief rather than knowledge and fact, a form like such clashes with Christopher's obsession with science, mathematics, and logic.
A lot of ideas that are presented in religion are largely contradicted in Science, yet one can be educated in any form of Science and be Religious as well.
The origin of things such as the creation of the world have theories in both fields. A popular belief is that the world was created in the 'Big Bang.' Others think that God created the world and made females from a male's rib. Other hypotheses exist but none have been proven. They all depend on opinion.
Christopher tends to stray further from culture and religion and immerge himself deeply into logic. Therefore i think this continues with Christopher's original stance regarding the world, logic and God.
Christopher thinks that people use God or faith as an outlet for understanding complex issues that some people have trouble understanding because they are too complex. On the other hand, faith or God are scary to Christopher because they are like relying on something you cannot see or understand in a complex scientific way. Christopher's theory on the way that the world was created does not go against his idea of structure and pattern because the creation of the earth is scientific and the way it occurred from a scientific point of view is the only realistic explanation to him. Christopher would rather believe in the scientific reasoning on how the earth was created than thinking that the earth, and what happens in it, is in the hands of something unpredictable, like God, that has no structure or pattern.
Christopher explains that God is not logical, and that the story of how the world and humans came to be being created by God is also illogical. Christopher understands why people might be religious, he believes that it is humans way of trying to find reason and a simple explanation to the complicated pieces that make up life. He bases how he believes earth came to be on science because there are facts that are clear and understandable to him, unlike religion and faith which is more abstract and confusing to him; not logical. When he explains that life came to be by accident it both falls under his usual quest for facts and patterns and does not. He shows that there is no pattern to life and that it is made up of mistakes, in fact it is created by mistakes. Although there seems to be no pattern there are the main steps that make up life so there is some structure.
Christopher believes in the absolute and the absolute for him is science. And science, which can supply an absolute for everything else, can’t find any reason for the creation of humans except for chance. There was no“ divine” intervention, no creation of man in God’s image—this is just a story that humans want to believe. Christopher, who fully believes in science, cannot believe in God so he feels that science must be right, and that the accidental creation of intelligent life is unlikely.
Christopher names three conditions that explain the “accident” of human life. It all started with the big bang theory that explains the creation of the universe, and our planet. Then, life on the planet evolved. The three conditions of the theory of evolution are—replication, mutation and heritability. After the big bang animals started to replicate which is to create another animal with the same DNA. Then there were some mutations and the mutants that had beneficial attributes lived on and the rest died out. Also there is heritability, which is when the mistakes or accidents that result from mutation get passed down.
I think the big bang theory and the theory of evolution, even though accidental, don’t go against Christopher’s psychology. The big bang theory doesn’t have a pattern—it’s just a guess about what happened billions of years ago. And, with evolution, there is a lot of support. The “pattern” of evolution is that everything will continue to change because of mutations and the heritability of useful mutations. Christopher is probably right that the pattern in these accidents will probably result in beings that will replace humans.
Christopher believes in only something that has structure and has something strong to back it the idea up because if it didn't i think Christopher would not understand it.
Since religion does not have a logic to it and does not have something that really exists to humans that is why I think its confusing for Christopher.
I think Christopher always looks for the answer that are the most logical answers or ones can be stated mathematically. I think the reason Christopher gives his explanation is because it seems more likely to him that by chance all three needs of life on a planet were made on earth, thus creating life, than an eternal being creating us out of nothing. It just wouldn't piece together in Christopher's mind because god has nothing to do with logic of fact. But if life was created "because of an accident" there is some sort of logic in that because as Christopher was saying in the book if everyone in the world kept on flipping a coin eventually someone would get 5698 heads in a row.
Even though Christopher relies on logic, so he doesn't believe in god, he is sure that life happened because of an accident because the unexpected is possible. and life evolving was unexpected. He usually needs to see evidence for anything that goes against his believes of logic. Obviously seeing people on earth shows him the evidence. But its only evidence for the "accident" not that the god created humans. These ideas go against his ideas of patterns. But there are no patterns in life, everything changes, there isn't really a pattern for people. People change.
Christopher says that "there is life on earth because og an accident".And if this accident could happen there had to be 3 conditions, 1: Things had to make copies of them sel. 2: They had too make mistakers when they makes the copies. 3: The mistakes had to be the same in the copies. He says these three conditions cause life. He say the people belive in God because the world is very complicated and they don't think that logical things could happen by chance. I think this is goes against Christophers logical patter, he says that nothing is a chance, it can be thought of before it is done. If someone walks over a road in a certain speed, it is possible to figure out where they are when.
Hanna
In chapter 199, Christopher is talking about God and how he does not really make mistakes. I think that because Christopher life is so planned out,he believes in logic and he likes to see the proof. God is not someone that you can actually see him, or anything to prove that he was there. All of Christopher"s life is based on proof, rules, logic, and pattern. But in religion there is not really any of that so that is why I think Christopher does not approve religion.
Christopher sees things in his life, and he understands them. I think that Christopher only believes in things that are material. I think that Christopher doesnt know that feelings exist. This is an example of how Christopher only 'believes' in things that are touchable and things that are seen. This causes him to believe that life is an accident because he knows it exists however, we do not have a clear reason to why. [Plus the fact that he doesnt really practice a religon makes him not believe in life to the fullest.]
-Emma Francesca Zita ♥
Christopher thinks that people believe in god because they do not believe that such complicated things could be developed on thier own. Christopher then goes on to explain that there is a possibliylity that this even t could have occured through an accident. This accident could have happened through Eplication, Mutation, or heritability.He also talks about the developement of the human eye. he explains that eyes develope from somethiing like an eye, and this process would be replication. but he also says that half an eye is better than no eye, half an eye would develop due to a genetic mistake. Christopher's doubt in god has caued him to the conclusion that there is life on earth because of an accident. This ges against his need for pattern because he only states that there is a possiblilty that it was an accident. And there is no real evidence to show that human life was an accident. this goes against his need for structure and pattern because there is no real answer that is a hundred percent ture about how life came to be, there are only thoeries.
Christopher believes this is true because it gives him an answer as to why life exists. Christopher does not believe in anything that has not been confirmed by science. I also cannot decide if it goes against his need for pattern and structure.
Post a Comment