I did this with a friend of mine the other day and was also inspired by this thread.

 

What are some ideas/speculations that you believe, despite not being mainstream on Science Forums (please compare to SFN, only!). What's your favorite contrarian claim, that you actually believe?

 

 

I'll go first

1) Cryonics is probably a good idea

2) friendly AI/ technological singularity/ transhumanism is a real possibility

3) using Bayesian analytical methods in everyday life

4) libertarian-ish political philosophy

I identify with liberitarianism. I would never call myself a member of the American Liberitarian Party though. Pure liberitarians are too idealistic. In a perfect world liberitarianism would be the best thing ever, but we live in an imperfect world with imperfect people. Some regulation is needed.

As far as this being outside the mainstream, I believe it would be safe to assume many of those who post on SFN hold ideals a little further to the left [politically] than my own. But thats okay, being a minority is the spice of life!

OK.. but being a moderate libertarian isn't too anti-mainstream, even here (or should I say especially here?).

 

Anybody believe in Alien abduction? 9/11 Troof? Organic produce?

Pyramid Power

where are those crazy guys who think they've figured out the universe when you need them? You know; those people who make posts in the speculations forum with titles like: My theory of quantum [insert word here]

Based on some of the threads on this forum I would say that I am anti-mainstream when it comes to my belief in the power of mathematics in understanding the natural world.

Edited June 28, 201015 yr by ajb

I believe the universe is really running back wards, what we think of the past is really us remembering the future, what we think of as our future is our recently forgotten past. only the past is real as we go back toward our birth it's really the end of our lives.

 

Life is spontaneous, we appear in the ground as minerals spontaneously concentrate to make a human in the ground inside a casket. The casket is dug up, the body inside goes to the funeral parlor and reanimates as we slowly begin to grow young eventually disappearing into our mothers womb.

 

The laws of thermodynamics, I don't like them... I think there has to be some loophole somewhere, else our universe should be at maximum entropy already. Also, I think they are redundant with other laws of physics.

I speculate that if we were around 5, 10 or 14 billion years ago it would appear to us, best guess, like there had been a big bang about 14 billion years earlier than that.

Dark Matter and Energy.

 

Dark matter, for the undetectability even though 6x mass of normal matter and undetectability even though the Solar System is on is on the fringe outside of the Milkyway Galaxy (Where the "Dark Matter Halo" resides in other galaxies).

 

Dark energy, for being characterized completely wrong and a throwback of Einstein's universal constant (I know, different application).

 

All I can say, HUGH holes in "Cosmology".

 

btw. Hello, and I enjoy your forum.

Organic produce?

I'm pretty divided on that one. On one hand the idea of not using technology that would allow more people to eat doesn't sit right, on the other hand if that technology is damaging in the long term then I can't really be for it either. So sometimes organic is better than the alternative, but obviously not always.

 

I do try to go for locally grown, which tends to not be mass produced but isn't organic either - since local farmers still use chemicals that are well established and known to be safe.

 

I would much rather - if instead of a standard for 'organic' there was a well known standard for environmentally friendly production. Or at least if less people assumed they were they the same thing.

I too have an attraction toward the application of Bayesian inference to everyday life. I also think controversial and/or dubious things like cryonics, suspended animation, and longevity projects such as SENS, are interesting and deserving of more funding. I have at times been taken by mathematical Platonism (e.g., after reading Penrose). I have an ongoing inner debate with myself about animal-related ethical issues. I'm a total non-expert and thus have only vague and tentative views on this, but I think non-standard theories of evolution are fascinating and often compelling. The extended modern synthesis, and all that (e.g., Pugliucci, Shapiro, Lynch).

What do i believe... I believe I'll have another beer...