[thechat] rationality is not enough (was: New Year's Resolution)

[javier velasco]

Madhu Menon wrote:

> >what's the poing of watching the sunset from a 100% rational point of
> >view?
>
> You watch sunsets? ;)

not quite, i just shoot them with my camera :)


> I don't try and make people understand my way of life, because it appears
> to some to be devoid of interest and meaning. That, of course, is because
> they judge it by *their* perceptions of what one needs in life. Let's just
> say I don't need to believe in gods, fairies, goblins, Santa Claus, and
> other assorted things to make my life interesting.


mad, i don't pretend to make you explain us your vision of the world,
and i didn't mean to make you so by asking such question. i know (from
our offlist conversations) that you're NOT a religious person and i was
actually joking about the stereotype of the indian religious guy.

for the record: i'm not religoius either, don't believe in any of them.
no thanks, i don't need it.


> >i know lots of people
> >that are like that, and i can tell you that you're missing lots of
> >interesting knowledge that's not explainable my scientifical standards.
>
> Like what exactly?

i'm not talking about spirituality here, it's just that there are things
in life that defeat traditional rationality...

for example, yesterday, Pilar and I were preparing a "chilean salad"
(tomato & onion), while she was chopping the onion (it was a purple
onion, very popular in Peru) she took a slice into her mouth and started
to say: "this has a little taste..." in that precise instant i thought
"tastes like Peru" and she said "..taste sw_ like Peru"

i turned in amazement and told her i was thinking of "it tastes like
Peru" wow, she said, "i was thikning that it was a little bit sweet, but
then when talking, i changed my mind and said Peru instead"

or

some months ago, we had invited a girlfriend to hang out at our home for
a saturday night, Pilar had called her on the phone on wednesday and we
hadn't talked about her in all week. that saturday morning when we were
fixing (making, doing?) the bed i wondered who our friend would arrive
with, because she had boken up with her boyfriend some months before, in
that same instant she says "Monse said she was coming with Marcela" my
jaw fell open.

these are just two episodes that exemplify conectedness, thought
transmission or telepathy, something constantly rejected by traditional
science and rationality. there are lots of things like this that happen
in life that are not explained by rationality.



!qué calor!
javier