The "Idol Series" That Gives Scientists a Headache
What idols have in common is the idea of drawing energy from an animal, an ancestor, the sun or some other source in order to get your wishes fulfilled. But did you know that these unscientific superstitions actually grew out of "scientific discoveries"?
For example, with the rise of agriculture and astronomy, myths worshipping the sun, moon and stars appeared.
When the telescope, electricity and the steam engine were invented, modern spiritual movements arose claiming that invisible energy (a "fluid") flows through space and that concentrating the mind could heal illness and grant supernatural powers.
After radio waves were discovered, "New Age" ideas emerged that space is full of spiritual signals, and that by tuning the dial of your mind to that frequency through meditation and chanting, cosmic energy would be received wirelessly into your body.
When rockets and spacecraft were developed, bizarre salvation religions appeared, claiming that the gods of the Bible and myth were really higher-dimensional aliens who came in UFOs.
Recently, as quantum mechanics became popular, the "law of attraction" appeared: if I chant and desire hard enough, the universe's quanta respond to the vibration of my thoughts and pull money, success and health toward me. And lately there's even "data spirituality" combining AI and big data.
It's fascinating that every time science shed light on an invisible area, unscientific religions and superstitions quickly borrowed it.
The problem is that the energy of the universe has no interest whatsoever in human wishes. So people needed an "outlet" to plug themselves into the universe. Idols, gods, chants, frequency meditation and the law of attraction are exactly those plugs.
Read the original (Korean) →
For example, with the rise of agriculture and astronomy, myths worshipping the sun, moon and stars appeared.
When the telescope, electricity and the steam engine were invented, modern spiritual movements arose claiming that invisible energy (a "fluid") flows through space and that concentrating the mind could heal illness and grant supernatural powers.
After radio waves were discovered, "New Age" ideas emerged that space is full of spiritual signals, and that by tuning the dial of your mind to that frequency through meditation and chanting, cosmic energy would be received wirelessly into your body.
When rockets and spacecraft were developed, bizarre salvation religions appeared, claiming that the gods of the Bible and myth were really higher-dimensional aliens who came in UFOs.
Recently, as quantum mechanics became popular, the "law of attraction" appeared: if I chant and desire hard enough, the universe's quanta respond to the vibration of my thoughts and pull money, success and health toward me. And lately there's even "data spirituality" combining AI and big data.
It's fascinating that every time science shed light on an invisible area, unscientific religions and superstitions quickly borrowed it.
The problem is that the energy of the universe has no interest whatsoever in human wishes. So people needed an "outlet" to plug themselves into the universe. Idols, gods, chants, frequency meditation and the law of attraction are exactly those plugs.
