{"tag":"dawkins","articles":{"blog\/mythology\/how-dare-we":{"key":"blog\/mythology\/how-dare-we","type":"article","published":true,"meta":{"createdAt":"2020-12-28T18:26:51+01:00","publishedAt":"2020-12-28T18:26:51+01:00","group":null,"category":"blog","subcategory":"mythology","slug":"how-dare-we"},"content":{"en":{"slug":"how-dare-we","title":"How dare we?","intro":"\u003Cp\u003EMy favourite quote from professor Richard Dawkins\nis not the one where he calls the God of the Old testament a \u201ccapriciously malevolent bully\u201d,\nor any of those where he otherwise openly mocks religion.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt\u0027s one where he doesn\u0027t even mention religion at all, even though he\u0027s destroying its very foundations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Csvg xmlns=\u0022http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\u0022 style=\u0022display: none;\u0022\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E","content":"\u003Cp\u003EMy favourite quote from professor Richard Dawkins\nis not the one where he calls the God of the Old testament a \u201ccapriciously malevolent bully\u201d,\nor any of those where he otherwise openly mocks religion.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt\u0027s one where he doesn\u0027t even mention religion at all, even though he\u0027s destroying its very foundations.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E(Btw, the quote also got \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=qrMwxe2ya5E\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E\u003Csvg class=\u0022icon\u0022\u003E\u003Cuse xlink:href=\u0022#light-link\u0022\u003E\u003C\/use\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E featured\u003C\/a\u003E in \u003Ca href=\u0022\/blog\/the-greatest-song-on-earth\u0022\u003E\u003Csvg class=\u0022icon\u0022\u003E\u003Cuse xlink:href=\u0022#light-heartbeat\u0022\u003E\u003C\/use\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E The Greatest Song on Earth\u003C\/a\u003E \u2764\ufe0f)\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI first read it in his 1998 book \u201cUnweaving the Rainbow: Science, Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder\u201d.\nIt was a turning point of my journey towards abandoning the Catholic mythology.\nIt removed the greatest obstacle on the road of rationalism: the fear of death.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHere\u0027s the quote:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022blockquote ml-4 pl-4 border-left\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones.\nMost people are never going to die because they are never going to be born.\nThe potential people who could have been here in my place\nbut who will in fact never see the light of day outnumber the sand grains of Sahara.\nCertainly those unborn ghosts include greater poets than Keats, scientists greater than Newton.\nWe know this because the set of possible people allowed by our DNA so massively exceeds the set of actual people.\nIn the teeth of these stupefying odds it is you and I, in our ordinariness, that are here.\nWe privileged few, who won the lottery of birth against all odds,\nhow dare we whine at our inevitable return to that prior state\nfrom which the vast majority have never stirred?\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYes. How dare we? How dare we!?\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI\u0027m convinced that every major religion exists for just two main reasons:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003Epeople used to have no idea where did they come from and how the world works,\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003Epeople are terrified of death.\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMaking up a story that (poorly) answers \u201cthe big questions\u201d, while also giving you hope that death is not the end,\nis not a perfect idea, but I guess better than nothing.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENow we have science though! But while it helps with the first part tremendously,\nmy mind was still struggling to give up religion because of the second part\u2026\nDeath is scary, it\u0027s unknown\u2026 Pretending that it\u0027s not real is so very soothing\u2026\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EReligion\u0027s approach to death is to give promises that it can\u0027t deliver,\nwhile using your fear to make you behave the way they want you to (or else you\u0027ll burn in hell!).\nPriests are wolves in sheep\u0027s clothing \u2013 their fairy tales sound soothing, but really they just enslave your mind.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDawkins doesn\u0027t try to be nice or soothing. Instead of making up a story that will make you feel better,\nhe scolds you for demanding a story in the first place.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDeath is just an end of something beautiful. Focus on the beautiful. Appreciate the beautiful.\nYou won a fucking lottery of existence! So appreciate it, make the best out of it while you can.\nJust don\u0027t be so arrogant as to demand that it lasted forever.\nIt won\u0027t. You\u0027ll have to deal with it. It\u0027s harsh, but it\u0027s true. And accepting it is liberating.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe quote might sound like it\u0027s about death, but for me it\u0027s more about \u003Cem\u003Elife\u003C\/em\u003E, actually.\nIt puts life into a proper perspective. It makes you focus on the joy and gratitude instead of fear.\nOn the process instead of its end.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAccepting that I\u0027m going to die, inevitably, without any \u201cafterlife\u201d to look forward to,\nrealising that things can be wonderful and amazing even if they don\u0027t last forever\n\u2013 that might have been the most liberating moment of my life.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Csvg xmlns=\u0022http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\u0022 style=\u0022display: none;\u0022\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E","tags":["life","death","fear","dawkins","rationalism","atheism","freedom","nightwish"],"hasMore":true,"image":null,"introLite":"\u003Cp\u003EMy favourite quote from professor Richard Dawkins\nis not the one where he calls the God of the Old testament a \u201ccapriciously malevolent bully\u201d,\nor any of those where he otherwise openly mocks religion.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt\u0027s one where he doesn\u0027t even mention religion at all, even though he\u0027s destroying its very foundations.\u003C\/p\u003E","contentLite":"\u003Cp\u003EMy favourite quote from professor Richard Dawkins\nis not the one where he calls the God of the Old testament a \u201ccapriciously malevolent bully\u201d,\nor any of those where he otherwise openly mocks religion.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt\u0027s one where he doesn\u0027t even mention religion at all, even though he\u0027s destroying its very foundations.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E(Btw, the quote also got \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=qrMwxe2ya5E\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E featured\u003C\/a\u003E in \u003Ca href=\u0022\/blog\/the-greatest-song-on-earth.lite\u0022\u003E The Greatest Song on Earth\u003C\/a\u003E \u2764\ufe0f)\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI first read it in his 1998 book \u201cUnweaving the Rainbow: Science, Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder\u201d.\nIt was a turning point of my journey towards abandoning the Catholic mythology.\nIt removed the greatest obstacle on the road of rationalism: the fear of death.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHere\u0027s the quote:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cblockquote\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones.\nMost people are never going to die because they are never going to be born.\nThe potential people who could have been here in my place\nbut who will in fact never see the light of day outnumber the sand grains of Sahara.\nCertainly those unborn ghosts include greater poets than Keats, scientists greater than Newton.\nWe know this because the set of possible people allowed by our DNA so massively exceeds the set of actual people.\nIn the teeth of these stupefying odds it is you and I, in our ordinariness, that are here.\nWe privileged few, who won the lottery of birth against all odds,\nhow dare we whine at our inevitable return to that prior state\nfrom which the vast majority have never stirred?\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYes. How dare we? How dare we!?\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI\u0027m convinced that every major religion exists for just two main reasons:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003Epeople used to have no idea where did they come from and how the world works,\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003Epeople are terrified of death.\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMaking up a story that (poorly) answers \u201cthe big questions\u201d, while also giving you hope that death is not the end,\nis not a perfect idea, but I guess better than nothing.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENow we have science though! But while it helps with the first part tremendously,\nmy mind was still struggling to give up religion because of the second part\u2026\nDeath is scary, it\u0027s unknown\u2026 Pretending that it\u0027s not real is so very soothing\u2026\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EReligion\u0027s approach to death is to give promises that it can\u0027t deliver,\nwhile using your fear to make you behave the way they want you to (or else you\u0027ll burn in hell!).\nPriests are wolves in sheep\u0027s clothing \u2013 their fairy tales sound soothing, but really they just enslave your mind.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDawkins doesn\u0027t try to be nice or soothing. Instead of making up a story that will make you feel better,\nhe scolds you for demanding a story in the first place.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDeath is just an end of something beautiful. Focus on the beautiful. Appreciate the beautiful.\nYou won a fucking lottery of existence! So appreciate it, make the best out of it while you can.\nJust don\u0027t be so arrogant as to demand that it lasted forever.\nIt won\u0027t. You\u0027ll have to deal with it. It\u0027s harsh, but it\u0027s true. And accepting it is liberating.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe quote might sound like it\u0027s about death, but for me it\u0027s more about \u003Cem\u003Elife\u003C\/em\u003E, actually.\nIt puts life into a proper perspective. It makes you focus on the joy and gratitude instead of fear.\nOn the process instead of its end.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAccepting that I\u0027m going to die, inevitably, without any \u201cafterlife\u201d to look forward to,\nrealising that things can be wonderful and amazing even if they don\u0027t last forever\n\u2013 that might have been the most liberating moment of my life.\u003C\/p\u003E","words":589,"readTime":3,"lang":"en"}}},"blog\/life\/the-greatest-song-on-earth":{"key":"blog\/life\/the-greatest-song-on-earth","type":"article","published":true,"meta":{"createdAt":"2019-05-25T22:33:02+02:00","publishedAt":"2019-12-08T13:05:00+01:00","group":null,"category":"blog","subcategory":"life","slug":"the-greatest-song-on-earth"},"content":{"en":{"slug":"the-greatest-song-on-earth","title":"The Greatest Song on Earth","intro":"\u003Cp\u003EIf I had to chose only one song that I would be allowed to listen to for the rest of my life, I would be brokenhearted about all the wonderful music I would lose, but I wouldn\u2019t hesitate for a second about \u003Cem\u003Ewhich\u003C\/em\u003E track I\u2019d choose.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Csvg xmlns=\u0022http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\u0022 style=\u0022display: none;\u0022\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E","content":"\u003Cp\u003EIf I had to chose only one song that I would be allowed to listen to for the rest of my life, I would be brokenhearted about all the wonderful music I would lose, but I wouldn\u2019t hesitate for a second about \u003Cem\u003Ewhich\u003C\/em\u003E track I\u2019d choose.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENightwish is the musical love of my life. Their power metal gave me power to get through the darkest moments of my life. Their symphonic metal managed to combine into single songs my passion for both classical music and heavier sounds. Seeing them perform live was no doubt the most eargasmic experience of my life.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd their Tuomas Holopainen is IMO the greatest modern composer. Absolutely no doubt about it.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhich brings me to the song that is the absolute peak of their work, combining plentitude of talent, years of experience developing their style, the refined technique, and a beautiful, powerful message.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe Greatest Show on Earth\u201d.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ELet\u2019s start with the message. It can\u2019t get more solemn than the story of the universe, of life and everything. Than asking the big questions, who are we and where are we going. Than contemplating life and death, creation and destruction. It\u2019s all there.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe whole album is inspired by one of the most brilliant and important theories in the history of science: Charles Darwin\u2019s evolutionary theory. The album\u2019s name actually comes from Darwin\u2019s \u201cOrigin of Species\u201d. And the name of the song itself comes from the title of Richard Dawkins\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Greatest_Show_on_Earth:_The_Evidence_for_Evolution\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E\u003Csvg class=\u0022icon\u0022\u003E\u003Cuse xlink:href=\u0022#light-link\u0022\u003E\u003C\/use\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E book\u003C\/a\u003E about evolution.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESpeaking of which, the album features Dawkins himself as a guest. He reads excerpts from both Darwin and himself, including this powerful quote from \u201cUnweaving the Rainbow\u201d that provides a wonderful solace for the fear of death without there being an afterlife:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022blockquote ml-4 pl-4 border-left\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones. Most people are never going to die because they are never going to be born. The potential people who could have been here in my place but who will in fact never see the light of day outnumber the sand grains of Sahara. [...] In the teeth of these stupefying odds it is you and I, in our ordinariness, that are here. We privileged few, who won the lottery of birth against all odds, \u003Cstrong\u003Ehow dare we whine\u003C\/strong\u003E at our inevitable return to that prior state from which the vast majority have never stirred?\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMusically, the song is actually a mix of genres, even being a bit tribal or a bit pop in some places. As it tells the story of the entire universe, it consists of multiple vastly different parts, yet all of them fitting so well together. It\u2019s a whole conceptual album in one song.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd it\u2019s being sung by Floor Jansen \u2013 immensely talented woman with a beautiful voice, and probably the most versatile one that I\u2019ve ever heard \u2013 together with Marco Hietala, who manages to both contrast and complement Floor\u2019s voice. Simply wonderful!\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd on top of that, they manage to take this already top-notch song and create a live show that elevates it even further \u2013 with a great stage design, sometimes even fireworks, or in case of the concert that I attended \u2013 weaving in my second-favourite song from Nightwish, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=JYjIlHWBAVo\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E\u003Csvg class=\u0022icon\u0022\u003E\u003Cuse xlink:href=\u0022#light-link\u0022\u003E\u003C\/use\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E Ghost Love Score\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EConsidering all that \u2013 could I make any other choice than going for The Greatest Song on Earth?\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022text-center my-4\u0022\u003E\u003Ciframe width=\u0022640\u0022 height=\u0022360\u0022 src=\u0022https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uki-Ls_2qBk\u0022 frameborder=\u00220\u0022 allowfullscreen\u003E\u003C\/iframe\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Csvg xmlns=\u0022http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\u0022 style=\u0022display: none;\u0022\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E","tags":["darwin","dawkins","eargasm","evolution","music","nightwish"],"hasMore":true,"image":null,"introLite":"\u003Cp\u003EIf I had to chose only one song that I would be allowed to listen to for the rest of my life, I would be brokenhearted about all the wonderful music I would lose, but I wouldn\u2019t hesitate for a second about \u003Cem\u003Ewhich\u003C\/em\u003E track I\u2019d choose.\u003C\/p\u003E","contentLite":"\u003Cp\u003EIf I had to chose only one song that I would be allowed to listen to for the rest of my life, I would be brokenhearted about all the wonderful music I would lose, but I wouldn\u2019t hesitate for a second about \u003Cem\u003Ewhich\u003C\/em\u003E track I\u2019d choose.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENightwish is the musical love of my life. Their power metal gave me power to get through the darkest moments of my life. Their symphonic metal managed to combine into single songs my passion for both classical music and heavier sounds. Seeing them perform live was no doubt the most eargasmic experience of my life.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd their Tuomas Holopainen is IMO the greatest modern composer. Absolutely no doubt about it.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhich brings me to the song that is the absolute peak of their work, combining plentitude of talent, years of experience developing their style, the refined technique, and a beautiful, powerful message.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe Greatest Show on Earth\u201d.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ELet\u2019s start with the message. It can\u2019t get more solemn than the story of the universe, of life and everything. Than asking the big questions, who are we and where are we going. Than contemplating life and death, creation and destruction. It\u2019s all there.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe whole album is inspired by one of the most brilliant and important theories in the history of science: Charles Darwin\u2019s evolutionary theory. The album\u2019s name actually comes from Darwin\u2019s \u201cOrigin of Species\u201d. And the name of the song itself comes from the title of Richard Dawkins\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Greatest_Show_on_Earth:_The_Evidence_for_Evolution\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E book\u003C\/a\u003E about evolution.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESpeaking of which, the album features Dawkins himself as a guest. He reads excerpts from both Darwin and himself, including this powerful quote from \u201cUnweaving the Rainbow\u201d that provides a wonderful solace for the fear of death without there being an afterlife:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cblockquote\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones. Most people are never going to die because they are never going to be born. The potential people who could have been here in my place but who will in fact never see the light of day outnumber the sand grains of Sahara. [...] In the teeth of these stupefying odds it is you and I, in our ordinariness, that are here. We privileged few, who won the lottery of birth against all odds, \u003Cstrong\u003Ehow dare we whine\u003C\/strong\u003E at our inevitable return to that prior state from which the vast majority have never stirred?\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMusically, the song is actually a mix of genres, even being a bit tribal or a bit pop in some places. As it tells the story of the entire universe, it consists of multiple vastly different parts, yet all of them fitting so well together. It\u2019s a whole conceptual album in one song.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd it\u2019s being sung by Floor Jansen \u2013 immensely talented woman with a beautiful voice, and probably the most versatile one that I\u2019ve ever heard \u2013 together with Marco Hietala, who manages to both contrast and complement Floor\u2019s voice. Simply wonderful!\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd on top of that, they manage to take this already top-notch song and create a live show that elevates it even further \u2013 with a great stage design, sometimes even fireworks, or in case of the concert that I attended \u2013 weaving in my second-favourite song from Nightwish, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=JYjIlHWBAVo\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E Ghost Love Score\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EConsidering all that \u2013 could I make any other choice than going for The Greatest Song on Earth?\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022text-center my-4\u0022\u003E\u003Ciframe width=\u0022640\u0022 height=\u0022360\u0022 src=\u0022https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uki-Ls_2qBk\u0022 frameborder=\u00220\u0022 allowfullscreen\u003E\u003C\/iframe\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","words":566,"readTime":3,"lang":"en"}}}}}