I would consider myself a sensible skeptic, in that I do not believe in the supernatural, but if I saw something that looked like a demonic possession or a hostile ghost or whatever I would immediately LEAVE.
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I think this is a characteristically Irish POV. Faeries aren't real. But also, you don't fuck with the faeries.
@astronomerritt The Irish Pascal's Wager!
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I think this is a characteristically Irish POV. Faeries aren't real. But also, you don't fuck with the faeries.
@astronomerritt Hello! And goodmorning (you are the first person I talk to this day) I'm a Dutch, sceptic thinking person. Do not believe in gods or any supernatural stuffs and I would totally not hassle the faeries. You know, just to be on the safe side. Also do not mess with the Witte Wieven when you are here. They will steal your cattle if you do. Now, I don't own any cattle at the moment but again, to avoid risk I'll just leave the wise women alone.
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@astronomerritt Hello! And goodmorning (you are the first person I talk to this day) I'm a Dutch, sceptic thinking person. Do not believe in gods or any supernatural stuffs and I would totally not hassle the faeries. You know, just to be on the safe side. Also do not mess with the Witte Wieven when you are here. They will steal your cattle if you do. Now, I don't own any cattle at the moment but again, to avoid risk I'll just leave the wise women alone.
@Branwen74 Good morning! Pleased and unsurprised to yet again find a kindred spirit in the Dutch. May you and your non-existent cattle remain safe.
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@astronomerritt The Irish Pascal's Wager!
@quidcumque Exactly!
My partner actually added that while they do not believe in God, neither would they ever disrespect a Christian site or object, for much the same reason. You just don't invite that sort of attention from anywhere. Even if you don't believe it exists.
(Also, basic respect, obviously.)
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@astronomerritt Speaking of supernatural encounters, I hope "sniff for the Stinky Ghost Risen from the Sewers" is on your house-hunting checklist.
@amenonsen @roknrol You better believe I'm sniffing every drain I see! Though knowing my luck, the stinky drain ghost will follow us.
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This seems sensible to me. As anything that could even imitate a ghost or demon might likewise be dangerous. Best skedaddle anyway and theorize from afar.
@springdiesel Exactly. Even logically, it makes sense. It could be carbon monoxide poisoning.
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@astronomerritt My friends and I had a tour guide in Iceland who, when the subject of the huldufólk came up, said that “I wouldn’t say that Icelandic people are superstitious, but we are stitious”
@tym Ha! Oh, I like that. I might take that on myself.
I think there's an aspect to it of simply respecting your culture's old and entrenched folklore. By not cutting down a fairy tree, you're taking part in something people have been doing (or not-doing) on this island for hundreds of years. I bet it's similar for the Icelandic.
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@astronomerritt
Well, the Little People are real and you can see them after you fix the limitations of your eyes with the correct medication...
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260121-the-mysterious-mushroom-that-makes-you-see-tiny-people
So why not faeries as well?@BLatro But did the researcher eat them??? I want to know if he saw the little people and if it says it in the article I missed it
Fascinating read, thank you!
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@astronomerritt
But by staying you could answer the question once and for all! Or not, as the case may be.@BLatro Or I could get turned inside out by a demon! I think the question may remain unanswered for the sake of my innards not becoming my exnards.
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@simon_brooke I didn't know you had An Morrígan in Scotland! Though of course she may go wherever she likes.
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@quidcumque Exactly!
My partner actually added that while they do not believe in God, neither would they ever disrespect a Christian site or object, for much the same reason. You just don't invite that sort of attention from anywhere. Even if you don't believe it exists.
(Also, basic respect, obviously.)
@astronomerritt Christian *leaders*, on the other hand, should be disrespected as much as possible if necessary (and it's very often very necessary)!
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@astronomerritt Christian *leaders*, on the other hand, should be disrespected as much as possible if necessary (and it's very often very necessary)!
@quidcumque Were my partner awake, they would want to high-five you for this
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@tym Ha! Oh, I like that. I might take that on myself.
I think there's an aspect to it of simply respecting your culture's old and entrenched folklore. By not cutting down a fairy tree, you're taking part in something people have been doing (or not-doing) on this island for hundreds of years. I bet it's similar for the Icelandic.
@astronomerritt Yeah I think you put that very well. There’s all kinds of stories of like road construction projects in Iceland being re-routed after someone reports that a particular boulder houses a church for the elves or something like that. One thing I love about the Icelandic elves is the whole mythology is like a textbook example of unfalsifiable claims: the elves live inside the rocks, and it’s up to them whether they let themselves be seen by humans, and they rarely do. You can choose to believe it or just to play along, without it intersecting with your participation in the world of facts much at all
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@astronomerritt Yeah I think you put that very well. There’s all kinds of stories of like road construction projects in Iceland being re-routed after someone reports that a particular boulder houses a church for the elves or something like that. One thing I love about the Icelandic elves is the whole mythology is like a textbook example of unfalsifiable claims: the elves live inside the rocks, and it’s up to them whether they let themselves be seen by humans, and they rarely do. You can choose to believe it or just to play along, without it intersecting with your participation in the world of facts much at all
@tym Yes! Exactly. And honestly, sometimes it's just fun and fulfilling to play along, because the world of facts can be bleak and disappointing, and it's nice to think that the fae/elves/etc are still out there in their trees and their rocks, where this hard cold world can't reach them, and we're doing our bit to preserve that.
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I think this is a characteristically Irish POV. Faeries aren't real. But also, you don't fuck with the faeries.
I think it was Terry Pratchett who wrote that after Blaise "Wager" Pascal¹ died, he had a welcoming committee armed with farm equipment waiting², with someone shouting "this is what we think of wise guys" before the scene bled to black.
Tbs, I would think it's untenable position to live while believing everything, and I'm sure the list of of beings who can detect lip service is rather long as well.
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¹ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal's_wager
² Welcome to the Pitchfork Emporium, etc. -
I think it was Terry Pratchett who wrote that after Blaise "Wager" Pascal¹ died, he had a welcoming committee armed with farm equipment waiting², with someone shouting "this is what we think of wise guys" before the scene bled to black.
Tbs, I would think it's untenable position to live while believing everything, and I'm sure the list of of beings who can detect lip service is rather long as well.
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¹ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal's_wager
² Welcome to the Pitchfork Emporium, etc.@iju I mean, that isn't really what I'm talking about. I'm very clear that I do not believe in the supernatural.
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I would consider myself a sensible skeptic, in that I do not believe in the supernatural, but if I saw something that looked like a demonic possession or a hostile ghost or whatever I would immediately LEAVE.
Like, I can tell myself it was a hallucination AFTERWARDS. I'm not risking my shit on that 0.1% chance I'm wrong about demons.
@astronomerritt
I had a coworker who was smart, reliable, and calm, and absolutely swore to me that they once saw a chupacabra. -
@astronomerritt
I had a coworker who was smart, reliable, and calm, and absolutely swore to me that they once saw a chupacabra.@RealGene Oooh, I wonder what they actually saw?
If I saw something weird I don't think I would be like "oh yeah totally saw a ghost". I think I'd be like "I saw something that looked like a ghost and it creeped me out enough that I noped on out of there". But I would still nope out.
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@iju I mean, that isn't really what I'm talking about. I'm very clear that I do not believe in the supernatural.
None of what I wrote above should be taken as a critique of your beliefs, or lack thereof.
Just felt like that the sensible "belts and suspenders" -policy of yours is close enough to the Wager (which has been seriously been proposed to me) that it felt like a good idea to write it down in case someone would find it useful.
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@RealGene Oooh, I wonder what they actually saw?
If I saw something weird I don't think I would be like "oh yeah totally saw a ghost". I think I'd be like "I saw something that looked like a ghost and it creeped me out enough that I noped on out of there". But I would still nope out.
It seems I have more than one "I was driving down a deserted road" tale in me!
So I was driving slowly down a deserted road (not the same road as the dentist one) late at night in a light winter fog, and I passed a figure on the side of the road near a small cremation ground in a village.
I drove past without slowing down, and about two seconds later, my brain helpfully filled in the detail that it was a slender black-shrouded figure walking with its arms raised above its head. I did not turn around.
