TED Community » Brad Friend

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I'm passionate about

Religion, Philosophy, Science, Discovery, Knowledge, and the truth.

An idea worth spreading

I think religion is an artifact that too many have carried into the modern day. The archaic belief in a sentient being of immeasurable power and presence is something which, by all rights, should have gone the way of human and animal sacrifice, blood rites, and the belief that the universe is centered around the Earth. Many theists claim that religion is necessary, either to live as a good person or to live at all, and this is simply untrue. Religion brings ignorance and hate to all that experience it, and even if it was once needed in a more savage past, it has outlived its need.

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  A comment on Conversation: What's with the fear of darkness anyways?

  Nov 4 2011: Darkness is the second greatest fear of any person who has ever experienced light. It's not the darkness we fear but what it represents. Darkness is the physical manifestation of the unknown, and of ignorance of danger. It is not the darkness, but what lies inside it. And when we can't see what is there, we are hardwired to imagine whatever frightens us individually the most. This is why the scariest part of a horror movie is before we see the monster, when we are imagining all the terrible things it could be. Its why, since landing on the moon, we've made so little headway in the exploration and colonization of space. Space is the single greatest form of darkness, of the unknown, the very thing we've known to fear our entire lives. And it seems reckless, even suicidal, to step boldly into that frontier, without first examining, experimenting, and pushing back as much of the unknown as possible first.
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  A reply on Conversation: This house believes that smoking should be banned in public places.

  Nov 4 2011: As I understand it, this debate is about smoking in public places outdoors, such as parks or city streets, as most states have already banned smoking indoors in public places in almost every establishment. The problem with such a ban is that it would likely do more harm than good. Many people live in homes with no private outdoor space, so such a ban would force them indoors and increase the risks to their friends and family.