I really wish more of us would accept that it's ok to base your belief system in a bedrock of unshakable, unquestionable, faith

it's fine, really! the trick is in choosing the right axioms, which is harder than it sounds.

for ex, i have never once believed magic could be really

I'm so completely sure of this that I'm willing to stake the entirety of my reputation on it, which is rather important to me, as someone who purports to be some sort of intellectual

how am I so sure? bc my article of faith is that the universe is comprehensible & deterministic

this may sound rather uninteresting at face value, but if you think through the consequences it easily discredits every single possible supernatural theory of action, as they all rely on some nondeterminstic mechanism

some may say I'm being intellectually dishonest in this way

after all, don't we have an obligation to consider every possible explanation for phenomena, to be open minded?

no! we absolutely do not! and by making that choice explicitly, we exchange options for power

willingly taking on constraints is a pro move

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RT @pee_zombie
critically important to consider: the cognitive value of putting questions to rest

fully committing to certain courses of action, discretizing your confidence, allow…
https://twitter.com/pee_zombie/status/1367198355944857600

in some circles, such as a certain sort of rationalist, this is considered anathema; by permanently shutting off exploration of certain rhetorical branches we take on risks with massive potential downside

the thing is, it's a bet; a well-reasoned one, but a gamble nonetheless

in many senses, it's an irrational one. from an epistemic risk management perspective, it's the wrong choice; a sort of metaphysical Faustian bargain

a bargain made at the altar of reason itself; which do you value more, robustness or incisiveness? ultimately you must choose.