nazgulnarsil comments on The Mystery of the Haunted Rationalist - Less Wrong

69 Post author: Yvain 08 March 2009 08:39PM

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Comment author: nazgulnarsil 08 March 2009 11:30:02PM 5 points [-]

aren't you ignoring the fact that the rumors of ghosts could very well be a misidentification of other causes? if everyone believes there to be a ghost because 3 people disappeared but what actually happened is that a crazed maniac dragged them off into the woods then our fear is justified. Imagine our ancestors telling an anecdote not to go near the watering hole at a certain time because if you go at that time you'll disappear and all that will be found of you is bloody scraps (big cats were in the area at the time). They might come up with a story about demons in order to scare children into not going to the water hole at that time (say the middle of the night). Even though the identified cause is wrong it still pays to believe it, since we lack any other causes to believe in. We might not know of all the potential causes of death, so we ascribe all unidentified ones to "the midnight witch who eats naughty children". Avoiding this witch based on the stories of others from the area is natural.