SarahC comments on Were atoms real? - Less Wrong

61 Post author: AnnaSalamon 08 December 2010 05:30PM

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Comment author: [deleted] 09 December 2010 04:25:15PM 8 points [-]

Interesting. It's funny how the Bible really reinforces the idea of natural kinds -- a lot of the prohibitions can be interpreted, one way or another, as prohibitions against mixing things that are essentially different (wool and flax, men and women, fish and mammals.) It would make sense if essentialism was the way we "naturally" think, and it takes some scientific development to tease out where it doesn't make sense.

Though I'm just amazed at their trouble with grammar, first of all. Grrrr.

Comment author: xamdam 09 December 2010 06:00:18PM 1 point [-]
  • wool and flax - Yes
  • men and women - Huh?
  • fish and mammals - Sort of (some people do not eat milk and fish with same utensils, but it's not from the Bible as far as I can tell) Additionally -
  • mixing plant species (via grafting) - Yes, a major support for your point

-- your local ex-rabbinical student :)

Comment author: [deleted] 09 December 2010 06:16:56PM 2 points [-]

-men and women: men aren't supposed to dress like women and vice versa.

-fish and mammals: takes some unpacking and was probably the wrong way to phrase it. The fish you can eat should have scales and fins -- that sort of points to "good" fish being especially "fishy" fish. Fish that are kind of not like fish are not okay.

Comment author: xamdam 09 December 2010 06:32:48PM 3 points [-]

-men and women: men aren't supposed to dress like women and vice versa.

agreed, support your theory

-fish and mammals

yes, probably wrong way to phrase it, but I agree about the essentialism of "fish with scales" being "fishy fish" - that's a very sharp observation, actually.