Question from Niki:
Please supply us with general info on your person, like place of living, age, gender, formal education etc. And if there are more people than ‘SmartLX’.
It would be fair to know who I ask and who answers my questions, just as when I read a book or an article, I can see the name of the author, and when I google the name I will know more about the person, thus I can distrust, and in my case trust, the answer more, if I know just who is answering them. I am not asking about the IQ of the person, but I would love that too. Mine is not too high, but high enough for me to know my boundaries. Goethe’s, I believe, was 210 or even more, while Mozart’s was ‘merely’ 165. I believe mine is 110-120 and I am ashamed of its lowness, cos I love intelligence and knowledge, especially in natural sciences, classical music, psychology, sociology, neurology and psychiatry. And flowers, children, cats and MOZART. lol
Answer by SmartLX:
I don’t see how all of the requested information is neccessarily relevant but I’m not really concealing any of it either, so: I’m 36, male and in Queensland, Australia, and it’s just me on ATA right now. I have an undergraduate degree in mathematics and computer science, and another in theatre. I work in IT and HR.
My IQ has been measured variously between 148 and 166 by different tests some time ago, and that’s high but I’m very aware that IQ tests only measure a very narrow set of abilities, so I don’t put much stock in it and neither should you. The strengths of your intelligence may be in areas the tests don’t cover. Besides, 110-120 is still above average, because by definition the average is 100.
If anyone else is curious about me beyond my atheism for any reason, feel free to ask other questions in the comments. I reserve the right not to answer any given question, but I’m open to answering plenty.
Tag: SmartLX
Why I’m An Atheist
Question from Jenna:
Did God disappoint you in anyway that caused you not to believe? Or do you just not believe because no one ever taught you the right thing?
Question from Ryan:
What event(s) in your life made you believe there is no god?
Question from Randy:
In what part of your life have you decided or came to the conclusion that there is no God?
Question from Carly:
As an Atheist, why do you think that people believe in God if you don’t? With that answer, why don’t you believe in God?
Answer by SmartLX:
We’ve had a sudden influx of questions, some of which are fairly similar, so I may be grouping more together in the short term.
My essay “Why I am an atheist” on Pharyngula will answer the above questions. It was a gift to PZ so I won’t reproduce it here, but click the link. It won’t bite.
Edit: Carly, your question is related but slightly different. Most people believe because, like me, they’ve been brought up to believe in a particular faith but, unlike me, they’ve never seen a good reason to question it. This is not a comment on their intelligence or anything else; chances are, by the time they’re of an age where they might question their faith, they’re so emotionally invested in it that they see doubt as downright dangerous and actively avoid challenges. (This emotional investment is what I inadvertently allowed to fade away.) All those who have been converted by “religious experience”, religious apologetics, doorknockers and so forth are of insignificant number compared to the billions who simply accept what they’re told as children.
SmartLX: The Return
asktheatheist.com is dead, long live asktheatheist.com!
Welcome to the new site. The old Drupal-based site ground to a halt (like many such sites, apparently) so we’ve gone to WordPress.
Jake’s posted his old videos and I’ll be reposting my Great Big Arguments series (edit: it’s all up now), but the majority of the questions, answers and discussions went down with the old ship and we’re very sorry about that. You’re welcome to restate any of the old questions for us to answer anew. (This is of course your chance to rework or rephrase those questions, if for example you think we got you on a technicality last time.)
We look forward to receiving some questions by voice thanks to Google, and may answer in kind.
Have fun. I know I will.
– SmartLX