Goosey
Full Member
Unacceptable and against morality behaviour.
Posts: 176
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Post by Goosey on Apr 21, 2009 5:11:15 GMT -5
There are various claims about how many Icelanders believe in elves. Some say 7%, some say 54% and some say 90%. That's obviously an enormous range, but the surprising thing is that they're not taking different measurements: these differing conclusions all come from the same measurement! The only difference is in how you define 'belief': those who say 90% believe in elves basically count anyone who doesn't say elves are impossible as 'believers', while those that say 7% count only those who are 'certain' that elves exist. The true figures are:- - Elves are impossible: 10%
- Elves are unlikely: 18%
- Elves are possible (but not probable or certain): 33%
- Elves are probable: 15%
- Elves are certain: 7%
- No opinion: 17%
(These figures were true in 1975. There's a little more doubt about elves today, but the figures probably wouldn't look that different.) So this is what I'm asking: given these figures, how many Icelanders would you say "believe in elves"? Edit: Bad maths. The 54% and 72% in the poll should be 55% and 73% respectively.
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Post by dantesvirgil on Apr 21, 2009 8:00:35 GMT -5
I have never heard of this before. Can you give more background about what you're talking about?
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Post by deliciousdemon on Apr 21, 2009 12:48:05 GMT -5
I have never heard of this before. Can you give more background about what you're talking about? Most Icelanders won't deny the existence of elves; this superstition is a stark contrast with an otherwise scientifically oriented people with a high standard of living making them 'weird'. Thus, people just love to bring it up for no real reason at all.
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Post by dantesvirgil on Apr 21, 2009 13:08:46 GMT -5
Fascinating. Is it really true that they won't, or is that just a cultural rumor?
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Goosey
Full Member
Unacceptable and against morality behaviour.
Posts: 176
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Post by Goosey on Apr 21, 2009 14:13:11 GMT -5
Fascinating. Is it really true that they won't, or is that just a cultural rumor? It's really true. There are cases in the past where new major building works had to have a government 'expert' out to certify that the work wouldn't upset any elf houses, even in the past ten years. But as I said in the first post, it's mostly that Icelanders accept the possibility of elves rather than the actuality of elves. Most Icelanders won't deny the existence of elves; this superstition is a stark contrast with an otherwise scientifically oriented people with a high standard of living making them 'weird'. Thus, people just love to bring it up for no real reason at all. In what way is it 'weird'? I guess on this site I am mostly (if you'll pardon the phrase) preaching to the converted, but if you think about it without cultural bias, elves are easily more plausible than God is. It just seems less plausible because fewer people believe it, and we all know that that way lies a logical fallacy. What is weird is that people find Icelandic acceptance of the possibility of elves completely bonkers, while the low rate of atheism elsewhere is considered totally normal. That wasn't really my point in bringing it up, though. The point was that just by changing the definition of 'belief' slightly, the picture changes dramatically. That's what I found interesting about it.
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Post by Old Viking on Apr 21, 2009 14:27:12 GMT -5
I think the belief is a charming way to have fun.
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Post by captainhooker on Apr 21, 2009 20:02:53 GMT -5
I don't believe in elves, but I do have it on good authority that Icelandic chicks are hot.
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Post by needless on Apr 21, 2009 20:17:28 GMT -5
The best way to decide to believe something is to see if it feels right to you.
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Post by Undecided on Apr 21, 2009 20:27:02 GMT -5
This is just like the Korean "death by electric fan" myth, is it not?
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Post by Sigmaleph on Apr 21, 2009 20:38:06 GMT -5
The best way to decide to believe something is to see if it feels right to you. Actually, I find that is one of the worst ways of deciding what to believe.
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Post by Undecided on Apr 21, 2009 20:57:36 GMT -5
The best way to decide to believe something is to see if it feels right to you. Actually, I find that is one of the worst ways of deciding what to believe. I concur. Your feelings can get in the way of deciding the truth of the matter: they interfere with objectivity, you see. The elvish beliefs of the original poster's remark are probably quite poorly based on evidence: surely nobody has seen a real elf (I'm generalising from the U.S. experiences with debunking the paranormal), so the belief propagates on sentiment and hearsay.
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Post by Art Vandelay on Apr 21, 2009 20:58:09 GMT -5
The best way to decide to believe something is to see if it feels right to you. Having a divine mandate to wipe out all humans who I feel are a waste of carbon feels quite right to me.
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Post by ironbite on Apr 21, 2009 21:01:05 GMT -5
I don't believe in elves, but I do have it on good authority that Icelandic chicks are hot. Elf girls are cute. Ironbite-and cockteases.
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Post by dantesvirgil on Apr 21, 2009 21:29:49 GMT -5
This is just like the Korean "death by electric fan" myth, is it not? What's this, what's this?? More intriguing cultural myths? Please expand!
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Post by needless on Apr 21, 2009 21:42:47 GMT -5
I concur. Your feelings can get in the way of deciding the truth of the matter: they interfere with objectivity, you see. Objectivity doesn't exist. Only I do. The universe is a creation of my mind.
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