scientific inquiry with the choice of subject matter motivated by theism is of lower quality than science done without that motivation.
Absolutely. Hence, the warning flag. A scientist expecting to find the evidence of God doesn’t just have freeloading beliefs, but beliefs that pay rent in wrong expectations. That’s akin to a gambling economist.
best scientists … tend to be less theistic.
I’d say it’s good evidence in favor of P ( good science | scientist is theist ) < P ( good science ) . Of course, your point about correlation not causation is very valid, too.
Someone in the discussion once said that atheism on average adds ~40 to IQ (I might be remembering incorrectly). I suppose high IQ is correlated with both excellence as a scientist and an ability to reconsider and abandon theism if the question ever arose.
My specific interest is whether or not atheism alone makes scientists better.
Absolutely. Hence, the warning flag. A scientist expecting to find the evidence of God doesn’t just have freeloading beliefs, but beliefs that pay rent in wrong expectations. That’s akin to a gambling economist.
I’d say it’s good evidence in favor of P ( good science | scientist is theist ) < P ( good science ) . Of course, your point about correlation not causation is very valid, too.
Someone in the discussion once said that atheism on average adds ~40 to IQ (I might be remembering incorrectly). I suppose high IQ is correlated with both excellence as a scientist and an ability to reconsider and abandon theism if the question ever arose.
My specific interest is whether or not atheism alone makes scientists better.