Too bad you didn’t get positive feedback. The awaited praise for discoveries keeps scientists going. In terms of money the smart decision would have been to hide the results from parents to keep the dollars flowing in.
Oh, but the money did keep on flowing in! My parents may not have handled the situation perfectly, but they most certainly didn’t cut off the money just because I uncovered their lies. To do so would be punishing me for finding out, which was certainly not their intention.
After that point, whenever a tooth fell out, I’d just hand it to my mother and she would dig out the cash for me, without the whole ritual of putting the tooth under the pillow and having it be replaced by an imaginary being who collects teeth for some reason.
Nice, but it seems rather less satisfying not to even put it under the pillow. This leads to a larger point: you don’t have to give up the rituals of religion when you give up the doctrine!
Sorry, but I disagree. Personally, I rather dislike going through arbitrary pointless motions. The “magic” is already gone, and mindlessly trying to go through the same motions to bring it back is futile. We are better off without it.
The magic may be gone, but I believe that Toby’s point was that even if the personal power of the ritual is revealed to be nonexistent, the social power may still remain.
I don’t understand: could you explain what specifically you are claiming remains? Social power implies that it impacts other people and their actions, which I don’t think is the case in this situation.
Too bad you didn’t get positive feedback. The awaited praise for discoveries keeps scientists going. In terms of money the smart decision would have been to hide the results from parents to keep the dollars flowing in.
Oh, but the money did keep on flowing in! My parents may not have handled the situation perfectly, but they most certainly didn’t cut off the money just because I uncovered their lies. To do so would be punishing me for finding out, which was certainly not their intention.
After that point, whenever a tooth fell out, I’d just hand it to my mother and she would dig out the cash for me, without the whole ritual of putting the tooth under the pillow and having it be replaced by an imaginary being who collects teeth for some reason.
Nice, but it seems rather less satisfying not to even put it under the pillow. This leads to a larger point: you don’t have to give up the rituals of religion when you give up the doctrine!
Sorry, but I disagree. Personally, I rather dislike going through arbitrary pointless motions. The “magic” is already gone, and mindlessly trying to go through the same motions to bring it back is futile. We are better off without it.
If that’s what you prefer, then of course you did the right thing.
The magic may be gone, but I believe that Toby’s point was that even if the personal power of the ritual is revealed to be nonexistent, the social power may still remain.
I don’t understand: could you explain what specifically you are claiming remains? Social power implies that it impacts other people and their actions, which I don’t think is the case in this situation.