Irreligion

This book was a picked up purely based on curiosity. It is written by John Allen Paulos the same guy who wrote A Mathematician plays the stock market. The book was intriguing because of its catchy statement :- A Mathematician Explains Why the Arguments for God Just Don't Add Up. Well again it was pure and pure curiosity to read how someone could prove it.

I was proved right as soon as I started the book. The author does not claim that God does not exist nor can he prove it using some mathematical formula. The aim of the author was only to pick up different forms of arguments given by preachers, followers, holy books etc.. (these arguments are generally common to all religions) and try to logically challenge them. The math in the book is minimal and limited to probability and school level arithmetic.

The book is divided into three parts for the four classical arguments, the four subjective arguments and the four psycho-mathematical arguments respectively. The best way to write about it is by example and this is what I shall do.

The subjective arguments that the author tackles are : coincidences, prophecy, subjectivity and interventions ( miracles, prayer, witness etc). The argument for God goes like this and I quote:

           1) All these remarkable occurring at the same time can't be an accident.

           2) There must be some reason for these coincidences.

           3) The reason is God.

           4) Therefore, God exists.

The author argues with the example of the 9/11 attack on the twin towers. After the horrific incident there were many emails and articles that went around regarding the coincidence of the date 9/11, the  Nostradamus  prophecies, the lottery numbers that were generated that day etc etc. All these things cannot be co-incidence and therefore have to be related. The author argues that all these independent events and circular reasoning do not prove anything and are irrelevant. He goes to the extreme to show that the  closing value of the S&P 500 futures contracts market was 911 on Sept 10 2002 (another meaningless close example or coincidence!). 

Another interesting phsyco-mathematical argument and one of my favorites is: 

             1) We can choose to believe in God or we can choose not to so believe.

             2) If we reject God and act accordingly, we risk everlasting agony and torment if He does exist (what statisticians call a Type 1 error) but enjoy fleeting earthly delights if He doesn't.

             3) If we accept God and act accordingly, we risk little if He does not exist (what's called a Type 2 error) but enjoy endless heavenly bliss if He does.

             4) It's in our self interest to accept God's existence.

             5) Therefore God exists.

This argument for believing in God can be mathematically expressed in terms of Expected Value. Therefore, both (2) and (3) will have some associated payoffs and based on the higher expected value for them its always beneficial to chose either one. There lies one of the main problems in today's world. By attaching a higher pay of to (3)  we get the fanatical believer's threat "God Exists and every thing is allowed". Therefore, killing hundreds and thousands of people is justified in the eyes of the believer. In doing which  and  I quote "they violate only mundane human laws and incur only mundane human penalties while upholding a  higher divine law and achieving a higher divine approbations".

This book is really interesting and is philosophical with arguments, logic and math. So I would recommend reading this book only if this is your area of interest. The book is just short of 150 pages so goes quickly and should be read with an open mind.

My Rating: 7.0/10.0