

Ask HN: How many entrepreneurs are also atheists? - hndjmrh

Is there a connection between non-belief and innovative ideas? For example, having an open mind means you can possibly be more creative (not limited by one thought)?
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da02
I've seen atheists who were logical and open-minded. Then there were others
who completely mis-interpreted the concept of God as a bearded dictator. In
atheism, you get all kinds of people. Just like in religion, business,
politics, etc.

I would say, a much bigger factor is economics. In the 1980s, the Soviet Union
government could not make a TV better than the tiny island of Japan. (Akio
Morita observed it in his auto-biography, Made in Japan.) You would have more
competition in Japan than in the Soviet Union. So companies would have an
incentive in advancing science through investment, regardless of faith. The
payoff would be bigger and their would be more capital and investment.
Religion, language, family, etc. all would be a minor factor in relative terms
to economic environment.

You can also see the difference between Malaysia and Indonesia. Located next
to each other, various religions that overlap, yet different economic growth.

Any science conference would have people of different faiths, including
atheists. Many religions seem to even promote business and science. More
examples:

1) The ancient Greeks would still visit oracles despite advancing mathematics.

2) The best observatories were once at monasteries.

3) Gregor Mendel was a Augustinian friar.

4) Bicameral Kingdoms (Incas, ancient Egyptians) had similar religions, but
stayed stagnant for thousands of years compared to the Muslims and Christians:
<http://saturniancosmology.org/sun.php#a10>

5) If you watch the NOVA episode on Gothic Cathedrals, you see how religion
led to architecture innovation: <http://video.pbs.org/video/1619317222/>

6) This book has more examples. (It is not limited to the Catholic Church):
[http://www.tomwoods.com/books/how-the-catholic-church-
built-...](http://www.tomwoods.com/books/how-the-catholic-church-built-
western-civilization/)

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declancostello
I think people are very good at compartmentalising conflicting beliefs.

There are plenty of people who are pleasant, productive members of society who
believe things that are absolutely ridiculous ( religious and non-religious
alike )

~~~
einhverfr
Well, intellectually I think that religions are like languages, and what is
communicated is more important than which language is spoken. In terms of
practice, I am a polytheist who looks to Norse myth as my primary path. I
don't know how to get to an ontology of what a god is and whether or in what
sense they can be said to exist though.

