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of the statue-carriers speaks, the echo against the wall causes the prisoners to think the words were spoken by the shadows they see.

They name, judge, and scrutinize the shadows - their qualities, where they come from, what they might mean, etc. It's their only reality. But little do they know that what they are seeing are only shadows of the *true* reality.

There are several other nuances to this allegory, but the main gist of it is clear: how can we be arrogant enough to assume that what we see is all there is? Much less that it's in proper context of the Big Picture?

Now, taking all this into account, back to the main question: why are most geeks atheists?

My answer: because they subscribe to the common notion that any educated/learned individual cannot even begin to consider spirituality as a valid, indeed essential, part of the human condition. When in fact, several - I would even say a majority - of history's greatest minds have acknowledged the rational necessity of a higher power.

No amount of discovery about how the world ticks will erase the question of why it - or we - are here at all. What drives humanity to shake its fist at the sky, when all other creatures accept their place with dignity?

"All science, even the divine science, is a sublime detective story. Only it is not set to detect why a man is dead; but the darker secret of why he is alive." - G.K. Chesterton

Learn more about this author, Allison Platt.
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