A Wish

I wish for many things: being a professor of pure mathematics and a world-famous weird tale-writer and having heaps of money to give to unsuspecting worthy causes would be nice. So would be a harem of young, lithe — well, so would be winning a Fields medal.

And maybe I wish for bigger, stronger, better things than that, too.

Maybe for school courses and parents that, from the very first grade, taught children to think instead of memorizing — think critically, skeptically, accurately, impersonally and coldly.

Also classes that were balanced in some ineffable way — all sides given their fair share, with Intelligent Design getting as big a share of Biology as $\sqrt{x+y} = \sqrt{x}+\sqrt{y}$ gets of Mathematics.

Also classes that told children of all different religions and mythologies, and of atheism as well, and of phlogiston and aether, of all the theories of the world that ever were, and of the fact that people indeed, really, grown-up really, believed in those things and still do, so very firmly no matter whether the theories ended up being right or wrong.

Raising the young ones as atheists would be as wrong as raising them as Thor-worshippers, but given all the evidence, enough training in skepticism, and an opportunity to draw their own conclusions, I think that atheism would be the inevitable result.

A reasonable education, based on best facts, inquiry and doubt — within a century, most of the things wrong with human societies would be mending. We wouldn’t be just children tottering on the brink of adulthood, but a true conglomeration of sensible minds, willing to let go of old lies and ancient illusions.

Then, after a few centuries, all talk of gods would be redelegated to madhouses, fantasy novels and museums, the places where it belongs.

I wish, I wish. Sadly just wishing doesn’t make it so. Oh well, I’ll just add a link to Lennon’s Imagine and be done with it.

“And no religion, too.”