Our large human brains have served us well throughout the course of our history. We learned to live off the land, evade predators, cultivate plants, domesticate animals, develop the scientific method, and make our lives more comfortable and rewarding through a vast array of industrial, cultural and technologic advancements.
But that brain, the seat of imagination, also fueled mysticism. Taking root in human cultures long before the scientific revolution, mysticism instilled the concept of gods and religions, offering protection from death itself. Of course, throughout history, these beliefs have fostered fanaticism, intolerance, discrimination and countless wars. Threatened by the enlightenment that science has wrought, mysticism resists scientific progress, placing a drag on the advancement of mankind.
Today, thousands of years after mysticism took hold, it continues to mold our culture and ignite human conflict across the globe. Fed by ignorance, fear and impoverishment, it offers simple answers to complex problems. Truth is its primary victim.
