[skeezyjefferson]

isnt it more embarrasing that they believed the sun needed help to reappear? that they mistook the feelings in their head to be real, kind of how people think they can feel or talk to a god? we love to pat ourselves on the back but never take a look at how stupid we actually are, most people most of the time. i feel regularly embarrassed at the mistakes we make

[culi]

Many of these indigenous knowledge systems are essentially memory palaces. It's a way to memorize large amounts of information and map that information on some sort of tangible metaphor. Modern western astrology is pretty divorced from the original practice(s), but the original practice actually used a sidereal clock and actually corresponded to the positions of stars. The stars being an important component for navigation, agricultural calendars, etc. Astrology served as a memory palace to store this sort of information.

These metaphors are quite common across the world and over time gain many layers of knowledge. Go a little more east and you'll commonly see the 4 winds, the 4 cardinal directions, the 4 tastes, 4 [insert characteristics of medicinal properties] etc all mapped onto each other.

The most embarrassing part of humanity imo is the arrogance and disregard with which people sometimes approach other cultures

[roughly]

Additionally, ritual serves a purpose both for individuals and within a broader society - for instance, a bloodletting during a solar eclipse emphasizes both the vulnerability of society to outside affairs (a solar eclipse is a hauntingly humbling experience even to the modern viewer) and the noble’s obligation to society (literally shedding blood to help protect their society). Similar can be seen with some rituals around hunting and gathering - “never kill the first deer/take the first herb you see” serves as a conservation act.

There’s an old line - “religion is the finger that points to the moon” - to your point about religion as a memory palace, most of these practices survived not because the sun god blessed them, but because they had tangible and durable benefits to the societies that practiced them.

[ainiriand]

That attitude towards this issue, while natural, brings nothing positive to you. You should try to embrace our limitations, use them to play in your favor if needed, and be amazed at the diversity and curiosity of human thought. We will conquer the darkness, bit by bit.

[llamasushi]

That's an optimistic take, but equally valid is the take where delusions provide impetus for some pretty nasty behaviour - eg see the crusades

[dasil003]

I value objectivity and truth as much as the next nerd, but would never set not-being-wrong as my highest value. Such a path can only lead to misery and alienation.

[iterance]

We have horoscopes and quantum computing. The existence of one is no shame on the other.

[aj_hackman]

God is all-powerful, eternal, exists outside of space and time, and created us for a purpose - but he's too busy to be bothered by our prayers?