&#62; Hint: it's not about evolution, or cosmology. It's about respect for the scientific process.<p>I agree completely.  What part of ghosts, yoga as spiritual, etc do you see as respecting the scientific process?<p>&#62; (The US is actually a rather startling exception, if you look at a graph of popular religiosity versus any number of metrics of a healthy, successful society.)<p>You're assuming that religiousity taints all.  It didn't have that effect on Knuth (who is extremely religious).<p>That's why I pointed out that not believing in evolution or "old earth" isn't necessarily a handicap.  You can argue that it is, but then you get to explain Knuth and deal with ghosters and the like.  (Surely you're not going to argue that creation and new earth are the only misbeliefs that matter.)<p>&#62;&#62; Ah yes, the folks who think that fire can't melt steel....<p>&#62; WTF...?<p>A significant fraction of "the reality based community" consists of "truthers".  One of their core beliefs is that 9/11 didn't happen the way it looked like it happened is because the planes "just" spread fire through the world trade center.  However, they insist that something else took the buildings down because "fire doesn't melt steel".  (They apparently don't know that different things burn at different temperatures and melt isn't necessary.)<p>&#62; Gonna call "citation needed" on that.<p>You don't think that ghosters participate in the body politic?