[Kaj]

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And yet, most of the posts are concerning religion? What is it about religion and religious debate in general that people find so captivating?
It seems that in a lot of these posts, people are wasting their time trying to use evidence to convince people who do not rely on evidence to form their understanding of the world; and vice versa, with the religious minded relying on faith based reasoning. These appear to be two completely orthogonal mindsets; how can constructive debate ever occur?

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In general, it usually isn't constructive. But I'd guess there are numerous people in the gray area who read the threads and it helps them shape their opinions a little more clearly. I believe the real audience is the reader not active in the thread.

Also it's hard to sustain much discussion on a math or sci topic. OP: Who loves Laplace Transforms?