Cheating?

Can praying improve your reasoning? I once questioned a student about his suspicious behavior during a logic examination. He confessed that he was praying for the correct answer. I felt this was cheating. Even if God did not give him the answer, the student was soliciting the answer from Someone Else.

– Dartmouth philosopher Roy Sorensen, in A Brief History of the Paradox, 2003

This gave me a chuckle. It sounds more like an excuse to me, I mean, who prays for the right answer, huh? .... exactly!

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Permalink Reply by Morgan Matthew on December 14, 2010 at 4:06pm

haha #win

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Permalink Reply by Dave G on December 14, 2010 at 5:31pm

I suppose it would be cheating, if the person actually believed they'd be given the answer.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Sizer-Watt on December 20, 2010 at 5:13am

I don't think the student could ever see it as cheating, since he would believe that everyone else has equal ability to do it, and that surely god would not help him if it were wrong.

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Permalink Reply by Jon Heim on December 21, 2010 at 5:35pm

I sir, dont have the equal ability to pray, because It's not in my character to beleive in a god. So maybe it IS cheating. lol Not like he would get the answer anyway.

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Permalink Reply by Monica McGee (Monicks) on December 22, 2010 at 12:53pm

I think the person in this case does believe they're getting the answer by some sort of revelation, Dave; if not - why pray?

On the other hand, I think this student was just stalling.

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Permalink Reply by a7 on January 5, 2011 at 8:42pm

Come on dave G , your having a wee laugh,

?

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Permalink Reply by Samantha Wilatowska on December 14, 2010 at 6:06pm

I thoroughly dig that. :)

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Permalink Reply by Cathleen Sessions on December 16, 2010 at 11:18pm

He would be cheating if the answers were written on the palms of his 'praying' hands.

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Permalink Reply by TDM on December 17, 2010 at 10:55am

Gives me a chuckle too.. but ,really..people do it..i mean pray for the right answer..i think they might be the same people who say after a terrible car crash , oh!! thank god no body was hurt to bad.. this gives me a chuckle..i say why not thank the person who worked for twenty years in the R & D department of an obscure company to develope the technology that actually saved the people in the terrible crash..math and science save people everyday but you never hear " thank math that nobody was hurt " : ) ... i mean really , its a tad bit more complicated than just lighting a candle..

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Permalink Reply by Steel Gray on December 20, 2010 at 10:03am

Absolutely agree!!

It's like a habit... people don't even think! Of course it's easier just say: "thank god"

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Permalink Reply by Monica McGee (Monicks) on December 22, 2010 at 1:04pm

"Thank god" is a trite. Even *I* use it every now and then, well, with satirical purposes. I also have to admit that, most of the time, it doesn't go well.