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Comment by adriand | Hacker News Reader

That is very funny but speaking in practical terms, and not about UX, how does a feature like this work in practice? Does Allah respond to prayers emitted by electronics? Or is the idea that the human is supposed to recite the prayer along with the recording?

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The idea is to use some peoples receptivity to religion for shifting their awareness to the risks of traveling. It can also help to center thoughts, calm down, and increase mindfulness while steering the motorized vehicle, therefore decreasing traffic accidents. (I wonder whether there are studies on if this actually helps.)

Ah, that's interesting. Speaking from personal experience (and as an atheist, who happened to grow up in a religious household), I think many atheists are too quick to dismiss the value of rituals/prayers/meditations. As you pointed out, there can be value even if the deity to whom the prayer is offered doesn't exist or isn't listening.

For example, growing up my family began and ended each meal with a prayer of, essentially, thanksgiving, with a few other requests thrown in ("keep us safe", etc.) This delimited the meal time: we were there for the duration, we all started eating together and there was no leaving before the meal had ended. I don't remember the prayer any more but I do have fond memories of family dinners, the unity and connection we all experienced during that time and the spirited conversations they featured. Prayers of thanksgiving also center the experience of eating in one of gratitude.

There's deeply embedded programming in our brains related to sharing a meal with others which strengthens social bonds. Rituals like this very much play into that. As do lunch with colleagues or dinner dates.

The idea is to keep people in line within the tribe by forcing rituals.

Well, there's precedent: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prayer_wheel

I have the same odd question about listening to contemporary Christian radio stations - does one become holier when the music is playing instead of the top 40 pop station?

I expect it makes people happier to listen to music they enjoy. So the same as someone listening to classical stations, or country, or whatever.

Maybe people enjoy hearing prayer radios. I spent time in Nepal and people would listen to recorded meditations and chants. But I didn’t hear them on the radio, it was recorded on phones and iPods and stuff.

For some, maybe just holier-than-thou - but then, so too can highbrow art.

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