1. Comment #90863 by CJ22 on November 26, 2007 at 2:15 pm

Cheers Josh. What's it about?

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2. Comment #90865 by steve99 on November 26, 2007 at 2:23 pm

CJ22: No need to ask. Just listen, and be very impressed by Krotos's voice, and the frightening things he says.

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3. Comment #90889 by Quine on November 26, 2007 at 3:23 pm

Beautifully expressed.

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4. Comment #90899 by steve99 on November 26, 2007 at 4:03 pm

Oh dear. I have been deeply shocked. I did not realise the deeply poisonous nature of the Templeton Foundation. The distance between my John Barrow and Paul Davies books and my rubbish bin shall be considerably reduced tomorrow.

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5. Comment #90902 by socratzsche on November 26, 2007 at 4:08 pm

What's the link for the Nobel interviews?

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6. Comment #90910 by Thurston on November 26, 2007 at 4:31 pm

Kroto's website is http://www.vega.org.uk/

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7. Comment #90912 by ab_initio on November 26, 2007 at 4:34 pm

The first paper I ever referenced was Kroto's on C60. Was suprised to see him here - I previously didnt know of his activities outside of chemistry.

It was an enjoyable talk - he certainly likes his Sam Harris doesn't he!

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8. Comment #90924 by Donald on November 26, 2007 at 4:59 pm

I enjoyed listening to this talk.

Can the internet save the enlightenment?

I hope so.

Oh dear. I have been deeply shocked. I did not realise the deeply poisonous nature of the Templeton Foundation. The distance between my John Barrow and Paul Davies books and my rubbish bin shall be considerably reduced tomorrow. - Steve99

I was really pleased to see this! (I had been earlier disappointed by comments on the "Taking science on faith" thread that seemed to offer Paul Davies undue benefit of the doubt.)

But informing and connecting is only part of what's needed. Any change can only come about from the actions of the informed. And in their wake will come actions by the equally well informed-and-connected believers in imaginary instructors. I welcome the internet and its benefit to anti-theists, but am cautious about assuming that it swings the battle in our favour.

Entwined with the intellectual debates is the struggle for POWER. Religions (as movements, not necessarily the deluded individuals within) seek to propagate themselves as organisations of control and influence. This has been the pattern for millennia. It's not going to be overthrown by the introduction of new communication technology, or advances in scientific understanding by a tiny minority of the world's population. Thousands of years ago the Greek intellectuals (and I suspect, other pagans throughout the world, their reputations rewritten by their conquerors) understood that gods were human inventions.

I think the most important contribution of this website is that it assists individuals to identify actions they can take, from writing to newspapers, blogs, MPs or other representatives, and community actions related to schools, local authorities and their policies, and particularly to education policies that will improve the understanding of the next generation, and thus weaken the grip that religites have on the handles of power in human communities.



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9. Comment #90928 by Jack Rawlinson on November 26, 2007 at 5:19 pm

Harry Kroto has long been one of my heroes. I look forward to listening to this, although sadly I won't have time until tomorrow night...

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10. Comment #90933 by eXcommunicate on November 26, 2007 at 5:44 pm

LOL - The gunshot sound effect made me jump! :D

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11. Comment #90950 by a tree with roots on November 26, 2007 at 7:17 pm

I saw Kroto give a talk last year. It wasn't about this specifically, but it was still fantastic! I was really enchanted by what he said. One of the best talks I've seen. Glad to see him here.

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12. Comment #90964 by yyuryyub on November 26, 2007 at 8:23 pm

Oh dear. I have been deeply shocked. I did not realise the deeply poisonous nature of the Templeton Foundation. The distance between my John Barrow and Paul Davies books and my rubbish bin shall be considerably reduced tomorrow.

Don't worry about Davies, he's changed his mind on Templeton and his deist-type god belief. He has publicly repudiated both on Australian radio.

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13. Comment #90968 by maton100 on November 26, 2007 at 8:41 pm

So, basically, the problem lies with bullshit in general. And religion is just another form of bullshit. Sounds about right.

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14. Comment #90999 by Conrad on November 26, 2007 at 11:04 pm

yyuryyub,
Many of us would be quite interested in the link to such audio. Could you possibly put it up?

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15. Comment #91014 by logical on November 27, 2007 at 1:26 am

Sir Harry,
you are right.
You made me hate you (after listening twice).
I used to say: "Beam me up, Scotty, there´s no intelligent life down here!" - knowing well that the late James Doohan´s ashes are somewhere in the desert and nobody will ever answer my prayer.
A perfect belief.
After listening to your lecture I have to admit that there is intelligent life on this planet, at least you are!!!
Perhaps I will indulge in my kind of hatred and listen a third time...

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16. Comment #91040 by Ole on November 27, 2007 at 4:15 am

Rotblat:

Remember your humanity and forget the rest!

Thanks for putting up this lecture, Josh.

This website is part of what Kroto is hoping for.

Ole

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17. Comment #91064 by Flagellant on November 27, 2007 at 6:12 am

What a lovely talk! I'm sorry I wasn't there. Sir Harry Kroto has been one of my heroes ever since I saw a programme about Buckminsterfullerene (C60).

I've never heard a mathematical joke before and I really laughed at the 'Plus a constant' line.

It would have been nice to have had a bit more about the 18th century Enlightenment. It is one of the most fascinating parts of humanity's advance. I don't know whether to be worried or unconcerned about attempts to drag us back towards the Dark Ages. People aren't that stupid, are they?

I'll be listening again - there's so much in it; great talk and great bloke.



Religion - an activity for consenting adults in private.

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18. Comment #91071 by AllanW on November 27, 2007 at 6:37 am

I'm sorry to say this but I was not impressed. I mean no criticism at all of Kroto (he's a Nobel laureate for goodness' sake!) as a person or of his achievements in science. And I do not subscribe to the (possible) criticism that he should not comment outside his specialism. However I felt that the structure of the lecture did not present the arguments/points he raised in anything like a forceful or clear enough way, the presentation, while including some humorous points, was not intellectually engaging (I heard nothing new in the whole lecture that I had not heard before or read on the 'net) and the lecture topic was not addressed in nearly as comprehensive or insightful a manner as I was looking forward to.

Overall, a missed opportunity IMO. Again, I'm not saying it was bad just that it felt too much like a nebulous 'sermon to the flock' rather than a serious intellectual exercise. A missed opportunity rather than a waste of time.

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19. Comment #91088 by Incredulous on November 27, 2007 at 7:17 am

I really enjoyed that lecture. A very charming speaker with a very serious message entertainingly put across.

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20. Comment #91146 by Linda on November 27, 2007 at 12:14 pm

Superb, thanks!

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21. Comment #91154 by Rtambree on November 27, 2007 at 12:26 pm

18. Comment #91071 by AllanW

I'm sympathetic to your criticism of the lecture. People fresh to the ideas will get something out of it, but to a lecture veteran, it felt a little "phoned in" and meandering. Martin Rees, Susan Greenfield and Michio Kaku do the same thing: show a few pretty pics and then recycle the same powerpoint presentation for the next 10 years. The best work for many scientists is done in their 20s & 30s and they often coast on reputation after that. The bums on seats are there for the "big name" rather than the content. It's analogous to a '70s rock band on a nostalgia tour with the same setlist night after night.

It's the law of media: people will buy, edit, publish, film, etc the work of a "name" even if it's dull, rather than the work of "no name" even if it's brilliant.

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22. Comment #91450 by PJG on November 28, 2007 at 10:33 am

Re Comment 91071

Can't agree with you here.

To me, there is something incredibly significant thing about this lecture. This is the fact that yet another scientist is concerned enough about religion, and where it seems to be taking us, to leave his lab to give a talk, not about his work, but about his fears regarding faith.

When scientific knowledge and research is where it is and yet we are still seeing court cases like the one in Dover and when research is being carried out on sentient beings but, for entirely theological reasons, is being blocked on a few human cells in a petri dish, there is something far, far wrong.

We NEED good people, scientists, or at least the scientifically sophisticated like David Attenborough (lovely man!!) to stand up and put forward lucid arguments against faith, even if it does mean saying the same thing over and over.

We'll never change the minds of some religious people but if anyone is wavering, confused, going through a "crisis of faith", then maybe we can get through... slowly, slowly, catchy common ancestor!

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