1. Richard Dawkins talks about Darwin and his visit to the Galapagos

Comment #53392 by mortiz on July 1, 2007 at 8:10 am

Beneficial mutations are far rarer than none-beneficial mutations, but we [b]can[/b] see mutations even in humans which cause an increase in the genome size, certain genetic disorders for instance cause certain chromosomes to be duplicated. Combine these mutations with mutations that re-arrange existing DNA and span it out over millions of years and there you have it.

2. Christopher Hitchens at Politics and Prose

Comment #46401 by mortiz on May 31, 2007 at 6:02 am

I'm sick of Hitchens' nationalism personally, I wouldn't say I'm a proud Brit (I don't mark myself by my nationality) but his constant bashing of the British institution is somewhat tiresome. I'm not a monarchist, but it's ridiculous to think that the monarchy of this country has any real power these days, it's purely ceremonial, but Hitchens' seems to bang on about how our entire political system is still based around the Queen. Basically they ask the Queen to do stuff and she does it, can you image the uproar if she actually tried to exert any political influence?

Ironically he's a Bush defender, a man who's often said his faith guides policy decisions, but he refuses to criticize that, he'll happily criticize leaders of Muslim countries though who are also religious. Hitchens is a good speaker, and hits the nail on the head when it comes to religion, but he stinks to me as a bit of a hypocrite.

3. The Fastest-Growing Religion

Comment #42438 by mortiz on May 18, 2007 at 7:48 am

I can respect and care for nature, but worshipping it, something usually reserved for deities and other supernatural beings, seems are ridiculous to me, nature is the system of life and physical properties of the universe, not an actual physical thing, but all things.

4. Bill Maher interviews Christopher Hitchens

Comment #40924 by mortiz on May 15, 2007 at 8:03 am

I'm surprised Bill Maher still wants Christopher Hitchens on his show after he gave Bill's audience the middle finger last year.

5. Richard Dawkins' lecture at the State House Convention Center

Comment #40624 by mortiz on May 14, 2007 at 3:42 pm

Did Richard have a cold or something? It sounds like nothing like him, his voice is a lot deeper than normal.

6. Just 120 Trillion Miles From Home

Comment #36190 by mortiz on April 30, 2007 at 12:48 pm

If we had a few more thousand years on our side we'd probably figure something out, however we'll deplete the Earth's natural resources long before then. It all depends on how much time is left on our clock.

7. Just 120 Trillion Miles From Home

Comment #36076 by mortiz on April 30, 2007 at 6:17 am

The liklyhood is that as methods for looking into the cosmos improve we'll find other planets capable of sustaining life, one or two perhaps closer than Gliese.

8. Study: Religion is Good for Kids

Comment #34856 by mortiz on April 25, 2007 at 1:13 pm

Quite humorous when you consider the make-up of the prison populations, that is disproportionately religious.