1. Beetle drive

Comment #239220 by Ilesere on August 29, 2008 at 9:03 am

This raised an odd thought - the rates of infertility seem (by that I mean I've heard through various media without any scientific analysis, so it's mainly anecdotal) to be increasing. Is there any evidence for any level of speciation within human populations as a result of long periods of segregation, and is any of the allegedly increasing infertility actually a manifestation of that? For lack of better examples do differences in the population of central asians and south american indians (populations I reckon to be fairly well segregated for the past few thousand years) mean they would now be unable to breed?

2. Ken Ham in Leicester April 2008

Comment #114886 by Ilesere on January 23, 2008 at 5:56 am

Full list of UK events here:
http://www.answersingenesis.org/events/searchResults.aspx?SubmitCountry=1&HomeStateRegion=United%20Kingdom

3. Ken Ham in Leicester April 2008

Comment #114834 by Ilesere on January 23, 2008 at 1:40 am

Jeepyjay - are you intending on picketing this event? If so then I'm close enough to Leicester that I'll join you, and bring my camera so we can provide our own report of events.

And if anyone else is planning anything for the Oxford event then I may be able to make that one as well. Let me know.

I know not everyone agrees that picketing is the right thing to do but if anyone is planning an event then the more of us turn up the more likely we are to get some publicity our way and get some of our message across as well.

4. Atheists split on how to not believe

Comment #34562 by Ilesere on April 24, 2007 at 1:51 pm

It would appear so - to explain further

My last post included an explanation of why I used the word offensive when you had stated undesirable. It also included within it a comment about the fact that had you said inaccurate I wouldn't have concluded that you meant offensive - i.e. that with your revised wording I had no problems with your statement. My apologies if that was unclear.

However I do not agree with it being unwise or a tactical blunder and am not clear on why you think that. I'm asserting the position atheists take when presented with evidence, it is a positive statement about how we look at the world before us. It is not an attack on others.

As to my ability to speak for atheists - I claim no greater right to do so than anyone else here. I'm raising the point on a free-thinkers/atheists board, not to the world at large. This gives me the benefit of your feedback on it and the chance to develop the concept, which I appreciate. However I do feel that it is an accurate assertion about the atheist world view.

I'm afraid to say I have no idea what ballot it is you're referring to or what book you have referenced - however (3rd time) I may have missed something you've posted in this thread - if so could you point me to a comment?

And on your final point - of course and I say it again you have the right to think that. In the meantime I will continue to think my own thoughts. Of course this means (in your terms) that yes I do weigh my 'beliefs' according to the evidence available for them. I don't disagree and I don't think I have stated that I did. But (new word this time) I would use different language to explain it. I don't think the two are mutually exclusive.

Just noticed something - yours was the post directly before my original one. Mine was in no way a response to that one - I hadn't even read any of the comments, only the main article when I first posted.

5. Atheists split on how to not believe

Comment #34542 by Ilesere on April 24, 2007 at 12:20 pm

Zoro

This is a website primarily for free thinkers. As a result all thoughts and opinions should be welcome except those that belittle or insult others. As a result your indication that a particular opinion is 'undesirable' could only be so because it is offensive to someone. If it truly is a free thinkers site then no other idea could be considered undesirable. Of course had you said inaccurate or some such then I would not have concluded that you envisaged any offense in it. The fact that you indicated it should perhaps not have been aired says to me that you considered it offensive. Perhaps that is reading something into what you said, but I see no way that a thought on this site could be considered undesirable except if it was offensive or could be viewed as such.

And I thought I was fairly clear when I said 'we'... I said 'we atheists'... who else do you think I might be referring to.

On to the rest of your post - you are of course entitled to your opinion about the use of the words believe and think. I feel that these two words are the basis of the difference between us atheists and those that believe. We subject the ideas we are presented with to thought, we consider them... we think. I'm not advocating that we give up the word belief - just that we don't use it to refer to 'what we do'.

We don't believe in the theory of evolution, we think it is correct. We don't believe Dawkins is a prodigious talent, we think it.

By making this small change in our language I think we can make inroads into some of the vacuous arguments made by the theists, such as 'you believe in the theory of evolution, how are you any better than us'. If we don't use the word believe in reference to that it undermines some of the crap that they spout. It may not be a big thing, but I personally think it's important enough to give it a try. You are of course entitled to your own thoughts.

And while I appreciate both the advice and the quotes, I don't think that they necessarily undermine that opinion.

6. Atheists split on how to not believe

Comment #34526 by Ilesere on April 24, 2007 at 10:57 am

Zoro - the 'article' I'm talking about is the one at the top of the page - entitled 'Atheists split on how to not believe' and my point is that the title is flawed - we as atheists do not believe and I think that we need to stop using that word in reference to what we do. We do not believe in anything - we think that something is accurate/true/correct.

As to it being an offensive comment you are simply incorrect. I made no reference to what religious people do or do not do - only to what we do NOT do. Please do not read more into my comments than is in them.

7. Atheists split on how to not believe

Comment #34480 by Ilesere on April 24, 2007 at 7:29 am

There's a fundamental flaw in this article

We're atheists... we DON'T believe

We THINK