1. Sex for diploma offer caught on tape

Comment #164362 by 42nd on April 20, 2008 at 6:01 am

Well, at least they didn't catch him asking kid for sex, so it's not the worst it can be.....

2. School bars same-sex partners at formals

Comment #161578 by 42nd on April 15, 2008 at 12:22 pm

say what you want, but the fact is that this discussion is about gay people being allowed to DANCE.

In some parts of the world they are not even allowed to LIVE.

If we want to be taken seriously, we need to get our priorities straight.

3. The science of religion: Where angels no longer fear to tread

Comment #148647 by 42nd on March 23, 2008 at 2:06 pm

If it is "rational" thing,--albeit in an unconscious level,--how does it fit in with Dawkins' theory of "selfish genes misfiring"?

So that enhance the chance of survival of the group v.s other groups where members don't cooperate. Maybe I am naive like beelzebub, but that sounds like group selection to me.

4. The science of religion: Where angels no longer fear to tread

Comment #148622 by 42nd on March 23, 2008 at 12:25 pm

How does altruism in kin groups translate to non kin groups? Members of kin groups have common genes but not in larger groups. Dawkins says it is a "mis-fire". It may turn out to be the only explanation, but it is not the kind of explanation which is so compelling that it would close off other alternative approaches once and for all.

5. Out of the Blue

Comment #140665 by 42nd on March 8, 2008 at 9:36 am

It's about time to exorcise ghosts from the machine.

6. Taking evidence seriously

Comment #135032 by 42nd on February 28, 2008 at 1:15 pm

The most ironic thing about homeopathy is that it is perfectly possible for science to accept it even if we don't know how it works. Only thing required is for someone to demonstrate that it, in fact, works. That's what double blind testing is all about. Homeopaths are ,unfortunately, unable even to do that. People who accuse scientist of being arrogant keep forgetting that WE accepted penicillin even thought it is just a freakin' fungi. And why? Because it had been proven to work.

7. My Saudi Valentine

Comment #126761 by 42nd on February 14, 2008 at 7:24 am

Ten years ago, though, before the Internet and cellphones, we had less room to maneuver. Guys took their chances by handing out their land-line numbers to any nearby female, just in case there was an eligible young woman hidden under that shapeless abaya and niqab. I remember my mother yelling at boys who would knock on our car window and "number" her â€" offer her cards with their home numbers.



Yes, that niqab thing really does the job of stopping men feeling desire, doesn't it...

8. Vatican slams California firm's cloning experiments

Comment #114098 by 42nd on January 21, 2008 at 11:23 am

I want to be cloned at least several times. The world needs more me. And I really don't see what is Vatican complaining about, since they abolished limbo, all those embryos are going straight to heaven anyway.

Most people object to stem cell research because they "feel" it's wrong (probably because of all those dystopian images from SF movies and books), and their apparently higher motives are usually just an afterthought. It's ironic, when you think about it, that they accuse us of being immoral while their reasoning is guided mostly by basic instincts.

9. Why people believe weird things about money

Comment #111071 by 42nd on January 13, 2008 at 12:29 pm

----------------
Would you rather earn $50,000 a year while other people make $25,000, or would you rather earn $100,000 a year while other people get $250,000? Assume for the moment that prices of goods and services will stay the same.

Surprisingly -- stunningly, in fact -- research shows that the majority of people select the first option; they would rather make twice as much as others even if that meant earning half as much as they could otherwise have. How irrational is that?
---------------------
I think that Shremer is using word "irrational" a bit too liberally here. This behavior is perfectly rational if person wants prestige i.e. to be better than others, which is very important when it comes to mating, which is pretty much the meaning of life (at least from genetic perspective). So wanting to be better off than others instead of being better off in absolute terms is not irrational in the same way as ,say, believing in ghosts.

10. The Mind of the Market

Comment #109431 by 42nd on January 9, 2008 at 3:48 am

For every random act of violence that makes the evening news, there are 10,000 nonrandom acts of kindness that go unrecorded every day.

The free market is absolutely superb at creating abundance through technology. To the extent that technology can also improve quality at the same time, it provides quality. The tremendous growth in computers is a prime example.

When quantity or price collide with quality, it's no contest. In a clash between adequate quality and low price versus high quality and higher price, quality loses every time. If you want a car that will last forever, buy a Rolls Royce. If you want one good for ten years or so, any car dealer can help you. Could you build a car that lasts fifty years at current prices? Maybe, but once you saturate the market, then what? Your continuing sales will be a fraction of current car sales. So why bother? You can earn a profit selling pretty good cars that last ten years. Just try to buy, say, a CD player with durable all-metal parts, or a VCR with every single function having its own, clearly labeled button. Even if you'd be willing to pay extra, you can't find them. The consumer demand for cheap products has driven many higher quality products out of the market. Sometimes it's merely a matter of taste, other times it really is an objective loss of quality. Many tech writers are convinced that the Betamax video tape format was technically superior to VHS, but VHS won and Betamax lost.

11. Of Dickens and Darwin

Comment #95777 by 42nd on December 9, 2007 at 7:33 am

"I also know that it is nowhere near as prevalent in academia (at least in my area) as a lot of articles around here make it out to be."

I hope you are right. I really do.

12. Stem cell breakthrough

Comment #90441 by 42nd on November 25, 2007 at 6:58 am

I hate the very fact that we even had to invent some technology for the sole purpose of making morons happy. Yes, there are valid questions about ethics of stem cell research, like what if some company creates something that they know is harmful in the long run (something that, say increases strength but also gives cancer) and then get even richer by latter selling "debugger". If we give up stem cell research entirely to free market there might be trouble. Think of global warming or claims that smoking doesn't cause cancer.

However, it is just utterly retarded to claim that using stem cells delivered from skin cells is any more ethical than using them from egg cells. This whole "debate" seems to be just a smoke screen to obscure real potential problems.

13. Study: Babies can tell helpful, hurtful playmates

Comment #90188 by 42nd on November 23, 2007 at 10:41 am

Well, if I were you, I wouldn't put so much trust in this whole noble savage thing, it's been thoroughly debunked (watch some lectures by Steven Pinker, for example). And this whole experiment can be interpreted as the proof that people are just looking for the most useful person. I think that all actions are selfish when viewed from right angle (although I am not a libertarian).

14. Scientific Literacy and the Habit of Discourse

Comment #73086 by 42nd on September 24, 2007 at 4:20 am

"What surprised me was the ability of children as young as 11 to be able to demolish quite sophisticated ideas with ease and relish, once they were given the appropriate tools to do so."

Give me some examples of this. I am interested

15. Interview with Francis Collins

Comment #68985 by 42nd on September 9, 2007 at 11:56 am

I think his point about morality is a good one.

The gene perspective is a good one in describing alruism within ones own kin.

I am not aware of any good gene explanations of morality between distant relatives. That is not to say that there isn't one.

I think Mr. Collins is worshipping the gaps. "Why is their altruism between distant relatives? Hmmm... gene theory doesn't explain it. Therefore God."

I can't find Prof. Dawkins quote, but I am sure he says somewhere that we should delight in the unknown. Lets try and work out why their is altrusism between distant relatives and not delight in the intellecual cowardice of "God did it"

16. Scientists should unite against threat from religion

Comment #65159 by 42nd on August 23, 2007 at 4:07 am

You still haven't answered me , Bizzaro therefore your answer is null and void

17. Scientists should unite against threat from religion

Comment #64991 by 42nd on August 22, 2007 at 3:13 pm

Punching the straw-man again are we? Mr. Harris should know better. Philosophers are supposed to be masters of logic and reason, but here we have someone committing one of the oldest and overused fallacies in the book! Yes, the Catholic Church, of which I am not a part, does preach the sinfulness of condom use. However, that is only one part of the story. The church also preaches abstinence, which is obviously many times more effective than condoms at reducing one's chance of getting the AIDS virus.

Now I've heard it argued that people will have sex either way, so it's better that they do it with a condom. Baloney. I'm a 20 year old guy, and I've had more than a few opportunities to let my hormones do the thinking. Thankfully, humans are not animals. We can choose to repress our instincts. I'm still a virgin. Sure, it hasn't been easy, but I've chosen to wait until I am married. And trust me, if a 20 year old male can do it, anyone can do it ;-).

18. Curriculum for Baptist School

Comment #62626 by 42nd on August 10, 2007 at 12:39 pm

I wonder if they teach that Pi is a round number 3 ?

19. Who's Minding the Mind?

Comment #61248 by 42nd on August 4, 2007 at 10:43 am

Good job people. One more blow to free will. Who the hell come up with such a stupid concept, anyway?

20. Man Regains Speech After Brain Stimulation

Comment #60667 by 42nd on August 2, 2007 at 4:14 pm

really cool... but I hope we'll get some stem cells soon to actually heal all those injuries.

21. Pakistan Mosque Leader Vows a Fight to the Death

Comment #54932 by 42nd on July 9, 2007 at 11:05 am

The fact that we have on the one hand a group of militant lunatics holed up in a mosque trying to impose their reading of God's law on their fellow contrymen whilst on the other a girl asks her father to pray to the same God to save her from said lunatics just goes to show what a farce this is.

22. Evolution: God as Genetic Engineer

Comment #49218 by 42nd on June 11, 2007 at 3:50 am

Basically he is a money-orientated dork, who does not care about betraying entire western civilisation along the way.

23. Atheism in America

Comment #47707 by 42nd on June 5, 2007 at 10:31 am

video is no longer available. WFT?

24. Why Do Some People Resist Science?

Comment #46514 by 42nd on May 31, 2007 at 2:25 pm

"Given the role of trust in social learning, it is particularly worrying that national surveys reflect a general decline in the extent to which people trust scientists. To end on a practical note, then, one way to combat resistance to science is to persuade children and adults that the institute of science is, for the most part, worthy of trust."

NO! That would turn science into yet another religion. What needs to be done is to show children that science, in essence, does not consist out of weird people in lab coats armed with test tubes, its just a very sober framework of discovering new stuff. We need to show to our children that appearance can be deceiving (that ball in a tube is perfect example), and that one needs to overcome limits of common sense and built-in sense of physics in order to gain true understanding. We all come to this world with brains calibrated for survival in the wild, not for understanding world around us, and we need to provide our children with user manual so they can re-adjust their minds for curiosity and critical thinking. That's how I see that.

sorry for my bad English

25. The moment a teenage girl was stoned to death for loving the wrong boy

Comment #37954 by 42nd on May 6, 2007 at 12:32 pm

Bonzai, It isn't just about religion it's basically about rigid ideology. Morality is ,in essence, made for survival, to enable teamwork among humans. However, because our world changes, rules need to change too in order to remain useful. Ideologies such as communism and organized religions tend to create completely rigid morality that acknowledges no change, because it is allegedly written by Gods (or "superhumans" such as Stalin or Mao). Instead of thinking of how to improve our lives, people are thinking only about going to some sort of heaven which completely separates morality from improving the real world, and it is no wonder that so many people participated in this stoning believing that they did the right thing.

I think that this comment from another site tells everything about warped morality (you need to watch the movie in order to understand the quote):

note the man who tries to put the girls skirt back on about 3 minuites in. Obviously her showing her knickers is indecent, but stoning and beating her to death is fine. Religion's slant on morality is so fucked up, it reminds me of what Kurtz said in Apocalypse Now: "we train young men to drop fire on children, but their comanders won't allow them to write 'fuck' on their planes, because it's obscene"

26. The moment a teenage girl was stoned to death for loving the wrong boy

Comment #37934 by 42nd on May 6, 2007 at 10:32 am

"The stoning is horrific. It is religiously inspired."

And your evidence for this statement is? What religions are being referred to?

27. Now Muslims Get Their Own Laws In Britian

Comment #36564 by 42nd on May 1, 2007 at 3:15 pm

behold... beginning of the end of western civilization, and no one even seems to care.

28. Pope abolishes limbo

Comment #34021 by 42nd on April 23, 2007 at 4:07 am

well, this could justify wanton infanticide, alright. According to this ridiculous reasoning, every baby that we kill is going straight to heaven. So every abortionist has saved more people than any priest, right? I actually find priests quite selfish, when we think about that. They save a few individuals knowing that they will go to heaven for that, while abortionist are selflessly saving millions, knowing that they will burn in hell for their deeds (well, I don't think that selfishness is a bad thing per se, but those people themselves claim to be noble and holier-than-thou which indeed makes them hypocrites).

Man, now I am so happy to be an atheist, so I don't have to plan my life around this sorry mess . We know that killing babies is wrong because it is bad for our survival, not because sky fairy says so.

29. Then Call it God

Comment #30925 by 42nd on April 10, 2007 at 10:53 am

I don't understand myself

therefore I am God!

30. Kansas State School Board Bans Pokemon Due to Evolution Content

Comment #29748 by 42nd on April 4, 2007 at 2:23 pm

Maybe Dawkins is testing the gullibility of those of us who call themselves freethinkers here....

31. Kansas State School Board Bans Pokemon Due to Evolution Content

Comment #29734 by 42nd on April 4, 2007 at 1:58 pm

can someone verify this? It really really looks, like a hoax, or a bad dream, especially the fire.

32. Happy 66th Birthday, Richard Dawkins!

Comment #28412 by 42nd on March 29, 2007 at 5:23 am

Happy Birthday and thank you.

33. The questions science cannot answer

Comment #21544 by 42nd on February 9, 2007 at 10:40 pm

One question: What meaning of life does a God have? What is His purpose? I often think that the whole point of faith is not to give life a meaning, but to put a question somewhere else. God is an omnipotent father who kind of has it all figured out and all that we have to do is follow him.

34. Do stop behaving as if you are God, Professor Dawkins

Comment #20926 by 42nd on February 7, 2007 at 3:16 am

[quote] Do stop behaving as if you are God, Professor Dawkins [/quote]

so, they want us to stop behaving like gods, so they can behave like god himself approves their actions against us.

35. Give us back our bones, pagans tell museums

Comment #20773 by 42nd on February 6, 2007 at 12:11 pm

the whole article is a word salad. Nothing to see here.

36. Just 'Evolution in Action'

Comment #19909 by 42nd on January 30, 2007 at 3:42 pm

this is beyond morbid. Those folks are no longer satisfied by using fear of imaginary hellfire as a tool of control, they use real death now. What they are saying in essence, is this: I want my daughter to die if she chooses to have premartal sex. There is just no other way to put it, it's not like shame or something else that produces minor inconvenience, we are talking about CANCER here.

How is this actually less barbaric than stoning adulterers to death?

37. Lil' Markie live, part 2

Comment #17617 by 42nd on January 15, 2007 at 5:57 am

I don't know what this is.
I don't WANT to know what this is. I sat trough first 10 seconds, and that's more than I will ever need.

38. Pat Robertson: God told me of 'mass killing' in 2007

Comment #15979 by 42nd on January 4, 2007 at 4:32 am

When you talk to God, that's Religion.
When He talks to you, that's schizophrenia.

39. Woman beaten on Jerusalem bus for refusing to move to rear seat

Comment #15097 by 42nd on December 28, 2006 at 10:45 pm

Peter Hearty, can you tell us more about that? I am interested.

40. Intelligent Design packets

Comment #13205 by 42nd on December 16, 2006 at 7:36 am

actually, I have to say that those zombies are great at PR. They completely deny that they are preaching about god or anything, and for someone who doesn't know much about evolution those claims are very convincing.

41. The Blasphemy Challenge

Comment #13143 by 42nd on December 15, 2006 at 8:29 pm

It would be great to see Richard Dawkins making a video of himself saying the words. I am trying to picture that right now.