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Comments by clatz


1. Stephen Hawking's explosive new theory

Comment #201948 by clatz on June 30, 2008 at 1:08 pm

Nice diagram ...

Hey, I can see my house from here!

"ahem"

As you were.

2. Dawkins on Darwin

Comment #201157 by clatz on June 29, 2008 at 8:30 am

mikesherwod53

Try the youtube link in post #29

3. Creationist critics get their comeuppance

Comment #199756 by clatz on June 26, 2008 at 10:25 am

I believe he just got served.

Muppet

4. Saudi Marriage Officiant : 'It Is Allowed To Marry A Girl At The Age Of One'.

Comment #198682 by clatz on June 24, 2008 at 11:12 am

It's sick and disturbing, but that's Islam for you.

To be fair to the man, he is being reasonable ...

[SHUDDER]

5. Evolutionarily Preserved Signature Found In The Primate Brain

Comment #198587 by clatz on June 24, 2008 at 9:20 am

Here is the link to the paper itself:
http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/fetchArticle.action?articleURI=info:doi/10.1371/journal.pgen.1000100

The discussion section is pretty good.

6. Should We Rid The Mind of God? A Debate

Comment #198527 by clatz on June 24, 2008 at 8:01 am

I think they should really say: Should we rid our minds of God.

To me one of McGraths last statements was the most telling:

I don't think Darwin helps us understand why we believe in God at all.


I can't fathom it. If he believes the theory of evolution (which I had thought he said he did), then he must hold that there is the very real possibility that the belief in God(s) is the by-product of some other evolved characteristic.

So his statement is bollocks, even to himself.

Of course he then goes on to say:

I think the question is wide open.


I'm taking that to mean that he holds his first statement to be bollocks, and that it could be a by-product of evolution, or it could be due to another reason.

Fair enough, why didn't you just say that!

7. Should We Rid The Mind of God? A Debate

Comment #198453 by clatz on June 24, 2008 at 2:30 am

clodhopper, that sentence is correct if he means the light the star is producing at the point in time he is gazing at it, not the light he is actually seeing.

8. Richard Dawkins Public Lecture - Liverpool 08

Comment #198038 by clatz on June 23, 2008 at 5:05 am

HouglassMemory:

If anyone could tell me how I could send suggestions to the people responsible for putting new videos and such on here I think I woul suggest a few videos from time to time.


Try sending an email to articles@richarddawkins.net

9. The Mother, The Child, The School Board And The Psychic

Comment #196081 by clatz on June 19, 2008 at 9:22 am

Thankfully, the mother is on stress leave.

I don't think the article makes that clear, and I had inferred from the following sentence that she was forced to quit her job:

As a result of her stress and the need to stay home with her daughter, Leduc is now unable to work, has no place to send her child for the rest of the year, isn't sure where she'll go when school begins in September and is seeking legal advice.


Hopefully she can find the care her daughter deserves, and at the very least a decent apology from the school board, from what I have read they haven't paid her that courtesy yet.

10. The Mother, The Child, The School Board And The Psychic

Comment #196001 by clatz on June 19, 2008 at 7:08 am

The initial reason for the sexual claim to be raised is obviously stupid, we can all agree on that. I would dearly love to see the board, the substitute teacher and especially the psychic held to account.

However, they can still argue that there were grounds to contact the CPS, even if they are weak and ill informed:


Victoria, who is non-verbal, had also been exhibiting sexualized behaviour in class, actions which are known to be typical of autistic behavior. That lead authorities to suspect she had a bladder infection that may have somehow been related to the 'attack.'


I sincerely hope she hasn't dug herself into a very big hole.

11. The Mother, The Child, The School Board And The Psychic

Comment #195989 by clatz on June 19, 2008 at 6:42 am

For me this is one of those annoying articles that raises more questions than it answers.

Presumably the mother is mainly worried about the child going missing again? Surely not that the school were worried her daughter is being sexually molestered (even if it's for a stupid reason).

The mom, who is divorced and has a new fiancƩ, adamantly denied the charges, noting her daughter was never exposed to anyone of that age. And fortunately she had proof. The mother was long dissatisfied with the treatment her daughter had received at the school, after they had allegedly lost her on several occasions


That's the crux of the story, either the child has been lost or not. On what grounds have the claims been made and by whom?

12. Saving Us from Darwin

Comment #194594 by clatz on June 17, 2008 at 3:19 am

Ketch22

You say:

Once again, fabricated misquote of me claiming to be anything other than someone who believes in evolution w/ the help of a creator.


But of course you must know Evolutionary theory has nothing to do with how life started, and it certainly doesn't include any notion of a supernatural being helping along the way.

Can I ask what you opinions are on common descent? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution#Common_descent

If you hold this to be true, then aren't you then trivialising God? Would he have had to have created the first form of life only? Say self replicating polymers?

Not much of a rabbit to pull out of a hat though is it :-)

13. Gay brains structured like those of the opposite sex

Comment #193956 by clatz on June 16, 2008 at 8:41 am

Agreed Cartomancer, it is very depressing stuff.

Maybe this will cheer you up a bit:

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Atheists-Express-Oppositio-by-Stuart-Bechman-080615-934.html

Way to go Atheists!

14. Gay brains structured like those of the opposite sex

Comment #193928 by clatz on June 16, 2008 at 8:14 am

According to this article:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6066606.stm

There are over 1,500 animals that have displayed homosexual behaviour. So it's completely natural and appears to be widespread across the animal kingdom. It would also suggest that there is more than one cause.

I wonder if gay/non-gay chimps display differences in brain structure as well?

15. Stephen Hawking: ministers' £80m error puts science at risk

Comment #193809 by clatz on June 16, 2008 at 4:25 am

This say's it all:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2CdB9-JUQk

Legend.

16. Logical Proof of the Existence of a Divine Creator, Why Atheism is Not Logically Sound

Comment #191507 by clatz on June 11, 2008 at 5:11 am

Wow, huge response to this article. Apologies to those of you that thought it was a waste of time reading it. I found it rather funny.

Toddaa I don't think this is necessary:

#63 Quick. Someone get Daniel Dennett's Darwin's Dangerous Idea and throw it at Clayton Smith.


Sesh, I didn't write the bloody thing!

17. I don't believe in atheists

Comment #143641 by clatz on March 14, 2008 at 9:05 am

Does anyone have a link to the debate between Hitchens and Hedges?

I want to see this idiot in the flesh.

EDIT: Here we go http://www.zombietime.com/hitchens-hedges_debate/

18. 'Frog from hell' fossil unearthed

Comment #129372 by clatz on February 19, 2008 at 3:15 am

Imagine what sort of prince he would have turned into!

Sorry.

:-)

19. Study: Religion colors Americans' views of nanotechnology

Comment #128456 by clatz on February 17, 2008 at 3:37 am

Dietram Scheufele was involved in an earlier survey on nanotechnology.

This time only 16% of respondents felt they were "somewhat informed" about nanotechnology.

http://wistechnology.com/article.php?id=2189#Scene_1

20. Study: Religion colors Americans' views of nanotechnology

Comment #128439 by clatz on February 17, 2008 at 2:30 am

Did the survey point out that without nanotechnology we can never hope to build the space elevator?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_elevator

They posit that the respondents were well informed about the technology, and it's benefits. Were they?

I doubt the general public knows much about nanotechnology at all, in any country. Without giving us any information on the respondents level of understanding this whole article is a waste of time (that's not to say the survey is, just the summary of it).

21. A Tyrannical Romance

Comment #126446 by clatz on February 13, 2008 at 9:06 am

What an article!

Felt slightly violated during half of it, and perverted during the rest.

Cloacal kiss anyone?

22. Inventor Doesn't Dare Say 'Perpetual Motion Machine'

Comment #124292 by clatz on February 9, 2008 at 3:38 am

Whilst looking up the youtube videos I came across this machine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us7YB7eiOeQ

Very cool!

23. Inventor Doesn't Dare Say 'Perpetual Motion Machine'

Comment #124054 by clatz on February 8, 2008 at 8:43 am

I don't get it. Though it wouldn't be the first time that has happened after reading something on this site ;-)

Is he saying the system generates 50W of power? i.e the difference in power drawn by the motor in the two states.

Surely he is just making the motor more efficient. So perhaps one state is simply hotter than the other. I'd like to see the system run in both states with the thermal camera.

24. Happy Birthday Josh Timonen!

Comment #118856 by clatz on January 31, 2008 at 4:45 am

Happy Birthday Josh

It's been said before, but it can never be enough ... thanks ever so much for all of your good work.

25. Belief in Belief

Comment #117516 by clatz on January 29, 2008 at 2:49 am

43alley I salute you!

Great stuff, keep em coming.

26. Questions Delay Creationist Master's Degrees

Comment #113037 by clatz on January 18, 2008 at 1:38 pm

The A-Team, I like it!

27. George Scales, War Hero and Generous Friend of RDFRS

Comment #111541 by clatz on January 15, 2008 at 1:21 am

Mr Scales,

My grandfather was a captain in the Royal Navy during WWII (supporting convoys in the Atlantic), and I can assure you that your efforts and of those of the Allies is very much appreciated.

Thank you for your generous support of the RDFRS. You are clearly a man that stands up for what he believes in.

I hope your operation goes well and you are back up and at em in no time.

Clayton Smith

PS I little more on George can be found here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/12/10/nold310.xml

28. The Group Delusion

Comment #110310 by clatz on January 11, 2008 at 1:02 am

I am saddened to read this, it sort of feels like two friends arguing and there is the possibility that they will not be on speaking terms when the dust settles! Perhaps you are there already.

Professor, I agree that these publications are not necessarily the place to make the claim they did (that you admitted a mistake, for which you say you haven't) and certainly not without the sort of explanation they subsequently provided.

Who knows they may have been under the same constraints you were. However I hope the matter could be straightened out amicably and without the neighbours having to hear it :-)

29. Richard Dawkins on The Late Edition with Marcus Brigstocke

Comment #109937 by clatz on January 10, 2008 at 5:16 am

StephenP,

Stirling idea, might have to drop Dan though, I think they only have three guests (plus Alan).

30. It was a bad year for God.

Comment #109422 by clatz on January 9, 2008 at 3:22 am

Again with the silly competitions.

You could also have descriptions of various gods and people have to guess which god/deity it is.

i.e. ability to walk on water would be a bit of a give away really, but what about "sun god"? That's a bit tougher could be; Ra, Istanu, Sūrya or even David Hassellhoff (at a pinch).

Poor. Anyway many people are put off because they feel threatened when it comes to questioning their beliefs. So anything to lighten things up when promoting the book is a good thing in my mind.

31. It was a bad year for God.

Comment #109413 by clatz on January 9, 2008 at 2:55 am

I can't think of any great ideas for promoting the book.

I suppose you could have a competition voting for the best god of all time?

The winner get's a signed copy of TGD and to go to dinner with the number 1 god, if he/she shows up :-)

PS My money is on Zeus.

32. It was a bad year for God.

Comment #109405 by clatz on January 9, 2008 at 2:33 am

AndreG,

You can have this argument with yourself if you like, by simply considering one of the thousands of other gods various peoples believe in.

Humans are quite capable of seeing other peoples belief's in the supernatural as bogus, but only if we are far enough removed from the peddlers of that belief. Why do you think that is?

Think of ghosts, do you believe in them? If you met someone that said they did, what evidence do you think they would have? None of any substance, nothing repeatable, nothing that would stand up to any scrutiny. They may swear black and blue that they have seen a ghost, but that's no reason for you to believe in ghosts yourself.

33. Did mozzies, not a meteor, do for the dinosaurs?

Comment #108575 by clatz on January 7, 2008 at 9:12 am

I've seen many an animal on the savannah swot away pesky flies with their tales, perhaps that's how the Stegosaurus went...ouch

34. CBC News: Sunday - Richard Dawkins

Comment #100106 by clatz on December 18, 2007 at 8:44 am

Fancy Darwin talk?

Halarious, this guy would have been king of the playground.

35. Fox News Discussion on 'The Golden Compass'

Comment #85750 by clatz on November 7, 2007 at 2:32 am

This is the sort of thing my wife would stop me watching before I put the remote through the telly ;-)

36. The Year of Living Biblically

Comment #84861 by clatz on November 4, 2007 at 1:34 am

Check out the link below the article to a film on christian boot camps:

http://www.cbc.ca/thehour/video.php?id=1316

Run for the hills people!

Scary.

37. Are the 'New Atheists' avoiding the 'real arguments'?

Comment #83911 by clatz on October 31, 2007 at 4:02 pm

Superb.

38. Deep in the Sea, Imagining the Cradle of Life on Earth

Comment #79031 by clatz on October 16, 2007 at 12:04 am

And some people think science is boring!

If they only knew ...

39. The Problem with Atheism

Comment #75889 by clatz on October 4, 2007 at 1:10 am

For those of you who do not want to be labelled Atheist, what do you propose to define yourself as come census time?

One major beef I have had with friends is that they just put down the same religion as their parents, even though they really are agnostic. None of us would do that of course, but my point is that these people think it doesn't count, so they effectively put down anything.

It might seem like a trivial matter, but if people at least put down "no religion" then maybe society would pay more attention to our view point.

As an example of what can be achieve by employing a word is the so called Jedi phenomenon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jedi_census_phenomenon.

At least in New Zealand this raised conciseness about what we are defined as, and I think the significant numbers showed at lot of people were no longer happy with the status quo.

The numbers of Jedi fell dramatically in the following 2006 census, but what the article does not point out is that the number of people with "no religion" increased from 29.6 to 34.7%:

http://www.stats.govt.nz/census/2006-census-data/quickstats-about-culture-identity/quickstats-about-culture-and-identity.htm?page=para012Master

The government has to pay attention to that!

40. The Problem with Atheism

Comment #75669 by clatz on October 3, 2007 at 8:52 am

I don't understand his alternative to labelling ourselves as Atheists.

We can't expect to change anything if we operately individually. Sure it might make for an effective debate strategy, removing the label might very well remove some of the theists amuinition, but it deprives us of all of the benefits of being in a collective.