1. Aliens need Christ's redemption, too

Comment #201688 by YssiBoo on June 30, 2008 at 4:06 am

snip

2. George W Bush meets Pope amid claims he might convert to Catholicism

Comment #193798 by YssiBoo on June 16, 2008 at 3:56 am

MPhil and irate:

You remind me of the only thing I remember from German class in school; a song we were taught the first year:

Ich bin Auslaender und spreche nicht gut Deutsch,
Ich bin Auslaender und spreche nicht gut Deutsch,
Bitte langsam, bitte langsam,
bitte sprechen Sie doch langsam,
Ich bin Auslaender und spreche nicht gut Deutsch.

I wish I had paid more attention so that I could speak German properly.

As for an On-topic comment:

Why is it that GWB always chooses the christian directions where thought is regarded as something the lay-man should not try to engage in? Evangelism is the most anti-intellectual branch of christianity (that I am aware of) and catholicism is the the most centralised. It is effectively the Pope and his cardinals who decide what everyone else should believe.

3. Physicists in Congress Calculate Their Influence

Comment #193782 by YssiBoo on June 16, 2008 at 3:31 am

Count von Count:

I think politicians should be schooled in what the scientific process is and where to look for information about the consensus among scientists. They don't have to be specialists or anything, if they just show that they are capable of informing themselves before coming to a conclusion.

4. Intelligent people 'less likely to believe in God'

Comment #193735 by YssiBoo on June 16, 2008 at 1:19 am

Being a student I have access to some of the articles. After doing some research it appears that I did not know enough about this. Other studies I saw pointed to genetics to have at least 0.5 (out of a total of 1) weight in the performance on IQ tests. (I must dig them up again.) This left some room open for training but genetics seemed to be the main factor.

I also found this article today:
http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/dn13786-simple-brain-exercise-can-boost-iq.html

After what I have now read on the subject it seems that Lynn does not have data solid enough to support the conclusion entirely. I don't doubt that intelligent people are more likely to see through the poor logic of religion. It just seems extraordinary that the countries in Africa averages at less than 80 points.

5. Intelligent people 'less likely to believe in God'

Comment #193095 by YssiBoo on June 14, 2008 at 3:00 pm

http://esr.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/19/4/411

Can you view the article? It is a critique of Lynn's earlier work on IQ versus wealth.

The critique is about the way the IQ-values were obtained. Only 85 countries have measured values of the IQ. 104 countries (most of them in the third world) have values calculated partly on the basis of data from the sixties, partly on the basis of neighbouring countries. Furthermore, the methods used for obtaining the IQs differed between the countries.

I have tried searching for more articles dealing with this issue, but have not found any yet. I will continue searching.

6. Intelligent people 'less likely to believe in God'

Comment #193065 by YssiBoo on June 14, 2008 at 2:16 pm

Teratornis: I shall admit I have difficulties arguing against at least the second link. The first link doesn't cite any other sources than dead links so I shall not venture to discuss it.

Does anyone have any reputable sites discussing this? What has happened in this field during the last 15 years?

7. Intelligent people 'less likely to believe in God'

Comment #192840 by YssiBoo on June 14, 2008 at 3:13 am

I would once again want to point to the book "Guns, Germs and Steel" by Jared Diamond for a comprehensive story of the historical evidence for the basis of racism. (According to this book the evidence is non-existent.)

Guns Germs and Steel

8. Intelligent people 'less likely to believe in God'

Comment #192836 by YssiBoo on June 14, 2008 at 3:07 am

Many good points on display here. An IQ test which incorporates all sorts of different types of problemsolving is probably able to differentiate "good" minds from "poor" minds. Is the difference is genetic or a matter of training? I would say yes. It is apparent that some people will be better than others at certain tasks even though they spend less time doing the task. However, reducing a multifaceted thing like the brain to a single number is highly erroneous to my mind. One person can be good at shape and pattern recognition and poor at formal logic. This person may then score an average IQ, but be highly adept within a special field.

To have an anecdotal piece of evidence: Richard Feyman's IQ was calculated to be in the 120's. But he was arguably on of the most intelligent persons of the 20th century. A large body of such anecdotal evidence could be gathered I think. To me this shows that there is more to intelligence than the IQ-tests can uncover.

Also recall the recent study which shows that chimps are far superior to humans in pattern recognition, but would probably score poorly on an IQ test.

9. Intelligent people 'less likely to believe in God'

Comment #192594 by YssiBoo on June 13, 2008 at 1:54 pm

Steve Zara: I totally agree. And that is my point. It is not merely about intelligence, but about proper education. And I think that the fundamental flaw of IQ-tests is exactly here. It is possible to train oneself to perform better on IQ-tests.

10. Intelligent people 'less likely to believe in God'

Comment #192574 by YssiBoo on June 13, 2008 at 12:39 pm

#104:

I can agree with that. But are you unintelligent if you believe in God when you have not seen all the evidence not in his favour? I would argue that enlightened people who believe in God may be either stupid or are compartmentalising their brain. Uneducated people on the other hand may be just as intelligent as any other, they have just not benefited from the scientific discoveries of the modern world.

No ethnic component needs to be a part of the equation.

#102: I agree with you on that point.

11. Intelligent people 'less likely to believe in God'

Comment #192553 by YssiBoo on June 13, 2008 at 11:20 am

#58 Jack:

Thanks for the statistics. Those reaffirm my personal conclusion that one can learn to get better at IQ tests. I think IQ only measures one part of what makes for total intelligence and that this part can be trained like any other skill. There is also a great correlation between the level of education and the measured IQ in the countries in question. The countries which have well nourished inhabitants also score higher than the others i.e. Europe versus Africa.

12. Intelligent people 'less likely to believe in God'

Comment #192550 by YssiBoo on June 13, 2008 at 11:07 am

Henri Bergson at comment #33:

I recommend you read "Guns Germs and Steel" for a thorough analysis of the biological basis for claiming some ethnicities to be more intelligent than others. The conclusion there is that there is no such correlation to be found either in the historical record nor in the modern world.

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

Comment #190986 by YssiBoo on June 10, 2008 at 3:38 am

I went back to actually try to read the whole article, but I was unable to get myself through it. It repeats the argument from personal incredulity so often that it just gets boring. Even if it was a valid point (which it isn't) I would have problems reading this. What a poor mind!

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

Comment #190972 by YssiBoo on June 10, 2008 at 2:57 am

I read the first few paragraphs of this piece hoping to see a new argument. However, the fallacies kept building up so much that my brain shut down. How can he say that atheists believe planets somehow just formed themselves spontaneously yielding billions of lifeforms all with male and female individuals? I get so sick and tired of people who think they have a knockdown argument when all they really have is a lack of understanding for the processes behind the evolution of the universe.

*Brain Reboot commenced due to stoopid-virus attack*

*Reality restored*

15. That's it. Texas really is doomed.

Comment #185107 by YssiBoo on May 27, 2008 at 1:13 am

I must say I agree with you on some points FightingFalcon, especially on the rationality of atheists. But I also think you are trivializing the problem somewhat. Just because evangelism and opposition to science is nothing new doesn't mean it's not a threat to the US. When the boards of education are controlled by anti-scientific people the consequences in twenty years may be larger than you think now. As long as the majority of american states are not controlled by these people it might not be a problem, but what if it spreads? Apathy is certainly not a solution (although i guess that was not your suggestion either). Secularists and rationalists must keep fighting this with every available weapon.

16. Lab agrees to test Shroud of Turin for new theory

Comment #182851 by YssiBoo on May 21, 2008 at 3:37 am

"The shroud is brilliant and unfathomable," Rolfe said.

What in the world can make a shroud 'unfathomable'? I think mr Rolfe just doesn't think hard enough.

17. A bit of Fry & Laurie - Sex talk in class

Comment #181969 by YssiBoo on May 19, 2008 at 12:49 am

I thought the sketch was a bit dreary the first half, but I couldn't help laughing at the poor sod in the end. :)

18. These dim-wits believe in anything but God

Comment #181744 by YssiBoo on May 18, 2008 at 6:17 am

I take it as a measure of his grasp on reality when he gladly admits his total lack of knowledge about physics, but still claims to have some deeper knowledge about the workings of the universe. (Him being a priest, I assume he believes what he preaches.)

19. Americans pray at the pump for cheaper petrol

Comment #179279 by YssiBoo on May 13, 2008 at 2:53 am

Grandt: I'll take your 9.07/US gallon and raise to 9.76/Us gallon in Bergen Norway. I use my bike or the bus for transportation.

20. Richard Dawkins' secular army must be stopped. God is behind some of our greatest art

Comment #161269 by YssiBoo on April 15, 2008 at 4:52 am

clearmind: I don't think anyone ever claimed that the Mona Lisa is not painted by a human. But that does not make your feeble attacks on the theory of evolution any less moronic. Go read a book.

21. Mr. Deity

Comment #154338 by YssiBoo on April 3, 2008 at 5:52 am

This was just hilarious! Spot on!

22. My quest to get de-baptised

Comment #152404 by YssiBoo on March 31, 2008 at 1:06 am

Are they really this difficult in the CoE? Here in Norway it is a straight-forward process to have ones name removed from the church records. (Although it has happened that people who were removed have been included again without consent.)

I think you should do your best to have your name removed from their records. It should be a basic freedom in any society to be able to choose which organisations one is a member of!

23. Seven new deadly sins: are you guilty?

Comment #141639 by YssiBoo on March 11, 2008 at 2:20 am

The Dante's Inferno Test has sent you to the First Level of Hell - Limbo!

Here is how you matched up against all the levels:
Level | Score
Purgatory | Very Low
Level 1 - Limbo | Very High
Level 2 | High
Level 3 | Moderate
Level 4 | Very Low
Level 5 | Low
Level 6 - The City of Dis | Very High
Level 7 | Moderate
Level 8- the Malebolge | Moderate
Level 9 - Cocytus | Low


C
haron ushers you across the river Acheron, and you find yourself upon the brink of grief's abysmal valley. You are in Limbo, a place of sorrow without torment. You encounter a seven-walled castle, and within those walls you find rolling fresh meadows illuminated by the light of reason, whereabout many shades dwell. These are the virtuous pagans, the great philosophers and authors, unbaptised children, and others unfit to enter the kingdom of heaven. You share company with Caesar, Homer, Virgil, Socrates, and Aristotle. There is no punishment here, and the atmosphere is peaceful, yet sad.

24. Oklahoma: One Step from Doom

Comment #141074 by YssiBoo on March 10, 2008 at 2:12 am

I trust that such legislation will serve to rally all secular forces in the US. The country which has contributed the most to scientific advancement during the last hundred years will continue to do so in the future I think.

25. Crossing the Divide

Comment #140302 by YssiBoo on March 7, 2008 at 5:53 am

The solution of 'breaking the spell', others have mentioned this in their comments, is education. The internet could help us with this. Sites devoted to all aspects of science and scientific investigation could be a source for liberating of the religiously warped minds.

26. Crossing the Divide

Comment #140150 by YssiBoo on March 7, 2008 at 2:30 am

I saw the posts on JW and just wanted to respond with a question. I have never had the dubious pleasure of being visited by them, but part of me wish for it. I'm not really that confrontational, but I am interested in what they actually use for arguments. The closest I have come is the elderly ppl in my town quietly holding up the watchtower magazine.

My question then is: What are their conversion tactics after they have forced their way in? (I guess they are somewhat organized in this.)

27. Lords Approve Abolition Of Blasphemy

Comment #140129 by YssiBoo on March 7, 2008 at 1:53 am

MPhil: Until a few years ago, there were crosses in every bavarian classroom - now they must get removed if a parent complains. But in many rural areas the religiosity is so high that this isn't done and RE can be taught as indoctrinating as possible.

28. God, power and money

Comment #138936 by YssiBoo on March 5, 2008 at 12:53 am

I think she could have successfully sued.

29. God, power and money

Comment #138144 by YssiBoo on March 4, 2008 at 1:51 am

In my hometown of Bergen, Norway there are several evangelical congregations. One of them is the largest in Norway. (Probably not more than a minichurch by american standards, but anyhoo...) One of my friends' parents were members of this church, but didn't force my friend to join. She was however a christian, and went along to a meeting once when she was 16 or 17 years old. As a first-timer she was brought onto the stage to be blessed and to be subjected to the pushy-fally move. When the minister put his hand on her forehead and gently pushed her (while blessing her) she took a step back and regained her balance. This annoyed the minister and the other church-goers, so the minister decided to try again. This time he pushed much harder, and my friend once again tried to take a step back in order to avoid falling. But when she did so someone stuck out their leg and tripped her(!), so she had to fall. My friend immediately left the church in anger and never returned.

30. Survey shows Non-Religious Outnumber Those of Every Single Faith (But One)

Comment #138119 by YssiBoo on March 4, 2008 at 12:57 am

I would like to know what the error margins of this survey are. If they are, say, 0.5 percentage-point the increase in atheists can largely be explained by the error margins. Or you can at least not conclude unequivocally that the increase is 0.8 percentagepoints (or what constitutes a 25% increase (0.8/3.2=0.25)). Are there any statisticians here? (I am not one)

31. Are they running for President or Pastor-in-Chief?

Comment #134676 by YssiBoo on February 28, 2008 at 5:02 am

Dune010: HAHA! I had forgotten about that one.
Richard Morgan: Point taken. :p I'm Norwegian so I will stop lecturing english now. :)

For a bit of Mr Izzard, here is his thesis on the AE-BE divide: Clicky

32. Are they running for President or Pastor-in-Chief?

Comment #134626 by YssiBoo on February 28, 2008 at 3:54 am

Clodhopper: You should perhaps reevaluate the driving on the left part. Britain is an island of lefthand driving in the middle of the ocean that is the civilised world.

The adoption of the metric system in britain has been anything but painless. Here you were also an island in the ocean that is the civilised world for a long time.

Cricket is not a sport. It is the best attempt yet to hide the lack of action in any human activity behind a veil of unintelligible rules.

British cars should be exposed to the same ban as the american cars. (Except those british cars really made by germans.)

To add one vocabulary issue to your list (in the words of Eddie Izzard): Herbs is not pronounced 'erbs. Cause it has got a f*cking 'h' in it.

33. Are they running for President or Pastor-in-Chief?

Comment #134614 by YssiBoo on February 28, 2008 at 3:38 am

The only problem I found with Sweden is (a quote from the guy I sailed around the Swedish Archipelago and across to Finland with) that if they could find a street that was one-way in both directions, then that is where they would put the state liquor stores.

34. Are they running for President or Pastor-in-Chief?

Comment #134536 by YssiBoo on February 28, 2008 at 12:50 am

At one point I found myself hoping China's ascension to world dominance would quicken.

35. Physicist Neil Turok: Big Bang Wasn't the Beginning

Comment #132544 by YssiBoo on February 25, 2008 at 12:56 am

For an insight into the difficulties facing theoretical physics I recommend Lee Smolin's "The Trouble with Physics: The Rise of String Theory, the Fall of a Science and What Comes Next". Smolin discusses the lack of precise predictions the String Theory makes.

36. Cutting Edge: Baby Bible Bashers

Comment #129273 by YssiBoo on February 19, 2008 at 12:17 am

I don't think I can stomach this early in the morning. If that is not a form of child abuse, I will never know what is.

37. Murder plot against Danish cartoonist

Comment #126324 by YssiBoo on February 13, 2008 at 1:42 am

How can anyone be opposed to islamic barbarism while at the same time condone western barbarism. The hypocrisy is absurd.

I would like to see research that shows the efficacy of torture. Everything I have read suggests that torture only serves to get the answers you want to have, not the true answers. If the torturers want to know that (not if) a person is a terrorist torture will give this answer.

One only has to look to the inquisition and the witch hunts to see what torture leads to.

38. Bill Maher on Larry King Live

Comment #125793 by YssiBoo on February 12, 2008 at 4:20 am

There is one important point in this discussion that I haven't seen made properly. That point is that while modern medicine has been and continues to be our best tool for treating disease, the profit aim of the large pharmaceutical companies may sometimes interfere with the best course of action.

I am not trained in any medical field, but I have understood as much as to view over-usage of antibiotics leads to multiresistent strains of bacteria. When the food industry uses large amounts of antibiotics as a food supplement for animals this may increase this risk.

Also the profit-aim makes it more important for the pharmaceutical companies to earn money than to contribute to widespread distribution of medicines to the third world.

My take on this is that there is nothing wrong with the underlying scientific principle used to develop medicines. The problem is when economic interests trump health interests.

39. Ad 'likely to offend gay people'

Comment #123351 by YssiBoo on February 7, 2008 at 2:44 am

How many gay parents are there who do not genuinely want children? For gay people the choice to have children is an active one. You won't have unwanted teen pregnancies amongst gays. Gays who choose to have children have therefore probably made a much more thoughtful decision than many "traditional" parents.

If a child is bullied in school because its parents are gay the problem is not with the child or its parents but with the upbringing of the bullies.

40. The New Atheist Movement

Comment #123348 by YssiBoo on February 7, 2008 at 2:38 am

Comment #123315 by DavidMarsh on February 7, 2008 at 12:10 am
Militant atheists indeed! What a violent bunch we are, "attacking" those poor defenseless religions with explosive and damaging.. err... words.

41. The New Atheist Movement

Comment #123340 by YssiBoo on February 7, 2008 at 2:17 am

Comment #123332 by Tyler Durden on February 7, 2008 at 1:51 am

So, according to Ravi Zacharias, the reason Sam Harris has not given a speech on Islam in Saudia Arabia is because it would be his "farewell speech" implying that Harris would be killed - and this is supposed to be Sam's fault??

Does he not see the hypocrisy of his statement?

42. The New Atheist Movement

Comment #123336 by YssiBoo on February 7, 2008 at 2:00 am

What utter rubbish! Straw men are popping up everywhere. Please pass the torch!

43. Female Muslim medics 'disobey hygiene rules'

Comment #121749 by YssiBoo on February 4, 2008 at 4:29 am

The planet will survive, living things will continue to evolve. Human beings will just become another one of the millions of extinct species. Religion and religious conflict may bring that extinction about a few hundred or thousand years earlier than would happen without it, that is all.

44. God vs. Gridiron

Comment #121672 by YssiBoo on February 4, 2008 at 12:51 am

Doesn't it say a lot about the power of christ that american carry-a-ball-that-is-not-actually-ball(-and-occasionally-allowing-on-a-single-player-to-kick-the-damn-thing-with-his-foot)-ball gets them more interested?

45. Female Muslim medics 'disobey hygiene rules'

Comment #121669 by YssiBoo on February 4, 2008 at 12:23 am

An interesting case I found was that of Nalen Yasin, who made her own custom uniform which lived up regulations as well as her own needs. Yasin also mentioned that "according to Islam I can put aside the rules of modest clothing if I'm treating a sick person."

46. Richard Dawkins on The Big Questions

Comment #117894 by YssiBoo on January 29, 2008 at 11:44 pm

Just had to comment on the awful intro-music that sounded like it came from day-time tv from the 80's.

edit: Just saw mrjonno's comment which explains the dog-awful music.

47. Ore. Court: Boy Has Say in Circumcision

Comment #116985 by YssiBoo on January 28, 2008 at 12:57 am

It is demonstrably false to say that getting braces for your teeth is done purely for aesthetical reasons. I wore different kinds of braces for a total of eight or nine years. This was done firstly because I had an underbite. This is probably aesthetics taken into consideration. Later it was discovered that my tongue is so wide that it impeded the growth of my eyeteeth. Therefore braces were used to correct this. Then I had my upper jaw corrected to prevent neck problems due to an uneven bite.

My teeth look much nicer now than they would have done otherwise, but there are medical reasons why I went through all this.

If there are no medical reasons for having your foreskin removed, I don't see any point in removing it. It is not normal to do so here in Norway, and I don't think there are major studies showing reduced health in our population as a consequence of this.

48. A Letter From Hell

Comment #115862 by YssiBoo on January 24, 2008 at 11:58 pm

I don't think I dare going to this GodTube site. I'm afraid my computer will catch the stupid, and convert to christian technology. (Fire and brimstone will not do wonders to the computer simulations i'm doing for my master's degree...)

49. A Letter From Hell

Comment #115860 by YssiBoo on January 24, 2008 at 11:55 pm

I guess GodTube shares the same server with YouPorn.

But seriously, it is good to start the day with a hot steaming cup of stupid isn't it?

50. The real danger in Darwin is not evolution, but racism

Comment #115361 by YssiBoo on January 24, 2008 at 5:05 am

You Americans should be glad that your constitution includes in clear language a paragraph ensuring the separation of church and state. Here in Norway the church is funded through tax money, 50% of the elected government HAVE to be members of the state church, and our Monarch MUST be a confessing member of the same church.

In primary and secondary school in Norway one of the mandatory subjects is called "Christendom and philosophy education". This subject includes prayer education (although parents can choose to let their children be excused from class during prayer). It was recently judged to be in conflict with basic human rights of freedom of/from religion by the court of human rights in Geneva.