Comments by fullmuppet

Comment #63963 by fullmuppet on August 17, 2007 at 3:55 am

The BJP are scary - BJP leaders have expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler and they have a paramilatary wing that is closely modelled on the SS. Like most such parties they always downplay these associations and play the brain-dead nationalist card to garner votes.

2. The Gullible Age: Review of 'The Enemies of Reason'

Comment #62255 by fullmuppet on August 9, 2007 at 6:06 am

On the subject of teaching critical thinking in schools -

It may be that governments (of any stripe), sub-conciously at the very least, do not want a populace of 'critical-thinkers':

I can't remember the details but I recall that the state of New York (I think) instituted 'propaganda spotting' classes in the post-war years so that students could logically evaluate Communist propaganda and so not be influenced by it.
These classes were swiftly ended when the students also began questioning propoganda from their own government...

3. The Gullible Age: Review of 'The Enemies of Reason'

Comment #61660 by fullmuppet on August 6, 2007 at 7:31 am

Just on the question of whether pedlars of new-age pseudo-science are worthy of Dawkins', or anyone else's attention, I'd say they definitely are.

To me it's a problem of education - people aren't taught how to think critically, or if they are it tends to be within the confines of a particular subject, such as History, without it being made clear that such skills as judging evidence, spotting logical fallacies, basic statistaical analysis, etc. are aplicable to everything in life.

Lacking these techniques makes people susceptible to all manner of stupid concepts - from God all the way down to the gambler's fallacy (if I have one more argument with someone who thinks picking the same Lotto numbers each week increases their chances of winning...)

Challenging pseudo-scientific beliefs in a rational, scientific, logical way on a TV programme will demonstrate to people how such methods are applicable to any belief they may hold. Hopefully viewers will then be able to fine-tune their own bullshit meters.

4. Intelligent design is a science, not a faith

Comment #17127 by fullmuppet on January 11, 2007 at 2:51 am

For more on Richard Buggs, this articles writer, check ou the following link:

http://www.bcseweb.org.uk/index.php/Main/RichardBuggs

I sent an email to Truth in Science putting forward the obvious reasons why Intelligent Design is not science - i.e. untestability, etc. and asking how even were Darwinism to be shown to be wrong why would ID be the next best hypothesis?

I didn't recieve a reply. Maybe they're too busy on their PR drive to answer questions.

5. Science Weekly for December 11: Creationism special

Comment #12855 by fullmuppet on December 14, 2006 at 4:41 am

Exactly Logicel, and even if evolution was a complex topic, surely it is the job of a teacher to explain compex topics an an entertaining an informative way so that people can understand them - not to simply pick an easier, but wrong, alternative? If you can't do that, you really shouldn't be teaching.

6. Scientologists get �270,000 subsidy

Comment #12657 by fullmuppet on December 13, 2006 at 5:40 am

Plenty of unscrupulous atheists out there, too! However, point taken.

The interesting thing about Scientology is that there is good evidence to suggest that its founder L Ron Hubbard deliberately created it to be a money making enterprise. He supposedly told a group of fellow SF writers in the 1940s, long before Scientology started, a plan for how to start a religion in order to make money. (If I was very good I'd go and trawl the internet for references to back this up, but I'm on my lunch hour...)

7. Vicars in a Twist

Comment #12654 by fullmuppet on December 13, 2006 at 5:26 am

Can't believe some of you think this is serious! Perhaps you should all subscribe to VIZ (www.viz.co.uk).

VIZ started out as an amateur publication in Newcastle but became a big hit and was at one time the sixth best selling weekly magazine in the UK!

Their "Top Tips" column (mocking similar pages in 'lifestyle' magazines) was a particular favourite of mine - e.g.

'Convince callers that you have had a nosebleed by pouring tomato ketchup down your front before answering the door'