1. Mayor challenges pope during Genoa visit

Comment #182116 by brian faux on May 19, 2008 at 8:41 am

"Critics of the existing law, mostly in the centre right, say abortion has replaced contraception ..."

A statement I have seen before that I would guess does not stand up to any research: do the anti-abortionists really believe that the number of abortions is greater than the number of condoms sold? (not to mention the Pill etc). Perhaps Messrs Durex & Co could provide us with the figures.

2. Gimme that Old-Time Irreligion

Comment #181843 by brian faux on May 18, 2008 at 11:14 am

"Why does the vast corpus of mathematical ideas developed without any applications in mind turn out to be so useful in describing what we can discover of physical reality, to the extent that it is virtually impossible to envision a "physics" detached from these mathematical formalisms?"
A very good question Eugene and an appeal from me to any reading mathematicians: is there a large corpus of mathematical knowledge that is NOT related to real world problems and solutions? In my own readings around the edges of maths I have always understood that it is a virtually infinite field and so the fact that some, maybe relatively small part, of this knowledge refers to the 'real world' is not surprising.

3. Pat Condell: Anthology DVD available now!

Comment #172967 by brian faux on April 30, 2008 at 8:05 am

Re 48
You`re most probably right Steve, I`m just too pusillanimous to be completely negative.

4. Pat Condell: Anthology DVD available now!

Comment #172765 by brian faux on April 30, 2008 at 4:28 am

One can agree with most of what he says, but funny? Much too dull a voice I`m afraid. A modicum, at least, of pizazz is required to be an entertainer rather than an informer.
But being an informer is pretty good.

5. How to reconcile Richard Dawkins?

Comment #172157 by brian faux on April 29, 2008 at 9:23 am

Monty Burns is correct: Stalin killed those he saw as threats to his power as well as using terror to discourage any opposition. The fact that some were religious and some not is irrelevant.

6. Investigating Atheism

Comment #166851 by brian faux on April 23, 2008 at 1:04 pm

A quick shufti at this site gives the impression that it is written by a bunch of religious types.

Quote "At the beginning of the twenty first century the situation remains very similar: for every atheistic scientist who supposes that science supports (or does not undermine) their atheism, there is a religiously inclined scientist who supposes that science supports (or does not undermine) their theism."
Sounds a bit dodgy to me.
I have emailed them to ask if they have any stats to back up this statement. I dont believe that the ratio of believers to non believers in the sciences is anything like 50/50 (unless you counter nobel physics laureates with graduates from the Christian theology college of Moose Droppings Indiana)
Apologies to Hoosiers

7. Is religion a threat to rationality and science?

Comment #166236 by brian faux on April 23, 2008 at 3:10 am

Surely the answer to the question " Is religion a threat to rationality and science?" is a simple yes?
If science is defined as the disinterested search for truth then any pre-existing belief, no matter how noble or useful, can only be an impediment.
To change this state of affairs we would have to re-define the meaning of science.
The fact that "science", thus defined, is an almost impossible ideal is irrelevant to the argument. We may not know how and when a pre existing belief can interfere with our enquiries but we cannot logically deny that the risk is there.

8. Open Letter to a victim of Ben Stein's lying propaganda

Comment #165084 by brian faux on April 21, 2008 at 3:41 am

Richard is quite correct to say that the word "Darwin" does not appear in Mein Kampf and the lazy, like me, can test this with a word search at

http://www.hitler.org/writings/Mein_Kampf/index.html

in no time at all. However, a check on "selection" will bring up this passage:

"Nature herself in times of great poverty or bad climactic conditions, as well as poor harvest, intervenes to restrict the increase of population of certain countries or races; this, to be sure, by a method as wise as it is ruthless. "
(MK Chap 4)
which attributes the selection process to "Nature herself" and shows that Hitler was aware of the idea of natural selection (or at least an apologist could easily see it that way)
So be careful when using Hitler/Darwin arguments. It`s never as completely straightforward as it seems and if I can find this passage in five minutes then one of those bumhole creationists can also find it and use it to muddy the water.
Forewarned is forearmed as the goddess Kali would say.

9. The Stupidity of Fox News is Truly Beyond Belief

Comment #158144 by brian faux on April 10, 2008 at 6:11 am

Taking my name in vain again.

10. Commentary: Democrats finally getting religion on religion

Comment #158031 by brian faux on April 10, 2008 at 2:30 am

Re Comment #157910 by FightingFalcon
No doubt space exploration could bring about great and unforseen benefits but at what cost ratio? Back in 1969 I remember hearing that the cost of the Apollo programme could have sent an entire generation through high school: I don`t know if this is accurate but the principle holds. Since the triumph (and tragedy) of Laika I`ve been a romantic about space but the practical in me says that only a tiny minority have got any benefit from anything higher than 36000km.

brian

11. Sci-fi guru Clarke to have secular funeral

Comment #147264 by brian faux on March 20, 2008 at 4:56 am

Funerals are for the living.
Contemplating my demise, it fills me with great relief that here is someyhing, finally, that I don`t have to feel any responsibility for.

12. Church is paying a high price for its celibacy rule

Comment #132810 by brian faux on February 25, 2008 at 8:19 am

Steve,
I always suspected that the celibacy rule was Public Relations (and good PR at that).
Back in them olden days giving up/not pursuing worldly wealth would not impress a bunch of peasents who had none of their own (and little prospect of making any).
Voluntarily giving up the universal pleasure of sex because of god is the sort of thing that anyone can identify with and gives great kudos to said god.