1. Galaxy map hints at fractal universe

Comment #199283 by Chris Jackson on June 25, 2008 at 12:33 pm

"...if the Galaxy distribution turned out to be fractal... Davis would owe Sylos Labini and Pietronero a case of California Wine.

Should the fractal pattern begin to disintegrate..., Davis would receive a case of Italian wine- which some would say is a better deal."

I would have loved to be in the room when this bet was made. Speculating upon the structure of inconceivably massive regions of space in terms of a case of nice wine.

That's a better reason than non-stick pans, I suppose...

2. Divine Impulses: Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Comment #192634 by Chris Jackson on June 13, 2008 at 6:20 pm

Emotional, stirring and a rallying call for all those who still live under the divine delusion. It may sound like I'm "Sucking up" and that I'm ignoring Ayaan's Neo-con perspective (right now I am) but Her description of leaving Islam gives me hope for several friends who still live under the veil.

A short but effective video, especially the section about female circumcision ( a pet hate/ worry of mine) and the "Devil within her" guiding her atheistic development.

10/10

3. Blogger spreads the gospel of science

Comment #189625 by Chris Jackson on June 6, 2008 at 6:08 pm

Schmeer, As was mentioned earlier in the thread, Kent (And similar terms) have been used for around 2,000 years. The fact that the adjective/proper noun "Kentish" was in common use before the 1700s somewhat undermines your point about the County of Kent being formally Incorporated in 1890 (a fact of which I am dubious).

Kent, Washington was almost certainly named after the county of Kent in England.

4. Blogger spreads the gospel of science

Comment #189331 by Chris Jackson on June 6, 2008 at 4:03 am

As a Side note, I too am a Man of Kent, born of Chatham. worse still, the Flying Spaghetti Monster (Sauce be upon him) saw fit to create me during the era of the Chav. I too feel your pain, Major Bloodnok.

5. Blogger spreads the gospel of science

Comment #189329 by Chris Jackson on June 6, 2008 at 3:55 am

The Kentish tribes were actually held in relatively high esteem by the Romans, with one emperor (Caesar or Claudius, I forget) asserting that "By far the most civilised [of the britons] are those that inhabit Cantium".

I agree with Cartomancer's original post: original Kent has a beauty all of its own (as well as a massive population of Chavs and scroungers).

Sorry, continuing irrelevance, but I'm irrationally proud of my home-county.

6. Trouble ahead for science

Comment #176950 by Chris Jackson on May 8, 2008 at 11:31 am

I've got to say, I'm sick of this whole Ben Stein Malarkey, let's condemn his laughable film to martyrdom, and then move on. Seriously, It's gone too far: what with the focus upon one stupendously ignorant and mis-informed work.

(I'm aware that I may echo many responses here, but it's getting a tad ridiculous now...)

7. Citing Faith, Bush Defends War Actions

Comment #176945 by Chris Jackson on May 8, 2008 at 11:23 am

Faith is the retreat of the less-intelligent in the face of overriding social/ Political/ Economic issues. The Argument from the "Invisible Sky-Man" (or Woman) is the sanctum of the ignorant. In this statement, Bush is basically saying, "I don't understand the criticism, so I'll say "Goddidit" ". Poor show.

8. The History Channel might do something right

Comment #176056 by Chris Jackson on May 6, 2008 at 1:04 pm

This is ridiculous, we all know that the eye just formed out of nothing. It's far more likely that cells assembled themselves by chance than by some nonsensical system of "evolution"

/sarcasm

9. Shaw TV Interview with Richard Dawkins

Comment #175141 by Chris Jackson on May 4, 2008 at 2:57 pm

The interviewer was alright, but I just didn't enjoy the way she posed questions using so few words; sure, they were good, interesting questions, but her delivery made them seem quite cold. Put simply, she was a bit too terse in her questions, probably in order to extract a good sound-bite for the interview.

Having said that, from about 1/2 way through part 3 she began to warm up.

10. Shaw TV Interview with Richard Dawkins

Comment #175131 by Chris Jackson on May 4, 2008 at 2:05 pm

Seems like a really good interview, lots of interesting background on RD. My only problem, at the moment, is the way the interviewer feels compelled to use sound-bites and too-short phrases during her questions. A minor, niggling fault, but it just spoils it for me. Otherwise, nice answers, good flow and an enjoyable, friendly (for once) interview.

11. Girl, 17, killed in Iraq for loving a British soldier

Comment #171404 by Chris Jackson on April 28, 2008 at 1:25 pm

Words alone cannot describe my anger at this.

Absolutely, wholly, completely, unimaginably fucking evil would be a start.

It is all too easy to look at stories like this and think "That only happens in Bat-shit crazy theocracies", but I recall several cases recently of "honour killings" in the UK.

It's a fucking disgrace.

12. Gunk in T. Rex Fossil Confirms Dino-Bird Lineage

Comment #169527 by Chris Jackson on April 26, 2008 at 8:37 am

I love the way this is touted as a startling new discovery... From what I'd gathered, the evolutionary line of descent from Dinosaurs to Birds was pretty much a certainty. Whilst this specific find (If indeed not a hoax) is quite interesting, I don't see that it's all that newsworthy.

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

Comment #164757 by Chris Jackson on April 20, 2008 at 4:51 pm

It's also important to note that Hitler was influenced by a number of cultural precedents, such as Wagner, whom he held in God-like regard. Wagner himself was a passionate anti-Semite and part of a long tradition of intolerance in German history (he once expressed disgust at how a synagogue blotted the skyline of Vienna).

From Crusaders who massacred Jews as they went to the holy land to the "Willing Executioners" of WW2, Germany is somewhat infamous in its persecution.

Regrettable, Yes. Disgusting, Yes. Religious, Yes. Darwinian, No.

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

Comment #164743 by Chris Jackson on April 20, 2008 at 4:39 pm

As one would expect, a kind, thoughtful and sensitive letter from RD. However, honourable as his sentiment may be, I cannot help but feel that it may fall on deaf ears. From the tone of the given excerpt, David J may have already made up his mind that all atheists, secularists and Evolutionary advocates are Jew-hating Nazis. If this were the case, the kindest words in the world would have held no sway.

It may be the post G & T blues hitting, but I feel distinctly pessimistic about the impact of this letter. Sad too, to know that this film is already having such a detrimental effect.

Shame.

15. The Child Preachers

Comment #163803 by Chris Jackson on April 19, 2008 at 4:31 am

There was a controversy recently when Argos (a British chain store) started marketing a "Lolita" range of furniture for young girls. No Joke.

It seems the more people scream about "pedofils", the more children are sexualised and trotted out in outfits that resemble a crude caricature of prostitution. Seemingly children's fashion is the new battleground of conservatism, and it feels odd to be on this side of the fence.

Returning to the article, I don't know whether my blood pressure could take listening to this if it's anything like "Jesus Camp".

16. Evolution fray attracts top scientist

Comment #162186 by Chris Jackson on April 16, 2008 at 9:39 am

Nice to see yet another influential figure wading into the debate. I say debate, but a conversation with an IDiot tends to run more along the lines of:

"Well, what do you think of... (insert long-debunked ignorant myth here)?"
It's a load of bollocks. Where's the evidence for your theory, by the way?
"THE BIBLE IS THE ONLY TRUTH!" (descends into dogma)

After reading this report, I'm going to give a steady "thumbs-up" to the Kroto Innovation centre every time I walk past it. I can't help thinking it won't be too long before Brown tries pulling some shit like this in the UK. Truly the end times are upon us.

17. School bars same-sex partners at formals

Comment #161709 by Chris Jackson on April 15, 2008 at 2:18 pm

This is what happens when you push the dregs of a continent into a desolate dust-bowl with only their invisible sky-man for company. See also: America.

On a more serious note, this seems to be the latest in an increasingly concerning trend of intolerance coming from the colonies. Australia never really occurred to me as such a hotbed of anti-Gay feeling, but evidently I was mistaken.

Troubling times.

18. Teacher Expelled Over Religion

Comment #161666 by Chris Jackson on April 15, 2008 at 1:41 pm

This is absolutely abhorrent. Not only are the IDiot clan foisting their mumbo-jumbo on the world of science, but they're also strong-arming out any opposition? There aren't exclamations strong enough to express my rage at this. What gives these people the right to not only break the traditional non-overlapping magisterium agreement, but also to attack the truth of the matter.

It's fair enough if creationists and other invertebrates want to tout their own specific brand of Bronze-age ignorance, that's their right. But to actively attack schoolteachers for not being neutral? I'm incandescent. Show me someone who can remain neutral over the issue of creationism, and I'll show you an ignorant c**t.

This just ruined my night.

19. Religious education as a part of literary culture

Comment #160845 by Chris Jackson on April 14, 2008 at 1:24 pm

I agree with Cynthax, whilst I'm not all that fond of the Bible, it serves as a useful accretion of Bronze-age myths that might otherwise have been lost. Whilst it may seem easier to try and sweep away any religious writings or religiously-inspired texts, it's important to remember that, for the majority of human history, the vast majority of people were deeply religious. To deny access to religious works to schoolchildren would be to deny an enormous amount of our cultural and intellectual history.

I don't think that the current state of affairs (Biblical myth being passed off as authentic history) should be allowed to continue, but certainly, a wide ranging education in a variety of religious sources could only bring about a more informed and less dogmatic generation of schoolchildren. No one is asking children to believe on the ridiculous catalogue of bunkum that makes up religion, but certainly an understanding of biblical texts (for allegorical purposes) would serve to benefit anyone wishing to read the great literary classics.

As a side note, without the background of early, intolerant Christianity, the world might never of heard of Prophyry or Celsus, my two favourite classical writers.

20. 'Expelled' ripped off Harvard's 'Inner Life of the Cell' animation

Comment #159168 by Chris Jackson on April 11, 2008 at 2:23 pm

From what I remember of A-level Biology, the chances of these two videos being similar by merit of coincidence alone is about as unlikely as an invisible sky-man creating the Universe. A Eukaryotic cell is a tangled mess of interacting systems and structural components that make the clear observation of a single system (such as vesicle transportation along structural proteins) impossible.

The claim that the two animations were made by separate teams becomes all the more improbable when the level of Scientific knowledge displayed by the IDiot camp are considered. Anyone who feels the need to refer to Biological processes in terms of Divine control, and who presents a system of Protein Synthesis without including Ribosomes clearly lacks the ability to create such an animation. Whilst some aspects of the animation are divergent (colour of the vesicle, camera angles used, image quality etc.) there is a level of similarity at work here far beyond mere inspiration.