1. British schools are falling for the pseudoscience of Brain Gym. Why fill kids' heads with nonsense?

Comment #160503 by alltruism on April 14, 2008 at 7:00 am

I thought it may be related to the 'Brain Training' style of thing (where you perform lots of simple arithmetic, spelling and memory games against a timer), but alas, it isn't.

After reading the original article on this Brain Gym nonsense, I vented my thoughts on it here: http://alltruism.blogspot.com/2008/04/got-brain-jim-then-you-dont-need-brain.html

2. Happy Birthday, Richard Dawkins!

Comment #150004 by alltruism on March 26, 2008 at 11:48 am

I don't believe Richard is 67. Any evidence that he is that old is clearly wrong or created by God to test our faith.

Dawkins is not a day over 45 years old.

Does that make me a Young-Dawkins Celebrationist? ;-)

Happy Birthday Professor Dawkins!

3. New Atheists Are Not Great

Comment #145168 by alltruism on March 17, 2008 at 10:32 am

"Ethics produces an even greater quandary. Moral laws have changed less over the millennia than the recognized laws of physics and mathematics. The ethical principles that undergird the Ten Commandments' prohibitions against stealing and murder are recognized by people in New York, New Guinea, Timbuktu, and even bin Laden's cave"

..well, this is nothing more than dishonest.... murder and theft are obviously wrong in most circumstances (and were considered wrong before the 10 Commandments), but most of the rest of the 10 commandments are not considered important these days - we specifically DO have the right to worship as we please and make all the graven images we want. These freedoms specifically contradict the 10 Commandments.

These jealous religious commandments aside, genuine human ethics has perhaps not changed all that much, but that would be because human nature has not changed much. Evolution takes a long time ;-)

4. Arrogance, dogma and why science - not faith - is the new enemy of reason

Comment #61938 by alltruism on August 7, 2007 at 1:50 pm

"Some 570 million years ago, in a period known as the Cambrian Explosion, most forms of complex animal life emerged seemingly without any evolutionary trail."

A lack of fossil evidence does not in any way indicate an absence of an evolutionary trail.

Evolution by natural selection does not require the existance of fossils at all, although ALL the fossils ever discovered do happen to support it.

To suggest science is the enemy of reason is to misunderstand either the term "science" or the term "reason", or possibly both.

5. The root of all evil?

Comment #43691 by alltruism on May 22, 2007 at 9:49 am

Nothing Dawkins has said is as offensively shocking as some of the content of the Old Testament. The stuff in there is REALLY shocking, and all the more so because it is held up by millions as the source of their morality!

6. Bishops must not sit in reformed House of Lords

Comment #23483 by alltruism on March 1, 2007 at 3:33 am

They should not be prohibited from the House of Lords just BECAUSE they are Bishops, but equally they should not be included in the House of Lords just BECAUSE they are Bishops.

Religious organisations should not have any particular right to be represented in the House of Lords, but neither should people who happen to be religious (or even happen to be Bishops!) be specifically excluded.

Or, if Bishops are to be included, lets include some Jedi Knights too - we've got a lot of those according to the recent census ;-)

7. Richard Dawkins interview with Paula Zahn

Comment #22220 by alltruism on February 13, 2007 at 3:11 pm

When asked about where atheists get their morality from, she could have answered him easily.

Modern morality is the result of reason applied to the group altruism behaviours we evolved through natural selection.

Following the wishes and moral judgements of a supremely powerful being (a god, or even just a human dictator) out of fear of punishment (Hell, execution) or out of a selfish desire to be rewarded (Heaven, wealth) is not a basis of a genuine morality, it's either cowardice or a pragmatic selfishness.