1. Richard Dawkins' US Tour begins this week

Comment #138295 by yoursdhruly on March 4, 2008 at 7:02 am

Are book signings planned at these venues? Anyone know? I am thrilled to be able to see the author of "The Selfish Gene", the most important book in my life, in the flesh. I had the same thrill when I saw the Who live for the first time last year! If only more scientists could ignite the imagination of people the way RD does.

2. George Scales, War Hero and Generous Friend of RDFRS

Comment #111613 by yoursdhruly on January 15, 2008 at 6:41 am

Dear George,
Your story and generosity are inspiring. I wish you all the very best of health.

3. What have you changed your mind about? Why?

Comment #106056 by yoursdhruly on January 2, 2008 at 10:00 am

This reminds me of a conversation I had with a friend who told me of Jared Diamond's "Third Chimpanzee"...in that, I was told, the basis for alcoholic consumption is linked to what I now have learned to call Zahavian: humans drink alcohol to demonstrate our infallibility to impairment. Now I know one must be EXTREMELY careful when extrapolating to homo sapiens, but it surely explains your typical teen as portrayed (correctly?) in American Pie and similar movies. Are we out to destroy ourselves just to prove we can survive it???

Isn't it wonderful to be human and be capable of asking these questions, AND sometimes, getting answers that make sense and make us question our instincts and beliefs? Thank you for writing "The Selfish Gene", Dr. Dawkins: it has changed my world in more ways than even I think I appreciate. It is surely, my bible. :-) Happy new year!

4. Charles Darwin - Legacy

Comment #55804 by yoursdhruly on July 12, 2007 at 11:30 am

Very interesting though I thought the title was slightly mis-representative. Thanks for posting. I must confess that I was not aware of the Punctuated Equilibrium theory as being such a controversial subject - sounds more like "big changes are more significant than small changes" and I feel very comfortable with that. Must read more though...once again, thanks for posting!!!

5. Observer Diary 27th May 2007

Comment #45435 by yoursdhruly on May 27, 2007 at 6:42 pm

Professor Dawkins,
Where did you get that nice shirt? :-)

6. Your favorite book in the last 25 years?

Comment #37220 by yoursdhruly on May 3, 2007 at 6:20 pm

Unfortunately, The Selfish Gene precedes 1982, or that would have been the one for me...am reading The Ancestor's Tale right now, so that could be the one. Till then it will have to be:
Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose (1997)

And Pete Townshend's soon-to-be completed autobiography!!!

7. An atheist's call to arms

Comment #36843 by yoursdhruly on May 2, 2007 at 1:39 pm

Fishpeddler -

Well said....

"Damn those biologists for confusing me into riding my cat around and teaching my horse to fetch my slippers"

Witty and insightful.

8. An atheist's call to arms

Comment #36837 by yoursdhruly on May 2, 2007 at 1:28 pm

Oao,
I don't need to (or am capable of) speaking on RD's behalf, so I will just share my thoughts. I don't see why RD (and the rest of us) needs to "focus" on Islam . There is plenty to discuss here - RD will admit he has only scraped the surface of world religions in his books and talks.

I do not see what is to be gained by ranking religions in order of how much evil they have caused. It only serves to polarize - several Hindus in India don't even think of Hinduism as a "religion", except in the contrast with Islam and other religions. Why lend credence to theistic agendas and pull down certain religions?

I agree with some of what you say, but think your suggestion that RD was specifically targeting certain religions because he doesn't know enough about the others, is flawed and at best, not useful.

9. An atheist's call to arms

Comment #36814 by yoursdhruly on May 2, 2007 at 12:00 pm

Ahem...If I may join this discussion. I was born into a Hindu family in India and have observed that RD (almost) never addresses Hinduism in his talks. I put this down to one fact alone: his background and his audiences do not share the same background as me. Which is fine...most of the arguments RD makes are as relevant to Christianity as they are to Hinduism, some to a lesser degree, others not.

My point is, I don't see the need to isolate religions and discuss their relative merits - that is what religious scholars do, I imagine. RD makes his points based on where he's coming from, and you have to recognize that and adapt it to your specific thoughts and background, not the other way round.

10. An atheist's call to arms

Comment #36788 by yoursdhruly on May 2, 2007 at 10:12 am

Fascinating talk, perhaps the best I have heard by RD on atheism. Carl Sagan's statement at the end is so true - if only all that time spent in religious activity was diverted to the wonder of the world we live in...

The only thing I want to add is regarding the pie chart RD showed about religions in the US - I would imagine that the majority of theists believe that having SOME faith (even if it's not the same as theirs) is better than no faith at all. Therefore, if a politician represents the atheist section of that pie, he risks the ire of the rest of the pie...a Jewish lobbyist on the other hand can be tolerated better. And that's why I think a-theism is not a useful word: the wonderful logic of "one-god-less" and the belief in science and its pursuit is lost in the negation of theism. Anyway, my two cents...

Thanks for posting! This site is such a wonderful place...if websites were places, this site would be a Hawaii for the intellect...or should I say Galapagos?

11. Bill O'Remix

Comment #35096 by yoursdhruly on April 26, 2007 at 7:34 am

I thought that was hilarious! Throwing in with Jesus!

12. The Video: Bill O'Reilly Interviews Richard Dawkins

Comment #34318 by yoursdhruly on April 23, 2007 at 7:36 pm

I'm curious...has Richard himself discussed these interviews and what he feels about them? Guess it's too early to hear about the OReilly one, but the Paula Zahn show?

Also, are there popular shows in the US that would give him a longer time to discuss his concepts and if yes, are there any where people can go and petition for such a discussion?

...or am I being too naive?

13. The Video: Bill O'Reilly Interviews Richard Dawkins

Comment #34296 by yoursdhruly on April 23, 2007 at 6:35 pm

Professor Dawkins,

I agree with some of the other posts - why do you do these short interview segments? Do you really believe they get the message out or do you need to fulfill publisher's obligations to promote the book? I have the highest respect for you and you are my guru, if I ever had one and find it hard to see you being forced to make 30 second answers with a smile to someone who then breaks into Alec Baldwin's tapes...

Thanks.

14. Richard Dawkins interview with Paula Zahn

Comment #22189 by yoursdhruly on February 13, 2007 at 7:18 am

Excellent site, excellent work all round and a great (but short) interview with Dr. Dawkins. Nice smile at the end too! :-)

I believe all religion is makey-uppey (though that does not mean all of it is bad) and that god is extremely improbable. Having said that, I had three concerns though with RD's comments on the CNN show.

1. I think the point of Thor and the spaghetti monster is lost on most believers...and is in danger of belittling the incredibly strong reasoning behind it. I can almost hear them say - "Atheists think God is like a spaghetti monster, Ha-Ha-Ha."

2. I think also, there is a negative side to atheists uniting into some larger "group". Any group of people that comes together for a certain set of beliefs that are different from another group's is going to have its extremists. RD makes the point that atheists are peaceful people - is it really that hard to imagine, say two decades from now, a radical atheist making a statement by some radical act? Will that mean atheism is bad too? I think that cannot be a focus of an argument for atheism. The key focus in this debate should not be a specific belief (eg. God does not exist) - it should be a dedication to scientific reasoning. God may be very improbable, but THAT cannot be the key uniting factor of a group of people.

3. Finally, the argument that RD used at the end (and has used on the BBC show at the end too) does not come across as being very strong to me, perhaps because I was not exposed to the Christian faith (I come from a family of non-practicing Hindus) and the notion of a heaven/hell was not thrust upon me. Also, I don't think people who believe in an after life are going to hold back or in contrast, that atheists are spending their summers without pay, swimming in the Bahamas. I see the truth in the statement, I just don't see it as being a convincing argument.

Cheers!