1. Male circumcision is a weapon in the sperm wars

Comment #189519 by skyhook87 on June 6, 2008 at 12:02 pm

It might also be the case that selection works at a group level, so that societies that enforce mutilation are more stable because of less conflict over paternity, Wilson says.

2. The Stupidity of Dignity

Comment #179649 by skyhook87 on May 13, 2008 at 1:15 pm

@NJ
Thanks for noticing, I am quite a fan of Dennett's work.

I was reading the report all morning and then when I came across Pinker's article posted here, I found it to echo my sentiments as well.

3. The Neural Buddhists

Comment #179631 by skyhook87 on May 13, 2008 at 12:55 pm

Genes are not merely selfish, it appears. Instead, people seem to have deep instincts for fairness, empathy and attachment.

4. The Stupidity of Dignity

Comment #179085 by skyhook87 on May 12, 2008 at 1:54 pm

You can find the "Human Dignity and Bioethics:Essays Commissioned by the President's Council on Bioethics" here in full.

http://bioethicsprint.bioethics.gov/reports/human_dignity/

I especially enjoyed Dennett's chapter as well as his commentary.

5. The Group Delusion

Comment #110137 by skyhook87 on January 10, 2008 at 2:34 pm

It is a shame that in fighting a multi-front war, Dawkins has to be stretched thin to maintain the hard fought ground he has gained in the past.

I have been keeping up with what the Wilsons have been putting out and I am eagerly awaiting Dawkins "more lengthy" response.

6. Functional Neuroimaging of Belief, Disbelief, and Uncertainty

Comment #97628 by skyhook87 on December 12, 2007 at 12:53 pm

I feel bad commenting on the ASCII characters and not Sam's paper, but oh well.

This is one of my favorites...

( 8(1) Turn your head to the left; Homer Simpson.

7. A new website addition: Debate Points

Comment #81377 by skyhook87 on October 24, 2007 at 4:28 pm

The organization and ease-of-use would be much better if this project were in the form of a wiki instead of threads. A wiki allows for a sort of memetic sieve, thereby leaving the strongest of the counter arguments to stand.

8. Review of Richard Dawkins' new book 'The Fascism Delusion'

Comment #69056 by skyhook87 on September 9, 2007 at 3:54 pm

Yes! I enjoyed that piece very much.

9. Poll: Which religion do you associate with?

Comment #65522 by skyhook87 on August 24, 2007 at 2:54 pm

Looks as if the poll has been removed and replaced with a poll about celebrities. I wonder if not getting the results they were hoping for lead to the removal... Unscientific poll indeed.

10. Face to faith

Comment #57760 by skyhook87 on July 21, 2007 at 12:00 am

...Dennett's confident definition of religion...

11. Does God answer prayer? ASU research says 'yes'

Comment #25932 by skyhook87 on March 15, 2007 at 5:45 pm

I did a very quick search and happened upon Dr. Kevin Masters of Syracuse University. He and his colleagues also did a meta-study over 14 studies (with one controversial study thrown out) that is available for viewing below.
Some key sentences from the abstract:
"Results: A total of 14 studies were included in the meta-analysis yielding an overall effect size of g = .100 that did not differ from zero. When one controversial study was removed the effect size reduced to g = .012."
and
"Conclusions: There is no scientifically discernable effect for IP as assessed in controlled studies. Given that the IP literature lacks a theoretical or theological base and has failed to produce significant findings in controlled trials, we recommend that further resources not be allocated to this line of research."

http://chb.syr.edu/staff/k_masters/Annals_of_Beh_Med-prayer.pdf

Masters, K.S., Spielmans, G.I., & Goodson, J.T. (In press). Are there demonstrable effects of distant intercessory prayer? A meta-analytic review. Annals of Behavioral Medicine.

12. Do stop behaving as if you are God, Professor Dawkins

Comment #23211 by skyhook87 on February 26, 2007 at 9:12 pm

Mcgrath talks about this footage of him and Dawkins ending up on the cutting room floor... Does anybody know if this footage is available for viewing anywhere?

Also, does anybody know if Dennett and Mcgrath's debate that took place last weekend was recorded and available for download? I found out about the debate from www.greer-heard.com .