51. Christmas Present to Defenders of Darwinism

Comment #13440 by macronencer on December 17, 2006 at 5:35 pm

Thank you for your support, Douglas. I don't think any reasonable person would assume that all Creationists approve of this piece of idiocy, and I expect Dembski to be ridiculed for it by evolutionists and chided for it by all fair-minded Creationists. I nearly said "right-thinking Creationists", but then I realised that's an oxymoron, of course :)

52. Vicars in a Twist

Comment #12951 by macronencer on December 14, 2006 at 3:01 pm

@12736 by Yavikins:

Thanks for the link.

So, Richard Dawkins used his "connections at the BBC" to get "Root Of All Evil?" produced... on Channel 4? Heh. Some of the statements on that page are outrageous. I'd almost say that Richard could sue for libel.

And have you seen that hilarious piece about Dawkins and Apple Computers? I split my sides.

chmod 666 - oooh, scary!

Try chmod a+rw, that works just as well if numbers scare you.

Anyway, I thought it was 616 now?

Hmm, that would be rw---xrw-, how very strange...

Apologies to the non-geeks out there for that little excursion :)

53. Ken Miller on Intelligent Design

Comment #12933 by macronencer on December 14, 2006 at 1:04 pm

I wish I had two hours to spare tonight. This will have to wait. I look forward to it, though. It will be refreshing to see the case for evolution argued by a Christian for a change.

54. Intelligent design: The God Lab

Comment #12931 by macronencer on December 14, 2006 at 1:01 pm

I don't understand how one is supposed to test a theory that is untestable. At best, they might discover something that contradicts some small part of modern evolutionary biology (though I'd be surprised, but it might be possible). However, that would be irrelevant. It would no more prove that organisms were intelligently designed than the discovery that one of Salieri's works was written by Mozart would prove that Mozart never wrote anything at all.

However, perhaps that is not how the politicians, or the general public, would interpret it... :(

55. The A to Z Guide to Political Interference in Science (US)

Comment #12796 by macronencer on December 13, 2006 at 11:15 pm

Good web site. I've bookmarked it!

56. Atheists' bleak alternative

Comment #12795 by macronencer on December 13, 2006 at 11:08 pm

"The atheist alternative is a world in which right and wrong are ultimately matters of opinion, and in which we are finally accountable to no one but ourselves. That is anything but a tiding of comfort and joy."

Actually, I think it would be a giant leap forward. Children defer responsibility: adults shoulder it.

As for the greetings cards, I'm writing "Merry Christmas" in mine, even though I don't believe a word of the nativity story. I do think it's a shame if there are "politically correct" secularists who are going around trying to ban all manifestations of religious culture: that seems pointless and petty to me. What harm is there in a mere word and a few carols? Carols are among the more pleasant of religious tunes, and apart from one or two overly-religious ones, I find them very representative of what, for me, is the true meaning of Christmas: good will. Good will doesn't come from a holy book, it comes from inside of each and every one of us.

Merry Christmas to all of you, and "Wes Hal!" from this latter-day Anglo-Saxon atheist :)

57. In case you didn't know I'm a fool, here's an article to prove it.

Comment #12793 by macronencer on December 13, 2006 at 10:57 pm

I got as far as "if you prefer the charms and consolations of religion to the savagery of Darwinian natural selection..." and decided not to waste my time.

I see this article as a positive one. I'm glad to see the opposition making such fools of themselves in public, it can only help.

Again, the comments about "sneering" and "condescension"! The fact that these people see this when they witness Richard speaking, and I just see forthright dedication to intellectual honesty simply reveals that they are unused to having their beliefs questioned. And that is the whole point, of course - it's exactly the goal: to rid us of this stifling artificial respect we have for mass irrationality.

58. Vicars in a Twist

Comment #12707 by macronencer on December 13, 2006 at 10:59 am

Hey, you know what? Today, I did a jigsaw puzzle, thus creating order from disorder. That violates the 2nd law of thermodynamics, and therefore I am God and I claim my prize.

59. The Best Science Show on Television?

Comment #12547 by macronencer on December 12, 2006 at 2:10 pm

These guys are interviewed on the latest Skepticality podcast (it's from Randi's TAM 2004):

http://skepticality.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=160685#

60. Faith's Last Gasp

Comment #12543 by macronencer on December 12, 2006 at 1:31 pm

Whether right or not (and I think it probably is right, thankfully), it's refreshing to read something optimistic. We all have to come up for air occasionally as we swim through what seems a never-ending sewer.

Thank you, professor Grayling!

61. Ministers to ban creationist teaching aids in science lessons

Comment #11796 by macronencer on December 7, 2006 at 12:08 pm

Diplo and Graham9 are right: they will never give up. If we want to avoid slipping into a default acceptance of this nonsense being taught to our children, we have to remain active in our efforts to prevent it. Keep writing letters to editors, keep signing petitions, keep voicing opinions whenever it can make a difference. DON'T let them win by virtue of apathy.

It's very sad that such vigilance is necessary. It would be nice to live in a society free of all these myths, and free of the people who use them to hold back progress because of their own delusions. One day, perhaps...

62. Intelligent Design teaching materials sent to UK schools

Comment #11733 by macronencer on December 7, 2006 at 12:42 am

Unfortunately, many people will hear the exchange regarding Walpert's association with Humanism as an accusation of bias, and therefore be persuaded to consider the debate to be a true controversy.

The interview was well handled, but I think that the addition of someone directly affected by this (a science teacher, for example) might have lent a more common-sense element to the discussion.