Yes, an excellent post. My only reservation is that PZ's call for all scientists to be interesting, exciting, and impassioned unfairly devalues the boring but meticulous and productive nerds. The perhaps accidental implication of the last part of PZ's post is that he thinks all scientists must be amazing communicators and/or 'performance artists' to be worthy of greatness.

Compare and contrast:

atp: but there are at least plausible, explicable mechanisms by which chiropractic treatment can cause problems (necks, spines and nerves aren't that tough). Whereas there isn't any explanation for how it might cure cancer, swine flu etc.

PZ shouldn't do this kind of interview: a respected scientist's involvement makes the discussion itself appear respectable.

A symbolic story of how backward the CoE is. Posies for the ladies, beer and bacon butties for the men.

"...will be handed bottles of beer by children..." - surely that's not right?

I am in the process of reading all of the accomodation papers (lol it's misspelled in the title of this article)

...dude...

Steve Zara: but it is common to say that man-made things are "unnatural". Surely it's no less reasonable to say that "genetic instinct" can be defied (as gravity is supposedly defied by aeroplanes).

It's not accurate but we know what it means and I guess it could be useful for illustrating differences between lower- and higher-order behaviour.

Tagred, ironically you seem to have a definitions issue. By my understanding "language" is synonymous with "mode of communication". Hence "body language", &c.

Note: How did you caption your paragraphs like that?

Use HTML <blockquote> tags, as described here:
http://www.richarddawkins.net/commentNotes.html

Apparently there is quite a large proportion of faith-heads in the Times readership

Couple that with "scientists say that drinking a glass of wine a week is good for you, and forget what we said last week, and stay alert because our advice will have changed by next week" and you might begin to see why people look elsewhere, even if it's not rational.

The press - not doctors - are responsible for that kind of advice. Unless Gillian McKeith counts as a "doctor".

The title strikes me as a bit silly. 'Why We Believe in Gods', at an atheists' convention....

Berlin introduced ethics classes after the "honour" killing of a Muslim woman by her husband, a shocking incident in a city that is often seen as a multicultural success story.

The city - not the incident - is often seen as a multicultural success story. At least one comma would help in that paragraph.

Sites of special scientific interest in England:
http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/Special/sssi/index.cfm

I can't wait for this book which tells children not to read fairy stories





:)

I love this answer:

Have you ever had a religious experience and can you describe it?

I was thrown out of the East London mosque for being a dissident writer and critic of radical Islam.

58. Comment #350582 by Cinculus:
"Punning should at least try to be slightly subtle."

Sorry.

Here's a subtle one:
http://www.mirandaseymour.com/thyme.htm

100% genuine porno film titles

The Extended Penis Type
The Blind Crotch Taker
Climbing Cunt Improbable
A Devil's Chap Laid

(cont. p94)

the controversial scientist, a self-professed agnostic with strong atheistic leanings

Dawkins makes it very clear that he is a self-professed atheist, who is 'agnostic' to the extent that he would accept valid challenges to his non-belief in gods. He points out that he is also 'agnostic' about the existence of fairies, invisible unicorns and airborne pasta-based animals.

NewEnglandBob:

[The author] gives the author's own opinions near the end.

Really? In the Comment section of a Sunday paper?

Shocking.

Of course our brains are a product of evolution, but does anybody seriously believe consciousness itself is material? Well, yes, some argue just as much, but their explanations seem to have made no headway.

What?!!

The Fenland Poly is really going downhill.

Modern man may have come from the shadows of Tirich Mir.

Isn't that where the Kings of Gondor lived?

Steve Zara:

Saying that religion causes people to fly planes into buildings just isn't going to impress that many people. If you consider religion to be like a drug, and compare the number of suicidal fanatics to the number who are religious, it would be perhaps one of the safest drugs ever. I think we need to concentrate on the broad issues of religion, the oppression, the fear of hell, the encouraging of ignorance.

Spot on, though the first sentence is surprisingly understated. I'm shocked that anyone could be impressed by this childish smear (ed: Stenger's, not Zara's).

It's an abysmal slogan, and completely against the spirit of the current campaign.

I greatly respect what Eugenie Scott is doing, but I've been wondering recently if maybe the NCSE needs someone a bit more assertive and less librarian-ish to represent the teaching of evolution in schools.

What a disappointing comment. A male PhD of such success would not be judged on his appearance.


edit (Jan 25): sorry I must've been in a bloody judgemental mood yesterday

The Toronto-based Freethought Association of Canada, inspired by a campaign that has plastered British buses with the phrase

It's just southern English buses at the moment...

THINK FOR YOURSELF

[voice-over]

... alternates between attraction and opposion ...

... gah

Is this actually from the Onion?

new Vatican guidelines aimed at stamping out false claims of miracles

anyone who claims to have seen an apparition will only be believed as long as they remain silent

:)

Actually, that's quite a good principle. From now on I'll believe everything the Pope ever says, so long as he remains silent.

The new ads have attracted little controversy in Britain, a secular country that finds religious fervor a tad awkward.

...?...