Sunday School SEPT 26, 2010
the CFI's John Shook took to HuffPo to decry the "new atheists" (not novel stuff this week btw). Jerry Coyne responded, so did Ophelia Benson. Shook may redeem himself in your eyes with this post on how god fails a simple rationality test.
a couple of commentators are linking to a new survey of atheists and agnostics that's just been released showing some interesting things.
you can often hear conservatives saying that teens who have abortions are depressed and have low self-esteem... unfortunately for them there's this new study.
SciAm posted the results of a new survey showing that people trust scientists more than religious leaders. it looks like welcome news until you notice the problem.
Ed Yong posted this great piece asking if science journalists should ever take sides. Sean Carroll thinks certainly, yes they should.
researchers discover genetic clues to the evolution of jaws in vertebrates.
physicists show time dilation over a distance of just one foot!
in the context of blogging his way through Gary Drescher's fantastic Good and Real Luke Muehlhauser touches on the Copenhagen Interpretation, Many-Worlds, quantum uncertainty, and how these topics relate to the determinism/free-will debate, and does so in a clear concise way. check the post out as well as the whole series.
adult fly mimics ant larva- probably something to this whole "evolution" thing huh? :)
it took a long time but we've finally done it, the first human powered wing flapping flying machine. if the video doesn't make you smile in wonder then there's no hope for you.
the origins of malaria, from gorillas to humans.
Jerry Coyne covered more nonsense coming out of the apologetics website BioLogos. Jason Rosenhouse had some good points as well.
PLoS One published an article claiming to come up with a naturalistic way that the Exodus' parting of the Red Sea might actually have happened. PZ Myers, Jerry Coyne, and vorjack at Unreasonable Faith commented.
an article in Seed Magazine by David Wiseman begins "The experience of a unified mind and the possibility of an everlasting soul are connected. And there is scant evidence to support the existence of either."
Dan Dennett in the Washington Post: "thank goodness for Christopher Hitchens!"
possible icy origins of life on earth.
John Loftus linked to this site that looks like a good resource for freethought related topics.
this is fun to play with. this site has a built in feature that allows you to put in two taxon and find out when their most recent common ancestor lived.
here's an interview with physicist Lawrence Krauss explaining how to spot quantum quackery.
earlier this month i linked to a piece about how acacia trees in Africa recruit ants to help ward off elephants. turns out the story is even cooler than that as it seems the acacia recruit different species of ants throughout the course of its life because no one species of ant is the ideal partner.
should science and faith have a chat? (Elaine Ecklund and the framing of survey results. scientists are just as irreligious as we think they are.)
Carl Zimmer- sizing up consciousness by its bits.
found: part of the brain that knows when the brain is wrong.
is the bible clear on how someone can be "saved"?
a couple of commentators are linking to a new survey of atheists and agnostics that's just been released showing some interesting things.
you can often hear conservatives saying that teens who have abortions are depressed and have low self-esteem... unfortunately for them there's this new study.
SciAm posted the results of a new survey showing that people trust scientists more than religious leaders. it looks like welcome news until you notice the problem.
Ed Yong posted this great piece asking if science journalists should ever take sides. Sean Carroll thinks certainly, yes they should.
researchers discover genetic clues to the evolution of jaws in vertebrates.
physicists show time dilation over a distance of just one foot!
in the context of blogging his way through Gary Drescher's fantastic Good and Real Luke Muehlhauser touches on the Copenhagen Interpretation, Many-Worlds, quantum uncertainty, and how these topics relate to the determinism/free-will debate, and does so in a clear concise way. check the post out as well as the whole series.
adult fly mimics ant larva- probably something to this whole "evolution" thing huh? :)
it took a long time but we've finally done it, the first human powered wing flapping flying machine. if the video doesn't make you smile in wonder then there's no hope for you.
the origins of malaria, from gorillas to humans.
Jerry Coyne covered more nonsense coming out of the apologetics website BioLogos. Jason Rosenhouse had some good points as well.
PLoS One published an article claiming to come up with a naturalistic way that the Exodus' parting of the Red Sea might actually have happened. PZ Myers, Jerry Coyne, and vorjack at Unreasonable Faith commented.
an article in Seed Magazine by David Wiseman begins "The experience of a unified mind and the possibility of an everlasting soul are connected. And there is scant evidence to support the existence of either."
Dan Dennett in the Washington Post: "thank goodness for Christopher Hitchens!"
possible icy origins of life on earth.
John Loftus linked to this site that looks like a good resource for freethought related topics.
this is fun to play with. this site has a built in feature that allows you to put in two taxon and find out when their most recent common ancestor lived.
here's an interview with physicist Lawrence Krauss explaining how to spot quantum quackery.
earlier this month i linked to a piece about how acacia trees in Africa recruit ants to help ward off elephants. turns out the story is even cooler than that as it seems the acacia recruit different species of ants throughout the course of its life because no one species of ant is the ideal partner.
should science and faith have a chat? (Elaine Ecklund and the framing of survey results. scientists are just as irreligious as we think they are.)
Carl Zimmer- sizing up consciousness by its bits.
found: part of the brain that knows when the brain is wrong.
is the bible clear on how someone can be "saved"?
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Comment by Jānis Ķimsis on September 26, 2010 at 10:33am -
Thanks for the links, Nelson. You've got something from everything here - science, technology, religion, philosophy.
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Comment by Nelson on September 26, 2010 at 11:29am -
@Jānis: i'm so glad to read your comment because that's exactly what i aim for, a little of each of those subjects on topics that effect us as freethinkers. :)
@Jeff: yeah, i enjoyed the exchange between Shook, Coyne, and the commenters to Coyne's piece. it seems Coyne took Shook's piece as a Courtier's Reply, saying, just like religious people often do, that you have to be better educated in theology before you can reject belief in god whereas i took Shook to mean that atheists should be better educated in theology because theology provides potential answers to the common arguments against god and so if we're to answer those answers we need to know them. if that's what he was saying then i agree wholeheartedly and have said so repeatedly. indeed, that's why Greg and i put together that informal bibliography of skepticism of religion.
@doone: for sure! recruiting one ant species is cool enough but recruiting different species to match the acacia's needs at different points during its life... incredible.
thanks for your comments guys! i appreciate the kind words. :)
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Comment by Nelson on September 26, 2010 at 1:53pm
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@Adriana: happy i could catch them for you then! thanks for the comment. ;)
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Comment by Gary Bergeron on September 26, 2010 at 4:57pm -
Hey Nelson, thanks for the informative lesson. Really enjoyed Dennett's article on the validity od prayer.
Have a good week everybody!
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Comment by Nelson on September 26, 2010 at 4:58pm
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@Gary: thanks for the comment as always! glad enjoyed Dennett's article. you have a good week as well and i'll see you next Sunday!
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Comment by James on September 26, 2010 at 6:10pm -
Great great links! Thanks Nelson.
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Comment by Nelson on September 27, 2010 at 12:40am
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@James: my pleasure. thanks for taking a second to comment, i appreciate it!
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Comment by Precambrian Lullaby on September 27, 2010 at 6:06am -
I may be picking through these for days. Specifically like the the article on quantum quackery. I forwarded it to my one of my more 'spiritual' existentialist friends, I'm looking forward to the coming argument.
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Comment by JC Hamner on September 27, 2010 at 7:26am -
Indeed, a great collection of links. I have to admit, the sexual disparity shown in the survey is a bit worrisome and worthy of some consideration. I had expected it somewhat from my personal experience, but the results proffered are more drastic than I would have thought.
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Comment by Nelson on September 27, 2010 at 11:03am
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@Precambrian: i showed that to someone i know who believes in that quantum nonsense as well! glad you enjoyed the links.
@JC: agreed. that our demographic makeup is so heavily weighted male with such a relatively small percentage of females has always interested me. i wonder why it is that women are apparently less likely to be freethinkers.
thanks for the taking the time to comment, both of you guys. i appreciate it!
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