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Comments by Vadjong


1. Indian village proud after double 'honor killing'

Comment #181340 by Vadjong on May 17, 2008 at 1:05 am

"We have removed the blot."

And thrown away any respect or honor with it.

2. Group finds Starbucks logo too hot to handle

Comment #181332 by Vadjong on May 17, 2008 at 12:53 am

Has no one noticed the distinct Nazi-ness of the black circle and stripes around the logo itself?

3. The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing, ed. Richard Dawkins

Comment #181327 by Vadjong on May 17, 2008 at 12:27 am

I love the book, even though I just manage a couple of pages per week :-( (I'll bring it to the baseball game this afternoon, maybe that'll help).

However, it reads like a sort of remix by DJ RD. With this title, a legitimate highbrow case may be made for it, but I fear lesser DJ's may start pumping out similar sample based dreck like the music industry (Ice, Ice , Baby !), not bringing anything new to the "field of human discourse".
In stead of one or two quotes at the start of a chapter, we'll get a short intro to a chapter made up of quotes. And before you know it nobody will know how to write anything anymore.

Note to self: Now, stop lurking and start reading !

(Aegisofreason : why don't you go put Last Post under all old threads ? You'll have the final word each time! [That may keep'm busy for a while.])

4. Top billing for platypus at end of evolution tree

Comment #177921 by Vadjong on May 10, 2008 at 12:41 am

black wolf :
If you haven't read "The Ancestor's Tale" yet, be prepared for some heavy duty epiphanies on every page.
Rendezvous 15 (chapter 15) is specifically about monotremes; the duckbill's tale.

5. Sex for diploma offer caught on tape

Comment #164500 by Vadjong on April 20, 2008 at 10:41 am

Is this here, just because PZ Meyers made a 9-word blog about it ?
This is sleaze and I will not dignify it with posting here. So there.

6. Interviews with Richard Dawkins and Michael Shermer

Comment #164489 by Vadjong on April 20, 2008 at 10:22 am

Perhaps ASMarques is the only person we could recommend going to see 'Expelled' ?

7. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #163563 by Vadjong on April 18, 2008 at 2:20 pm

al-rawandi et al.:
OOOh, you mean the silly BIRD !
And there I was, thinking of kiwi fruit. My mistake.

Anyway, birds are such small fry. And they're foul. (see how I resisted the old pun there?)
Now orca's, they just use penguins for badminton practice, by God's holy fluke!

8. Richard Dawkins' secular army must be stopped. God is behind some of our greatest art

Comment #160357 by Vadjong on April 14, 2008 at 1:42 am

Aww, far too easy.
God Himself (and ALL the other gods, too) is the product of human inspiration. One of our first, and less accomplished idea's.
Imagine Rembrandt as a toddler, drawing a shaky stick figure on the kitchenfloor with a piece of charcoal, pointing and crowing: "Pa pa".

Are the apologists not even trying anymore?

9. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #160125 by Vadjong on April 13, 2008 at 5:07 pm

(Sorry I'm late to this argument with csrbm. And I have not backtracked it all, so bear with me.)

csrbm:
[..] [deleted ad hominem rant before posting]
You quite closely follow the thinking of a Nazi or eugenetic engineer in spite of evolutionists explaining and proving time and again that this is a completely wrong way to look at Darwinism.

First, the timescale is totally different. Evolution never decides to kill off a species in a single generation (only natural disasters like meteors, religious tribalism like the crusades, or political ideologues like the Khmer Rouge, do that). Evolution never decides, full stop. Evolution is an arms race, not a death camp, it's a proces, not an agent.

Secondly, the differences between modern humans are biologically insignificant. So there already is only ONE master race of some 7 billion members, and ALL humans belong to it.
(There are more and better counter arguments to be made, and clearer words to put these in, but it is really late now, and I have to be up early for work, school and study, so please accept my IOU for now.)


PS You claim to think like a Vulcan, well, let me tell you that Star Trek is NOT an appropiate source for scientific insight. Modern cognitive science wipes the floor with the idea of emotionless Vulcans. They're bad sci-fi.
Live long and prosper, anyway.

10. Ancient serpent shows its leg

Comment #159341 by Vadjong on April 12, 2008 at 1:41 am

To evolutionists this fossil is just another mildly fascinating example of a find that may help solve one of the gazillion little questions that they are professionally curious about.
To genesisists it should be yet another worldview shattering blow, so the first posters here are quite right to focus their ridicule on that, even though the article is in itself fairly dry and factual to non-nerds.

BTW, Decius: no larynx will be found. Everybody knows snakes use hypnosis and telepathy !

11. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #157187 by Vadjong on April 8, 2008 at 4:12 pm

Aaron9
I'm sorry. I was unfairly over your head, as you are new to this site, for which I apologize (the unfairness).
Occasionally, apologists for God or deism visit here, and they are welcome. However, none of them has produced anything but circular arguments, strawmen, reductio ad hitlerums and other notions that do nothing to improve our view of religion.
After a lot of meaningless back and forth, it always ends in: "Sorry, got to get on with my life. I'll pray for you."
I hope this doesn't discourage you.

12. Richard Dawkins: 'Growth in creationist beliefs a problem for schools'

Comment #157159 by Vadjong on April 8, 2008 at 3:42 pm

358. Comment #157154 by yussel123 on April 8, 2008 at 3:37 pm

Vadjong,

I don't understand your comment


In the upper right corner there is the search option of this website: a white rectangle in which you can type [thank goodness]. Click [go] and you will find an article by Dan Dennett from some time ago (4 nov. 2006). Dubbleclick and enjoy.

13. Discussion between Richard Dawkins and Paula Kirby

Comment #157144 by Vadjong on April 8, 2008 at 3:22 pm

I have to be up in three hours, but I'm gonna watch this now.

14. Richard Dawkins: 'Growth in creationist beliefs a problem for schools'

Comment #157138 by Vadjong on April 8, 2008 at 3:19 pm

341. Comment #157109 by yussel123

Yussel123, please, use search (upper right corner) on the words [Thank Goodness](select Title only).

15. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #157119 by Vadjong on April 8, 2008 at 3:04 pm

Aaron9

I say my quotes from him prove he did.

Says you. Which proves MY point.

(I'm just proving that I can beat you at point dodging. You are fast going the direction many of your fellows went before. We can recognize the symptoms by now.)

16. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #157108 by Vadjong on April 8, 2008 at 2:57 pm

Aaron9

Glad to see your true feelings for Dr. Dawkins, although it is kind of freaky.


I hope you recognized it as hyperbole, with a wink and a nudge to spiritualism. Please, tell me you did. BTW, if you find it freaky, would you also find it freaky if I had used such language about Jesus (or Odin, Boeddha, Osiris)?

17. Anti-evolution bill clears another hurdle

Comment #157083 by Vadjong on April 8, 2008 at 2:42 pm

Well, if this opens the door to anti-gravity teaching, hopefully we'll make some headway on that front.

18. Richard Dawkins: 'Growth in creationist beliefs a problem for schools'

Comment #157079 by Vadjong on April 8, 2008 at 2:39 pm

321. Comment #157063 by yussel123

I mean to say that even WITHIN religious traditions, there is room for open discussion based on sane principles.


Yes, ofcourse. In quiet times there will always be intellectuals or wannabee's in any community. The fact about religious traditions is, that sooner or later you bounce against the wall of doctrine and dogma. Inevitably you will be asked to choose for the irrational or be damned.

19. Richard Dawkins: 'Growth in creationist beliefs a problem for schools'

Comment #157068 by Vadjong on April 8, 2008 at 2:29 pm

306. Comment #157041 by Frankus1122:

I am inciting hatred or discrimination against them?


And what if the homosexuals in question had stabbed people on purpose with AIDS infected needles?

I think opinions and beliefs are subject to choice, so they can be exposed as false, in the hope the expressor of said opinions will gain a better level of insight and change their opinion for the better.
However, things a person can do nothing about, his/her genetic make-up, place or date of birth, crimes of the father, sexual preference, lack of musical talent, etc., should be left alone and respected.

20. Richard Dawkins: 'Growth in creationist beliefs a problem for schools'

Comment #157047 by Vadjong on April 8, 2008 at 2:04 pm

And me thinking it was the Muslims who were oversensitive to non-issues.
RM stabbed this site in the back? Boohoohoo.
Calling RDNetters joyless? I disagreed with him on that, but watching the above ...

I'm with you, Yussel123 (279. Comment #157000). Oh, and with you, Corylus.

21. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #157008 by Vadjong on April 8, 2008 at 1:33 pm

Aaron9-

Avoiding the subject? Moi?!
The subject is not that Eternal Light of My Heart Dawkins Praised Be His Name In Eternity whined about Expelled (he didn't, or at least that's only a matter of opinion), but only that you accused him of it.
Or I would have accused you of meta-meta-whining over Flower Of The Cosmos Richard All Bow Before Him meta-whining over Expelled whining about Darwinism. Copy?

22. Fleabytes

Comment #156951 by Vadjong on April 8, 2008 at 12:32 pm

Richard Morgan: is he the first [oxymoron]atheist apostate[/oxymoron]?
I for one will not backlash at him. He is just a gentle, creative soul and he couldn't stand the heat, so he left the kitchen. His choice, his right.
Running off to Robertson ? Now, that's odd. Maybe he's infiltrating? He stands by his atheism, at least for now.

23. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #156930 by Vadjong on April 8, 2008 at 12:02 pm

Aaron9-

Don't make me meta-whine about your whining.

24. In search of the God particle

Comment #156923 by Vadjong on April 8, 2008 at 11:55 am

The last words spoken on Earth will be not "Allahu Akhbar", but "What would happen if we did this?"


In my younger years I once wrote the longest short-story ever. It went something like this:
Time machine, first test run in 3.. 2.. 1.. 1.. 1.. 1../

25. Richard Dawkins on The Big Questions

Comment #156899 by Vadjong on April 8, 2008 at 11:28 am

Luckily I have a mental blockade against debate programs, so I don't have to waste time sitting through this.
The furious talking, the clapping, everybody wanting to react at the same time, the inevitable inanity; the level of energy just grates my nerves, even before I find out who's right or wrong or whether I care about it at all.
I'll await your comments to get the gist of it in my own sweet time. Thank you in advance.

26. Richard Dawkins: 'Growth in creationist beliefs a problem for schools'

Comment #156279 by Vadjong on April 7, 2008 at 8:23 am

Peacebeuponme :

What's wrong with plain old "Evolutionist"?


Absolutely nothing.
And on this site, we might even be labelled 'Dawkinsians' (as some trolls allege), but I think Richard will throw a fit if we do that !

27. Richard Dawkins: 'Growth in creationist beliefs a problem for schools'

Comment #156274 by Vadjong on April 7, 2008 at 8:15 am

black wolf:

Not to belabour the point too much, but, following the above article, I was talking about the recent consciousness-raising about darwinism in reli-circles.
Creationism has been around, well, even before a certain God wrote his little Genesis pamphlet. (He didn't make it up by himself, shirley?)
More to the point, Richard's "campaign" started in response to worrying stories from the US, so I'll grant you that.

28. Richard Dawkins: 'Growth in creationist beliefs a problem for schools'

Comment #156240 by Vadjong on April 7, 2008 at 6:55 am

Well, the consciousness raising happens over "on the other side". Believers are told accepting evolution is denying God, for no small part because Richard, as a biologist, has come out for atheism.
There is a chance, I hope, that, once the sheeple learn a bit more and actually start thinking about it, more of them will eventually come to the right conclusion.
You can fool a lot of people some of the time, etc.

29. Richard Dawkins: 'Growth in creationist beliefs a problem for schools'

Comment #156233 by Vadjong on April 7, 2008 at 6:36 am

It's not just Xtian schools, either.
Richard might have mentioned Saudi Arabia and Turkey, as well.

30. Fleabytes

Comment #156216 by Vadjong on April 7, 2008 at 6:05 am

When someone says: "I'll pray for you," just part with: "For goodness' sake."

31. Fleabytes

Comment #156198 by Vadjong on April 7, 2008 at 4:45 am

So the next time a seal takes a bite out of a salmon, a lion attacks a young deer, or a bird swipes up a worm - I must think this is the Golden Rule at work!


Aha ! At last you geddit !
That is precisely natural selection, red in tooth and claw, at work. The fittest predator eats, while the less able starves. The fitter prey gets away, while the less attentive gets culled.
The offspring on both sides will be the better for it (only relative to the old status-quo, ofcourse). That's Darwin.
Next, we can begin to look a bit deeper into other, different kinds of possible selection mechanisms.
Like reciprocal altruism (leading to morality), sexual selection (leading to beauty) and erm, 'societal' selection (leading to the intentional stance, intelligence and language). (I had to avoid saying social selection for obvious PC reasons.)

Then we look at all this from the perspective of the 'selfish' genes that started it all, et voilá : reducible complexity, the story of life !

32. Cult leader Pyotr Kuznetsov tries suicide after realising he was wrong about doomsday

Comment #156186 by Vadjong on April 7, 2008 at 3:34 am

This thread kinda feels like the monks in The Name of the Rose getting all uppity about : "Did Jesus laugh?"

33. Cult leader Pyotr Kuznetsov tries suicide after realising he was wrong about doomsday

Comment #156184 by Vadjong on April 7, 2008 at 3:25 am

He is not quite 'Nobel prize' material, is he?


Not even Darwin Award.

(Oops, sorry. How insensitive of me.)

34. Pastor attacks scientist's talk

Comment #156178 by Vadjong on April 7, 2008 at 2:56 am

Dinah:

How I wish we could ignore him, but I suspect we won't.


No, We love him with all our heart and wish to help him break the spell he is under. It's not too late, yet. We have to be strong and supportive even if we have to smash his delusions with severe ridicule.
A lifetime of conditioning and vested interests leads to one mother of a fat cold turkey. But we must never give up !
He has a brain, and intelligence dwells within. It's his evolution-granted privilige. He's been shown the Bright light, all he has to do is step over and embrace it.
There is reason. Humanity is love.

35. Dawkins warns of human extinction

Comment #156063 by Vadjong on April 6, 2008 at 3:15 pm

I read The Elegant Universe. Been awhile, though.
It made it into the Oxbo of MSW, too.

36. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #156062 by Vadjong on April 6, 2008 at 3:10 pm

Goldy:

As it is, I don't believe, I know :-)


Yes, me too, I know the feeling of knowing from the bottom of my heart! It makes me sooooo HAPPY!

Oops, next thing you know, they'll accuse us of being faithful believers in the church of science! (Aw, too late.)

37. Dawkins warns of human extinction

Comment #156044 by Vadjong on April 6, 2008 at 2:48 pm

I tried that with my post 323 already, and it failed. I used [/em], as per the guidelines, maybe Bonzai and Steve use a different command?
Also, I had [..]just a theory{..] in italics, but the effect is ruined now.

38. Biologists Take Evolution Beyond Darwin Way Beyond

Comment #156040 by Vadjong on April 6, 2008 at 2:43 pm

Enlightenme.. :

Darwin?

Mmm, maybe not the best example.

Galileo, Newton/Leibniz, Einstein, Wegener, Hubble, Bohr, Watson/Crick, Gödel, Turing, possibly. There must be others, too.

But true geniuses are exceptions. We're lucky to have them for the apparent shortcuts they give us, but I doubt they are essential in the long term.
The TRUTH Must Yield, eventually.
Science can get along without prophets.

39. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #156029 by Vadjong on April 6, 2008 at 2:19 pm

Al-rawandi's list:

1) Hitler was an Atheist
2) Stalin and Mao were Atheists
3) Can't disprove God
4) Bible is metaphorical where it contradicts science.
5) That is not "my God".
6) Atheism is a belief too.
7) Evolution is a theory
8) Second Law of Thermodynamics contradicts evolution.
9) Pascal's Wager
10) I am busy and have to leave.


Peacebeuponme's manual:

- accuse us all of being "Dawkins followers"
- make some basic arguments which are refuted
- invite some insult
- complain about the insult, but never respond to the reasoned argument.
- but most importantly, always, always leave by saying that you have more important things to be doing. Always indicate that you have a life beyond this site.


I think we're getting somewhere.

40. Dawkins warns of human extinction

Comment #156026 by Vadjong on April 6, 2008 at 2:09 pm


Thank you, Steve. That's how I know you.
Now explain string theory to me, again? Isn't that just a theory? ;-)

41. Dawkins warns of human extinction

Comment #156020 by Vadjong on April 6, 2008 at 1:52 pm

[I had to login again, and now my keyboard is Ok again, anyone else have this problem?]

If we can concentrate energy at such scales (such as in particle accelerators), then gravity might concentrate energy into black holes.


I know, but, as you said yourself, Steve, really tiny ones only, that will last what ..? Picoseconds?
My point is that even this wil consume way more energy than we'll ever get out of it.

(PS. Saying: ... several theories state ..., is rather sloppy use of language from you, Steve. You can do better! I totally forgive you, however, as you know more about this stuff than I do.)

42. Dawkins warns of human extinction

Comment #156005 by Vadjong on April 6, 2008 at 1:29 pm

(Jeesh, I cann't seem to keep up with you guys. And now my keyboard starts ating up as well.)

it is entirely fair for fides to point this out.

That is fine by me.
But see what fides straight away is denying:
because I don't know what that overall argument is
Typial omment of the blind man feeling an elephant.

43. Dawkins warns of human extinction

Comment #155993 by Vadjong on April 6, 2008 at 1:15 pm

Even the sun itself is too small to form a black hole when it will collapse in a few billion years. So, where on earth do we find enough energy to make one big enough to be dangerous ?
It's like the story of nanobots turning everything into grey goo. Or GM viruses escaping some secret lab. Very Michael Crichton.

44. Dawkins warns of human extinction

Comment #155976 by Vadjong on April 6, 2008 at 1:01 pm

Comment #155964 by Mark Smith on April 6, 2008 at 12:38 pm

fides
Would you be happier if RD had been somewhat more nuanced [...]


fides is just dragging out some antsy nuance in something some bloke said that he does not agree with. This because he cann't ever admit to the big fat elephant in the room, that is : it's stupid to be a believer (in anything) and it can become dangerous fairly quickly.
By making some convoluted point about grammar and semantics from a piece of quote mining, he thinks he wins the overall argument.

45. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #155960 by Vadjong on April 6, 2008 at 12:32 pm

al-rawandi, please give us a synopsis by bullet points of sdbranum's upcoming comments.
I need to get on with my new catechesis: the OxBo of MSW.

46. Biologists Take Evolution Beyond Darwin Way Beyond

Comment #155884 by Vadjong on April 6, 2008 at 8:35 am

Superorganisms, eh ?
Don't we call those extended phenotypes ?

These guys talk like breathless sci-fi writers, cobbling together big fancy words (to them) to impress the superficial fanboys.

Hyper-specialization seems to be an emergent property of the collective.

Technobabble, straight out of Star Trek Voyager.

47. Fleabytes

Comment #155616 by Vadjong on April 5, 2008 at 5:07 am

What ? A whole day without anyone posting here ?
Has Fleabytes finally gone "the way of the dogs" ?

48. The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing

Comment #155612 by Vadjong on April 5, 2008 at 4:50 am

Goddit ! Now leave me alone for a while !

49. The Giant Tortoise's Tale

Comment #155610 by Vadjong on April 5, 2008 at 4:44 am

This is the second of 3 tales to be posted.


I am not impatient, but ....

50. Cult leader Pyotr Kuznetsov tries suicide after realising he was wrong about doomsday

Comment #155608 by Vadjong on April 5, 2008 at 4:08 am

I have lost my ability to laugh at these tragicomedies, even though I think I maybe should. You always hear about the cases that ended up badly. The eternal question is: could nobody have seen this coming and tried to talk some sense into these people, break through their paranoia ?
Could consistent ridicule and scepsis of such cases prevent someone else from ever stepping on the slippery slope of our human instinct for faith ?
Delusions must be countered by awareness, but the difficulty is always in reaching the hearts and minds of the deluded.

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