Comments by Lightnin

1. Atheist Foundation of Australia Bus Slogan Rejected!

Comment #292558 by Lightnin on November 28, 2008 at 1:12 am

the slogan seems to typify the kind of arrogance often associated with the (dare i say it) more militant atheism

I'm terribly sorry jo5ef, I'm appear to have forgotten what the actual slogan was. Given how arrogant you judged it be, it must have been something like

Theism - For the Ignorant and Insane, or

Atheism - Feel good about yourself without the bronze age death cult!

Oh wait-here it is...

Atheism – Celebrate reason!

Oh dear, I can hardly breathe after witnessing such militant hate speech! How dare anyone suggest that is is unreasonable to believe that there is an invisible man in the sky named (insert any 1 of 10 000 Deities names here, arbitrarily chosen based on the circumstance of the individual's birth and upbringing), even though there isn’t a shred of evidence to support that belief.

As Brian has said, there are thousands of billboards which specifically say “There is a God, we know his name and special plan for all of us” and these don’t get a second of criticism. An atheist group believes this is an unreasonable proposition, and want to run an ad stating this plainly, and you accuse them of arrogance.

Seriously jo5ef, what the hell' If an atheist group can’t say that it is unreasonable to believe in God, then what the devil are they supposed to say' I believe your pussy-footing around is nothing more than an example of the ingrained presumption of respect for religion in society. Why do atheists have to apologise to theists for thinking that belief in God is ridiculous' Why the hell do we have to prostate ourselves before religious observers for daring to think that they are wrong' If this were about a political or social issue, like nuclear energy, or public healthcare, opponents could use language ten times as abrasive and it would be a non-issue.

Please tell me if you take offense/disagree, but I think your position is completely ridiculous.

re edit: Are my question marks coming out as apostrophes to anyone else'

2. Atheist Foundation of Australia Bus Slogan Rejected!

Comment #292520 by Lightnin on November 27, 2008 at 9:41 pm

Comment #292379 by Daniella

There are at least a 1/3 of us that are either atheist or don't give a shit (possibly Jedi), that's hardly a minority.

It is actually the definition of a minority.

3. Atheist Foundation of Australia Bus Slogan Rejected!

Comment #291882 by Lightnin on November 27, 2008 at 12:17 am

Hah! Found one, via a quick prayer to Saint Google

All hail our Lord and Saviour Google.
Google knows all, and all know Google.

Amen.

4. Atheist Foundation of Australia Bus Slogan Rejected!

Comment #291838 by Lightnin on November 26, 2008 at 9:47 pm

Comment #291806 by JayLee

sanctimonious
adjective
Hypocritically pious or devout (Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary)

e.g. Accusing an entire forum of generalising/stereotyping based on a single/few comment(s)

Do you "check in here occasionally" to read discussions, or do you really just drop by to get offended by a few posters so you can make smug comments'

I think that in general Australia is more secular than other western democracies like the USA and Italy, but I also agree that it can be unhelpful to generalise an entire population as being better than that etc. Although I think the "mode" value for most Australians is not really caring that much, there are plenty of people who believe strongly in free speech, and plenty who think that we should do nothing to offend relgious opinion, with both theists and atheists in both groups.

5. Why we believe in gods

Comment #290333 by Lightnin on November 25, 2008 at 2:48 am

Comment #290303 by suffolkthinker

Try downloading quicktime alternative, it is just the codec and allows you to watch quicktime files in any player, and you don't need all the extra rubbish that comes with quicktime (like iTunes etc).

6. Cheap plaster saint

Comment #288400 by Lightnin on November 21, 2008 at 8:31 pm

Was that a Catholic service' Was that the ~~young girl~~ Virgin Mary'

Tried to get all fancy and now he's going to burn in hell for all eternity.

What does the Vatican say on beheading the mother of christ' Probably ranks somewhere along with suicide and eucharist desecration.

I do honestly feel bad for the guys carrying it, it reminds me of the other failblog video of the trophy dropping ice hockey player.

http://au.youtube.com/watch'v=-mw7QPGDuuo

7. Does Religion Make You Nice?

Comment #280967 by Lightnin on November 9, 2008 at 3:34 am

Damn it, last post and then I need to go to bed!

Wosret, I wish to apologise. I told you to re-read P.Z.'s post, but now that I've thought about, it is odd that he would describe an "Atheist Community" while talking about broad values like secularism being common to many people. I see your position now, and I think I was a bit rude.

I personally would have no problem with an Atheist Group, as I think its reasonable to want to communicate with like-minded people. I do think that any external goals of atheists are probably going to be the same of far less exclusive groups, for instance in the US I think Americans United for Separation of Church and State is a great advocate for secularism, and it's head is an ordained minister.

8. Does Religion Make You Nice?

Comment #280961 by Lightnin on November 9, 2008 at 2:55 am

I see I have been ranked as a "lurker" rather than an "intermittent poster". Why are we "ranked", anyway' Are some of us more equal than others' And why such an unpleasant, pejorative term'

I love how on forums the post count and the "rank" is listed under peoples names, so the forum posters can all worship the admins, or those with 5000 posts.

I agree Wosret that people should perhaps take responsibility for their own ambiguity. But often decision are made for the sake of brevity. "Queer Collective" rolls off the tongue more easily than "Society for the Common Intrest in Respect and Tolerance for all Sexual and Gender Identities" ...SCIRTSGI...

9. Does Religion Make You Nice?

Comment #280953 by Lightnin on November 9, 2008 at 2:21 am

I had reached the end of a rather long post about how our on-campus "Queer Collective" doesn't mean you have to be queer to join, it's just meant to be about a common intrest in respect for individuals of all sexual/gender identies even if you're straight, and that all communities are exclusive-if you came onto this website and started swearing and using really offensive dialogue you would be excluded, and that common intrests in themselves are an indirect barrier to join (I would be welcome at Catholic mass, but unlikely to attend because it would be very boring) etc., etc...

And I bumped the button on my mouse that sends my browser back, thus losing everything I wrote. I almost snapped my laptop in half :'(

I will add Wosret, that P.Z. talks about tolerence and respecting difference of opinion, and engaging in a dialogue with christians etc., who share common intrest. You asked in post #107 if you should take (I assume) the term "Atheist Community" literally' And I have to answer no, I think you should look at precedent (Queer Collective ≠ Queer Only Collective) and read what P.Z. actually wrote.

Otherwise, I think I pretty much agree with Dr Docter and Wosret, and I especially liked the comment about technology and communication by MPhil.

10. Does Religion Make You Nice?

Comment #280923 by Lightnin on November 8, 2008 at 10:51 pm

Ahh pedantics-we could spend days arguing this point.

107. Comment #280920 by Wosret

If he doesn't mean a community of only atheists then why does he use the word' I shouldn't take it literally'

But it isn't a word, it must be phrase you are referring to, because you couldn't deduce the meaning of "a community of only atheists" from a single word. P.Z. does say "Atheist Community" (albeit only in the title), but he doesn't explicitly say an atheist only community. Perhaps too fine a distinction, however he later illustrated this meaning by the comment;

Heck, there are Christians who share some of our goals (secular government, religious liberty, good science education, and so forth), and we can and must work together with them.

I don't believe there is some arbitrary distinction that turns a group of similarly minded individuals into a community or not i.e. you don't start being part of a "community" just because you've started a mailing list, or started handing out membership cards.

By having this dialogue, you and I are part of a community, a group of people who frequent richarddawkins.net. This doesn't just include people who post everyday, but the intermittent posters, the lurkers, and even the trolls (though I certainly don't think they're a very productive aspect of the community).

11. Interview with Richard Dawkins on fairy tales and retirement

Comment #272918 by Lightnin on October 27, 2008 at 10:29 pm

Look, if you're sorry for being annoying, then I'm perfectly willing to forgive and move on. I've done dumb and annoying things before, so I can't be a hypocrite.

12. Interview with Richard Dawkins on fairy tales and retirement

Comment #272899 by Lightnin on October 27, 2008 at 10:18 pm

Should I take that as an apology Dan2? Trolling, even on behalf of someone else, is still trolling. You don't need to be dishonest or rude to play Devil's Advocate.

Edit: Grammer

13. Interview with Richard Dawkins on fairy tales and retirement

Comment #272896 by Lightnin on October 27, 2008 at 10:16 pm

Oh wow, in the time it took to write my last post, Dan2 proved himself to be a troll. The point of trolling Dan2, is not that it elicit an unreasonable response, but rather the comments made by the troll are deliberately inflammatory, such as continuous repeating of things that aren't true.

How about I go to a Catholic forum claiming that the pope thinks highly of the Nazi party just because he was a Hitler youth. Clearly the angry responses I will get will prove that Catholics are all reactionary, and will defend their pope unequivocally.

Grow up.

Edit: Me fail English? That's unpossible!

14. Interview with Richard Dawkins on fairy tales and retirement

Comment #272886 by Lightnin on October 27, 2008 at 10:08 pm

I think the confusion here is this. Dan2 wants to know our opinions on the question at hand -- whether childhood fairy tales help or harm the process of becoming rational. Others, thinking he is trying to second-guess Richard's opinion, have responded by suggesting he wait for the evidence as Richard himself says. Dan2 thus gets, in answer to his questions about our opinion, a statement about what Richard has said.

I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree with your first hypothesis for Dan2's behavior, nakedcelt.

It looks like Richard Dawkins is taking his retirement too seriously, he is becoming a cranky old man, who just complains to complain.

Dan2 made this comment immediately after posing their questions. If the other comm enters were under a false impression, then the only one to blame was Dan2 for juxtaposing their argument with that rude quip.

However I doubt this is the case. I believe that Dan2 attack Richard for an opinion he didn't hold (which could be excused given the framing made by the interview), and when this was pointed out to Dan2, he moved the goalposts to ask the other posters what they think.

Which leads to comment 121, which by itself is perfectly reasonable. By itself, there would be no evidence that Dan2 is an annoying troll.

15. Why There Almost Certainly Is a God, By Keith Ward

Comment #256177 by Lightnin on September 28, 2008 at 9:46 pm

Excuse me, but I'm trying as hard as I can to stop yawning.

Would you believe as soon as I read that I started yawning? Damn you empathy!

16. Secular schools of thought tainted

Comment #252440 by Lightnin on September 23, 2008 at 4:48 am

You see, as it has been pointed out by others, esp. Dispiracist, non-religion wasn't particularly constructive, though at my primary school, they did get to play ball games etc, so at least they got exercise. My parents are non-religious, but they sent me to scripture, though I did attend the class run by the Uniting Church, which I'm pretty sure is the most liberal church in Australia.

Honestly I'm glad I went, I think I remember having fun-even though I wasn't sure at the time whether I believed in it or not. I guess you could say I was agnostic at the time, but then again, I think I was still agnostic about Santa Claus. Just one of the parts of growing up.

My friend (who attended the catholic scripture lessons but is an atheist) remembers thinking less of the kids who attended the non-religious sessions, and to a small extent, I think I did as well. It wasn't really a matter of belief, but rather culture. People were Anglican, or Catholic, or whatever, because, well...you've got to be something.

On retrospect, I think it's bizarre that we have scripture in primary schools, I'm surprised we don't have RE classes like in England, I think kids should learn about ALL religions and beliefs, not just those chosen by their parents, and they should be discussed in an open and objective manner. If I had kids, I might consider sending them to scripture, albeit to the limp wristed Uniting Church, nowhere near the Catholics, Baptists et. al. I would ask them what they had learnt, and encourage them to think critically about the lessons.

re edit: too many paragraphs-it looks like a tabloid.

17. Jewish 'ultras' defend morals with menace

Comment #251598 by Lightnin on September 21, 2008 at 5:45 pm

What is it about all three abrahamic religions that cause men to put women down ? I would think any halfway intelligent woman would say "Stuff that, I am leaving that faith." Why then do they stay ?

Although they probably won't be killed, I'm sure there is a high chance of being bullied and ostracised. Plus, I'm sure many intelligent woman trully believe that it is their responsibility not to "encourage sin" in men, they've just been preprogramed to accept their role.

It's the typical sort of blame the victim response. And I feel (kinda) sorry for the men who can't feel they can treat their partners with respect, by letting them dress or think for themselves, or even hold their hand in public.

18. Hadron Collider halted for months

Comment #250985 by Lightnin on September 21, 2008 at 1:12 am

must be supercooled to 1.9 kelvin above absolute zero

*Redundancy sigh*

19. Robert Winston criticises dangerous 'science delusion'

Comment #247755 by Lightnin on September 15, 2008 at 2:44 am

Scientist: Using the scientific method, we have discovered that trans-acting genetic factors are more important and complex than we originally believed. With more research, we can discover how these processes work.

Wooley-Mouthed Apologist: See-science isn't everything! We should all be sympathetic to supernatural deities and beliefs-despite the fact that they have zero explanatory power.

Tell me Lord Winston-how did we learn about epigenetics? Did the idea come to someone in a dream*? Maybe it was privately revealed to a prophet by an angel? Divination? Ouija board?

If Winston wants to engage in a genuine debate about science philosophy then so be it, but I find it patronising that he give an example of how science works, and then twist it to make a strawman attack to make up for his insecurities.

*Edit: Yes, I do remember the story about Kekule's daydream, Benzene, and the snake seizing it's own tale!

20. 'Condoms won't change HIV rates'

Comment #212201 by Lightnin on July 16, 2008 at 7:54 pm

"At the moment, if you go on a policy of condom distribution as the only solution to HIV and AIDS..."

(bold added)

Fuck you, you fucking fucker, do you have a piece of Jarlsberg where your brain should be? Can you say 'straw man'? Safe sex education doesn't mean only talking about prophylactics, it's possible to encourage individuals to abstain from sex or be faithful to one partner, and talk about safe sex.

21. France rejects Muslim woman over radical practice of Islam

Comment #209612 by Lightnin on July 12, 2008 at 7:50 pm

No, you cannot blame your country's defeat by the French at Rugby!!!

Haha, I can't stand the prolate spheroid-shaped ball game, yet even I jumped on the ridiculous "England are a bunch of cheaters, off with Jonny Wilkinson's head" bandwagon after the 2003 world cup.

I will admit though, I probably spent more time changing the channel over to SBS to watch Iron Chef while the final was on.

22. IT'S A GODDAMNED CRACKER!

Comment #207111 by Lightnin on July 9, 2008 at 7:51 am

Well, OK then. Let's all run into the nearest mosk next friday & turn all the prayer mats round saying no, no, mecca is over there.

Are the prayer mats bidirectional? I mean if we turned them 180 degrees would the Muslims be able to use them in the other direction?

23. IT'S A GODDAMNED CRACKER!

Comment #207099 by Lightnin on July 9, 2008 at 7:34 am

Offended? Offended?

I am personally disgusted with anyone who would risk the welfare of a young man, OVER A FUCKING WAFER.

If the church had simply said to Webster, your actions are rude, please return the wafer to us, it is hurtful that you have taken it, then I would applaud the church and its followers for it's civil conduct. I would still think they were batshit crazy, but at least polite.

But alas, that didn't happen. Instead;

Physical Assault,
Death Threats (obviously only a few individuals),
Threats of criminal charges (though I have no idea what charges)
Threats of complaints which could hurt Webster's academic career.

For you see, when you are dealing with supernatural bullshit, civil discourse is rare. A single wafer, which comes in packs of a thousand is not;

An irreplaceable photo album,
A personal copy of a book that has sentimental value (Bible/Qu'ran/The colour of magic/Richard Scarry's Cars and Trucks and Things That Go),
A religious icon (stain glass window, painting, crucifix),

It is a single piece of wafer. I care little that to Catholics, the Eucharist is literally something very important to them. Genuine and deeply held beliefs do not deserve to be automatically granted respect, to the point of tolerating ANY unethical action made by the faithful.

If someone stole the ziplock bag containing the wilted old four leaf clover my ex-girlfriend gave to me, I would probably be sad and angry. It genuinely means a lot to me. But there is no way i would act in such a despicable manner to the perpetrator (as the faithful have) because in the end, I know it is just a piece of grass, just as I know the "Eucharist" is just piece of wafer.

This is why faith is bad. It causes, and will continue to cause unjust hurt.

Disclaimer: Obviously not all church members have acted this way, and I have made no definitive comment on the quality of Webster's conduct.

24. Religion's role in the climate debate

Comment #205215 by Lightnin on July 6, 2008 at 8:44 pm

including the high priest of atheism, Richard Dawkins

If they are going to make the "lets alude to atheism as religion-lolz!11 we r soo clever" then at least they should get it right, Richard Dawkins is the Atheist Pope, not high preist or cardinal or whatever.

25. New Zealand man sells his soul to 'Hell'

Comment #203813 by Lightnin on July 3, 2008 at 5:04 pm

TradeMe business manager Michael O'Donnell said the company had received an "overwhelming number of complaints from the TradeMe community."

"A lot of people felt it was offensive even though we thought it was there for good fun," he told The Associated Press. "So the compliance team pulled it."

read: A bunch of obnoxious busy-bodies thought they'd ruin everyones fun by demanding that individuals personal actions comply with their bronze age mythology.

26. Science is thrilling - except in our schools

Comment #203811 by Lightnin on July 3, 2008 at 4:55 pm

I normally resist polemics against the current standard of teaching, because, quite frankly they are most often given by people who have no direct contact with schools and teaching (politicians/journalists etc)., and their opinions/suggestions are unhelpful or unrealistic.

I suppose I'm also pissed off because this author had the gall to knock pipettes and Petri dishes, titrating and plating is among the most fun you can have in chemistry/biology. Just recently our chemistry department had a titration competition. Fun for all!

Nonetheless, you don't really have to memorize (the first 20 or so elements I assume) of the periodic table in the UK do you? In high school and university in Australia, a periodic table always comes attached to exams. What the hell was the point of Mendeleev arranging all the elements into useful periods in an easier to follow fashion if people are just expected memorise it verbatim? He might as well have left it as a list, and spent his time marrying one of his lovers.

27. Former state science director sues over intelligent design e-mail

Comment #203542 by Lightnin on July 3, 2008 at 5:51 am

The theory WRONG! of intelligent design holds...

28. The $10,000-a-Month Psychic

Comment #200725 by Lightnin on June 28, 2008 at 7:06 am

When Seagate Technology, the $11 billion-a-year maker of hard drives for the Playstation 3 and Microsoft Xbox

Oh for Jebus sake, and the maker of hard drives for computers you dolt! In fact you could have just said, maker of hard drives full stop! I think my old desktop has a 200 gig seagate in it.
I hate the way popular media frames stories.

Oh and...psychic bad...cold reading...observer bias...etc. etc.

29. World Youth Day condom protest against Pope

Comment #198926 by Lightnin on June 24, 2008 at 6:59 pm

Cartomancer for the win!

Just as well I'm in slummy Newcastle, I won't have to wade through 4.98 X 10^-19 moles of Catholics.

30. Darwinmania!

Comment #195857 by Lightnin on June 18, 2008 at 11:29 pm

Kind of glad that Darwin won out over Wallace. Imagine trying to pronounce Wallaceism or Wallaceist.

They hurt just to look at!

31. Darwinmania!

Comment #195384 by Lightnin on June 18, 2008 at 6:24 am

No one is celebrating Einstein or Newton or even Pastuer.

What about Koch, or Jenner or Lister or Semmelweis? Damn it if there was a day to celebrate the biologists who have not only contributed to our understanding of the natural world, but have made practical benefits that have saved literally hundreds of millions of lives, I'd be the first in line.

Oh and so I'm not completely biased towards biology, what about Haber? Sure, nitrogen fixation pretty much allowed WWI to go ahead, but BILLIONS have the potential to eat (although sadly, not all of them do) because of his work.

Oh and by the way Animavore, comparing any and every action of a group to religion is a fairly infantile pejorative to make if you fail to properly qualify it, it's why you hear it so often from theistic apologists.

I actually agree with you that Darwin isn't so essential to atheism, my interest lies in the fact that is the core principle for everything I study (Biology Major).

32. When two worlds collide: threat of class warfare over faith-based schooling

Comment #187845 by Lightnin on June 2, 2008 at 8:49 pm

Wow, I'm watching the insight program (see comment #19) and some prat (christian school teacher) in a year ten science class is indirectly saying that a purely materialistic view of evolution is held only by atheists (he gave Dawkins as the only example of someone who would hold this view).

Now some muslim girl is talking about how the theory of evolution is taught as being the theory of evolution.

Sorry, I'll stop with the stream of consciousness. Check the program out-basically all the kids at faith schools don't know ZOMG-The islamic girl is death glaring a Jewish girl!

Enough of that. Stop rambling.

33. Lizards make adaptive change

Comment #187281 by Lightnin on June 1, 2008 at 6:47 pm

So I guess they didn't sequence the whole DNA but were just looking at markers?

Well they certainly wouldn't sequence the entire genome of individual lizards, that takes a great deal of time and money.

The tricky thing is the difference between two alleles of one gene could just be one base-pair out of a few thousand. So studying the phenotypic difference is just as, if not more relevent to understanding morphological differences. Not that I'm a scientician or anything.

34. Senate bill allows display of Lord's Prayer, 10 Commandments

Comment #186697 by Lightnin on May 31, 2008 at 5:51 am