1. Was the new finger a 'natural' miracle?

Comment #175095 by Lammie on May 4, 2008 at 11:36 am

Wow, imagine the scams the "Congo penis thieves" could pull if they could get their hands on the Pixie dust!

(http://richarddawkins.net/article,2501,Lynchings-in-Congo-as-penis-theft-panic-hits-capital,Yahoo-News-UK

2. Investigating Atheism

Comment #167335 by Lammie on April 23, 2008 at 11:00 pm

I've never liked the term "new atheists". The only new atheists are the thousands of babies born each minute.

I agree about the dislike of the term "new atheist". I think it is being used strategically to make all non-theists appear to be a group of "happy-clappies" (cf new born Christians).

3. Resentment Over Darwin Evolves Into a Documentary

Comment #165331 by Lammie on April 21, 2008 at 10:58 am

Thanks for pointing this out QuickEye. I am sure that link is going to become popular when people find out about it. I hope the movie critics read it before they write their mass media reports as it certainly exposes the movie for what it is.

4. Resentment Over Darwin Evolves Into a Documentary

Comment #165289 by Lammie on April 21, 2008 at 9:50 am

1) Each of the failed academics who were featured in the movie should be investigated and the real reasons behind their "Expulsions" made public. I would be happy to bet that they were all underachievers in their jobs.
2) I agree with irate_atheist (#6) - the Smithsonian's image has been dented and therefore they should start a legal claim
3) Well done to Jeannette Catsoulis who wrote this piece. She has a way of cutting and slicing with words which makes for good reading.

5. Scientists take drugs to boost brain power: study

Comment #159050 by Lammie on April 11, 2008 at 11:30 am

I am not surprised by these findings - In modern day academia the expectations that the university administrators have for the academics have increased exponentially. The charm of the traditional academic life, to which many of us oldies in our 50's were attracted, was lost when we were expected to become superstars in many areas beyond which we have training. Often good researchers are shoddy administrators and now there are accountabilities for that, increasing the pressures of the job. Therefore it is not surprising that so many scientists turn to performance enhancing substances to help increase productivity

6. Richard Dawkins on The Alan Colmes Show

Comment #144872 by Lammie on March 16, 2008 at 11:37 pm

#144861

There are plenty of people who are somewhere between deist and young-earther that are extremely intelligent, and it's disrespectful for Dawkins to write them off.

It really depends how you define "intelligence" - a typical definition is "Endowed with the capacity to reason" - Wikipedia had a detailed section on definitions: "Intelligence is an umbrella term used to describe a property of the mind that encompasses many related abilities, such as the capacities to reason, to plan, to solve problems, to think abstractly, to comprehend ideas, to use language, and to learn..." Certainly accordingly to these definitions Dawkins was correct in his statement.

7. Richard Dawkins on The Alan Colmes Show

Comment #144398 by Lammie on March 16, 2008 at 1:11 am

On a previous forum someone commented that the radio interviews were getting boring because the questions (and answers) are all the same. I disagree. While I agree that questions from the interviewers, or people who call in, are often similar the answers always have a subtle twist which makes the answer different from a previous answer to the same question. For example, the "Boeing in a warehouse" analogy �" I have heard it explained several time in different interviews and each time it gets explained from a different angle. Maybe I am a slow learner, but I certainly do not find the repetition boring.

By the way I loved the discussion on life after death (or the lack thereof). I am sure many listeners chocked on their Corn Flakes when they suddenly realized that perhaps there were no Pearly Gates or Virgins waiting for them after death!

8. It's Make Believe!

Comment #140976 by Lammie on March 9, 2008 at 10:30 am

www.youtube.com/user/IllParadox is the second of the links posted above. The first one (which is inactive now) was very funny and had a take on "God Bless America"

9. The Giant Tortoise's Tale

Comment #133857 by Lammie on February 27, 2008 at 1:09 am

Lovely story. I was also surprised about the theory of giant tortoises floating across to the next island. I have a pair of much smaller tortoises and I am pretty sure they will sink like stones if placed in water. Perhaps small baby tortoises could have been taken to an adjoining island by birds (sea-gulls) and then escaped? On an aside having a pair tortoises has taught me:
1) tortoises are NOT slow and can cover long distances with remarkable speed
2) their intelligence certainly exceeds the expectations one has of a reptile.
2) the male has a healthy sex drive and pesters the poor female on a regular basis - the grunting noise he makes can be heard 50 m away!

10. Richard Dawkins on five of his favorite books

Comment #132887 by Lammie on February 25, 2008 at 11:14 am

Talking about books.... I am looking for a good book that deals with evolution in an evidence-based way, suitable for a 14 year-old. Any suggestions? (I remember RD saying in one of his interviews that he wanted to write a book for children).