1. When Atheists Attack

Comment #252548 by Abdi Sanati on September 23, 2008 at 10:01 am

I look out of my window and see stars every night. Does that make me an astronomer?
According to Palin's Principle most men are gynecologists!

2. Quackbuster causes too much flak for university

Comment #244092 by Abdi Sanati on September 8, 2008 at 9:28 am

Ben Goldacre's new book is out. It is called "Bad Science" and is interesting. Kind of like RD's Enemies of Reason but in more detail.

3. Discussion between Richard Dawkins and Paula Kirby

Comment #162070 by Abdi Sanati on April 16, 2008 at 5:43 am

Some girl called Profeesor Dawkins, Hawkins! Was it a hybrid of Dawkins and Hawking? It will be interesting to clone both of them in one!

4. Happy Birthday, Richard Dawkins!

Comment #151239 by Abdi Sanati on March 28, 2008 at 9:49 am

Happy Birthday Richard.

Can I get you a copy of God Delusion for birthday?

5. Christopher Hitchens on Real Time with Bill Maher

Comment #136940 by Abdi Sanati on March 2, 2008 at 3:56 am

Derek Smalls from Spinal Tap is there too!

6. Richard Dawkins receives the Deschner Prize

Comment #80132 by Abdi Sanati on October 20, 2007 at 6:05 am

Dear Professor Dawkins

May I also congratulate you on your support for Professor Watson in this disgusting age of nauseating political correctness. We are ttuly living in a big brother society where people are accused of committing thought crimes. Your politically incorrect stance deserves more respect than thousands of awards.

Yours Sincerely

A Sanati

7. 'Root of All Evil? The Uncut Interviews' Released on DVD

Comment #68117 by Abdi Sanati on September 6, 2007 at 7:21 am

Is this DVD available in the UK too? The price is in US dollars.

8. Richard Dawkins on his online alterego

Comment #50704 by Abdi Sanati on June 19, 2007 at 2:32 pm

The science fiction scenario is quite like David Cronenberg's Existenz where people could spend their whole time in a game.

I also wonder if Richard's alter ego is a woman!

9. Hitchens on Falwell, Part 2

Comment #43696 by Abdi Sanati on May 22, 2007 at 10:10 am

I wonder what Larry Flint thinks! He's the one who kicked falwell's arse.

10. Fighting Words: A wartime lexicon

Comment #35037 by Abdi Sanati on April 26, 2007 at 4:01 am

Hightaker

Your new name for Hitchens made me laugh! Good humour!

People who are interested can find detail of Hitchens' debate with Chomsky on the web. Links to original articles are available from Wikipedia.

11. Study: Religion is Good for Kids

Comment #35017 by Abdi Sanati on April 26, 2007 at 1:13 am

If we appraise this research's methodology there is not much to worry.

It is a cross-sectional study which is by no means suitable for assessing causality. Since the data are gathered at the same time the direction of effect could not be established. I don't know whether the sample is representative of the whole population. There doesn't seem to be any objective measure for assessing the outcome. The people who collected the info and also the subjects are not blinded to the hypothesis. There are many confounders operating at this level which need to be adjusted for. And is there any conflict of interest?

Poor quality studies like this are quite common. They are good in attracting media attention but at the end of the day they do not add much to our knowledge. Challenging them systematically through a thorough critical apraisal is the best way.

In medical world we have meny examples of these kind of studies. The case-control study of MMR and autism is one example which ended up actually increasing the incidence of measles, mumps and rubella in kids.

12. The Video: Bill O'Reilly Interviews Richard Dawkins

Comment #34458 by Abdi Sanati on April 24, 2007 at 6:05 am

Thsi interview did not show anything new. we all know it is impossible to reason with people of faith. It's like hitting your head against a brick wall. Although it is not a reason to avoid discussion. Some of them might evolve above their faith!
By lenghtening his questions O'Reily made sure Prof Dawkins didn't get a chance to give a reasonable answer.

13. Pope abolishes limbo

Comment #34097 by Abdi Sanati on April 23, 2007 at 8:02 am

Hi Developed

It is a lenghty discussion but Victor Stenger has elaborately explained it in his new book, God, The Failed Hypothesis. Anthropic Principle can be used against argument for design too.

The book is out in US. I am in UK and had to buy it second hand.

If you are not inclined to pay for books about atheism I think your local library can provide a copy. It is an easy read and will take a few days to complete (if you are working).

14. Pope says science too narrow to explain creation

Comment #33867 by Abdi Sanati on April 22, 2007 at 10:21 am

Last year there was an article in British Medical Journal titled: Letter to God. It was a satire in which the author gave a list of human body faults and the ways it could work and survive better. There were a string of letters adding other adjustments to it.
Human body is an amazing structure but it is not perfect. Bear in mind that the concept of perfection is a fluid one and changes from time to time. Our bodies and minds have not evolved to cope with the lifestyle we have now.

By the way it is very likely that there are several times more species of viruses than other life forms. Millions in fact.

If there is a God, he really loves lower life forms!

15. Doctors Opposing Circumcision: An Appeal for Misha

Comment #33857 by Abdi Sanati on April 22, 2007 at 8:41 am

Considering the devastating effect of HIV in Africa, especially in face of the church's strong campaign against use of condoms and the lack of access to the expensive anti-HIV drugs, any intervention that reduces the transmission of HIV is welcome. Considering the evidence in favour of the intervention (in this case, circumcision). As in any medical intervention it COULD NOT and SHOULD NOT be done without full and informed consent of the patient.
The ethical justifications of this case are indeed dodgy!

16. Doctors Opposing Circumcision: An Appeal for Misha

Comment #33817 by Abdi Sanati on April 22, 2007 at 2:17 am

Lots of debate over 2cm of forskin! God wanted to kill Moses because he wasn't circumcised (if you don't believe me read the Bible)!

The reference that was given earlier from WHO that circumcision can reduce the rate of transmission of HIV is true. It has been shown in 3 randomised controlled trials in Africa. Quite solid evidence and replicated too. It is NOT a substitute for safe sex though.

But regarding performing it without the child's consent, parents can consent on their child's behalf, and even overrule them for medical treatment (UK Law).
The main point here is circumcision does not constitute a medical treatment. It is soleley done for a religious purpose. It has medical applications, for phimosis and paraphimosis but it doesn't seem to be the case here. Whether their practice is legally defensible I don't know, but as we all know Law in most parts of the world is quite lenient when it comes to religion.

And by the way I know some people who underwent the procedure as adults (by their own choice of course), and they all told me they enjoyed sex more! Might be placebo effect!