751. NEXT MONDAY: Bill O'Reilly interviews Richard Dawkins

Comment #33225 by Rtambree on April 19, 2007 at 3:59 pm

Perhaps, like with Sam Harris, O'Reilly's tactic will be to steer the conversation to attacking Islam only, pretending Dawkins' book is "The Allah Delusion".

752. NEXT MONDAY: Bill O'Reilly interviews Richard Dawkins

Comment #33213 by Rtambree on April 19, 2007 at 3:21 pm

"Just shut up Mr Dawkins, shut up. I know there's a God because I believe there's a God and I believe there's a God because I know there's a God. And 300 million Americans can't be wrong can they? How can you be smarter than 300 million Americans?"

753. Flea Circus!

Comment #33044 by Rtambree on April 19, 2007 at 4:03 am

I'm sure there's a book about books about Dawkins and Harris.

754. The Empty Wager

Comment #33043 by Rtambree on April 19, 2007 at 3:59 am

Eternal Life.

Imagine a concerted, sustained, international effort to tackle gerontology and ageing. If death is such as issue for so many religious people, then why not tackle it (on a scale even larger than an Apollo program or Human Genome Project)?
De-prioritise all other university and private research funding until we've solved the problem of death (or at least radically extended lifespands to hundreds of years or more).

Many species of animals and plants can effectively live indefinitely if the conditions are right.

Instead of wishing some invisible friend in the sky would wave a wand and whisk your "soul" away, lifespans of 1,000 years or may be technically possible.

If the global military budget devoted to killing each other was devoted to longevity extension (telomere replacement, more effective genetic repair mechanisms, anti-oxidants, discovering what it is about caloric restriction, etc, etc), then there'd be no need for all this religious mumbo-jumbo. It would just evaporate because science can deliver the goods. Military budgets total hundreds of billions of dollars. In addition, there's enormous wastage of academic funding in theology grants, templeton prizes, obscure philosophy departments, and other deadwood throughout the world's universities. Humanity could easily through a trillion dollars a year to the problem.

There's no practical or theoretical reason why it can't be done. Overcrowding wouldn't be a problem because we know that in proposerous countries with high longevity, birth rates shrink to below two per couple. If death is the biggest issue for all people (the only certainty) then why we aren't we doing something about it?

In 100 years, we've doubled average life span by simply washing hands, better diet, sanitation, etc. Imagine what direct manipulation of genes and cellular machinery could do?

755. Sam's Flea!

Comment #32689 by Rtambree on April 18, 2007 at 3:14 am

I'd be surprised if Wilson has actually responded to anything Harris has written. Judging by all the dozens of other reviews of Dawkins/Harris etc posted on this site, it is unlikely.

It'll be all the usual - you can't disprove God, who created the Universe?, the God you mock isn't the one I worship, Stalin was an atheist, blah blah blah.

756. Mozart doesn't make you clever

Comment #32409 by Rtambree on April 17, 2007 at 2:54 am

If you want to get smarter by listening to stuff, I suggest audiobooks, lecture podcasts & webcasts, and Teaching Company courses...

http://www.teach12.com/teach12.asp?ai=16281

757. New Primate Species Found In 42 Million-year-old Texas Fossils

Comment #32295 by Rtambree on April 16, 2007 at 6:20 pm

25. Comment #32294 by Beth

>Isn't it a bit bigoted to assume that everyone in a particular area is incapable of rational thought or scientific enquiry?

When you read statistics on 80-90% of Americans believing in angels, hell, young Earth, etc, then some harmless fun-making of this type will tend to contain a bit of truth.

758. Irish poll shows parents no longer want to force religion on to children

Comment #32293 by Rtambree on April 16, 2007 at 6:04 pm

They tried to teach my baby science...

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/44260

759. Against God

Comment #32193 by Rtambree on April 16, 2007 at 6:18 am

RE: Australian Census. I know people who were non-religious that nevertheless ticked Anglican or Catholic because they thought that if they didn't, the Muslims would get all the religious funding from the government.

760. New Primate Species Found In 42 Million-year-old Texas Fossils

Comment #32186 by Rtambree on April 16, 2007 at 5:42 am

Luthien > They have to do it under cover of darkness, but it's ok because the locals just think all the lights out in the desert are from UFOs..

Good one!!

NJS > As I keep saying, this kind of blending of theism and evolution makes less sense than biblical literalism.

Yes, I must admit I do have some respect for the fundamentalists in the sense that at least they recognise there's a irreconcilibility between theism and evolution and they attempt to resolve it (falsely of course), but the moderates who cherry-pick and believe both the Bible AND Darwin are just being intellectually lazy e.g. "yeah, whatever, so long as I get my afterlife and justice is done to the wicked".

761. New Primate Species Found In 42 Million-year-old Texas Fossils

Comment #32156 by Rtambree on April 16, 2007 at 2:45 am

Hmmm - I wonder, for those that manage to believe in both God and evolution, at what point God is supposed to have said... "I'll put a soul into the primate....wait....wait.....wait.....now"

They're going to have to draw some line in the sand - and say... that hominid does not have an immortal soul and that one has.

It's a bit arbitrary. Another example of pulling a number out of the air... I remember Michael Shermer asking a Christian woman... "What age are you preserved at when you go to heaven" In your decrepitude? In your prime of your body or brain? But there was an answer - 26 or something. He was amazed that she had an answer.

762. Kadra attacked in public

Comment #32042 by Rtambree on April 15, 2007 at 10:26 am

Civics exams for immigrants? Passing a test in basic human rights before a visa is granted? Not sure how effective this would be.

763. Against God

Comment #32039 by Rtambree on April 15, 2007 at 10:22 am

Many Australians simply don't care about religion - it's not like they're formal atheists, having thought through all the issues, but just that they haven't thought about the issues at all.

When asked, a typical response is..."ummm... well I believe in something I suppose".

Is a there a term for someone who doesn't care if there's a God? Apatheist?

When correlated with class, religiosity seems to peak in the middle classes. By contrast, the welfare class, working class and upper classes are either agnostic or uncaring, anaethetising themselves in their separate ways.

The middle class seems to be attracted to the new "wealth theology" of the Pentecostal Hillsong i.e. donate to this church, and He'll reward you in this life with a new house, car, and other stuff."

>just because something isn't true doesn't mean it's not real.

Huh? Atheists have never denied the existence of religion.

764. For God's Sake

Comment #31998 by Rtambree on April 15, 2007 at 7:07 am

"When the last living thing
has died on account of us,
how poetical it would be
if Earth could say,
in a voice floating up
perhaps
from the floor
of the Grand Canyon,

"It is done. People did not like it here."

Kurt Vonnegut

765. Nisbet and Mooney in the WaPo: snake oil for the snake oil salesmen

Comment #31990 by Rtambree on April 15, 2007 at 6:24 am

Oh acolytes of the dark Saganic mills, recant now for only the Harris-Dawkins-Dennett triumvirate has the Truth, and through Their Holy Scriptures will you be set free. Banish Sagan and a curse on his Mary Druyan - they are cast out by the Great Prophet Bertrand Russell as Theist-Enablers. We can tolerate no intolerance!! Briancoughlanworldcitizen is leading you down the path of unreason that only Dennett can redeem. It is written. It shall pass. May our holy warriors be blessed.

766. Nisbet and Mooney in the WaPo: snake oil for the snake oil salesmen

Comment #31980 by Rtambree on April 15, 2007 at 5:41 am

26. Comment #31967 by briancoughlanworldcitizen

>rtmrambtree is a filthy, verminous unbeleiver (in the trinity of atheism). You must have no discourse with him, yay until the 10th generation, shalt thou oppress and enslave the fruit of his benightened loins.

Already my followers of holy righteous Dennettite warriors are descending upon your dark blasphemous Saganic cult and the land will run red to the glory of the Prophets of Darwin. This is Sparta and tonight we dine in Oxford!

767. As Religious Strife Grows, Europe's Atheists Seize Pulpit

Comment #31960 by Rtambree on April 15, 2007 at 3:57 am

60. Comment #31954 by briancoughlanworldcitizen

>Brother, I endorse your call for unity. May the great RD bless us, may the Sam Harris keep us and the Holy Sagan imbue us with his disembodied power. Amen.

Heretic! Dennett is the third member of the Holy Trinity, not Sagan! Burn Brother Briancouglanworldcitizen! Our Church needs reform and the blasphemy-enablers punished! Schism!

768. Genie shows barred by Islam, clerics say

Comment #31959 by Rtambree on April 15, 2007 at 3:52 am

I agree. Too many supernatural shows on TV and in the movies. Way to go. :)

769. For God's Sake

Comment #31863 by Rtambree on April 14, 2007 at 6:22 pm

78. Comment #31862 by Veronique

Don't worry, I'm not the type to get worked up. All is fine.

Not all cities and countries are equal. Having lived in Sydney for 35 years and spent significant amounts of time in USA and now living in Europe, I don't think it's that controversial to say that Sydney is outranked in certain areas. It probably has the most beautiful harbour in the world and enjoys a wonderful temperate climate and cheap cost of living, but nevertheless, it's intellectual and cultural venues are rather poor for a city of four million. The few public intellectuals that remain in Australia tend to live elsewhere (Canberra, Adelaide, Melbourne) and most migrate overseas. If you take university rankings as an indication, nothing from NSW makes the top 100. Sydney has the beaches and the sun, but the brains are unfortunately elsewhere.

One can debate 'chicken or egg' - are the people particularly materialistic because of the lack of engaging institutions, or does the lack of institutions create a bland urban population?

770. Coming out as atheist: Noel Gallagher & Gabriel Byrne

Comment #31850 by Rtambree on April 14, 2007 at 4:01 pm

32. Comment #31841 by cheshirecat

>Blair is one of the cleverest politicians around

Not sure if this is necessarily a good thing if the politician doesn't use his powers for good. To clarify... "John Smith, CEO of a major weapons manufacturer, is one of the cleverest businessmen around"

771. Coming out as atheist: Noel Gallagher & Gabriel Byrne

Comment #31845 by Rtambree on April 14, 2007 at 3:35 pm

32. Comment #31841 by cheshirecat

>Who?

Helen Clark, openly agnostic Prime Minister of New Zealand and Middle Earth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Clark

772. Coming out as atheist: Noel Gallagher & Gabriel Byrne

Comment #31836 by Rtambree on April 14, 2007 at 2:35 pm

>What's chilling to think about is the possibilty that both husband and wife might feel that way, but that each is afraid to tell the other.

What are two people doing married that can't even communicate? But what a great premise for a sitcom! Each one has The God Delusion secretly hidden in their sock draws, and have to read them with fake 'Left Behind' covers on them.

773. As Religious Strife Grows, Europe's Atheists Seize Pulpit

Comment #31823 by Rtambree on April 14, 2007 at 12:54 pm

Good paraphrasing Robert Maynard. I'll second that.

I'll have a go at paraphrasing too...

The less you need God, the less you believe in Him.

774. As Religious Strife Grows, Europe's Atheists Seize Pulpit

Comment #31803 by Rtambree on April 14, 2007 at 11:04 am

Most of the USA's wealth is concentrated in the top few percent. It's one of the most inegalitarian countries in the OECD. Longevity, infant mortality and poverty rates are also dismal for such a wealthy country.

>Capitalism makes people rich

Don't take this for granted. The world's richest economies became wealthy over hundreds of years by slavery, theft, imperialism, protected markets, subsidies, etc. There's not much evidence that privatisation and pure capitalism ensures the wellbeing of a country's population.

775. Coming out as atheist: Noel Gallagher & Gabriel Byrne

Comment #31751 by Rtambree on April 14, 2007 at 4:43 am

RE: Winston

Maybe a soft deist that likes the aesthetics of the Jewish culture.

I guess religiousity is on a spectrum (Dawkins' 7-point scale or even a 100 point bell curve) whereas linguistic terms force us to think about discrete categories i.e. the tyranny of the discontinuous mind. It's a failing of language to pigeonhole, but I suspect that the basis for it is cognitive efficiency: i.e. it allows easier manipulation of abstract concepts.

776. Medical 'Miracles' Not Supported by Evidence

Comment #31750 by Rtambree on April 14, 2007 at 4:34 am

19. Comment #31747 by Yorker

wanky as in wanker - pretentious, over-inflated opinion, pseudo-intellectual, pretending to be cleverer and more sophisticated than they really are. Perhaps in the US, it's more literal.

It's funny how different English speaking countries use words differently. 'Root' in the USA is the barrack for. In Australia it's intercourse. 'Fortnight' isn't even used in the USA.

Then there's toilet v bathroom v dunny v can v lavatory v WC v loo v restroom

Elevator v lift
Taxi v cab
Globe v bulb
Spectacles v glasses

777. Coming out as atheist: Noel Gallagher & Gabriel Byrne

Comment #31744 by Rtambree on April 14, 2007 at 4:15 am

RE: Colbert. I know about the Sunday School - it is puzzling, but having watched Colbert now for the last year, and seeing how he makes fun of all religion, equates orthodox religion with weird cults and myths, and invites a disproportionate number of atheists and scientists onto the show and specifically asks them about their atheism, to highlight it (e.g. Bart Erhman, etc), I suspect (I admit there's no direct evidence) that he must be an atheist. Hence the question mark.

You're right, I know nothing about Al Gore's wife. I was talking about Al Gore who doesn't seem to have anything to do with the Parents Music Resource Center.

Al Gore seems the most scientifically literate of recent presidential candidates, so this would increase the likelihood but is no guarantee in the USA. Maybe Ralph Nader could be an atheist.

778. For God's Sake

Comment #31736 by Rtambree on April 14, 2007 at 3:26 am

72. Comment #31681 by Veronique

>I think the poster I answered had a pretty jaundiced view. He had lived in the western suburbs of Sydney. All cities also have a wide variety of people, some of whom you want to know, so of which you don't. It all comes down to choice of association.

Who you associcate with has nothing to do with the accuracy of a description. This is getting into Helian territory - only Yanks have accurately critise American. One can associate with eastern suburbs people or north shore people or inner-city people or western suburbs people, and still describe the broad characteristics of suburban Australia. I never said ALL of Australia is like that. There are oases, but I maintain the majority in the suburbs are on a mouse wheel of working, breeding and consuming without any thought to broader intellectual, scientific, cultural, social, religious, and political issues.

779. Coming out as atheist: Noel Gallagher & Gabriel Byrne

Comment #31734 by Rtambree on April 14, 2007 at 3:17 am

Other suspect atheists that have yet to come out:

Al Gore?
Professor Robert Winston?
Stephen Colbert (the person not the character)?

780. As Religious Strife Grows, Europe's Atheists Seize Pulpit

Comment #31733 by Rtambree on April 14, 2007 at 3:12 am

Some good news. We need some statistics on the break-up between age groups - is it just old lefty intellectuals or are the young getting in on it too? This will give us a clue about the future.

I've heard on the BBC that many young Muslims in England are actually more devout than their parents.

781. Is God poison?

Comment #31731 by Rtambree on April 14, 2007 at 3:05 am

154. Comment #31718 by Veronique

>Have you read Marion Maddox's God Under Howard?

I've read it. He's got two crazier religious goons behind him - Abbott & Costello. Some of the Nationals too.

It's a sad indictment of Australian politics that Rudd hopes to outflank Howard in out-religioning him. From what I've heard, Rudd is the most religious person in the ALP. So it's theist versus theist, ratchetting up religiousity in Australian politics. In 1983, Hawke was an open agnostic, so things have got worse (hopefully temporarily).

Question: Why is it that the religious rise to the top? Blair, Bush, Howard, Rudd? Either they possess a drive that atheists don't have, or it's easier for them to get elected. Even PM Keating was a Catholic.

As an intermittent goal to strive for, we can claim victory when a politician has to hide his theism, rather than his atheism, to get political support.

How long before religiousity is a hinderance to one's political career? "We're not voting for somewho believes that an invisible friend loves them. He's clearly unfit for office."

At least in NZ - Prime Minister Helen Clark can openly call herself agnostic and not be feared. That's a start.

782. We'd be better off without Religion

Comment #31669 by Rtambree on April 13, 2007 at 6:54 pm

20. Comment #31667 by yeahok

>For example, Christianity promises eternal life

Don't forget, the Abrahamic Faiths also promise eternal torture if you misread the fine print. You have no feedback if you're on the right course for upstairs rather than downstairs.

If one of the religions were true, it wouldn't be consoling, it'd be terrifying. How would you know which one? Even if you were in the right religion (born lucky), how could you be sure you'd asked for forgiveness for every impure thought and praised the Lord enough and did enough good deeds, etc? What about all the conflicting laws? Did you always obey your parents in every instance? If not, you could suffer forever in the lake of fire. Eternal Gitmo with super-charged alligator clamps.

How consoling is that?

783. Einstein & Faith

Comment #31666 by Rtambree on April 13, 2007 at 6:27 pm

45. Comment #31656 by cheshirecat

>I just wondered if any of you believed in free will.

Good question. A materialist is hard pressed to preserve free will. For example, Michael Shermer rejects free will, but the universe and brain is just too complex for anyone to compute what you will do in the future, so it's AS IF we still had free will, for all intents and purposes. Then there are the experiments where a sufficiently sensitive brain-scanning machine could predict your intention, a split-second before you were conscious of intending it. It's as if consciousness was an "afterglow", and not the agency. In other words, it's the brain's way of making sense of cause and effect, of re-interpreting events AFTER the event.

A similar sobering question might be "does anyone believe in poetic love" (as literature, music, hallmark cards, etc describes) if one accepts evolutionary psychology?

784. The Human Body as an Evolutionary Patchwork

Comment #31664 by Rtambree on April 13, 2007 at 6:19 pm

18. Comment #31662 by diamat1

>But, can anyone suggest to me a way of downloading

Use the program HiDownload off Streamingstar. Just Google for it. This works reasonably well. Sometimes URLs are hidden and you need URL Helper to get the cloaked URLs and paste them into HiDownload. StreamDown is another program but HiDownload is easier IMHO. Realmedia can be better than Windows Media Player files off the Princeton sites (you have a choice) because you can fast-forward in Realplayer.

785. For God's Sake

Comment #31566 by Rtambree on April 13, 2007 at 9:40 am

>By then, Europe will ruled by the Shariah.

Great! Let's play Crusaders all over again - this time with nukes instead of swords.

786. How Did the Universe Survive the Big Bang? In This Experiment, Clues Remain Elusive

Comment #31497 by Rtambree on April 13, 2007 at 1:42 am

4. Comment #31466 by VoxMoose

Thank you VoxMoose - I've often asked physicists this question and I've got so many different answers. At Fermilab someone told me the neutrino is its own antiparticle like the photon, another told me isospin, whatever that is.

In any case, given the ghost-like nature of neutrinos, are they likely to create a matter-antimatter explosion (conversion to gamma rays) if a neutrino and antineutrino collide. It must be rare event? Would Majorana neutrinos annihilate each other?

Yes, I'll keep an eye out for those announcements. I'm sure the headlines will push "Paris Hilton Wardrobe Malfunction" to the back pages.

787. Einstein & Faith

Comment #31495 by Rtambree on April 13, 2007 at 1:31 am

>There were definitely a few people who eclipsed Einstein in originality and scientific genuis, though they are not as well known to the layperson. Gauss, Eule, Lagrange and Poincare came to mind. I would rank Newton above Einstein as well.

Don't forget Darwin. The big three for me would be Darwin, Newton and Einstein. Perhaps Gauss for statistics (although the discipline of modern statistics has many contributors). What about Francis Bacon for the scientific method that kicked it all off?

In any case, the scientist as hero is a more literary concept (makes good drama) but it's a baton relay and if that particular scientist didn't do it, then some other one would have.

If there was no Newton, there'd be Leibniz or others. If no Einstein, there'd be Mach, Poincare, Planck or others. If no Darwin, then Wallace.

One could argue that the definition of a scientific genius is simply one who got there first and perhaps solved several problems instead of just one. Often it's merely a case of being in the right place at the right time.

A small genius is someone who solved one problem just before a rival did (e.g. Priestley). A big genius is someone who solved several problems several years before others would have (e.g. Einstein).

788. Is God poison?

Comment #31493 by Rtambree on April 13, 2007 at 1:16 am

Anti-Americanism.

While it's true that most people outside the USA don't like Dubya (and one can discuss the various merits for and against that position), I would also add there are lots of left-leaning liberals in Europe, Australia, Canada, NZ, etc that like Kennedy, Carter and Clinton, etc despite a good case to be made that those administrations were responsible for attacking other countries and inflicting a lot of pain and suffering.

So in this case, there'd be a PRO-American bias where certain Presidents are judging uncritically.

In Australia, most people believe the Yanks defeated the Nazis and liberated the concentration camps, despite the facts that America was happy to stay out of the war until they were attacked and the Soviet Union did the majority of the damage on the German military in the east where the camps were.

This would be another case of pro-American bias.

So it works both ways.

789. How Did the Universe Survive the Big Bang? In This Experiment, Clues Remain Elusive

Comment #31443 by Rtambree on April 12, 2007 at 5:29 pm

If a neutrino is neutral, then what's an anti-neutrino? It can't have opposite charge.

A neutron can have an anti-matter equivalent in the sense of its constituent quarks being the opposite charge but still adding up to 0.

But a neutrino has no substructure, so what gives it its "anti" properties?

790. Einstein & Faith

Comment #31441 by Rtambree on April 12, 2007 at 5:17 pm

7. Comment #31432 by cheshirecat on April 12, 2007 at 4:37 pm

>If the body differs only in complexity from clockwork, what of freewill?

Indeed. What other cherished notions must humans dispense with? Putting God in the trashbin of history is just the beginning. Free will is just another delusion? Love is just another delusion?

There's a trilogy of "Delusion" books there - but it looks like most people are struggling to cope with volume #1. Better not release volume #2 too soon.

791. T. rex tissue shows they are related to chickens

Comment #31439 by Rtambree on April 12, 2007 at 5:11 pm

It's good to see independent lines of evidence supporting hypotheses. Science is unique in this regard.

But the Christians will just say "God uses the same toolkit". The left hemisphere of the brain is always capable of interpreting or reconciling any piece of scientific data with dogma.

792. Is God poison?

Comment #31437 by Rtambree on April 12, 2007 at 5:05 pm

Helian >On the contrary, I welcome it.

Yes, many of us have read your lengthy postings.

But you've repeatedly failed to explain how on one hand you welcome criticism, and on the other hand, you insist that anyone who actually makes any criticism is being "anti-American".

So what is your definition of legitimate criticism (some examples) that is differentiated from unjustified anti-Americanism? Where does one end and the other begin? You've repeatedly failed to clarify this demarcation line - to everyone's (including your own) frustration.

It feels like you're moving the goalposts. You welcome criticism, and then when we criticise, you say "nope, that's anti-American - no goal".

Where are the goalposts? You have to accept some responsibility for confusion in your communication. I think the considerable attention you've garnered shows we take your arguments seriously, but we're still scratching our heads about your actual definitions.

793. Is God poison?

Comment #31393 by Rtambree on April 12, 2007 at 9:49 am

Another way to look at it is that Helian is actually strengthening anti-Americanism by ensuring proponents get their facts straight before launching their new improved watertight criticisms. Good work. The Germans and French will love it.

794. Is God poison?

Comment #31375 by Rtambree on April 12, 2007 at 7:37 am

>There are, of course, a host of valid and logically supportable reasons for criticizing the US for its actions over the last 50 years, not to mention in the last five years, or the last year. That, however, is neither here nor there when it comes to assessing whether negative assessments of American actions among the citizens of other countries are justified.

Huh? How does the second sentence follow from the first? Why isn't it "neither here nor there" if they are valid criticisms?

795. The BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction 2007

Comment #31366 by Rtambree on April 12, 2007 at 7:07 am

What about awards for parasitic spin-off books to The God Delusion?

Dog Flea Awards...

1. Best use of the word "Dawkins" in the title
2. Most gratutious frequency of ad hominen attacks
3. Best use of postmodernism to discredit anything the author chooses not to believe in
4. Greatest amount of rambling inane theological babble
5. Most obvious non-reading of The God Delusion

796. Pope says science too narrow to explain creation

Comment #31314 by Rtambree on April 12, 2007 at 2:04 am

>Hands up all you Americans that understand this

I think they'll let that one go through to the keeper.

797. The Human Body as an Evolutionary Patchwork

Comment #31313 by Rtambree on April 12, 2007 at 1:59 am

Webcasts.

If you like the Princeton webcast page, I recommended MIT World, Dana Centre, Boston WGBH Forum, UCTV, SLAC webcasts, Caltech webcasts, JPL von Karman lecture series, the Royal Society archives, Rice University, Research Channel, UC Berkeley Events & Courses, National Institutes of Health, etc.

This site won't let me post all the links (it detects multiple URLs as spam) but they can be easily Googled.

There are also a multitude of good podcast sites: Infidel Guy, Skepticality, Nature podcast, Scientific American, New Scientist, Science Friday (NPR), the ABC's Science Show and Late Night Live, BBC Radio 4, CBC's Quirks & Quarks. Kavli Institute, Planetary Radio, Teaching Company Courses, The Modern Scholar courses, etc.

798. Pope says science too narrow to explain creation

Comment #31300 by Rtambree on April 12, 2007 at 1:22 am

This Pope is driving the Catholic Church into reverse.

The Catholic Church was usually better than the Protestants in terms of compatibility with science, because there was less emphasis on the scripture. Each new successful Pope could update theology with the latest findings and apologise for the crimes of the last Popes.

But this idiot is heading backwards again.

799. Is God poison?

Comment #31257 by Rtambree on April 11, 2007 at 6:50 pm

Harsh words? I said a lot of positive things about Australia. Only the Scandinavian countries have a higher standard of living.

You accuse me of saying ex-pats never come back. I didn't say that.

Public dissent? Howard and the Liberal conservatives *increased* their vote in the last election. Gay marriage is banned, like in the USA. Both main party leaders act like they get their orders off the US Ambassador. Remember Latham wrapping himself in the US Flag as soon as became opposition leader?

Sydney is beautiful, has nice food and a diverse ethnic mix, but it is not an intellectual city. Even Brisbane, Canberra and Melbourne outrank it. Sydneyites are generally superficial and status-driven. In Sydney, an "intellectual" is someone who knows their Proust or Sartre. Science isn't on the radar. There's only a small triangle that think for themselves between Newtown, Glebe and Paddington. Once you're past Norton Street, you're in the great 'aspirational' wasteland, identical living room after living room with the same DVDs and the same CDs on the shelves, all the way till Perth.

Yes, I agree about safety and political & social stability. They are the plusses. But there are significant minuses, principally a lack of quality and variety of cultural and scientific institutions.

You guessed right - westie origins.

800. Is God poison?

Comment #31251 by Rtambree on April 11, 2007 at 5:34 pm

>Exactly so whats wrong with aus.

Ask the million ex-pats living elsewhere.
I like Australia - it has a higher, cheaper, standard of living than NYC, London or Paris. Check out the UN Human Development Index rankings - it's right up there. I'm the first to defend Australia's lifestyle.

But if you want to discuss something other than home renovations, real estate prices, footy scores and the size of your plasma, it can be stupifying.

I was living in the outer 'burbs down there - so I may be biased.