51. Sam Harris seems like a nice fellow, but very confused

Comment #77406 by VanYoungman on October 9, 2007 at 8:07 am

For what it's worth IanG, me too.

52. Searching for God in the Brain

Comment #77073 by VanYoungman on October 8, 2007 at 11:22 am

Bluebird.

Thank you for your interest in my avatar. I have been on this site for over a year now and for most of the time, just didn't know what to choose. However, staring me in the face for the past 50 years or so, were 3 branches of a hemlock growing in front of the cabin my grandfather built in 1888. The tree sits right over a natural limestone trout stream. I always knew the branches formed an "A" but it wasn't until a month or so ago it dawned on me that here was my avatar. So I snapped it with my Powershot Canon and got a friend to shrink the pixels and voila. I prop my feet up on the railing as I sit on a comfortable front porch sofa, sip some Tullamore Dew and gaze at my "A".
My blessings on Richard Dawkins and all who enjoy this site.
Unfortunately, the cabin is not winterized so this next weekend will be my last until the opening of trout season in April 2008

Judging from your avatar, I'm going to guess you're from Copenhagen or at least somewhere in Denmark.

53. Searching for God in the Brain

Comment #77008 by VanYoungman on October 8, 2007 at 6:56 am

If you want some drivel on the Beauregard work, check out this crap.

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/entertainment/books/20070930_A_response_to_atheists__materialists_.html

54. In honour of Dan Dennett

Comment #77006 by VanYoungman on October 8, 2007 at 6:43 am

Good Friends All;

A suggestion. Please read Dan's "Elbow Room" and when you have completed that, "Freedom Evolves" a treatise on "Kinds of Free Will Worth Having", the latter which follows naturally from the former. Dan had once mentioned to me that "Elbow Room" in many ways was his favorite.

Dan Dennett is truly one of the most remarkable human beings ever to exist on this planet. Richard Dawkins tribute makes this abundantly clear.

55. A New Debate

Comment #75917 by VanYoungman on October 4, 2007 at 4:24 am

By the way. Are you all aware that Matthew Chapman is the witty, erudite, film making great-great grandson of Charles Darwin?

56. Hirsi Ali Returns to the Netherlands after Losing Body Guards

Comment #75912 by VanYoungman on October 4, 2007 at 4:17 am

Christopher Hitchens followed Ms Ali's talk and began his talk by remarking there wasn't a person in this (crowded) room who wouldn't place themselves between an assasin and you, Ms Ali. I could sense a silent "amen" among the throng as they cheered. I certainly would be honored to stop the bullet. An absolutely remarkable brave woman who, unfortunately, must cover her back as long as she lives.

57. The Problem with Atheism

Comment #75582 by VanYoungman on October 3, 2007 at 4:28 am

Robert Maynard, your posts 75511 & 75539 are right on and Jack R. although I understand where you're coming from, this is going to be a long fight that will take an excellent strategy to achieve what we are looking for. Sam was speaking of a tactic that that should make it a great deal easier for our strategy to succeed.

You Jack, will most likely live to see the strategy we adopt succeed. I, alas, will most likely not. Veronique, I think you will die a very happy old lady. Have a pint on me.

Now I must go teach my class. Peace.

58. AAI Convention webcam

Comment #74963 by VanYoungman on October 1, 2007 at 8:19 am

Amen, Jack Rawlinson. Sorry I missed meeting you there. It would have been nice to chat.

Now that I've gotten a good night sleep and a train ride back home, it's possible to slowly come down from one of the most incredibly powerful experiences in my brief 71+ years on this planet.

Catching up on this thread took me on a rollercoaster ride of emotions. Thank goodness for posters like the beautifully intelligent Veronique and the erudites Yorker & Logicel. And Jack Rawlinson, you seem to have had the same experiences as me.

bayareadude, I simply don't know where you're coming from. You must be young. Richard Dawkins is the marvelous human being you see on screen. He is as naturally shy as Christopher Hitchen's is the life of the party. Having known Dan Dennett for more than 15 years, I can say without doubt, Dan is exactly the same 25 hours a day whether he's on his magnificent sailboat, in a bar or in front of an auditorium filled with the most important people in the world

Anyway, this is an experience that must take me a a little time to digest into written form for those of you who showed interest. Please give me a few weeks.

59. AAI Convention webcam

Comment #74646 by VanYoungman on September 29, 2007 at 7:51 pm

Richard Dawkins and Dan Dennett ended a beautiful day with Richard presenting Dan with the RD Atheist Alliance International Award for Outstanding Achievement. In his intro he read from Dan's magnificent essay he wrote after nearly dying last year. Dan then gave a remarkable discourse on why there are still so many people who say they believe but really just believe in believing.

Part of all the ceremony were the splendidly dressed, charming, witty and delightful people who call themselves the Rational Response Squad. For the life of me, I don't understand some of you people.

I'm very tired and must catch the Acela home to Philadelphia early tomorrow. If this thread is still in existence Monday, I'll take some time and cover many of the highlights. Thank you Yorker & Veronique for your interest.

Peace,

60. AAI Convention webcam

Comment #74567 by VanYoungman on September 29, 2007 at 2:50 pm

Yes, Veronique, I am very lucky. I was just able to witness and listen to what is probably the bravest human being on this planet, Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

At the conclusion of her talk she answered many questions. The last questioner was Richard Dawkins. He asked, "May I nominate you for the Nobel Peace Prize?" Needless to say it brought the house down.

That was followed by a talk from Christopher Hitchens who began by telling Ms Ali that it was disgusting that she had to have an armed bodyguard in this free country but that there was not a person in the audience he believed that would not step between a terrorist bullet and her precious being. He was right. And yes, that brought the house down.

One of his major points was that we won't achieve our goal of eliminating religious repression and terrorism until we achieve true women's libertation. Amen

This is one gorgeously hell of a gathering.

Peace, Veronique. We are thinking about you and wish you were here.

Pace,

VY

61. AAI Convention webcam

Comment #74541 by VanYoungman on September 29, 2007 at 12:20 pm

You should all listen to Veronique and Yorker. I am presently here at the convention and have found the RRS most professional and helpful. Nothing like some of you have suggested. We have just spent 3 hours withand Eddie Tabash, Esq., E. Scott, and the delightful great-great grand son of Charles Darwin, M. Chapman. A brief break and in a few minutes Ayaan Hirsi Ali. It doesn't get better. Check the schedule.

62. Talking Action Figure Jesus

Comment #73578 by VanYoungman on September 25, 2007 at 11:01 am

Here I am in the middle of the mountains of north central Pennsylvania and what do I learn? That Wal-Mart can sell me a Talkin' Plastic Jesus. Hot Damn. Well, here's what I did. I drove the 21 miles into Montoursville PA,(the home of none other than Mike Mussina, the Yankee pitcher) where our nearest Wal-Mart is situated. And sure enough! There was my Jesus. It cost just $14.97 but they put a .90 tax on Jesus bringing my grand total to $15.87. And he Talks!

So you know what? I'm gonna take my Plastic Talkin'Jesus to the AII Convention this Thursday and because he beat that ole Reaper a year ago, I'm gonna give Dan Dennett my proud possession so he can hear it quote that sumbitch Mark tell us how nice it is to do nice things

63. Religion advances despite science (and thanks to Dawkins)

Comment #72964 by VanYoungman on September 23, 2007 at 4:19 pm

Yes DV82XL,

I agree. This has all the earmarks of death rales. When I see crap like Tristan Farrows', I sleep easier.

64. Do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in them?

Comment #72450 by VanYoungman on September 21, 2007 at 6:21 am

I just don't get it. A consummate whackjob (see his website) comes on this thread and in 4 short days has a bunch of you taking seriously a lot of crap about his Zeus or god or whatever. He then "proves" his argument by quoting a lot of nonsense from his Book of Pixies.

His best argument to date is "because I said so".

Then some of you think it's great practice for your confrontations against the religites. That's like saying its great for the Green Bay Packers practicing with Wellesley.

V. as usual is right. Let it go.

65. Against the grain: There are questions that science cannot answer

Comment #72013 by VanYoungman on September 20, 2007 at 6:13 am

Yes, Shifty Frog, a hearty welcome. And for the rest of you check out her wonderful web site.

http://fiberaddiction.blogspot.com/

66. Do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in them?

Comment #70874 by VanYoungman on September 17, 2007 at 6:00 am

Here's one:

Dawkins is a thief of time.

67. Good News: Both our Foundations are now Officially Recognized as Charities

Comment #70373 by VanYoungman on September 15, 2007 at 6:29 am

Agreed. Well said Prufrock.

Now we have to come up with some creative ideas how to send this wonderful foundation money. e.g. when Veronique or Norther Bright come up with one of their gems, someone responds "That's a $10.00 idea!" and then all of us who agree go to Pay Pal and send 10 bucks to the foundation. This will encourage people to send in great ideas while raising thousands for the Foundation.

68. Alex the Parrot

Comment #69732 by VanYoungman on September 12, 2007 at 12:39 pm

The scientific community has lost a major contributor. My condolences to Dr. Pepperberg and all those who worked with "that damned bird".

69. The Fleas Are Multiplying!

Comment #69459 by VanYoungman on September 11, 2007 at 10:18 am

Oh flea...
If Epeeist and pewkatchoo come
Can Billy be far behind?

70. The Fleas Are Multiplying!

Comment #69302 by VanYoungman on September 10, 2007 at 12:28 pm

Veronique,

Far from "crying in the wind..", your posts sing with intelligence and wisdom. I might add "ditto" to the posts of Northern Bright. You ladies are the fresh cool waters of this oasis in the desert of ignorance. I alsways look forward to your well reasoned words.

71. The Fleas Are Multiplying!

Comment #68761 by VanYoungman on September 8, 2007 at 1:24 pm

Now that the pissin' contest is just about over, it would be helpful if many of you would get back the real problem expressed eloquently in Jonathan Gore's post which indicates that some of these fleas are not really fleas but sincere naïve believers whose beliefs have been exposed in a most eloquent way by Dr. Dawkins. Some of the fleas are true fleas and are out to make a buck.

I would like help from all of you to determine which is which and who is who. This means read this stuff and post your analyses. After all I have students who from time to time ask intelligent questions. I want to be ready for them.

72. 'Jesus loves you' email

Comment #66235 by VanYoungman on August 29, 2007 at 12:13 pm

ksskidude:

Yes indeed. All the good stuff will be aired on line "live". You can purchase a password by going through the link listed on this site's (RD)web page by clicking on the AAI Convention Info.

73. 'Jesus loves you' email

Comment #66150 by VanYoungman on August 29, 2007 at 4:07 am

I'll be there Scooternyc. It should be fun to see how many regulars on this site do show up....especially the Brits.

74. Good luck, Dawkins!

Comment #63840 by VanYoungman on August 16, 2007 at 11:57 am

Ohnhai, I'll be a little stronger. Your memory is going.

75. The Out Campaign

Comment #59942 by VanYoungman on July 31, 2007 at 7:47 am

As I was scrolling down the middle of this thread, I was all prepared to pen a note expressing my delight about the way Dr. Dawkins can so concisely, brilliantly and kindly get us all to behave ourselves in polite discussion.

Then the Wee Flea interjects fresh from his holiday retreat with all sorts of the goodies that raise the hackles of Billy, Epeeist, Yorker, SG, Dr. Benway etc. and etc.,the all-stars of this magnificent site. I could hear all their sharpeners honing away. Needless to say, there was no disappointment. Even the good Dr. reminded us of one of the most brilliant books of science in the last few years.

As the comic said, "I love you guys!"

76. Interview with Dan Dennett on Danish TV

Comment #54458 by VanYoungman on July 7, 2007 at 8:37 am

Re:54403 by Lee C

Yes you can see a meme. It would be in the form of a neural cell assembly a la Donald O. Hebb. Some assemblies are stronger than others and urge the limbic system to pass them on. That's what makes them powerful replicators.

77. Floods are judgment on society, say bishops

Comment #53687 by VanYoungman on July 2, 2007 at 3:31 pm

Mea Culpa.

Re: My post #53625.

It was not a church group from New Jersey. The church van had apparently been rented to a group transporting Haitian workers to a cheap labor thingy.

As Woody Guthrie so well put...."the radio says they were just Deportees".

Ah well.

78. Floods are judgment on society, say bishops

Comment #53625 by VanYoungman on July 2, 2007 at 10:01 am

On perhaps, the most beautiful day of the year (clear skies, 70 Fahrenheit, clean air and low humidity) a few hours ago a single vehicle carrying 20 devout churchgoers from New Jersey went out of control on a highway just north of Philadelphia,Pa.and the result is one dead and 19 severely injured.

If the news reports are correct I suspect god does not like church vans to carry more than the 15 passengers required for safety. I guess he showed 'em.

79. His word: Attacking religion can seem like breaking a butterfly on a wheel

Comment #51554 by VanYoungman on June 23, 2007 at 11:31 am

Wee Flea and Billy;

If you ever stop posting your delightful repartee, I will start believing in a god again, perhaps Dan Dennett.

Somebody should start a fund to send these two to the AAI Convention in September. It would be a huge draw.

80. Debate between Richard Dawkins and Robert Winston

Comment #45784 by VanYoungman on May 29, 2007 at 8:55 am

Well said, B. Michael. You should drop in more often. Wise, cool, rational thinking is much appreciated by most of us.

81. Ape gestures 'show human links'

Comment #37448 by VanYoungman on May 4, 2007 at 1:36 pm

Goddammit. We are apes. We just lack some hair.

82. Christians and Atheists to Debate Existence of God in First-Ever 'NIGHTLINE FACE OFF'

Comment #37136 by VanYoungman on May 3, 2007 at 12:57 pm

There is no proper forum to relate to you all for what just happened in my Basic Logic College course, but here's the late-paper excuse for all time. The class was assigned to write an analysis of at least 3 of Richard's arguments he used in TGD. The paper was due today. My student told me that the reason she couldn't hand it in was that she took the book with her on her week's vacation to Oahu, Hawaii and while on an outing with some natives, she asked one young man to reach into her back pack and get her a bottle of sun screen. While he reached in her pack, he spotted her copy of The God Delusion, yanked it out and threw it over the cliff of Ka'anapali. Since she hadn't finished the book, she could not complete her paper in time. She explained the young man was a follower of Jah, the god who in the past threw non-believers over the cliff. Should I accept the excuse?

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

Comment #34466 by VanYoungman on April 24, 2007 at 6:45 am

DreaMasteR's post forces me to repeat what I wrote in the "Monday" post an hour ago and that is.....When all is said and done, the remarkable thing about this interview is that it probably succeeded in selling 20,000 to 30,000 more books and....most will be read.

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

Comment #34453 by VanYoungman on April 24, 2007 at 5:40 am

When all is said and done, the remarkable thing about this interview will be the sale of 20,000 to 30,000 more books and ...most will be read.

85. For God's Sake

Comment #31553 by VanYoungman on April 13, 2007 at 8:25 am

Krugman sure knows how to spoil the opening of trout season.

86. Richard Dawkins: Author of the Year!

Comment #28429 by VanYoungman on March 29, 2007 at 7:09 am

Yes, Congratulations.

As for the Templeton, Dan Dennett said it best..."Richard, if ever you should come into hard times....." and since right now hard times are out of the question, the hell with the Templeton. BUT

For the umteenth time it's time for the Nobel in Literature.

87. Happy 66th Birthday, Richard Dawkins!

Comment #27732 by VanYoungman on March 26, 2007 at 11:47 am

Aw Shucks, Now we're all crying.

I'm off to Dirty Franks to raise a Guinness to you Richard. May the gods o' the barley bless yee.

88. Gimme That Old Time Religion (Bashing)

Comment #27385 by VanYoungman on March 24, 2007 at 10:20 am

Clarkson's problem is simply one of utter jealousy.

89. New clues to why we see red

Comment #27381 by VanYoungman on March 24, 2007 at 10:08 am

karlJ:

The mice don't "learn" to hear with the transplant.

With the transplant they experience hearing. Not a subtle difference.

90. A Brief History of Disbelief

Comment #26530 by VanYoungman on March 20, 2007 at 6:12 am

This is excellent. It will make delicious fodder for those of us teaching in the philosophical areas of logic and ethics.

91. Richard Dawkins interview with Paula Zahn

Comment #25805 by VanYoungman on March 15, 2007 at 7:56 am

A bunch of neanderthal congressmen stuck it in during the McCarthy Era. (1950's) Nobody had the guts to stop it.

92. 160,000-year-old jawbone redefines origins of the species

Comment #25549 by VanYoungman on March 14, 2007 at 4:27 am

Teapot:

There is an excellent explanation of dating in Dawkins' The Ancestors Tale. You should own that book.

93. How my eyes were opened to the barbarity of Islam

Comment #24735 by VanYoungman on March 8, 2007 at 9:11 am

As intriguing as Dr. Chesler's polemic is, the 200+ responses to her TimesOnLine article are mindboggling. Catch them with the link at the top of this thread.

94. British Book Awards shortlists 2007

Comment #24691 by VanYoungman on March 8, 2007 at 4:25 am

One day, just one day MAYBE,

The Nobel for Literature.

95. The Dawkins Confusion: Naturalism ad absurdum

Comment #23719 by VanYoungman on March 2, 2007 at 7:55 am

#12MarcusA

You are right and the emotion is fear.

96. Faith

Comment #23087 by VanYoungman on February 26, 2007 at 7:52 am

What a wonderful Thread to come to start my work day. A disjointed, misinformed, rather histerical polemic in the Guardian followed by the inane stpetes being outed by the intractable BillySands. I think I'll go wash down a lobster with a delightful Chardonnay for lunch. It doesn't get much better.

97. Battle for Europe's secular values

Comment #22501 by VanYoungman on February 19, 2007 at 11:48 am

This Merkel-Pope thing has a ring of
anti-semitism in it.

98. The God Delusion

Comment #21846 by VanYoungman on February 11, 2007 at 7:45 am

Why do I get the feeling that Orr, his ilk and several participants in this thread are just plain afraid that Dawkins, Dennett and their ilk may just be right?

99. Dawkins Delusion (3rd article, Same Stupid Title)

Comment #19123 by VanYoungman on January 25, 2007 at 4:11 am

Fascinating! Would the Rev. Robertson be so kind as to elucidate on the 10% of the bible with which he has problems.

100. The Mystery of Consciousness

Comment #18650 by VanYoungman on January 22, 2007 at 8:01 am

"Hath not a etc.& etc an anterior cingulate?" If Dr. Pinker would read Antonio Demasio's writings on consciousness he could see how clearly Dan Dennett has solved the non "hard problem". The "hard problem" like the self is an illusion.