101. Gene map proves platypus is part bird, mammal and reptile

Comment #177056 by SilentMike on May 8, 2008 at 1:59 pm

What an asinine confusing headline. Creationists will have a field day with this. Similarity in the genetic mechanism that determines sex does not a proof of "part birdness" make. It doesn't mean that the platypus is a bird, just that the sex chromosomes of mammals as they are now evolved in our ancestors after they broke off from the ancestors of the platypus.

Stupid popular press. Leave it to them to take some minor thing, misrepresent it, and blow it way out of proportion.

Here's the Nature headline: Monotreme's genome shares features with mammals, birds and reptiles.

Now isn't that a lot better?

102. The detail in the Devil

Comment #176126 by SilentMike on May 6, 2008 at 4:15 pm

Well. I wanted to say something but everything's already been said, so I guess I'll just post a collection of some of the other posters' best thoughts on the subject:

Stupid, batshit crazy, Research in NOVEL form, waste of research money, unfortunately there's no shortage of morons in this world, "AAAHHHHHHHHHHH..... The Stupid! It BURNS!!!", trying for the 'prick-of-the-month' award, Further evidence that "theology" is not a proper academic subject at all

103. Is Liberal Catholicism Dead?

Comment #175997 by SilentMike on May 6, 2008 at 10:34 am

16. Comment #175959 by Spinoza

That isn't accurate. You see a lot of the priests didn't pick on prepubescent boys, but rather on teenagers. This isn't pedophilia per-se. These are homosexual people who's sexuality has been repressed to the degree of them becoming criminals. They didn't have any problem giving up women (and men aren't allowed anyway) so they became priests. But they had sexual urges, and the alter boys were there so...

Basically if you don't allow someone's to sexuality to develope there's gonna be trouble. The world is full of people who's view of sex has been seriously messed up.

104. Is Liberal Catholicism Dead?

Comment #175931 by SilentMike on May 6, 2008 at 8:54 am

In It's good to know that catholicism will always be there, providing us with an endless stream of examples for the evils and the follies of both blind faith at it's stupidest, and orgenaized religion at its most corrupt state.

105. Losing Our Spines to Save Our Necks

Comment #175428 by SilentMike on May 5, 2008 at 11:53 am

Way to go Sam.

The scilence has got to end on this. Islam really needs to take some blows that will force it to change. We're all at risk here.

106. A New Jack Chick Tract: Moving On Up!

Comment #174825 by SilentMike on May 3, 2008 at 3:43 pm

That thing is just dumb beyond words. Who in their right mind would fall for that? Hell! Who in their wrong mind would fall for that? There is no "there" there if you know what I mean.

Seriously. If I were a christian with half a brain (and there are some of those around) I would sue those people for libel and defemation of character. It makes Christianity look even dumber and more insane than it actually is. I would not have thought it possible before I first encountered these thigs. But there you go.

107. Anti-Evolution Film Misappropriates the Holocaust

Comment #173879 by SilentMike on May 1, 2008 at 10:12 am

88. Comment #173742 by quill

Lets see now: Jews, Homosexuals, Roma, Crippled, Socialists...

Excuse me. Hitler tried to exterminate atheists as a group? that's news to me. I wonder why Dawkins at al never mention that in debates. Evidence please.

The fact the Hitler had a plan to destroy what he saw as "The jewish race" does not negate the fact that he had others on his hit list.

108. Anti-Evolution Film Misappropriates the Holocaust

Comment #173634 by SilentMike on May 1, 2008 at 2:35 am

Does anyone know if the ADL has ever defended atheists under attack?

109. Bill Good Interviews Richard Dawkins

Comment #173323 by SilentMike on April 30, 2008 at 3:56 pm

Well that was fun.

It'd be nice to get some new questions though.

110. How to reconcile Richard Dawkins?

Comment #172111 by SilentMike on April 29, 2008 at 8:42 am

And perhaps that's because the personal Richard Dawkins is a lot more open to contrary evidence, and much more nuanced in his thinking, than the literary one.

111. Interview with Dan Dennett

Comment #168335 by SilentMike on April 25, 2008 at 3:27 am

22. Comment #168156 by Matt7895

Remember the 'debate' between Dan Dennett and Dinesh D'Souza? D'Souza literally screamed his way through, all the way.

112. Interview with Dan Dennett

Comment #168154 by SilentMike on April 24, 2008 at 4:00 pm

Just wondering. Will an audio/video version of that debate with Robert Winston we keep hearing about be made available any time soon? I really like the way Dennett very politely pulverizes his opponent in debates.

113. Sex for diploma offer caught on tape

Comment #164166 by SilentMike on April 19, 2008 at 4:51 pm

That's just lovely.

114. Sue Blackmore debates Alister McGrath

Comment #149189 by SilentMike on March 25, 2008 at 8:42 am

I have to say something about Dr. Blackmore. A lot of people here have expressed their positive impression of her. I've just finished listening to her opening statement and she's quite annoying. I mean a lot of what she says is interesting and/or true, but she says it all like she's very very excited and pumped up with caffeine or something. I have to say that I find this very irritating and personally I am not impressed with her style thus far. It's not just that she sounds silly. I don't like the feeling I get that she's trying to pull one over me with this perpetually excited tone. Whenever someone talks to me (or at me) like that I begin to suspect foul play. From he opening statement it seems that the woman lacks nuance.

115. I suppose it's due ('Expelled' review)

Comment #147935 by SilentMike on March 21, 2008 at 4:07 pm

OK. The movie is stupid and we've all had a good laugh, but one question remains. Will it be effective?

116. EXPELLED!

Comment #147631 by SilentMike on March 21, 2008 at 3:08 am

Well that's funny for at least 3 different reasons.

117. New Atheists Are Not Great

Comment #146852 by SilentMike on March 19, 2008 at 1:43 pm

90. Comment #145522 by LeeC

I've been saying this for a while now. Lets stop giving that clown the time of day. He isn't even selling that many books as far as I can tell. He wrote his book after Dawkins and Hitchens and his still trailing them (TGD softcover, GING and TPA) on amamzon.com. He doesn't even seriously exist in the uk site and I bet his hardly getting translated. Just ignore this nodody I say.

118. New Atheists Are Not Great

Comment #145315 by SilentMike on March 17, 2008 at 1:26 pm

I'll sue you guys. Don't think I won't. You're causing extreem emotional distress here.

On a different note, Is Christianity really doing well anywhere in the world like that article says? It's going down in the US and in europe, Islam is kicking it's ass in the middle east and africa, so where is it going well for Christianity?

"God is back. … Christianity is winning and secularism is losing. … God is the future and atheism is on its way out." Atheists may be selling books, but they're not making converts. Christianity is, especially in places and congregations that take Scripture seriouslyâ€"and joyously."

119. New Atheists Are Not Great

Comment #145301 by SilentMike on March 17, 2008 at 1:13 pm

67. Comment #145297 by Fiesoduck

I see the name Dinesh D'Souza and a lot of words. Is it worth reading?

120. New Atheists Are Not Great

Comment #145292 by SilentMike on March 17, 2008 at 1:08 pm

Her I never cared about. She's a total media whore who never bothers with making any sense. She just tries to get attention to herself by saying outrageous stuff.

Two people I don't care about had sex, and that piece of information still manages to gross me out. Interesting...

121. New Atheists Are Not Great

Comment #145282 by SilentMike on March 17, 2008 at 12:59 pm

Are we still obsessing about that clown? Who cares about his illiterate little pamphlet, his ranting and his shameless out of context quote-mining?

My position on the topic of Dinesh D`Souza is that I really don't care about his crap anymore. I've listened to what he had to say, my intelligence was sufficiently insulted and my time sufficiently wasted, and now I'm done. I really don't think that guy deserves any more of our time or attention. Ignoring him is the way to go. Attack books that people actually read and hold dear (like the Bible) and not flea books that ride on Richard Dawkins' coat tails.

122. I don't believe in atheists

Comment #143877 by SilentMike on March 14, 2008 at 2:33 pm

69. Comment #143815 by al-rawandi

Are you seriously condoning the murder of school children just because they happen to be studying in a religious establishment? This requires no response.

I would like nothing more than to get Shas out of the Knesset. They are a threat to my very freedom. However, this cannot at this moment be accomplished. And it isn't like there aren't unpleasant people in the Parliaments of other democracies. Another group of people I'd like out is the fundamentalist Muslim MKs.

1) I object to religious education. However I must state that your depiction is not representative. Jewish Schools don't come close to the Sharia schools in craziness.
2) Non-Jews can and have become citizens in the past. It is tougher though. This however does not refer to the attitude towards citizens which is what is required to make a convincing case for "apartheid". I find the exemption of the Ultra-Orthodox from service revolting (Arabs are also exempt for different historical reasons). This perversion is a result of the Ultra-Orthodox's political power. This is again the problem of religion mixing with politics. As I said luckily the lunatics are not running the asylum here, YET. But with the help they get from fair balanced people such as yourself I'm sure it's just a matter of time. The roads on the west bank where only Israeli citizen may pass (regardless of religion BTW) actually came after the peace treaty with the PLO was signed and are there because the regular roads became to unsafe for Jews since the PA didn't feel like acting against people who thought killing Jews was a good way to pass the time. Isn't it funny how every story has two sides?
3) I'm sorry but it's not a joke to me. I live here you see, and so does my family. The Zionist national movement that founded this country was a secular movement that founded a country for the persecuted Jews in their historical homeland and it managed to draft a pretty good document in that declaration. Again, the de-facto aid you supply the fanatics on both sides with your view is perplexing.
4) I'm guessing you mean the Irgun logo:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/he/e/ea/Irgun.svg
Your description of this was misleading. It comes nowhere near the Nile, and I doubt it even touches the Euphrates. It's simply a map of mandatory Palestine before the British divided it in two and gave the east bank to one of their Arab allies. In any case this is hardly a claim to the land of Jordan but rather a historical relic. The Likud voted in the Knesset for the peace treaty with the Kingdom of Jordan. In any case this has nothing to do with any Godly promise, unless you count the English government as a Deity. Furthermore I assure you that the Idea of an Israel from the Nile to the Euphrates is virtually non-existant in the Israeli political map.

Nice selective presenting of historical facts (And BTW, I happen to know that the claims about Deir Yassin are highly disputed). I seem to remember learning about massacres of Jews by Arabs in 1920, 1921, 1929, 1936, and 1937-1939. And these are just some of the important events. Recreational Jew killing was taking place all the time. And you know where this little conversation just got us? Absolutely nowhere. I can prove to you 10 times over how right I am since the murderous violence on the Arab side is quite rich and has always received full support from the leadership but that would be futile. You can either bicker endlessly, or you can try and work to solve the problem. I actually live here so I want to solve the problem.

A person who climbs on to a bus full of civilians and blows themselves up has committed murder, even if his people have been oppressed.

European antisemitism did not start with Hitler, and it's roots are in European Christianity. Lets not ignore over a thousand years of church led fun. Modern racist antisemitism rose during the 19th century from those roots. The Nazi party was made primarily of people raised as catholics who never denounced God or their Catholicism. So it's hardly unconnected to Christianity. There were no Jews in the Wehrmacht though some part Jews were conscripted. I wouldn't say they exactly had fun there, though I fail to see the relevance of this.

let's not go to the "Jews have thrived on this persecution" way. Though I may agree that the funds were not handled perfectly this is an internal matter.

Sure, if you pick and choose it's pretty disgusting. I doubt there are many states in existence today that can't be trashed even worse with a selective picking of facts and claims (The US for one. Running a slaver nation on land robbed from native nation after commiting a near complete genocide of those people. Nice). I know I live in a democracy struggling with many difficulties in a rough part of the world. I know that Arabs here, with all their just complaints, have more individual rights and freedoms than in any Arab country. I know that Jews here are safe from persecution. I'm not content with the situation as it is, but I'm not willing to throw it all out with the trash. I have to say again that your one-sided approach is unhelpful. This is exactly what I was refering to as what needs to change in the secular left.

123. I don't believe in atheists

Comment #143804 by SilentMike on March 14, 2008 at 12:42 pm

al-rawandi

1) As appealing as that idea sounds we don't do that kind of thing to people.
2) You are mistaken. There is no official racist apartheid in Israel. Unlike the situation that existed in south Africa there is no formal racist government policy. There is however racial tension and racism between two ethnic groups.
3) Israel's declaration of Independence insures equality for all, regardless of religion, race or sex. It isn't upheld to my satisfaction but that's what the document says.
4) I am not aware of the existence of such a map. In any case, this is not Likud policy, and even if it were, Likud is an opposition party in Israel, and unlike Palestinian opposition parties, does not hold its own private militia. And I do believe in a democracy people have a right to hold whatever maps they want. I assure you that in Israeli geography classes the maps represent the reality on the ground, which is more than can be said for our neighbors.

I'm afraid you may be somewhat uninformed (or maybe very partially informed) about the situation here.

No occupation, no matter how cruel (and as occupations go, this one's rather mild actually) justifies the intentional targeting of civilians "in Allah's name". What more Palestinian violence seems to get worse every time Israel retreats. This sends the wrong message, and is a sign of psychotic blinding hatred from the other side rather than rational opposition to foreign occupiers. I think the occupation should end but you can't sell that idea if every retreat and every concession results in worsening violence, and the spokespersons for the other side keep promising to throw us all into the sea.

The occupation is a result of a series of altercations. We can go back about hundred years into the past and argue about who started what, and my side actually has a pretty good case to make, but it would get us no closer to a solution. The solution is the formation of a Palestinian state in the territories occupied in 1967, but there are people, on both sides, being obstructive, and the craziness on one side feeds the craziness on the other (and religion plays a big part in the craziness on both sides). The problem with Gaza is that at this moment the lunatics there seem to be running the asylum, And the problem with the Palestinians in my opinion is that they've psyched themselves up to a point where they think that they can get more then is reasonable and possible for Israel to agree to. My side is far from perfect too. What it comes down to is that there's a conflict here that needs to be resolved, and if the continued targeting of Israeli civilians (Which is wrong, regardless of the circumstances) stops, and the Palestinians decide that they want a peaceful resolution more than they want to get every last grain of sand they think belongs to them then that would greatly help things along. Of course it would also help if the religious nuts from both sides suddenly disappeared.

hmmmmm... No. Still Christianity, which by the way is also responsible for the fact that Jews actually have been victimized quite a lot throughout history.

124. I don't believe in atheists

Comment #143742 by SilentMike on March 14, 2008 at 10:45 am

al-rawandi

I'm not forgetting for a moment. You have no idea what orthodox jews are up to over here (just wait till those guys get control of israel's nukes. That'll be a lot of fun). I just want to live in a nice modern, secular, liberal democracy, and I don't mind sharing it with fellow citizens of arab descent. Nor will I mind if Palestine becomes a free nation in its own right. I just want them to stop trying to kill me first.

And, I'm not forgeting judaism's worst offence either. The creation of a small sect of lunatics called Christianity that took the world by storm.

125. I don't believe in atheists

Comment #143726 by SilentMike on March 14, 2008 at 10:23 am

What an utter waste of my time. I can't take this "everyone who disagrees with me is like The Fascists" nonsense anymore. How about making a lucid point once in a while instead of slinging mud around.

...and if I had been born in Gaza, especially given the horrific Israeli assault at the moment in Gaza, and had stood by for 60 years while the outside world ignored the injustices committed against the Palestinian people, who knows how I'd react?

126. Hebrew University researcher: Moses was tripping at Mount Sinai

Comment #138466 by SilentMike on March 4, 2008 at 11:57 am

Probably not Moses since he didn't exist, but maybe other people in the region from whom these stories came.

127. The coming religious peace

Comment #132285 by SilentMike on February 24, 2008 at 2:51 pm

73. Comment #132276 by Goldy

I hope you're right. I just don't think that we can afford to put all of our eggs in that basket. Att the very least we should try and push back the crazies to give the moderate people the time they need (plus it may show that crazyness ain't working).

128. The coming religious peace

Comment #132258 by SilentMike on February 24, 2008 at 2:18 pm

70. Comment #132200 by Goldy

That's nice, or at the very least better than the crazy people who want to kill everybody. Problem is as I said I can't count on "Allah is love" winning over "Allah is deadly intolarance". And even if it does, the more of us don't believe in any kind of Allah, the better.

129. The coming religious peace

Comment #132196 by SilentMike on February 24, 2008 at 12:47 pm

Very interesting, but as for the future I'm afraid this degree of optimism may not be what's called for.

The data can be read like this, and the Mr. Wolfe may be correct, but it also a darker side. It is true that over time societies have secularised but I wouldn't count any chickens before they're hatched. The pious are making an effort to lay their children hard-boiled in the mind.

Religion is adaptive. Alan Wolfe sees this as a blessing because it means that religion can evolve into a benign entity in a tolerant affluent secular environment. But religion may also develop a coting to protect itself and it's crazy intolerant bigoted ideas from rational thinking and common civility. Indeed, what will be of secularism and progress if the second trend overpowers the first? What will happen to the positive trend of secularisation if the dominionists manage to get enough influence to start rolling back social progress in the US? What happens if the moderating Muslims in Europe get drowned out by fundamentalists who want Sharia law?

To put it simply, we can't know which trend will win. The match may be quite close. In any case we can't afford complacence in the matter. The solution is, as always, to behave as if our actions will be the thing that makes the difference, and support laws and public attitudes that will slow down the growth of religious fundamentalism. And of course, getting as many people as possible away from these silly belief systems is our best bet. The more rationalists there are, the more pressure there is on the faithful not to push public discourse beyond the limits of credulity, since we simply won't have it.

130. The Lava Lizard's Tale

Comment #131347 by SilentMike on February 22, 2008 at 9:47 am

I just can't wait. I want the next two tales.

131. Whale Evolution

Comment #131346 by SilentMike on February 22, 2008 at 9:46 am

That was swell. Please keep giving us this stuff.

132. Machines 'to match man by 2029'

Comment #128539 by SilentMike on February 17, 2008 at 10:43 am

Agreed. AI is not even close to emulating complex intelligent behaviour. I think we are in agreement about the other stuff as well.

133. Machines 'to match man by 2029'

Comment #128536 by SilentMike on February 17, 2008 at 10:25 am

13. Comment #128530 by Mitchell Gilks

Hardware isn't actually the problem. As you yourself mentioned Moore's law will inevitability solve that sooner or later. I don't get your point on improvising and things of that sort. Are you under the impression that human ingenuity is some sort of "magic" that computers can't, in principle, pull off?

I see no reason to believe that you and I are anything more than computers with some nifty software and hardware.

134. Machines 'to match man by 2029'

Comment #128531 by SilentMike on February 17, 2008 at 10:16 am

"I've made the case that we will have both the hardware and the software to achieve human level artificial intelligence with the broad suppleness of human intelligence including our emotional intelligence by 2029," he said.

Humanity is on the brink of advances that will see tiny robots implanted in people's brains to make them more intelligent, said Ray Kurzweil.

The engineer believes machines and humans will eventually merge through devices implanted in the body to boost intelligence and health.

135. Feb 12th: Happy Darwin Day!

Comment #125787 by SilentMike on February 12, 2008 at 4:04 am

Happy Darwin Day :)

136. Why Darwin matters

Comment #124144 by SilentMike on February 8, 2008 at 1:08 pm

Great piece. One remark though.

Although Most of the "interesting stuff" happens within species it would be inaccurate to assert -if I remember "The Blind Watchmaker" correctly- that species selection is not something that happens and has an effect at all. This could be understood from reading this piece, and is not strictly true. I think one should be careful not to overstate one's point so as not to have one common misconception replaced by another. Clearly species selection can and does happen (some species end up in blind alleys and die off, others manage to find a path that leads to survival), although complexity itself evolves within a species.

137. The New Atheist Movement

Comment #124138 by SilentMike on February 8, 2008 at 12:47 pm

So basically their answer is to power up the indoctrination machine? Well, I guess we can't stop them. Here's hoping the Christian anvil, old and rusted, disintergrates at long last under the unrelenting attack from reason.

Same goes for all Islam, Judaism and all other anvils.

138. Admitting that you have no religion is not politically correct

Comment #122042 by SilentMike on February 4, 2008 at 2:29 pm

persnickety pecksniff

139. Atheists to celebrate at Darwin Day in Coconut Creek

Comment #122025 by SilentMike on February 4, 2008 at 2:15 pm

I don't know what the fuss is about. I like Darwin day. What's wrong with celebrating "science and humanity" as the official Darwin day.org site says? What's wrong with having the opportunity to popularise science and not superstition? The opportunity to take the family to a museum? The opportunity to buy a stuffed dinosaur doll?

It's not just for atheist. It's for everyone who wants to join in. Why can't we have some fun? And who cares what the fundamentalists say? They hate us anyway. The hell with the fundamentalists. I want to have some fun.


33. Comment #121973 by GBile

I do not see any harm in holding Darwin-days, Pi-days, E-days, Relativity-days or what have you. Put a lot of science in, have fun, bring the kids and grandpa.
The last thing I would do is worrying about ''what would the 'believers' think''.

140. Are Darwin's Theories Fact or Faith Issues?

Comment #121529 by SilentMike on February 3, 2008 at 2:43 pm

That wasn't even close.

I often wonder if it's worth it to debate those people, since we don't want to give them respectability. But PZ Myers' control over that debate was so obvious, that it must have stung some listeners into thinking. And that IS worth it.

I mean come on! Whales? That was even on National Geographic. Do your homework!

141. Scientists discover way to reverse loss of memory

Comment #119489 by SilentMike on January 31, 2008 at 4:27 pm

Gee. Reading this one could think that the human mind actually had something to do with the workings of the human brain.

But seriously, I think we should be careful about this. I want to believe this find is as good as it could be, but the brain is a tricky bugger, and so is memory (Plus, there are serious limitations on the experiments you can do on live human brains, since they are attached to, and are the core of, live human beings). We don't know what was triggered there, and if it'll help Alzheimer's patients. I hope it will, but I also hope we'll know not to fool ourselves. Any chance of figuring out the workings of the brain lies in conducting a thorough study while maintaining a skeptical attitude about what we think we find. This is the biggest thing we've ever tackled.


21. Comment #118812 by Geoff

I wonder, though, what (if anything) was done to verify whether his "park" memory was accurate.

142. Dawkins is third most prolific internet Briton

Comment #117747 by SilentMike on January 29, 2008 at 2:17 pm

2. Comment #117662 by RascoHeldall

Who the hell is Imogen Heap?!

143. Math Religion Trouble

Comment #116760 by SilentMike on January 27, 2008 at 10:50 am

Another book.

The more the merrier I say. We'll drown them; surround them with reason from all sides, till they have to breath some of it in.

144. Lewis Black - The Devil's Handiwork

Comment #115104 by SilentMike on January 23, 2008 at 3:02 pm

I've seen this (several times) a while ago. It's a great bit. Lewis Black is a very funny guy. I really like the bits and pieces of his comedy I catch on YouTube from time to time. I think it wouldn't really be news to anybody if I mentioned how humor is an important tool in addressing these fairy worshiping clowns.

145. George Scales, War Hero and Generous Friend of RDFRS

Comment #111438 by SilentMike on January 14, 2008 at 3:26 pm

Get well soon George. Thank you for all the things that you've done for rationalists and for all civilized human beings from WWII on. Thank you for lending a hand to save my grandparents from the Nazis, and thank you for lending a hand to save us all from fundamentalism. Thank you for doing more than your share in helping to make this world a better place to live in.

I can only hope to be able to say I did the same (More then my part that is. I'm hoping no one will ever have to fight the Nazis again) when I get to your age.

146. Richard Dawkins on The Late Edition with Marcus Brigstocke

Comment #109912 by SilentMike on January 10, 2008 at 3:36 am

That was swell.

147. US 'doomed' if creationist president elected: scientists

Comment #108582 by SilentMike on January 7, 2008 at 9:31 am

I think that if Ronald Mcdonald ran in america, he could win. Question is what party would he join, and what would be his stance on evolution.

148. US 'doomed' if creationist president elected: scientists

Comment #108580 by SilentMike on January 7, 2008 at 9:25 am

...religion and science are two different ways of knowing about the world.

149. Sam Harris debate with Rabbi David Wolpe

Comment #108274 by SilentMike on January 6, 2008 at 11:19 am

I hope this doesn't sound bigoted (or self-serving) but I find that jewish debaters are generally brighter and have a better sense of humor than christian or muslim debaters. It's not that they have better arguments (because there are no good arguments) but rather that they know how to make the best of what little they have, and then and with a good joke (unlike D'Souza who always forces the same tired quips through in what is without a doubt a crime against humor). A lot of what judaism is about is learning and reading and all that other stuff most christians aren't too fond of, and this creates a better atmosphere for thinkers (though the more orthodox/conservative a jewish community gets, the more restricted is the area of "desirable" thought).

There are of course exceptions to this rule. In israel I've had the displeasure of encountering several very narrow and very dim missionaries for the religious jewish cause.

It was a lot of fun listening to the rabbi in between the bad points he was making. And remember, they sound bad to us but not to the less informed. And as for repeating the same point about "wrong cathegory", he just felt that this was the best thing he had, so he repeated it. And it really was. I mean, what else coule he have said?

150. Mother Nature is Not Our Friend

Comment #105936 by SilentMike on January 2, 2008 at 7:22 am

I agree with Harris. Nature is not our friend,nor is it our enemy for that matter. It is mearly the reality in which we live, and we should use the tools we have available to us to improve our lives. Why is it OK to have heart surgery but not to use genetic engineering to improve your heart so it doesn't need surgery?

"Transhumanism" is just a BOO word. Much like "atheism". If you could live for a thosand years and remember a million names by heart, wouldn't you? Well, you don't have to. But I would, given the chance.