101. Neanderthals May Have Had Gene for Speech

Comment #80106 by Vadjong on October 20, 2007 at 2:08 am

Ridelo :

At least you admit there IS intelligence.
You're not such a pessimist, after all !

102. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams criticizes popular atheist writers

Comment #78635 by Vadjong on October 14, 2007 at 1:33 am

BTW : WOW, I'm astounded how such a unremarkable non-article can spawn such a rich plethora of comments, full of wit, wisdom, literacy and even poetry (as ever, actually). I know which side I am on.

"There are few things more annoying than people saying 'I know what you mean.'"

Does he have this backwards, or what ? One of the 'few' things more annoying is people saying : "I refuse to let your insights dispell the fog in my head. I'm not hearing you ! LALALALAAA !"

103. Dawkins - what can't he be blamed for?

Comment #75344 by Vadjong on October 2, 2007 at 11:26 am

Ever since Dawkins invented this God character, the world has gone to hell, apparently.

104. Letters: Theology has no place in a university

Comment #74931 by Vadjong on October 1, 2007 at 6:41 am

Holy scriptures are Sci-Fi from the year zero, so to all Goddies out there : Get A Life ! It's just tired old mythology.

105. Letters: Theology has no place in a university

Comment #74928 by Vadjong on October 1, 2007 at 6:35 am

serious academic theologians : God Trekkies.

The Bible belongs on the shelf next to Egyptian, Greek, Hindu, Norse, Mayan, Astrological, Wicca, Vampiric, Tolkien, Star Wars, Harry Potter, etc. mythology.
For people who like that sort of stuff and who enjoy some cosplay to go at conventions and the like, I have no problem. I am a bit of a nerd too.

Just don't claim that anybody else needs to be 'saved' into your fantasy or that it is anything more than a cultish or folkloristic hobby. Thank you.

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

Comment #72941 by Vadjong on September 23, 2007 at 3:40 pm

evolutionary theory as an inherently atheistic doctrine - which could be construed as a matter of faith -

EXCUSE ME ??!!
Talk about logic beyond belief !

107. CNN Request for 'I-Reports' on religion

Comment #65281 by Vadjong on August 23, 2007 at 1:00 pm

"Are you one of the millions of people who live by faith? Do you believe religion is under attack in modern society? Have the lines blurred too much or not enough between religion and politics?"

A. YES. Ok, so I lied to get through the automated screening. You may call me a troll, but I will not burn in hell for eternity over it.

B. In the sense that cancer is under attack from chemo therapy, then NO, we're just starting diagnosis.

C. All religion has ever been, is about politics. Power of the priests over their flock, and all that. All holy books are political manifestoes that got to be dogmatized beyond their sell-by-date.


I don't see the point of actually sending in these rather caustic replies, since all of you above did such a splendid job already.
Thanks for all the beautiful words.

108. Fossils in Kenya Challenge Linear Evolution

Comment #62348 by Vadjong on August 9, 2007 at 11:01 am

phasmagigas,

you make sense to me, but would it not rapidly become far more confusing if each and every generation of every living thing had to have a new species name to avoid 'misconception for descendedness' ?

109. Fossils in Kenya Challenge Linear Evolution

Comment #62338 by Vadjong on August 9, 2007 at 10:26 am

phasmagigas,
what I mean is : bacteria didn't go extinct as soon as a more complex lifeform evolved. So Homo Erectus may evolve from Homo Habilis, but then both branches may coexist (till rapture hits for one of them).
An ancestral branch may even outlast their evolutionary offspring.

110. Fossils in Kenya Challenge Linear Evolution

Comment #62334 by Vadjong on August 9, 2007 at 10:10 am

Dr. Leakey said, "Their coexistence makes it unlikely that Homo erectus evolved from Homo habilis."

I don't see why this follows.
We coexist today with apes, fish and bacteria that share our ancestry.

I recommend ofcourse 'The Ancestor's Tale' (but y'all have read that anyways.)

111. Don't eat at the Outback Steakhouse on Route 3...

Comment #59711 by Vadjong on July 30, 2007 at 11:02 am

Darn, people ! THEY are ON to us !

I WARNED you not to leak any sensitive INTELL about the KillGod(tm) program, even as a joke.

These Righteous Response dudes are a serious DANGER to our PLANS !

From NOW on, keep all strategic discussions STRICTLY on our SECRET 'atheist special ops' forum that these SHEEPFUCKERS won't be able to find.

Remember : smalltalk KILLS !

112. Lecture on Neo-Darwinism

Comment #52892 by Vadjong on June 28, 2007 at 12:22 pm

My T-shirt would read :

4 billion years
of tinkering and
THIS
is what you get !

(read it any way you like)

113. 'I have never been happier' says the man who won gold but lost God

Comment #52605 by Vadjong on June 27, 2007 at 1:03 pm

Should the IOC put "faith in (a g-)God" on their prohibited list ?

114. The infinite wisdom of Richard Dawkins

Comment #51820 by Vadjong on June 25, 2007 at 6:10 am

This so-called "argument" that evolutionism leads to atheism is utterly bogus and only has meaning for faithheads.

Evolution does not lead to atheism. REALITY does.

And evolution happens to be a (well tested) part of our current understanding of this reality. So there.

115. The Cyclic Universe: A Talk With Neil Turok

Comment #42681 by Vadjong on May 19, 2007 at 3:34 am

Looking for elementary particles in cognition (for example Penrose's Emperor's New Mind and now this holographic principle) is totally and utterly completely the wrong direction to take ! Even neurons themselves (orders of magnitude bigger than molecules, let alone quantum particles) are already too SMALL an explanation for my sense of 'me'. Memes emerge from the complexities of lots of neuronal interactions as a proces, but are not "made" of neurons (as quarks are "made" of strings).
There is no marble in the center of a neat stack of envelopes and you won't find it by looking deeper into the glue atoms that make up this illusion.

New-Age bottom-up explanations will always bounce off against Cartesian dualism of 'real' matter and some illusory sort of 'mind-stuff'. After killing off God and getting rid of the anthropic principle, we'll still have a big struggle to get our head around our selfes.

116. Pale Blue Dot

Comment #41046 by Vadjong on May 15, 2007 at 12:09 pm

I got my copy of Cosmos years ago from CarlSagan.com, together with the 2-disc set of the music from the series.

In answer to Comment #40892 by keith :
The music used in this clip is a couple of notes from a fragment of an excerpt of a piece from the first half of the album Heaven & Hell by Vangelis, repeated on a loop. The longer fragment is the main title theme of the series and is since often referred to as Heaven & Hell/Theme from Cosmos.

They looped the signature opening notes, because the rest of the piece builds too strong to be used under spoken word. I agree that a lot of the music on the series has not aged well and has been done to death since (The Pachelbel Canon, anyone ?).
Still, this bit would have to be the first choice here.

117. Consciousness Comes from DNA

Comment #39945 by Vadjong on May 12, 2007 at 11:19 am

A great starting point into the science & philosophy of consciousness is still :
The Mind's I, Fantasies and Reflections on Self and Soul ; (composed and arranged by) Douglas Hofstadter and Daniel Dennett, 1981

118. Atheist offers to send letters post-Rapture

Comment #38896 by Vadjong on May 9, 2007 at 12:18 pm

After this rapture thingie gets rid of all the repressed tight-asses, let's turn the now(/then) vacant Vatican into an adult amusement park (St. Peter's would make a great nightclub). We no longer have to hide the fact that we're sinful to the core, so LET'S PARTY like there's no tomorrow.
Order your (reasonably prized) tickets now.

119. Your favorite book in the last 25 years?

Comment #37572 by Vadjong on May 5, 2007 at 2:59 am

Just to mention something different (and imho WAY UP there) from all the usual suspects above :

FIGMENTS OF REALITY : The evolution of the curious mind - Ian Stewart & Jack Cohen, 1997 *)

Also : The Collapse Of Chaos : Discovering simplicity in a complex world - Ian Stewart & Jack Cohen, 1994 (reissued 2000)

Fiction :
Diaspora - Greg Egan (+oeuvre)
The Reality Dysfunction - Peter F. Hamilton (+sequels)
The Diamond Age - Neal Stephenson (also : The Baroque Cycle)
Foucault's Pendulum - Umberto Eco
Hyperion - Dan Simmons (+sequels, also : Ilium a.o.)
Chung Kuo : The Middle Kingdom - David Wingrove (+sequels)
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card (+sequels)
The 'Culture' books by Iain M. Banks
Number9Dream - David Mitchell (also : Ghostwritten)
House Of Leaves - Mark Z. Danielewski (still to read : Only Revolutions)

*) - I'd like to recommend chapter 9. We Wanted to Have a Chapter on Free Will, but We Decided not to, so Here It Is , but you'll probably want to read it anyway (or maybe not), so I won't.

120. Growing Up in the Universe: 2-Disc DVD Set

Comment #29198 by Vadjong on April 2, 2007 at 3:52 am

Great,
I remember watching this, but missing one or two episodes.
I'll order my copy now, and wait for the subtitled issue to buy for friends and family. (Wish I could make these myself, because most subtitles on television here are utterly clueless.)

7. Comment #29184 by Ian :
What exactly are you going to do with your copy if you don't own a TV-set ? ;-)

121. 'The Evolution of Homer' Intro

Comment #28799 by Vadjong on March 31, 2007 at 12:55 am

Almost exactly Fat Boy Slim's "Right Here, Right Now" video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucs6kKHxfz0

122. Happy 66th Birthday, Richard Dawkins!

Comment #27674 by Vadjong on March 26, 2007 at 4:43 am

Happy Birthday, Richard Dawkins !

Even against better judgement, I'll
always keep faith in human intelligence.
Thank you for proving me right !

123. Kissing Hank's Ass

Comment #26114 by Vadjong on March 17, 2007 at 3:03 am

We're all a-Hankists, I just kick one ass further.

124. An apology to Peter Kay

Comment #25068 by Vadjong on March 10, 2007 at 2:02 am

Why apologize at all !?
If you make a comment in general, it is always going to be personal to all commented-upons. Saying: 'Sorry, it was not personal' is like saying 'Don't mind what I said, it was just soundwaves in warmed-up air.' Say instead: 'I'm not offending you personnally, just this crazy idea that has taken root in your head. I hope to have helped you reconsider.' Says I.

125. 'Don't discuss polar bears': memo to scientists

Comment #25065 by Vadjong on March 10, 2007 at 1:42 am

MMMmm, are polar bears the new panda's ?

Dear God, please design some nifty polar bear flippers. Evolution takes too long.

While watching The Natural World with the exhausted, famished polar bear attacking a colony of seals that were way too big for him (it?), my dad (oblivious to the foreignese commentary) laughed at the stupidity of the bear. My eyes already watering, I choked and put him rather brusquely in his place. Sorry dad. (I've given him the translated book and subtitled DVD of An Inconvenient Truth to make amends.)

126. Pope is warned of a green Antichrist

Comment #23924 by Vadjong on March 3, 2007 at 2:44 pm

So the Antichrist is a LGM.
Tell me more, tell me more!

127. Senator calls for answer on creation of universe

Comment #23918 by Vadjong on March 3, 2007 at 2:28 pm

The celestial teapot argument as blackmail. You can't proof the non-existence of X, ergo anything else I say goes.
Never heard the story about the Babelfish either, I guess.

Why not say to Finney (&co.): 'Okay, I see the truth now, you convinced me that your brain could not possibly be the product of any evolution.'
Not demanding him to do anything, just giving an opportunity to say, 'You're right. There is no evolution.' ;-)

Another thought : If he can proof the bible was not written by Satan, he can teach ID all he likes. (If he says yes, Satan does not exist, so neither does God. If he can't proof it, the bible must be considered evil beyond words.)

128. If God is talking to you, too, Mr Cameron - don't listen

Comment #23422 by Vadjong on February 28, 2007 at 2:28 pm

Now we know that going to church has no connection with telling the truth.

Right on ! Easy to take this out of context.

I recognise that teaching religious belief may be a good way, perhaps the best way, to impart a sense of right and wrong to children [...]

Just a sense of wrong, as I understand the rest of the article correctly.

129. Religion in Conflict: Are 'Evangelical Atheists' Too Outspoken?

Comment #23408 by Vadjong on February 28, 2007 at 1:37 pm

Atheism is a religion like not eating cheese is a diet. (??)

130. James Cameron finds grave of Jesus & Son

Comment #23402 by Vadjong on February 28, 2007 at 12:52 pm

With all these DNA-samples, should it not be possible to find God's living great-grand children ?

131. 'God Is Not a Moderate'

Comment #22470 by Vadjong on February 19, 2007 at 5:56 am

cont.:

But wouldn't "truly honest, fearless inquiry" into religious faith begin by asking how Christianity came to exist at all?

Be careful what you wish for ! It appears to me that you're not fully up-to-date with the latest archeo-/theological findings. This is precisely what I meant by your faith being just a part in the greater scheme of things and completely open to rational scientific inquiry. There's tons of literature out there, you'll be amazed !

132. 'God Is Not a Moderate'

Comment #22469 by Vadjong on February 19, 2007 at 5:45 am

My response to "The Unclean Glass"
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2007/02/the_unclean_gla_1.html

There is more wisdom, depth, range, glory, nuance and truth in my tradition than can be dreamt of in your rationalism.

Dear Andrew,
Sorry to say this, but you grossly underestimate "our" rationality. Your entire contingent history is neatly imbedded in the far larger scheme of the universe "we" "believe" in. (This Us vs. Them thinking says a lot about the tribalism of religions and it disgusts me.) Perhaps you have not noticed, but rationalists are fascinated by all manner of human endeavours, including all arts, religions, cultures and any contingency you care to come up with. They're all humanity's accomplishments, thought out and created by the genius of human imagination. From cavepaintings to the Sistine Chapel to the Hubble space telescope. And not just the historic results that we can enjoy in musea or on the spot, but also the inner workings of the creators themselves, by studying the brain, mind and cognition. Unweaving the rainbow doesn't make it go away. Au contraire, it deepens our wonder 'way beyond' (your phrase) the parochialism of some singleminded bankrupt crede.
On a more jokingly personal note : Why do you insist on being damned and going to hell ? Your chosen faith is quite clear about talking to philosophers. You're not allowed to. Probably because God knows full well that His Throne rests on vacuum and his followers don't stand a chance in any reasonable debate. You're so far behind on points against Sam Harris that you have only two options left : 1) admit you're a fundamentalist, like every believer will eventually have to acknowledge (moderation in belief is utterly hopeless), or 2) see the light. Join and learn to know the rest of humanity. Save yourself from eternal damnation by just saying these simple words : "I no longer belief in the Holy Spirit."

133. Researchers find 6,000-year-old fossil evidence

Comment #22463 by Vadjong on February 19, 2007 at 2:00 am

Brontosaur meat tastes like bland chicken, so a bit of strong seasoning is in order. (My ma had this wonderful recipe, I'll have to ask her.)
Never tasted T-Rex, though. For obvious reasons. Guess it would be more like ostrich, or sumthing.

134. A Familiar and Prescient Voice, Brought to Life

Comment #22424 by Vadjong on February 17, 2007 at 4:15 am

If ever the Zeitgeist was ripe for "Ethos" to be made, it must be now.

135. Researchers find 6,000-year-old fossil evidence

Comment #22423 by Vadjong on February 17, 2007 at 4:10 am

To the first comments above :

No, the title is perfectly clear. It is telling, however, how much your brain gets sensitized to the number "6000 years old".
If there are 100,000 year old fossils, there are also 6000 years old fossils. There was more happening that day than just the creation of the earth by God.

136. World's oldest rocks show how Earth may have dodged frozen fate of Mars

Comment #20791 by Vadjong on February 6, 2007 at 3:00 pm

3. Comment #20786 by NeoGothic

it's so easy to sound like a fundy. All you have to do is dispute hard evidence and say [insert god of choice here] did it.

By revealing the trick, you've carelessly destroyed the magic. I hate you for spoiling my sincerely felt joy.
Btw. How do you know it's pink anyway, if it's invisible ?? Ha ! Explain me that, you utter fool !

137. Activation Of Brain Region Predicts Altruism

Comment #18891 by Vadjong on January 23, 2007 at 1:31 pm

Is my baloney detection kit hyperactive, or does this "scientific research" seem a bit dodgy to me ?
It could be a case of the usual journalistic misrepresentation, but these methods and conclusions as described don't impress me much.

138. Intelligent design to feature in school RE lessons

Comment #18884 by Vadjong on January 23, 2007 at 12:45 pm

I'd like to see stuff like "Why People Believe Weird Things" by Shermer as a starting point on any curriculum.

139. Zeus devotees worship in Athens

Comment #18634 by Vadjong on January 22, 2007 at 6:06 am

As consecutive institutionalized religions seem to get more and more delusionally dangerous through the ages while their congregations get larger (monotheism as monoculture), is de-evolution of relimeme-complexes the way forward ? %-)
Answers on a postcard.

[Sorry, this took me 40 min. to compose, so I'll darn well post it as well. I was going for something tongue-in-cheek, though.]

140. Unscientific American: US Almost Last in Understanding Evolution

Comment #18623 by Vadjong on January 22, 2007 at 5:26 am

Alternate suggestions for choice of wording are welcome.

For "national security" please insert "Rational security"

141. Noam Chomsky Interview on Faith

Comment #18503 by Vadjong on January 21, 2007 at 10:02 am

IMO Chomsky came up with some pretty interesting answers to extremely LOADED questions. I wonder what impact (if any) he had on the interviewer's mindset (and by extension, that of the audience).

142. Mr. Deity

Comment #18362 by Vadjong on January 20, 2007 at 4:12 am

I didn't know God was such a nice guy ! What a sweet man. Where did they find him ? Is there a fanclub ?

143. Radical cleric sparks fury in Australia

Comment #18305 by Vadjong on January 19, 2007 at 1:36 pm

In (somewhat) related news : there is apparently some kind of exodus underway of Imams out of Holland. They don't feel welcome because islam gets associated with terrorism (allegedly).

144. Deliver us from the god delusion that imperils our humanity

Comment #18302 by Vadjong on January 19, 2007 at 1:18 pm

TinySaint, is your aureole wrapped a bit too tight round your braincase ?

black = evil ; white = good ??
Are you racist ?! (no, you just think it dull, right ? BTW, speaking of right : isn't "left" also just wrong ? Let's write on the right side only, shall we ?)

Please, keep sharing your earthshaking wisdom with us. It's sooo believable.

145. Deliver us from the god delusion that imperils our humanity

Comment #18301 by Vadjong on January 19, 2007 at 12:59 pm

My hope for 2007 is that the world will draw just a fraction closer to realising that we are all part of one big tribe on a very fragile planet, and that people who parrot the prejudices of their particular creed will start to realise how toxic their belief system is to any hope that the innate decency of humanity will ultimately triumph.

Now who is the believer ? Let's all pray together.

146. Wash. school board restricts Gore's global-warming film

Comment #17784 by Vadjong on January 16, 2007 at 11:16 am

Atheists don't belong in churches, neither does God. He never puts an alm in the poor box. (And He sings too loud.)

147. For Human Eyes Only

Comment #17602 by Vadjong on January 15, 2007 at 4:51 am

8. Comment #17401 by Sancus (on making eyecontact)

A clear case of sexual selection, then (like the peacock's tail). Men who are polite leave more offspring.
I wonder what went wrong with this picture.

148. Federal Way schools restrict Gore film

Comment #17599 by Vadjong on January 15, 2007 at 4:31 am

Thanks for responding to the quote from "An Inconvenient Truth".
I get the impression most agree with comment #17367 by briancoughlanworldcitizen : Odds are he knows it's crap and is indulging in some unavoidable pandering.

I never believed for a second that such a clear-thinking, straight-talking man in the rest of his book, could possibly mean such an obviously incoherent remark.
Elsewhere he is far more articulate and outspoken in his disgust for the Bush administration's anti-science policies.

In view of the importance of his message and the targeted audience, however, can he afford to "come out of the closet" ?

149. Federal Way schools restrict Gore film

Comment #17352 by Vadjong on January 13, 2007 at 2:27 am

Quote from "An Inconvenient Truth" p.160/161

"I believe that when God created us (and I do believe evolution was part of the process God used), He shaped us, breathed life and a soul into us, and then set us free within nature, not seperate from it, giving us intimate connections to all aspects of it. The relationship we have to the natural world is not a relationship between "us" and "it." It is us, and we are of it."

Al Gore, 2006

Your comments, please.

150. Richard Dawkins' Report Card

Comment #17049 by Vadjong on January 10, 2007 at 12:36 pm

Well, a fair lake of ink is still being spilt by and over our Richard, so not much has changed, then.

Inky, Dinky, Dawkinky. Na nana na naaa !