Comments by decius

1451. Richard Dawkins slaps creationists into the primordial soup

Comment #217694 by decius on July 24, 2008 at 2:35 pm

We must nurture him

As much as one should nurture an infestation of pubic lice.

1452. Richard Dawkins slaps creationists into the primordial soup

Comment #217674 by decius on July 24, 2008 at 2:21 pm

Comment #217646 by Steve Zara

It is part of Richard's genius as a communicator that they could be read by almost anyone

As further refutation of the old creationist canard that O'Brien has unsuccessfully attempted to perpetuate here, of all places, it should be mentioned that publishing research in zoology and biology is no longer part of Dawkins' job description as holder of the Chair for the Public Understanding of Science.

In the words of its founder, Charles Simonyi

The goal is for the public to appreciate the order and beauty of the abstract and natural worlds which is there, hidden, layer-upon-layer. To share the excitement and awe that scientists feel when confronting the greatest of riddles. To have empathy for the scientists who are humbled by the grandeur of it all.

Which is precisely what Richard is doing on a grand scale and with unsurpassed style, by all standards of fairness.

The arrogance of theists like O'Brien beggars belief.

1453. Richard Dawkins slaps creationists into the primordial soup

Comment #217627 by decius on July 24, 2008 at 1:20 pm

By the way, Einstein didn't publish anything in the last decades of his life.

I suppose we must call him an unworthy scientist, then.

1454. Richard Dawkins slaps creationists into the primordial soup

Comment #217613 by decius on July 24, 2008 at 1:11 pm

Comment #217610 by black wolf

Damn, you are right.

1455. Richard Dawkins slaps creationists into the primordial soup

Comment #217607 by decius on July 24, 2008 at 1:07 pm

Here you go, RobertO'Liar

The eye in a twinkling. Nature, Vol.368, No.6473, pp.690-691, Apr 21 (1994)

Oliver R. Goodenough & Dawkins, The "St Jude" mind virus. Nature, Vol.371, No.6492, pp.23-24 (1994)

R. Dawkins (2004) An Ecology of Replicators, Ludus Vitalis. 12: 43-52.

Then I don't see how books like the Extended Phenotype wouldn't count.

1456. Richard Dawkins slaps creationists into the primordial soup

Comment #217574 by decius on July 24, 2008 at 12:44 pm

Comment #217572 by Robert O'Brien

Why don't you look it up and then apologise?

1457. Richard Dawkins slaps creationists into the primordial soup

Comment #217555 by decius on July 24, 2008 at 12:32 pm

Comment #217548 by Oystein Elgaroy

Another good tactic to temporarily get rid of him is reminding those present of the O'Brien Trophy, formally known as the Idiot of the Month Prize.

1458. Richard Dawkins slaps creationists into the primordial soup

Comment #217546 by decius on July 24, 2008 at 12:25 pm

Comment #217540 by phasmagigas

Don't worry, he doesn't either. Ask him to solve anything, and he will vanish. The next time that he reappears he will pretend to have forgotten.

He has done cut-n-paste trolling for years.

1459. Richard Dawkins slaps creationists into the primordial soup

Comment #217521 by decius on July 24, 2008 at 12:07 pm

Comment #217507 by Robert O'Brien

Dawkins has not published any research in twenty years

You are a liar, aside from being an ignorant cunt, and a wiki-cut-and-paste know-nothing troll.

That's unsurprising, actually, for someone who has an Idiocy Trophy named after himself, and whose reputation on the web is one of universal contempt.

1460. Richard Dawkins slaps creationists into the primordial soup

Comment #217494 by decius on July 24, 2008 at 11:46 am

Comment #217473 by LeeLeeOne

Thanks, I feel greatly reassured.

I was just kidding, though. The similarity between that cucumber and male genitalia is striking.

1461. Richard Dawkins slaps creationists into the primordial soup

Comment #217487 by decius on July 24, 2008 at 11:42 am

Comment #217462 by Mitchell Gilks

Thinking there aren't alien civilizations analogous to our own is tantamount to saying that we won a lottery with odds of one in 70 sextillion of winning.

I agree that it is highly unlikely, yet the odds aren't that low. You are assuming that every star has equal possibility to sport a planet with life, which is not the case. For instance globular clusters, or stars too high or too low in the HR sequence, even entire galaxies undergoing catastrophic mergers are to be excluded a priori.

The implications may be mind blowing for some, but it wouldn't greatly effect how I views things. Would it you?

The implications would be mind-blowing for the whole human scientific enterprise, and that's enough to affect me deeply.

1462. Richard Dawkins slaps creationists into the primordial soup

Comment #217457 by decius on July 24, 2008 at 11:20 am

LeeLeeOne,

Why do I find your avatar vaguely threatening?

1463. Richard Dawkins slaps creationists into the primordial soup

Comment #217448 by decius on July 24, 2008 at 11:06 am

Comment #217432 by Mitchell Gilks

Unfortunately, we don't know it until actually proved, although it is the general expectation and mathematically seems nearly inevitable.

There is also a huge qualitative difference between proving the existence of mere alien life and the presence of alien civilisations.
In either case, the implications are mind-blowing and will forever shatter our current self-perception, not to mention the final blow struck to every anthropocentric religious nonsense.

As for the current state of research, the effort is now being concentrated onto stars that are known to lie on the ecliptic plane, for they make the perfect target. A civilisation that lies within a fraction of a degree of the ecliptic could bi-annually detect Earth passing in front and behind the sun.

1464. Richard Dawkins slaps creationists into the primordial soup

Comment #217422 by decius on July 24, 2008 at 10:36 am

Comment #217418 by Mitchell Gilks

I will look into it, and refer back to you.
Something new must have come to light since Sagan's time.

Again, if memory serves me well, the hope to pick up a casual signal from a non-dedicated transmission has somehow faded. However, there is no reason to dismiss the idea of someone beaconing for the purpose of being detected.

1465. Richard Dawkins slaps creationists into the primordial soup

Comment #217412 by decius on July 24, 2008 at 10:23 am

Comment #217409 by Mitchell Gilks

Someone should really tell SETI.

Actually, they were speaking precisely about that in a past episode of their podcast. If I remember correctly, the figure was higher than 1-2 ly, though

1466. Richard Dawkins slaps creationists into the primordial soup

Comment #217411 by decius on July 24, 2008 at 10:21 am

Agent 00Ystein, don't waste your energy on low-IQ trolls.

1467. Richard Dawkins slaps creationists into the primordial soup

Comment #217407 by decius on July 24, 2008 at 10:17 am

Comment #217402 by Mitchell Gilks

Oops, apologies. I got distracted by a call.

1468. Richard Dawkins slaps creationists into the primordial soup

Comment #217403 by decius on July 24, 2008 at 10:15 am

Comment #217394 by Tezcatlipoca

Yes, it could still be possible to beam signals with the intent of keep readability intact for much larger radii.
Some of our more powerful transmissions, like those directed to spacecraft, have that property.

1469. Richard Dawkins slaps creationists into the primordial soup

Comment #217391 by decius on July 24, 2008 at 10:08 am

Comment #217371 by Mitchell Gilks

I agree with most of what you say, except your conclusion that there are no neighbour civilisations based on the lack of radio signals reaching us.

It presupposes that radio transmission were a technology impossible to surpass and to be phased out by more advanced ones. I strongly doubt that to be the case.

1470. Richard Dawkins slaps creationists into the primordial soup

Comment #217378 by decius on July 24, 2008 at 9:52 am

Comment #217376 by aberdeen

You clearly haven't read any of Dawkins' books, nor have you listened to anything he says.

Your ignorant comments therefore deserve no attention.

1471. Richard Dawkins slaps creationists into the primordial soup

Comment #217377 by decius on July 24, 2008 at 9:49 am

Comment #217370 by hungarianelephant

I was still living in theocratic Italy when its parody of a secular government made an half-hearted attempt to arrest Marcinkus, the then-head of the Vatican bank, for a string of heinous crimes which included murder. You probably remember the Italian banker found hanging under a bridge in London, he was one of the alleged victims.

Nothing came out of it, of course, and from then on the level of impunity and corruption just spiralled out of control.

1472. Richard Dawkins slaps creationists into the primordial soup

Comment #217368 by decius on July 24, 2008 at 9:32 am

Comment #217366 by hungarianelephant

Doesn't the pope have power of attorney?

1473. Richard Dawkins slaps creationists into the primordial soup

Comment #217364 by decius on July 24, 2008 at 9:19 am

Comment #217359 by Mitchell Gilks

I agree, the Drake equation keeps on being refined upwards at the light of the constant stream of new exoplanets discovered.

1474. Richard Dawkins slaps creationists into the primordial soup

Comment #217355 by decius on July 24, 2008 at 9:06 am

Comment #217353 by Mitchell Gilks

There must be a pink unicorn somewhere!

1475. Richard Dawkins slaps creationists into the primordial soup

Comment #217282 by decius on July 24, 2008 at 6:09 am

Comment #217281 by al-rawandi

You are right, I answered by issuing a threat.
How am I doing?

1476. Richard Dawkins slaps creationists into the primordial soup

Comment #217277 by decius on July 24, 2008 at 6:05 am

Where he whines and whines that I am "aggressive and vulgar", whereas he is such a nice and sensitive person.

How pathetic is that imbecile?

1477. Richard Dawkins slaps creationists into the primordial soup

Comment #217274 by decius on July 24, 2008 at 6:00 am

ROTFL

Hello decius,

You have received a new private message from "Richard Morgan" to your
account on "RichardDawkins.net Forum"

1478. Richard Dawkins slaps creationists into the primordial soup

Comment #217265 by decius on July 24, 2008 at 5:46 am

Where is Irate, when one needs him?

1479. Richard Dawkins slaps creationists into the primordial soup

Comment #217263 by decius on July 24, 2008 at 5:39 am

Comment #217258 by Richard Morgan

You are welcome, I hope that you don't nurture the further delusion that our appreciation of your presence and character is in any way increased because of your self-absolution.

As for the preaching, don't work on it, I will be perfectly satisfied if you just fuck off.

1480. Richard Dawkins slaps creationists into the primordial soup

Comment #217252 by decius on July 24, 2008 at 5:26 am

Richard Morgan

How is your sock-puppet, today?

It takes some fucking guts to come here and preach, given your history of duplicity.

1481. Good Science Writers: Richard Dawkins

Comment #216905 by decius on July 23, 2008 at 4:36 pm

Comment #216883 by Richard Dawkins

There is more to a book than its ------ title!

Never underestimate the stupidity of the general public.

This may be incredibly daft, but I am going to say it anyway.
As a graphic artist, I worked for a while with a publishing company. We could predict with some accuracy how the aesthetic appeal of a cover would affect the commercial success of different issues of the same magazine.

Forgive the bluntness, but my impression is that - contrary to all your other books - Climbing Mount Improbable has an awful cover art (in all the editions that I have seen).
Considered the cultural level of your readership, I am not sure how much this superficial shortcoming might have influenced its sales.
However, it is perhaps possible that gift-buyers and occasional aeroplane readers might choose other titles from your pen, based on the cover alone.

Personally, I have read the lot, and you are right, CMI is excellent. I am not a critic, though, and I'll leave this to someone more qualified.

1482. Islam subway ads cause stir in New York

Comment #216851 by decius on July 23, 2008 at 2:54 pm

Comment #216835 by Oystein Elgaroy

Don't soften up, you are our only hope of final victory. Clearly, he is waging psychological warfare by wearing a disguise designed to weaken your resolve.

1483. Islam subway ads cause stir in New York

Comment #216820 by decius on July 23, 2008 at 2:34 pm

Comment #216816 by thewhitepearl

Sure, I object as well to such hasty generalisations.

1484. Islam subway ads cause stir in New York

Comment #216799 by decius on July 23, 2008 at 2:23 pm

Dinah may have a point, but phrased it poorly.

If she had said "sexual frustration, rejection have a nefarious effect on people", while pointing out that the stats indicate a huge preponderance of male sex-offenders, few would have objected.

1485. Islam subway ads cause stir in New York

Comment #216778 by decius on July 23, 2008 at 2:05 pm

Comment #216770 by Oystein Elgaroy

a graduate student in the physics department here in Oslo wrote a paper on the movement of pilgrims in Mecca!

The ants, being more sophisticated and clever than pilgrims, will constitute a tougher challenge.

1486. Islam subway ads cause stir in New York

Comment #216756 by decius on July 23, 2008 at 1:35 pm

Comment #216752 by Dhamma

You are clearly colluding with the evil ikeaist conspiracy.

1487. Islam subway ads cause stir in New York

Comment #216754 by decius on July 23, 2008 at 1:32 pm

Comment #216747 by Oystein Elgaroy

Very convincing and scary.

1488. Islam subway ads cause stir in New York

Comment #216739 by decius on July 23, 2008 at 1:12 pm

Comment #216732 by Oystein Elgaroy

Is your new avatar an admonition directed to all Swedish furnitures?

1489. How Anecdotal Evidence Can Undermine Scientific Results

Comment #216708 by decius on July 23, 2008 at 12:37 pm

Comment #216699 by thewhitepearl

The most comprehensive resource probably is this subset of Quackwatch. http://www.autism-watch.org/

1490. How Anecdotal Evidence Can Undermine Scientific Results

Comment #216692 by decius on July 23, 2008 at 12:15 pm

Comment #216678 by Tezcatlipoca

You are welcome.

Comment #216684 by thewhitepearl

They'd rather take the chance of their kids dying then have to deal with a disorder.

Sorry to nitpick, white.

The link between autism and vaccines is not proven, and it's a case of mass-hysteria fuelled by unscrupulous charlatans.
Autism figures have been on the increase during the last decades because of higher awareness and better diagnoses.
As it happens, symptoms of the condition become apparent at around the same age in which children are vaccinated, and it's easy for distraught parents to confuse correlation with causation, and unwittingly add to the panic by publicly voicing their concerns.

In case you are interested, I have a few links that will help to clarify the issue.

1491. How Anecdotal Evidence Can Undermine Scientific Results

Comment #216676 by decius on July 23, 2008 at 11:45 am

Comment #216652 by jenlaferriere

Sorry to break it to you, jen. Chiropractic is plain quackery with no basis in science, and it doesn't surprise me a bit that a bunch of chiropractors would take an anti-scientific stance against vaccination, too.

The anecdote about two of them not having contracted any disease, so far, is equally unremarkable. Most likely, they have benefited from the herd effect (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herd_immunity), while at the same time, in a near-parasitic way, increasing the risk of contagion to others.

Please, don't take my word for that. Research this issue further on your own, and be more sceptical of authority, especially false ones.

1492. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #216544 by decius on July 23, 2008 at 9:27 am

Comment #216541 by al-rawandi

You are nasty, now he will have to shovel manure for a full day to pay the phone-bill, and he didn't even get to talk to you.

1493. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #216507 by decius on July 23, 2008 at 8:58 am

Why on the phone, we are going to miss all the fun.
Record the damn thing on bloggingheads or similar.

1494. Richard Dawkins slaps creationists into the primordial soup

Comment #216500 by decius on July 23, 2008 at 8:53 am

Comment #216486 by Mitchell Gilks

Thanks, I knew it. I just skimmed through the graphics, though.

Do you know Andrea Pazienza's Zanardi, by any chance?

1495. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #216492 by decius on July 23, 2008 at 8:44 am

al,

set up a bloggingheads session with the Ignorant Cunt.

1496. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #216483 by decius on July 23, 2008 at 8:39 am

Joe, have you already finished manuring that lawn?

Did you wash your hands before touching the keyboard?
How are the petunias, by the way?

1497. Richard Dawkins slaps creationists into the primordial soup

Comment #216298 by decius on July 23, 2008 at 12:10 am

Comment #216134 by Star Spangled Eagle

Who is this guy? he's great!

Robert O'Brien is a legendary internet git with an Idiocy Trophy entitled to him, and, rather uniquely, is himself a recipient of said prize.

http://tinyurl.com/6ygkuy

He is also a permanent dweller of Pharyngula's dungeon, where you will find another scorching description of his diminished intellect.

1498. Richard Dawkins slaps creationists into the primordial soup

Comment #215964 by decius on July 22, 2008 at 3:09 pm

Comment #215953 by Mitchell Gilks

Thanks

Comment #215955 by Mitchell Gilks

and thanks. :)

1499. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #215951 by decius on July 22, 2008 at 2:39 pm

Comment #215950 by khanzee

Wouldn't you ask for proof if someone wanted you to organise your life around the belief in the existence of the Sasqwatch?

Energy can be empirically measured in a variety of ways. A calorimeter does precisely that, so does a wattmeter.
I challenge you to stick your finger into an electrical socket or into some boiling water, and then re-affirm that there is no empirical reason to believe in energy.

I will let others answer your other questions more competently.

1500. Richard Dawkins slaps creationists into the primordial soup

Comment #215941 by decius on July 22, 2008 at 2:19 pm

Comment #215932 by Mitchell Gilks

I do professional 3d animations and illustrations, but of a different sort.
This is probably going to infuriate you, but I don't know jackshit about manga, because it never caught my fancy.
I have an aesthetic problem with the style, but I couldn't honestly say if I owe it to my limited european horizons or to something more substantial.

Do you have a link to some representative work of the author that you mentioned?