151. Hints of structure beyond the visible universe

Comment #191045 by King of NH on June 10, 2008 at 6:40 am

This is fascinating, and over my head. I took a course on Astronomy, but was rather baffled by the higher end material. My professor was brilliant and passionate, but seemed to assume we already knew quantum theory and how it applied to star formation, and went from there.

Is there any layman's rebuttal to the less extraordinary claim (in my opinion) that the 'universe' is not expanding, but only the kernel of matter and energy we occupy is. Why is it a wrong hypothesis that the universe is infinite, and that as far as our instruments can see is only a scratch on the surface of that eternal infinity? What evidence is there that there was nothing anywhere before the Big Bang?

152. A word for nonbelievers

Comment #190339 by King of NH on June 8, 2008 at 10:32 pm

To try and solve the disarray of atheism, I have had a revelation. I have now purchased a very large, flamboyant hat and have stitched gold thread into my bathrobe. I have chosen a site where, with your kind donations, we'll call it a tithe, I will build a mans.. er, meeting place. I will offer all who come to this meeting place (with proper tithe) general, vague advice on how I think they should be acting as atheists (no tithe-back guarantee). For those of you who would like to show how very atheist you are, send money, jewelry, priceless art, first-born sons, virgin daughters, deflowered daughters, and individual rights waivers to Atheist Pope, c/o the Vatican.

153. Albinos, Long Shunned, Face Threat in Tanzania

Comment #190326 by King of NH on June 8, 2008 at 9:14 pm

"The problem is, the people who follow witch doctors don't question them."

or

The problem is, the people who follow Priests don't question them.

or

The problem is, the people who follow Imams don't question them.

or

The problem is, the people who follow [political party official] don't question him/her.

or better...

The problem is, the people who follow don't question.

Do you follow where this leads? HA!! Oh, that was funny... follow.. lead.. he he... Okay, not so funny.

154. Prayer to feed the hungry

Comment #190318 by King of NH on June 8, 2008 at 8:31 pm

Additional note:

I live in Concord, NH; home of Mary Baker Eddy. While there are many plaques around town noting spots she made 'famous,' and an elder care center she founded is still important to our health system, Christian Science is not big here. In fact, I have never met a Christian Scientist (distinction made from Christian scientist [lower case]). Sorry, just had to defend my hometown, since I know many towns that birthed largely successful cults take pride in the fact. I have met Shakers, though none are left in New England. They were a strange lot, but not publicly.

155. Prayer to feed the hungry

Comment #190088 by King of NH on June 8, 2008 at 11:05 am

Oh, okay, I understand what they're saying. It's brilliantly simple:

Millions of people are starving and malnurished as they dig the graves for those even more unfortunate. The answer? Remind ourselves that God is loving and will never allow his children to go hun.... Oh, um, wait. But he did, didn't he? I mean, you're praying to the god that made the famine, right?

Two possibilities, as I see it:
1) There is no god
2) There is a god and he's trying to kill you

156. Couple charged in Norway over genital mutilation of daughters

Comment #190083 by King of NH on June 8, 2008 at 10:54 am

"Note that the man had two other wives, so almost certainly not Christian."

But we should remember that Fundamentalist Mormons (to be fair, not the mainstream Mormons) still practice polygamy, as do many Christian cults.

As far as assuming they are Muslim, when the article says nothing, is perhaps statistically supportable, but is unfair. I do not support Muslims any more than Christians, but I will not unfairly attack them without sufficient evidence. It should be easy to dig a little deeper into the story to discover this for fact, and we should not be speculating.

157. New Way To Think About Earth's First Cells

Comment #190076 by King of NH on June 8, 2008 at 10:39 am

Well, this kinda makes the main focus of Expelled seem, well, dumber than it did. "How did life begin in the first place," droned the nematode. An here's the answer. Next Gap-God, please. My guess: "How did hydrophobic lipid tails begin in the first place," drones the sea-squirt.

158. Holiday in Hellmouth

Comment #189978 by King of NH on June 8, 2008 at 2:54 am

But this article ignores the time Florida sank into the Gulf of Mexico killing millions, and we prayed that this terrible tragedy be undone and the brutal memories be erased from our fragile minds. Or when similar events happened with Mars colliding with earth (close one that, got the prayer off just in time), or when the Yellowstone supervolcano erupted just last week. Sheesh, you unsaved think no miracles happen? How do you feel now after I have proven they do?

-kidding, no hate-mail, please

159. Reality wins in Texas!

Comment #189975 by King of NH on June 8, 2008 at 2:27 am

Nice job Texas! [clapping]

My area hasn't had any law-makers pushing for Creationism IDology yet, at least not that I have heard of. But there are many residents who would like to see evolution toppled. This area is strongly Catholic, though, and the pope has supported evolution, and most other branches of science, as being credible and neccesary truths. I don't like the pope, but on some fronts, eerily, he seems to give us a hand.

160. A word for nonbelievers

Comment #189695 by King of NH on June 7, 2008 at 2:20 am

I think atheists need to begin to unite also. The 'herding cats' is a description, not a prescription. If theists regain what they have lost and prevent further secularizing, then what? Atheists have some of the greatest thinkers alive today on our side and we're tickled pink by the great advance in our cause, a billboard. I mean, how sad is that? Don't get me wrong, it's great that they put it up, but is that really the best we can do? We should get geneticists to modify human DNA so it makes a sign on everyone's forehead: "made by whoopy, not god!"

161. Male circumcision is a weapon in the sperm wars

Comment #189692 by King of NH on June 7, 2008 at 1:55 am

Glad I'm a Pastafarian. For the Flying Spaghetti Monster commanded "...and thou shall not mutilate any noodly appendages..."

162. Hints of 'time before Big Bang'

Comment #189688 by King of NH on June 7, 2008 at 1:46 am

I don't get this time thing either. They say that at a microscopic level, time can go in reverse. Wouldn't this still be forward 'time' in order to be an observed event? If someone watched me drive to the store, my moving vehicle would indicate that time was passing. If I then drove home in reverse, I did not reverse time, which would cause the observer to un-observe the event, thus eliminating all evidence of the event and making the point nothing but drivle. I did not move a negative distance, just as time can not pass a negative amount.

What I mean is, my confusion is, how science can define the word 'time' so that it can move a negative amount. Can things also, then, move negative distances and have negative mass or negative volume (these latter two would revolutionize the fad diet industry)?

163. Blogger spreads the gospel of science

Comment #189272 by King of NH on June 5, 2008 at 11:47 pm

I'm in New Hampshire, New England, and not too far away is New London.

164. A New Step In Evolution

Comment #189043 by King of NH on June 5, 2008 at 9:14 am

"what, no crocoduck?

ha. checkmate, atheists !"


I think it's funny that Professor Eightieshasbeen chose a crocodile for this little piece of nonsense. A reptile has a three chambered heart, more developed than the two chambers of a fish. A bird or a mammal has a four chambered heart, the most chambers found in current evolutionary progress. A crocodilian (alligator, crocodile, and caiman) has a semi-four chambered heart, marking it as a 'hybrid' reptile mammal/bird. The crocodile also has a bone structure that's close to reptiles and other cold-bloods, but shows the unique characteristics of a less dense, porous bone structure found in warm-bloods. These, together with the maternal care and I'm certain other characteristics, makes the crocodilian family a very good study on living transitional species (and quite possibly a true dinosaur, more evolved than a typical reptile). The fact that he is too ignorant to actually study the evolution of a species he is using to mock evolution is irony at its best.

165. Darwin still causing waves after 150 years

Comment #188884 by King of NH on June 4, 2008 at 10:28 pm

I wonder if the USPS will put out a Darwin stamp for the occasion, or if they'll back down to the Christservatives.

166. Opponents of Evolution Adopting a New Strategy

Comment #188883 by King of NH on June 4, 2008 at 10:23 pm

Davemei,

No, I don't believe his arguments are entirely based on his religion. I think they are based on his wilfull ignorance and xenophobia. Absolutely no knowledge of Biology, Geology, Astronomy, or Physics has caused him to dismiss the entire field as to hard to understand. His stupidity is more a factor than his religion.

167. The Great Evangelical Decline

Comment #188881 by King of NH on June 4, 2008 at 10:07 pm

The Mormon Church also allows members to baptise deceased friends or family. Anybody here could become a Mormon in death if a practicing Mormon can argue that you would have become Mormon had you been given more opportunity. I'm sorry I don't know more details on why. My wife is a recovering Mormon, but she's not available to ask right now. I would be personally appaled by this defiling of the dead, but honestly, when I'm dead I'm dead. I don't care if they chant away and pretend, so long as my 'conversion' doesn't undo any work I've done in life.

168. A New Step In Evolution

Comment #188223 by King of NH on June 3, 2008 at 11:42 am

As a molecular biology major I tried this experiment with brewers yeast. Now I'm a liberal arts major. This is a dangerous experiment.

Kidding. This is great. Being able to creat speciation in a lab is a magnificent step toward understanding evolution's many twists and turns. To hell with the people who don't believe in science. This is a victory for us simply because it's the beauty of science and research leading to understanding. That might be the brewers yeast talking, though.

169. Ben Stein 1, Yoko Ono 0 in 'Expelled' copyright spat

Comment #188214 by King of NH on June 3, 2008 at 11:18 am

Maybe we, as atheists, should start to market the film. Once we build it up as the greatest propaganda for atheists EVER, the churches will burn every copy without ever looking any deeper. Let their own dogmatic paranoia work against them.

170. When two worlds collide: threat of class warfare over faith-based schooling

Comment #188211 by King of NH on June 3, 2008 at 11:07 am

Why? Why should we allow the myths and legends of a child's family culture to be taught as fact in a school? This is stupid!

171. Put a Little Science in Your Life

Comment #188203 by King of NH on June 3, 2008 at 10:45 am

Rod-the-Farmer,
You're never too old to go back to school. I'm rather young (I tell myself) but still a good decade behind. But shortly after returning to school at a community college, I became a tutor. I got paid a nice hourly wage to share my passion for academics and helped to send struggling students (some older, some drop-outs, some mild learning disabled) to 4 year colleges. Even if you're just auditing courses (much cheaper) you could probably offer to tutor students and share the love of science.

As a tutor, I always found it important to emphasize the beauty of the 'system'. In English, for instance; I would explain how every word of our language has a history behind it. We say 'cow' for the animal and 'beef' for the meat because of the Norman invasion of England. Even the grammar of English has been shaped by historical events, some known, some yet to be discovered. Excitement is key to learning.

172. Mitt Romney Defends Himself Against Allegations Of Tolerance

Comment #187002 by King of NH on June 1, 2008 at 3:43 am

Just before leaving office in Mass, Romney gave a speech in which he said he was 'disgusted' that young children were being taught in public schools that it's okay if their freinds have two mommies, or if they have two daddies. Mitt Romney is 1) For Sale to the highest bidder and 2) a bigot. Flying Speghetti Monster! I hate that man. Pasta Fork!!!

173. Darwin's Joyful Journey of Discovery

Comment #186940 by King of NH on May 31, 2008 at 10:07 pm

"...and no future explorer will ever write a book so full of the joy of unspoiled nature as is 'The Voyage of the Beagle.'"

I disagree. In a few hundred thousand years, or a few million, man will be extinct or more eco-aware and the present mix-up and industrialization of the world's species will branch again and evolve. So very far into the future - very, very, very far - life on earth will be a magnificent variety. Life started as simple bacteria and became what it is today, and it does have a head start this time. So you see, man's ignorance and greed (yes, men must take the blame for a good deal of this since women had no rights when it started) has only set the biology of this planet back, at most, 550 Million years. What's the big worry?

174. Storm erupts over 'virginity' divorce

Comment #186681 by King of NH on May 31, 2008 at 2:13 am

Why didn't she just follow Mary's lead on this one? "What? Oh, well, if you count sex with Allah I'm not a virgin, no." How could he have argued with that?

175. Senate bill allows display of Lord's Prayer, 10 Commandments

Comment #186679 by King of NH on May 31, 2008 at 1:58 am

I thought the idea of democacy was that rather than allowing the rule by divine right (monarchy, house of lords), human logic and reason could shape a better government. Wouldn't that make the "Ten Commandments" and the "Lord's Prayer" completely meaningless in an American History Top 11?

Liberalartist: "I would agree that most American's haven't got a clue what's in the 10 commandments or what's NOT in the consititution!"

Reminds me of the bumper sticker: "It's Freedom OF Religion, not Freedom FROM Religion!" I always laugh at those. Actually, its "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." Maybe people should read the constitution before quoting it in public. I understand this as "Hey, do all the juju that you do, but the government will take no part in it."

176. 'Uncontacted tribe' sighted in Amazon

Comment #186675 by King of NH on May 31, 2008 at 1:43 am

I don't think these or any other people are as 'uncontacted' as the term might seem. I would venture the guess that they are quite aware of the western world, pointing the arrows at us for exactly who we are, not what they imagine us to be. For us to sit around our big Brazilian mahogony table, drinking our Brazilian sugar rum, deciding the future of 'backwards people (as Teddy Roosevelt called them)' is not only absurd, but the attitude that make me want to disappear into the woods and start my own "Lost Tribe of the White Mountains."

If this society wants western contact, I'm certain they know where to look. If they don't, they should be left to that right. We're running out of places for people to hide from 'civilization.'

177. Synthetic Copycat Of Living Cell Underway: Life, But Not As We Know It?

Comment #186199 by King of NH on May 29, 2008 at 10:29 pm

HourglassMemory,

Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large numbers.

Could terrorists creat bio-weapons with this technology? I agree, sure, but not likely enough to cause concern. But my very real fear is the other question: Can stupid people rally and get this technology banned from further study by propagating the fear of terrorism? Some people think of movies, such as "I Am Legend" as having a true and prophetic message, as opposed to a thought inspiring but overall entertaining message. Stupid, or innocently ignorant people can stop the research, which is probably worse than terrorists using the research. That is my fear.

178. Fossil reveals oldest live birth

Comment #186196 by King of NH on May 29, 2008 at 10:14 pm

Silly scientists get it wrong again. The first live birth was that of the first murderer, an obvious coincidence that cannot be overlooked, Cain. All that money scientists wasted on the wrong answer, AGAIN! That's right, again. Even this article says scientists just proved themselves wrong. They're always wrong. When was the last time you heard the pope say, "Whoops. My Bad." Never, because God is never wrong, and God wrote the bible (Actually, he had prophets write it because God is apparetnly illiterate. He can create the universe, but not a book. lol, sry G-man). Scientists is stupid!

179. Group wants Wi-Fi banned from public buildings

Comment #186192 by King of NH on May 29, 2008 at 10:02 pm

You would think a condition such as this would appear first in NY, Boston, LA, London, Paris, Hong Kong. Hell, Singapore could rule out a large amount of polutants as possible causes (ahem, clean freaks). I am certain that every plaintif in this case would be unable to identify when they are in or out of a WiFi hotspot based on how they feel. Once that is proven, we can again look to Singapore for guidance in this case and publicly flog them for being buggers; stupid, obnoxious buggers.

180. Synthetic Copycat Of Living Cell Underway: Life, But Not As We Know It?

Comment #186182 by King of NH on May 29, 2008 at 8:44 pm

This is awesome. I know that [insulting word for theists] will go on about the terrorist uses for this: bio weapons and such. But there is true life saving potential here. I am very excited. Wow, just wow.

181. Top 6 Incestuous Relationships In The Bible

Comment #185955 by King of NH on May 29, 2008 at 8:15 am

Laurie Fraser: "Ah yes, the land of Nod...that's the one that had me buggered when I was nine. How the fuck did THEY get there?"

Oh come on. Four musicians had a submarine painted yellow... Picked up a nowhere man... Chased by blue meanies... A few hits of acid... Off in the Land of Nod. It's all in the gospel of John (and Paul, and George, and Ringo). Your lack of imagination is not an excuse to dismiss imaginary lands or people. I think that's a quote from Dawkins.

182. 1968 Supreme Court case of Epperson v. Arkansas

Comment #185943 by King of NH on May 29, 2008 at 7:18 am

I agree with Dawkins summation of the argument against evolution. It seems every caller that had a problem with evolution had the same line of thought. "Gee, this stuff is hard for me to understand. Therefore, it must be wrong. Goddidit."

It seems that too many people are intelectually lazy and want an easy answer. Should someone believe evolution? Absolutely not! That's why every scientist, or academic in any field, worth listening to says, "This is what I say is true and (the important part) this is why and here is where to look for yourself." Scientists WANT people to disbelieve and attack ideas, because like in evolution itself, only the strongly supported ideas will survive. Theologans never offer this. They ask people to look inside themselves for god, then inform them they will burn in hell or they are cursed if they don't feel him/her. ID is neither of these. ID is just an empty concept aimed soley at destroying science and has no other motive.

Also, I love how the lawyer, at about 36 minutes, discusses things being taught as facts destroys inquiry. Like religion being taught as a fact so that people will reject any idea that contradicts it? I can't agree with him more here.

183. We happy hooligans

Comment #185896 by King of NH on May 29, 2008 at 2:05 am

*sigh* How are we supposed to provide evidence for NOT believing, especially given that deities are specifically non-falsifiable on purpose? Theologists are academic charlatans and an embarrassment to the intellectual community!

King of NH, PhD of Niniwicketology
Professor of Ricket-Ricket Comminitir / Frawxio College and Hardware Store

184. Mark Steyn vs. the 'Sock Puppets'

Comment #185893 by King of NH on May 29, 2008 at 1:52 am

Maybe now that Canada has taken a stand against poking fun of or offending Allah believers, America will offer us Big Foot believers the same protection. I mean, I even have footprints and hair samples!

Shhhh....
Somebody giggled....

Call the Human Rights Tribunal! I'm being oppressed! I'm being oppressed! (in a Python British accent)

Steyn should go through the tribunal and then, when the decision obviously offends him, he can take the Human Rights Tribunal to the Human Rights Tribunal and demand that they never publish again.

And to think, Huckabee made me want to move to Canada.

185. Religion is a product of evolution, software suggests

Comment #185488 by King of NH on May 27, 2008 at 11:22 pm

Religion is genetic?

So I can find out if my child will become a yokel within days of conception?

Awesome new!

The Onion ran an article about this already. I tried to find the article, but I couldn't. I remember the title: "Gay Scientists Isolate Christian Gene." Next, we just need a cure for religion. I would hate to go back to letting lions clean up our gene pool.

186. Louisiana's latest creationism bill moves to House floor

Comment #185483 by King of NH on May 27, 2008 at 11:06 pm

"Caroline Crocker...'said Darwinian evolution is outdated and doesn't explain new findings in science. She also said she had been persecuted in the academic world because of her views...'"

Good! 'I hope they done persecuted her real good,' to borrow her own linguistics. She deserves it.

Personally, I would love to introduce religion into a science class as the teacher, then subject that religion to complete and utter scientific scrutiny. The students would learn how utterly insane the idea of a god is and how mentally incapacitating religion is. Religion in science class should be avoided by anybody hoping to keep religion alive. But then, if the teacher is pushing the religion, then it would be bad for us, good for them, but it wouldn't really be a 'science' class then, would it?

187. Richard Dawkins lecture at ASU's Tempe Campus

Comment #185066 by King of NH on May 26, 2008 at 8:37 pm

Rtambree,

I think Dawkins is trying to avoid the self-fulfilling prophecy. Once children lose the label, they may find that label less necessary as they grow older. One leads to the other, so avoid the first.

188. Probe lands on Mars, NASA says

Comment #185060 by King of NH on May 26, 2008 at 8:17 pm

"I'm as sympathetic as anyone to the cause of secularization in America but I'm also not going to join the hysterical crowd who believes America is witnessing the end of free thought as we know it. We've made great strides in the past few decades and will continue to do so."

I whole heartedly agree. I have since moved from that area (Georgia) back home (New Hampshire) and have found a much different view of science. I do not think free thought can ever die, just as democracy never will. But this is only because I trust people will stand guard against such a happening. Ignoring the people who preach nonsense will bite us in the end. But I agree that hysteria is uncalled for. Time is on our side, being immune to rapture and end times.

189. Animal Science Without Evolution

Comment #184825 by King of NH on May 26, 2008 at 9:07 am

LaurieB:

Absolutely not! If we lost Mass, we might get our shorefronts and lakefronts back, but we would lose the Red Sox, Pat.s, Celtics, Brui.. Ah, nevermind, you can keep the Bruins.

I was thinking a fence down the VT-NY border, along the Mass-NY border, and then around CT, leaving them as a buffer "border town" since CTers are pretty much NYers already (stupid Mets fans).

190. Probe lands on Mars, NASA says

Comment #184822 by King of NH on May 26, 2008 at 8:55 am

"My post is directed more toward Europeans who have never been to America and don't understand it, yet believe everything they read in the media about how the American education system is literally being taken over by evangelical Christians. It's annoying seeing that idea constantly pop up on this board."

When I was an education major, a professor asked a straight forward question: "Who here thinks that the objective of public education is to help students find, and grow closer to, God?" She then asked all yea's to assemble on one side of the room, and all the nay's on the other. I had one other person on my side, with 21 other students sneering at us from across the room. These same students believed Halloween should be banned from schools, but not Christmas or Easter. A lesser group, but still the majority (I think about 18 to 5) felt evolution had no place in science class, since it "is just a theory, and everybody has theories."

From my experience as an American, yes, Christians are attacking science and free thought. Worse, they are waging this war on children; children who will grow up thinking Dinosaurs were friends with Adam and Eve. That is their victory. Are they gaining ground? They sure aren't losing any very fast.

191. Richard Dawkins lecture at ASU's Tempe Campus

Comment #184786 by King of NH on May 26, 2008 at 7:19 am

"Whoop Whoop! Dawkins is at Michigan State March 2nd 2009!"

*sigh* With Harvard, MIT, Dartmouth, and Yale within easy driving distance I hope to see Dawkins soon. Maybe we could lure him with Ben and Jerry's.

192. A Tribute to Douglas Adams: Towel Day May 25th

Comment #184744 by King of NH on May 26, 2008 at 5:15 am

I had no idea there was such a day, and now being a day late felt left out. I love Adams. But then I remembered. I went fishing yesterday, and rode my motorcycle. It being spring, I always bring a towel when I ride to wipe the pollen off the seat before I sit down (I hate having a mold-green pollen butt), a clear example of the usefulness of a towel that Adams neglected. So I did have my towel, but it stayed a few hundred feet away with the bike. Does that count?

193. Repulsive but right

Comment #184738 by King of NH on May 26, 2008 at 4:59 am

I love how atheists are supposed to show such kindness to theists. After thousands of years of being burnt at stakes, drown in lakes, crushed beneath stones, and many other evil punishments for heresy, the atheist is the evil one just for saying, "What a silly idea."

I find Dawkins is a little too polite at times, though not as polite as Dennett. What seems to irritate Dawkins, in the cases I have seen, is when someone pulls an idea out of thin air, uses this idea to justify evil, and then says, "It is what I believe, and we all have that right." Given that they do have that right, and given that their right to believe is generally supported more than our right not to believe, I can understand anybody's eye bulging, teeth clenching, absolute frustration. I think Dawkins's and Hitchens's greatest contributions will be more people yelling, "No, all ideas are NOT equal. There are sound ideas, and there are stupid ideas. God-ism is a stupid one."

194. Animal Science Without Evolution

Comment #184730 by King of NH on May 26, 2008 at 4:25 am

Diacanu: "People already think we're a bunch of Moxie guzzling, pot puffing, lobster wrangling yahoos as it is!!"

Yeah, hehe, we kinda do.

"...one which does not compromise their faith or sow seeds of doubt..."

Isn't science supposed to do just this?

"...selling out of this well researched, scientifically profound book..."

What sort of research? Watching Hovind on Youtube?

"One parent from Maine, commenting on a previous book in the series, wrote, '[This book is] written at a level that kids can understand.'"

Well, I guess that's why this nematode can relate to it. New England really needs to secede and deport these people. Any states want some fundies?

195. Probe lands on Mars, NASA says

Comment #184729 by King of NH on May 26, 2008 at 4:13 am

I'm both excited and terrified. I'm excited, because we are now expanding our knowledge by immense proportions, digging into the ice of Mars. Yet, forget life, we are sampling extraterrestrial water! For the first time, we are hoping someone did indeed pee in the pool.

My terror is of not finding life. I know such a find would be nothing in comparison of what we do find, but I have so much hope of life being there... It's like opening a gift. Somewhere, in the back of my mind, I can't help but think, "What if it's socks?" But, science must go on. My ignorance has been blissful, but it's time for knowledge. The suspense is killing me!

196. Mail-boat record 'proves Darwin stole his original ideas from a Welsh scientist'

Comment #184726 by King of NH on May 26, 2008 at 3:59 am

What does it matter? Both of these heathens will pay for their blasphemy at the rapture. Darwin at least bought somewhat of a lessened sentence in Purgatory for his noble renouncement of his evil words. This Wallace thing doesn't surprise me: evil men are rarely unique in evil ideas.

Okay, seriously though, before I split my sides. I'm fairly certain most Darwin scholars agree the man never arrived at the idea on his own, and it was only a culmination of geology, biology, and sociology that allowed such a work as Origin of Species to be published. This was a scientific paper, not a romance novel. Ideas, in science, are meant to be shared.

Davies is not unique, though, in his iconoclasm. Every author that creates a classic work is soon accused of something. E.A. Poe was a mad-man. Whitman was gay (probably so, I know, but of no academic importance). Shakespeare was illiterate, or actually Marlowe under a pen name. Thoreau lied about his time at Walden. Einstein had autism. Artists have the same fate. Di Vinci had ADD, for example. Careful, Professor Dawkins! If I were you, I would cultivate your own, minor rumor to follow you into history.

197. Pop Goes Christianity

Comment #184195 by King of NH on May 23, 2008 at 10:19 pm

"There are Christian sex-advice sites where you can read the biblical case for a strap-on dildo or bondage (liberation through submission)."

Are you kidding me?

'''In the sixth chapter of Ephesians, the Apostle Paul details what's needed to become strong in the Lord's mighty power. He closes his famous armor inventory by reminding us to "take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God."''' (from Bibleman Website)

Oh, I guess you're not kidding.

198. Scientists discover 'frogamander' fossil

Comment #184188 by King of NH on May 23, 2008 at 9:30 pm

Yes, yes. This is all well and good. But I think that when the earth was flooded in the great flood, the water was moving so fast that it simply slammed a frog into a salamander with enough force to fuse them somehow. The force also rocketed the space-time continuum backward by millions of years before the 6000 years of earth's history, but then it snapped back, leaving evidence of things that happened, oh, I don't know, 4000 years ago appear to have happened millions of years ago. Fossils are just the bones of sinners that have felt god's wrath.

-Graduate of Ken Hovind's Dr. Dino University

199. Six 'uniquely' human traits now found in animals

Comment #184186 by King of NH on May 23, 2008 at 9:14 pm

I think this connection with other species, that somehow we're not so special, is why B.F. Skinner and behavioralism was so easily dismissed by many psychologists. I am not in this field so I can't back this, but: I think Skinner was dead on.

200. Does Time Run Backward in Other Universes?

Comment #184185 by King of NH on May 23, 2008 at 9:02 pm

This is an (In God's Name) interesting article. The concept of (Hitler was an Atheist) time fascinates me, but I (Darwin recanted evolution) think there is a huge gap of understanding between what a (Dawkins is a Sinner!) scientist means by 'universe' and 'time' and what the rest of us mean.

(Atheism is a Religion)