"It appears to me (whether rightly or wrongly) that direct arguments against christianity and theism produce hardly any effect on the public; and freedom of thought is best promoted by the gradual illumination of men's minds which follows from the advance of science." [Darwin]
"If we believe absurdities, we shall commit atrocities." [Voltaire]
"I cannot imagine a God who rewards and punishes the objects of his creation, whose purposes are modeled after our own -- a God, in short, who is but a reflection of human frailty. Neither can I believe that the individual survives the death of his body, although feeble souls harbor such thoughts through fear or ridiculous egotism." [Einstein]
"Faith means not wanting to know what is true." [Nietzsche]
"I cannot believe in the immortality of the soul.... No, all this talk of an existence for us, as individuals, beyond the grave is wrong. It is born of our tenacity of life – our desire to go on living … our dread of coming to an end." [Edison]
"The Bible is not my book nor Christianity my profession. I could never give assent to the long, complicated statements of Christian dogma." [Lincoln]
"Religion is a byproduct of fear. For much of human history, it may have been a necessary evil, but why was it more evil than necessary? Isn't killing people in the name of God a pretty good definition of insanity?" [Arthur C. Clarke]
"Religions are all alike – founded upon fables and mythologies." [Thomas Jefferson]
"Say what you will about the sweet miracle of unquestioning faith, I consider a capacity for it terrifying and absolutely vile." [Kurt Vonnegut]
"Religion is based . . . mainly on fear . . . fear of the mysterious, fear of defeat, fear of death. Fear is the parent of cruelty, and therefore it is no wonder if cruelty and religion have gone hand in hand. . . . My own view on religion is that of Lucretius. I regard it as a disease born of fear and as a source of untold misery to the human race." [Bertrand Russell]
Friday, February 20, 2009
Common sense 101
I am going to post 2 videos. If you can not put the two together and see what I am trying to say then I am at a loss for words. The best I can do is try to explain everything (from now on) like I would explain it to a child.
Thank you Jref.
Specifically Jeff.
Thank you Jref.
Specifically Jeff.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
The trial of the Century.
I know you want to watch American Idol and eat McDonald's. I know you want to shop at wal-mart and be left alone with politics and laws, and such... You are of course the typical American, and as long as it works you don't care about the details. Well...
The details in this one case is important. The Pirate Bay is under attack. A trial is now under way to decided whether or not it will still be legal. This effects you whether you know it or not.
If you use the site directly then you know what I mean. If you have never heard of the site then you use the site indirectly.
There is good news on the battle front. The king kong defense. Which (as of this writing) is being made fun of by the defendents. This will no doubt go down in history. ME IZ KING KONG I CAN HAZ TORRENTZ?
The details in this one case is important. The Pirate Bay is under attack. A trial is now under way to decided whether or not it will still be legal. This effects you whether you know it or not.
If you use the site directly then you know what I mean. If you have never heard of the site then you use the site indirectly.
There is good news on the battle front. The king kong defense. Which (as of this writing) is being made fun of by the defendents. This will no doubt go down in history. ME IZ KING KONG I CAN HAZ TORRENTZ?
Saturday, February 14, 2009
and a child would say....
Introducing religion to a child of 4? Be careful, you may scare him for life.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Joaquin Phoenix is a genius.
I am not going to give it away. It is not for me to ruin the greatest joke since the 1980's. I will say however it is about time!
I will give you a hint however. The act, ladies and gentlemen, is us. How we react, and how we perceive things is the point.
Just wait to see it unfold, you will either get it or you wont. Love it or hate it. In the meantime me and Alicia will be sure to see the Tony Clifton show next time we are in vegas.
I will give you a hint however. The act, ladies and gentlemen, is us. How we react, and how we perceive things is the point.
Just wait to see it unfold, you will either get it or you wont. Love it or hate it. In the meantime me and Alicia will be sure to see the Tony Clifton show next time we are in vegas.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Today marks Charles Darwins 200th Bithday.
To celebrate one of the greatest thinkers in the history of man.
Zerospeaks.com is bringing you the following clips from a National Geographic Documentary on just why Darwin is so gosh darn important. According to Richard Dawkins himself.
Zerospeaks.com is bringing you the following clips from a National Geographic Documentary on just why Darwin is so gosh darn important. According to Richard Dawkins himself.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Ya know... I'd hit that!
I don't know why Chris Crocker is such a threat to so many people.
Let me make a stance!
I do not watch Crocker vids, I do not google him. However I understand what he is.
He is a TV/TS who is trying to garner attention. He is trying to become famous the only way he knows how. Should we shun him for that? NO!
He wants to be a pop star, and who can shun him for that? Who hasn't wanted the same thing at one point or another.
Finally, I don't think his music is that bad, (compared to other pop music feces) and in a weird way... ya know...I'd hit that!
Let me make a stance!
I do not watch Crocker vids, I do not google him. However I understand what he is.
He is a TV/TS who is trying to garner attention. He is trying to become famous the only way he knows how. Should we shun him for that? NO!
He wants to be a pop star, and who can shun him for that? Who hasn't wanted the same thing at one point or another.
Finally, I don't think his music is that bad, (compared to other pop music feces) and in a weird way... ya know...I'd hit that!
Conclusion...maybe?
Cameon posted her response. Now I will return the favor in an attempt to bring this matter to a close in a respectful way.
Cameon, you sound like an agnostic. However, (and this is the point of this post)no matter what you choose to believe in this life, I hope that you will never allow yourself to be labeled. Such as "I am with this group". A prime example of why this is a bad idea can be seen with our countless politicians today. They declare they are republican or democrat, and then back bills when they know they should not. For the good of the party, they declare.
What I am saying is that no matter what happens in life or the philosophy you choose to invest your mental capacity towards, don't accept the label that comes with it.
I would only say this to a few choice people I know. People who have the intelligence to understand what I mean. In other words, you have earned my respect as a thinking person, unlike the many brainwashed Americans that flourish in today's under-educated, wal-mart, fast-food, American Idol society.
To close I would like to post this:
Philosophy is everywhere. If one would just stop for only a second, and think.
Cameon, you sound like an agnostic. However, (and this is the point of this post)no matter what you choose to believe in this life, I hope that you will never allow yourself to be labeled. Such as "I am with this group". A prime example of why this is a bad idea can be seen with our countless politicians today. They declare they are republican or democrat, and then back bills when they know they should not. For the good of the party, they declare.
What I am saying is that no matter what happens in life or the philosophy you choose to invest your mental capacity towards, don't accept the label that comes with it.
I would only say this to a few choice people I know. People who have the intelligence to understand what I mean. In other words, you have earned my respect as a thinking person, unlike the many brainwashed Americans that flourish in today's under-educated, wal-mart, fast-food, American Idol society.
To close I would like to post this:
Philosophy is everywhere. If one would just stop for only a second, and think.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Response to objections raised.
So Cameon decided to write a post in response to my letter to my mom. Which I welcome her to do at any time. This is how free exchanging of ideas work. This is how the peer review process works. This is what has made scientific debate such a good system for thousands of years. I submit my thoughts or ideas on a subject (including if applicable data from experimentation) and someone else tries to find holes in my logic. They attempt to knock it down with logic of their own. They fact check me so to speak. This is how science works.
Cameon starts out with a "story" however I think it would be better to call it an analogy. It is about a barber who allows a long haired man to continue to have long hair because the man will not go to the barber for help. Immediately Cameon is giving a flawed argument, her analogy is all wrong to this situation. My initial argument was that we can not see or test the concept of god, much less see god himself. The barber is a physical being that actually exists and everyone knows he exists, you can see him, you can see his shop etc... So her "story" is not applicable here. It is just touching.
Deep down Cameon knows that her argument is flawed, which is why in her next paragraph, she talks about things we can't see but still believe in. Like wind. She is trying to suger coat her barber argument to make it sound like it in fact does apply in this situation. It still does not. Every example she gives like wind can be detected through some means, a device can be constructed to measure wind speed etc... The excitement (fight or flight syndrome) can be measured in the brain during "butterflies in the stomach" etc...etc..etc..
Her aunt then gives her a touching and comforting thought. God needs people to come to his kingdom to be with him. So he allows them to die. That is very very sweet. We will forget entirely the fact that if god "needed" or even "wanted" something it would completely destroy the concept of god being perfect and therefore god himself; let's move on. The idea that people go on to a magical place after death is another thing that can not be tested , observed, recorded, or seen in any way. Not even the affects of said transition can be observed, like wind moving trees.
She then tells something that truly pulls at your heart strings. It is a common story to be told by people who believe in god. Someone had cancer and a miracle happened and the cancer was *poof* gone. I have heard thousands of these stories, and what do the doctors say? Something entirely different. No magic, no miracle. Cancer is a very weird thing. Sometimes a human can be so overcome with cancer that they have days to live and then suddenly, the cancer goes into remission. We don't know why yet, but it is something we are trying to figure out so that we can make it happen more often, instead of just saying "god did it, nothing to study here!" By studying how some people can survive and others can not will help us improve cancer treatment for future generations and may possibly one day lead to a cure. SEE!, by asking questions you can help in this life, you can save lives.
The doctors refuse to say sometimes things happen we can't explain. They instead say, we can learn how to explain it if we try! This is how we have modern medicine today. Penicillin, vaccinations, cancer treatment. Millions of people alive today including me and Cameon, that would be dead right now without someone asking, about things we could not in the past explain but now can.
That is how I feel Cameon.
and, I love you too Cameon.
Cameon starts out with a "story" however I think it would be better to call it an analogy. It is about a barber who allows a long haired man to continue to have long hair because the man will not go to the barber for help. Immediately Cameon is giving a flawed argument, her analogy is all wrong to this situation. My initial argument was that we can not see or test the concept of god, much less see god himself. The barber is a physical being that actually exists and everyone knows he exists, you can see him, you can see his shop etc... So her "story" is not applicable here. It is just touching.
Deep down Cameon knows that her argument is flawed, which is why in her next paragraph, she talks about things we can't see but still believe in. Like wind. She is trying to suger coat her barber argument to make it sound like it in fact does apply in this situation. It still does not. Every example she gives like wind can be detected through some means, a device can be constructed to measure wind speed etc... The excitement (fight or flight syndrome) can be measured in the brain during "butterflies in the stomach" etc...etc..etc..
Her aunt then gives her a touching and comforting thought. God needs people to come to his kingdom to be with him. So he allows them to die. That is very very sweet. We will forget entirely the fact that if god "needed" or even "wanted" something it would completely destroy the concept of god being perfect and therefore god himself; let's move on. The idea that people go on to a magical place after death is another thing that can not be tested , observed, recorded, or seen in any way. Not even the affects of said transition can be observed, like wind moving trees.
She then tells something that truly pulls at your heart strings. It is a common story to be told by people who believe in god. Someone had cancer and a miracle happened and the cancer was *poof* gone. I have heard thousands of these stories, and what do the doctors say? Something entirely different. No magic, no miracle. Cancer is a very weird thing. Sometimes a human can be so overcome with cancer that they have days to live and then suddenly, the cancer goes into remission. We don't know why yet, but it is something we are trying to figure out so that we can make it happen more often, instead of just saying "god did it, nothing to study here!" By studying how some people can survive and others can not will help us improve cancer treatment for future generations and may possibly one day lead to a cure. SEE!, by asking questions you can help in this life, you can save lives.
The doctors refuse to say sometimes things happen we can't explain. They instead say, we can learn how to explain it if we try! This is how we have modern medicine today. Penicillin, vaccinations, cancer treatment. Millions of people alive today including me and Cameon, that would be dead right now without someone asking, about things we could not in the past explain but now can.
That is how I feel Cameon.
and, I love you too Cameon.
Went for a ride the other day.
I love experiencing life. For as an atheist I know it is the only life I will ever have. Just one shot, so you better enjoy it.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Reply to my Mom.
I love my mom, and she only wants the best for me, and from her perspective the best for me includes believing in a god. Specifically the one that she believes in. She sent me an e-mail today giving a heart wrenching tale of an atheist who in his final weeks of life found god. I can respect that, however I did take a moment to respond to her and let her know how I feel. Here is that e-mail. :
We all cope with death in different ways. This person chose to believe that he was not dying for no reason at all. Most of us do make that choice. I however, have long since decided that believing in something to make you feel better is not something I want to take part in. I can assure you that when I am on my death bed I will not look for an imaginary savior, but a good doctor who can possibly help me. I do not have time to devote to things that cannot be seen, heard, or tested.
The concept of god is infallibility. That is "incapable of failure or error; ; "the Catholic Church considers the Pope infallible"; ... according to wordnet.
In science if a theory were infallible then it would be useless and not workable. It is the equivalent of answering the question "how do plants grow?" with "they get larger." Then no one is allowed to contest that answer. Nor, add too it, take away from it, or modify it in anyway. It is the one and only answer that can be given. If we tried to apply answers like this to the real world, all that we have, everything that makes our lives better (and saves millions of lives as well) would be useless. If your mechanic said, "A car runs because a hidden force makes it run.", would you expect him to be capable of fixing your car?
I know what you are thinking, this has nothing to do with GOD!! Of course it does. When someone dies, or if bad things happen, people say "It was God's will." Now, tell me where there is room to inquire further? If I were to ask, "What is god's will? How does it work? What is the criteria of his will? What are the rules it follows? How is God's will implemented? What force does God's will take to interact with things in the universe to make God's will happen? " I would not only be shunned for asking such things but I would get angry looks. I know! It has happened to me before. We are not allowed to ask such things about god because he is above questioning, he is, as I said before, infallible.
Now let us at last go back to the mechanic metaphor. What if, after your car stopped running, the mechanic (without even looking under the hood) tells you, "It was the hidden force giving out, you lost the hidden force." And you start to ask, "Can we get it back? What makes this force? Can I buy this force? Is there something we can do to fix this force? How come the guy down the street still has this force and I don't?" Without even a moments hesitation, your mechanic holds up his hand and says, "Whoa! Sir, we aren't meant to know such things, it is just the will of the force."
Now hopefully, you can see my point.
I love you too mom,
We all cope with death in different ways. This person chose to believe that he was not dying for no reason at all. Most of us do make that choice. I however, have long since decided that believing in something to make you feel better is not something I want to take part in. I can assure you that when I am on my death bed I will not look for an imaginary savior, but a good doctor who can possibly help me. I do not have time to devote to things that cannot be seen, heard, or tested.
The concept of god is infallibility. That is "incapable of failure or error; ; "the Catholic Church considers the Pope infallible"; ... according to wordnet.
In science if a theory were infallible then it would be useless and not workable. It is the equivalent of answering the question "how do plants grow?" with "they get larger." Then no one is allowed to contest that answer. Nor, add too it, take away from it, or modify it in anyway. It is the one and only answer that can be given. If we tried to apply answers like this to the real world, all that we have, everything that makes our lives better (and saves millions of lives as well) would be useless. If your mechanic said, "A car runs because a hidden force makes it run.", would you expect him to be capable of fixing your car?
I know what you are thinking, this has nothing to do with GOD!! Of course it does. When someone dies, or if bad things happen, people say "It was God's will." Now, tell me where there is room to inquire further? If I were to ask, "What is god's will? How does it work? What is the criteria of his will? What are the rules it follows? How is God's will implemented? What force does God's will take to interact with things in the universe to make God's will happen? " I would not only be shunned for asking such things but I would get angry looks. I know! It has happened to me before. We are not allowed to ask such things about god because he is above questioning, he is, as I said before, infallible.
Now let us at last go back to the mechanic metaphor. What if, after your car stopped running, the mechanic (without even looking under the hood) tells you, "It was the hidden force giving out, you lost the hidden force." And you start to ask, "Can we get it back? What makes this force? Can I buy this force? Is there something we can do to fix this force? How come the guy down the street still has this force and I don't?" Without even a moments hesitation, your mechanic holds up his hand and says, "Whoa! Sir, we aren't meant to know such things, it is just the will of the force."
Now hopefully, you can see my point.
I love you too mom,
Friday, February 6, 2009
Most Valuable possesion, is worthless.
My most valuable possessions are completely worthless. They do not exist in the physical world, and would not be worth anything to anyone else but me. Nevertheless I consider them to be the greatest items in my collection.
This of course brings up questions of what is physical worth vs. digital worth. Also questions of "what is value?" spring to mind as well.
Those answers will not come today, Techdirt has been debating that topic for years and are not even close to figuring it out.
No, I will just post them here to show them off.
Thats right, this is photos of me with Penn and Teller. Shot with a crappie camera phone, but to me they are worth more than gold.
Now if someone could arrange a photo with me and James Randi, these would drop to second best. Not trying to insult Penn and Teller, I'm just saying...
This of course brings up questions of what is physical worth vs. digital worth. Also questions of "what is value?" spring to mind as well.
Those answers will not come today, Techdirt has been debating that topic for years and are not even close to figuring it out.
No, I will just post them here to show them off.
Thats right, this is photos of me with Penn and Teller. Shot with a crappie camera phone, but to me they are worth more than gold.
Now if someone could arrange a photo with me and James Randi, these would drop to second best. Not trying to insult Penn and Teller, I'm just saying...
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