Mathematics is inadequate to describe the universe, since mathematics is an abstraction from natural phenomena. Also, mathematics may predict things which don’t exist, or are impossible in nature. — Ludovico delle Colombe, criticizing Galileo.  [more...]

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In this online game of Roman-controlled Britian, murderous characters (i.e. gamers who play characters and use these characters to murder other gamers’ characters) are crucified and hung in a public square for seven days. I assume after the seven days the gamer/character can continue playing, and I’m not sure how long seven days last– time sense in a game can directly coincide with reality, or not. Other players can stop by and taunt. This is a testament to a side of my humor considered “dark” because I laughed. What a great way to teach young folks what things were like in history. Well, almost. [crossposted and edited from my other blog]
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I will survive, song rendition by Jesus Christ.

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A member of this cult is called a “disciple”. What it really means is that this person went through the requisite and planned Bible Studies at which each step they must agree to the cult’s rules, culled from selective Bible quotes, in order to get baptized and be saved. Here are the ten studies; each one is done with at least two or three cult members surrounding the victims. [More... not as long as the last one, but this post can really open someone's eyes to how a cult operates]

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No one told me that they will shower you with love, and subtley draw you into their world. They invited me to hang out with them at cafes. They invited me to devotionals where everyone hugged you and gave you oodles of attention. They invited me to study the bible with them– the clincher, the maneuver to get you to admit that the only way you can be saved is through them. [More... BUT this is a really long post with a large warning at the end of it.]

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Against this pattern, creationists employ a destructive, shotgun approach. They present no testable alternative but fire a volley of rhetorical criticism in the form of unconnected, shaky factual claims — a pot pourri (literally, a rotten pot, in this case) of nonsense that beguiles many people because it masquerades in the guise of fact and trades upon the false prestige of supposedly pure observation.” [my emphasis] [more...]

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My prof gave one of the most wonderful lectures this morning to how to think about history, not just in terms of memorized dates, but also in terms of reality-context. It was probably a more profound lecture on thinking in general than most of my classmates realized, but the prof knew it and he uses it to bring to each lecture a sense of depth. He made the enterprise of “how to think of history” integrated, clear, and contextual. The word “significance” was emphasized; how is the path of one people’s interacting with another connected to a later date? There is wisdom floating around, one just has to recognize it and think about it: “While we may not always be able to predict the future, we can certainly look into our past. We can see how some things occured through the things that occured before that. And throughout history, we can follow paths to understand how things and events in the past made today possible.” [more....]

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An example:

ARGUMENT FROM WOW
(1) "When I look into the sky and see all the pretty stars, all those galaxies..."
(2) Wow.
(3) Therefore, God exists. [more under the cut]
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"So much in our material culture is both alluring and dangerous at the same time– try fast cars and high-stakes poker for starters. Why shouldn’t a fundamental issue in our intellectual lives possess the same properties?" –Stephen Jay Gould, from Dinosaur in a Haystack

He also writes about the pop cultural lack of intelligent life in Bully for Brontosaurus.

“Still, most crazes get started for odd and unpredictable reasons and then propogate by a kind of mass intoxication and social conformity.” p. 98

“As intellectuals, we acknowledge and accept a minority status in our culture (since hope, virtue, and reality rarely coincide). We therefore know that we must seize our advantages by noting popular trends and trying to divert some of their energy into rivulets that might benefit learning and education. The dinosaur craze should be a blessing for us, since the source material is a rip-off of our efforts– the labor of paleontologists, the great skeletons mounted in our museums.” p. 98read more »

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This cracked me up! From UTI, I found the Metabolism of Evolution Information in the Blogosphere, at Moment of Science.

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I always have trouble with introductory postings because I always just want to jump in and start yammering. However, this is my first effort at being part of a like-minded online community, so I figured it would be worthwhile to introduce myself....

I'm an undergraduate student of science (physiology) at a university in the Bay Area, California.  This will be my second Bachelor's degree, as my first was in visual arts (digital design & photography). I was in the web design industry for a couple of years, but now I plan to see how far I can go with the science degree. By the end of my life, I hope to have at least two PhDs. I have a wide variety of interests, but the scientific process fits me best. I prefer critical thinking over brute memorization. I often frustrate my profs a bit by asking questions and arguing my way to understanding. The best method in which I learn concepts is to be hands-on and independent, interactive and curious. I can only sit still if the material is sufficiently hard enough to engage me completely. read more »

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