What follows is a lengthy discussion I had with an atheist earlier this year on my old blog. I thought it might be of interest to regular readers and to new visitors from Pharyngula and elsewhere around the blogosphere where I have been involved in conversations. _________________________________ Andrew Krause was kind enough to send me an e-mail with comments that were too long for the ‘comments’ function on the web page. I am reproducing his e-mail below, with his permission:... Read more
“It is the height of intellectual perversity to renounce, in the name of scientific objectivity, our position as the highest form of life on earth, and our own advent by a process of evolution as the most important problem of evolution” (Michael Polanyi, The Tacit Dimension (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1967) p.47). Read more
Here’s a variation on the hoax allegedly from a French organization, this time connected with an Italian one. As with that one, a real organization is used, but the e-mail clearly is not from them. The address it was sent from is [email protected] and the other one mentioned is a Norwegian Yahoo! address. Don’t fall for these scams! __________________________________ Fondazion Di Vittorio, ITALYhttp://www.fondazionedivittorio.itBATCH NO: (N-222-6747,E-900-56) Prize NotificationCongratulations as we bring to your notice, The FoundazionDi Vittorio has chosen you by... Read more
Lots of people take pleasure in denying the label “Christian” (or at least “real Christian” or “true Christian” to others). A story about a pious grandmother told on the Ancient Hebrew Poetry blog led me to ask yet again what it means to be a Christian, and how one defines a “good” one. That grandmotherly example, after a bit of reflection, might suggest the following: 1) Only read the good bits of the Bible (or at least only focus on... Read more
OK, I have finally submitted final grades, which were due today at 10am. This marks the end of what was probably the toughest semester thus far for me, just in terms of getting behind on grading. Dealing with getting my tenure dossier submitted, then a week-long conference trip, plus food poisoning twice and roughly seven colds – sheesh! But it is at long last over, and now I can try to finish up some writing projects and a few other... Read more
A lot of people have been finding their way here searching for information about the black screen after login problem on Windows Vista. I hope Other popular search terms that have been leading people here over the past day or so include: indiana jones relevant archeologydna research harappaoh my gosh in hebrewmousetrap tie clipfamily tree great great great unclestar wars christmas [email protected] [an e-mail address connected with a scam]email:[email protected] [another e-mail address connected with a scam]sterling who’s whomadison whos who... Read more
The Gospels of Matthew, Luke and Thomas all share in common certain familiar parables. They also share the fact that each one supplements that core of common parables with others (presumably of their own creation, although some may also have been inherited from earlier sources, whether living, oral or written). It had never occurred to me before to try a simple exercise, namely to compare the unique parables in each of these Gospels with the common core that they share... Read more
Really, how stupid do these spammers think people are? Would anyone send their personal information to someone who claims a dead guy in Nigeria left them money, or they won a UK lottery they didn’t give their e-mail address to? Would anyone believe that the representative of the National Lottery in the UK has a Yahoo! e-mail address in Hong Kong?! Here is the text of the two e-mails: ___________________________ —The National LotteryP O Box 1010Liverpool, L70 1NLUNITED KINGDOM(Customer Services)Ref:... Read more
The Uncommon Descent blog asks why so many skeptics of Darwinian evolution tend to be mathematicians, engineers and people qualified in similar fields. Finally, at least they are asking the right questions – at least implicitly, the question recognizes that biologists aren’t skeptical, and that those who lead the antievolution campaigns aren’t biologists. The answer is simple: because they aren’t biologists. All they need to do is study biology at university level. Young-earth creationists created their own schools because those... Read more
DISCLAIMER: What follows is a parody. Any suspicion that what follows reflects actual events and the genuine involvement of the persons mentioned is misguided. None of the persons mentioned – Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, William Dembski, the Pope, FTK, cdesign proponentsists, flat earthers, penguins, camels, Barry Manilow and amoebas – has approved of this parody or any of the comments that it may generate. I have no evidence that any real-life mathmematician actually calculated that there is no information in... Read more
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