Why Bother Genemodding?

Last updated on: November 14, 2012 at 4:12 pm By Leah Libresco

Flesh to fiber-optic interface from Battlestar Galactica Alex Knapp likes to kick around transhumanist problems at Forbes, and he’s concluded genetic engineering will almost certainly result in “horrific moral atrocities.” Simply put: The “failed prototypes” are people. People who have to grow up and live with the consequences of the inevitable mistakes that will be made in the process of experimenting. Assuming, of course, they can physically live with those consequences at all. And there’s the problem. When you get... Read more

Dualism and Descartes’s Demon

Last updated on: November 5, 2012 at 12:45 am By Leah Libresco

At the National Catholic Register, Frank Cronin has written a post titled, “Atheism, Quidditch, and the Truth.” So that was enough linkbait alone to have me itching to write a post, but then, just to sweeten the deal, the whole thing turns out to be about dualism (which gives me a good opening to talk transhumanism). So let’s get going. The Harry Potter reference in the title looks like it’s just there for the search engines, since he uses Quidditch... Read more

Living Safely in a Fantastical Universe

Last updated on: November 5, 2012 at 12:43 am By Leah Libresco

So, to return to the promise I made you on Thursday, here’s a quick meditation on the exceedingly blurry line between Fantasy and Science Fiction. There are two main genres of division I hear frequently. The first separates fantasy from scifi on primarily aesthetic grounds. Both involve fantastical settings, but one tends to be all blinking lights and brushed chrome, while the other is all thatch and dragons. This probably isn’t the definition we want to embrace, but I do... Read more

The Idiotic Interfaith 9/11 Backlash

Last updated on: November 5, 2012 at 12:42 am By Leah Libresco

I know I promised a scifi vs fantasy post next, but I’m delaying it for one that is timely and a little more germane to this blog. A model of interfaith outreach Today, the hullabaloo over the exclusion of religious figures from New York City’s 9/11 memorial service made the front page of The New York Times. Scrolling through my ‘Religion’ folder in Google Reader, I’m still seeing post after post from Christians expressing outrage. Let me try to address... Read more

7 Quick Science Takes (9/9/11)

Last updated on: November 5, 2012 at 12:38 am By Leah Libresco

–1– Yesterday I ran a post on science fiction and philosophy and the next one coming up is going to be on the distinction between science fiction and fantasy. So let’s make this a science-themed edition of quick-takes (as if I needed an excuse). But before we move off sci-fi entirely, I want to link to a post on this topic by John C. Wright, an atheist-to-Catholic convert and Nebula nominee for his scifi writing. When it first ran, the... Read more

The Continuation of Philosophy by Other Means

Last updated on: November 3, 2012 at 9:39 pm By Leah Libresco

A post on science fiction and religion? Don’t mind if I do! (And how apropos to find this on the day when, according to Amazon, my new copy of Michael Flynn’s Eifelheim is out for delivery). Long story short, Steve Davidson of Grasping for the Wind wrote a post explaining why he thinks that “Religion, at its core, is a concept antithetical to the core concepts of science fiction.” He gives a fuller explanation at the site, complete with examples,... Read more

On Getting Out of the Religion Game

Last updated on: November 3, 2012 at 9:33 pm By Leah Libresco

A week or so ago, Luke Muehlhauser of Common Sense Atheism surprised the atheist blogosphere when he announced he was done with atheism vs theism arguments. He explained: The reason I’m an atheist isn’t because of the argument from evil or from unbelief or from inconsistent revelations or anything. No, the reason I’m an atheist is because theism drastically fails Solomonoff induction. If I want to pull somebody away from magical thinking, I don’t need to mention atheism. Instead, I... Read more

Happy Labor Day!

Last updated on: November 3, 2012 at 9:32 pm By Leah Libresco

People tend to be a little flip about the importance of unions every Labor Day. I’ve already seen on facebook post by a friend saying “Happy Labor Day! Celebrate with appropriate laziness!” And sarcasm or condescension (“The unions used to be necessary, but we’re past that now”) is often the best the labor movement can hope for. More often the reaction on the right is rage against the “job-killing unions.” In fact, one of the best things you can say about the labor... Read more

Sneaky Critiques

Last updated on: November 3, 2012 at 9:30 pm By Leah Libresco

With so many reasons to oppose Rick Santorum’s candidacy, I’m disappointed at the justification offered by one commenter at The Daily Dish. S/he wrote: This is only a half-formed idea, but as I watched Santorum engage the Penn State students, I couldn’t help but wonder if candidate Santorum is really bad for Catholics. He seems to be suggesting that he’s been persecuted for his dogmatic following of the Church’s teachings. Nevermind that a thinking person and someone trying to be the leader... Read more

7 Quick Vid Takes (9/2/11)

Last updated on: November 3, 2012 at 9:18 pm By Leah Libresco

–1– Last week: literature and language, this week: YouTube clips. (And the process of clearing out my Quick Takes link list carries on apace). No explicit theme, but I suppose you could play stereotypical-Leah-interests bingo, or something. (Fractal geometry is the FREE space on this bingo board, natch). –2– If advertisements for malls were usually this charming, maybe I wouldn’t regard them as a blight on civilization. One English mall shows 100 years of fashion (and dance moves) in a... Read more