Want to do a mitzvah for Greta Christina?

Last updated on: October 18, 2012 at 12:50 pm By Leah Libresco

Greta Christina, an atheist blogger, has been struggling with grief the last few weeks after the death of her father. Unfortunately, she’s also just been diagnosed with endometrial cancer. She transitioned to full time writing and speaking earlier this year, which means being slowed down by illness and treatment has a huge impact on her finances. She’s asking for donations (and book recommendations), and I’m chipping in (and shipping Arcadia). I know I’ve got a crossover audience, so I wanted to... Read more

“To Be or not To Be” How to frame the question?

Last updated on: October 17, 2012 at 5:52 pm By Leah Libresco

I’ve been doing lectio divina in the Gospel of John, and I found myself paying a lot of attention to the use of the verb “to be.” (I was thinking about the I am that I am answer that God gives to Moses when asked for his name). But then I got a bit distracted by a nerdy translation question: How do people translate Exodus 3:14 (“And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say... Read more

A Binder Full of Women in Every Pot!

Last updated on: October 17, 2012 at 3:48 pm By Leah Libresco

I tend to watch the debates with Twitter and Facebook open. When both candidates are committed to not answering the question asked, my temper gets short, and I need the snarky tweets of Tristyn to be able to go on without hitting something. So I saw the memification of “binders full of women” play out in real time, and I was ticked off. If you care to pop over to The Huffington Post, I have a piece up praising the actual... Read more

Tell Me Which Women Scientists/Authors/Geeks Inspire You

Last updated on: October 16, 2012 at 5:12 pm By Leah Libresco

There is a big old fight happening in the comments thread of my Ada Lovelace Day post. That’s totally fine, but I do want people to share recommendations, without risking being drawn into an argument or having to scroll past discussions of differing rates of married male and female saints to find the suggestions. So, normal commenting rules are suspended for this post. Here’s what you can post: Women in STEM fields (living or dead, fiction or nonfictional) that you’d like us... Read more

Happy Ada Lovelace Day!

Last updated on: October 16, 2012 at 5:16 pm By Leah Libresco

I hope you all have parties planned. In case you don’t remember from last year’s celebration, Ada Lovelace day is a time to celebrate and bring attention to women in science, tech, and math. Here’s how it got started and how it works today: Ada Lovelace Day was launched in 2009 with a simple pledge on British civil action site, Pledgebank. Nearly 2,000 people signed up to blog about a woman in technology whom they admired on 24 March. The day... Read more

To take up arms against a sea of sexists

Last updated on: October 15, 2012 at 5:50 pm By Leah Libresco

In July of 2011, an unpleasant incident at an atheism conference prompted a much needed discussion about sexism (including careless or negligent acts of sexism). Over a year later, Jen McCreight, who did some kickass blogging in the wake of the elevator incident and is a fierce fighter for women (and men who want to treat people decently) got driven offline by a brutal campaign of harassment and threats. I’ve included a few posts related to her fight in this... Read more

Housekeeping Note

Last updated on: October 15, 2012 at 5:15 pm By Leah Libresco

When I made the move over to Patheos last October, all my post tags got wiped out. I was much too lazy to deal with retagging for a while, but I’m working through the backlog at 5 posts a day. Sometimes I notice that a series of linked posts never got a Sequence Index post, so don’t be surprised or confused if new ones pop up in your RSS reader. Read more

Post-Chicago Update + Radio Interview

Last updated on: October 13, 2012 at 2:22 pm By Leah Libresco

I had a lovely time at Chicago Ideas Week, and my 15 minute talk on the Ideological Turing Test and how to have better fights should be online in about a month. For a preview of what my co-panelists and I talked about, you can check out the image above. Chicago Ideas Week contracted with Ink Factory to have posters drawn during each of the talks that highlighted key ideas. I’m standing in front of the illustration they generated during... Read more

7 Quick Takes (10/12/12)

Last updated on: October 12, 2012 at 1:03 am By Leah Libresco

— 1 — Vi Hart is continuing her lovely videos on hexaflexagons! Catch up on installment one, and then watch the video below (in which Feynman enters our narrative, so everything gets very wonderful, very fast). — 2 — I’m a little nervous about sequel/prequels, but my queasy feelings about Monsters University, are very slightly calmed by the kickass website that Pixar put together for the titular school. It’s incredibly detailed (down to an events calendar and police safety alerts)... Read more

The Generic God of the Stump Speech

Last updated on: October 11, 2012 at 2:34 pm By Leah Libresco

Patheos bloggers are roundtabling on issues of faith and politics in the run-up to the election. This week’s prompt is: “What’s wrong–and what’s right–with the role of faith in American politics today? For instance: How should church and state be separated, and how should they work together? Does one side manipulate faith more than another? How do you see you the candidates appealing to voters of faith?” I was ticked off during the Democratic National Convention when the party crowbarred... Read more

Who was the Roman governor at the trial of Jesus?