— 1 — When I get overbooked and miss a week of Quick Takes, I get enough of a backlog for seven gloriously nerdy links. Let’s start with the pyrotechnics and build from there, shall we? Via io9 [which is throwing an error, so try this link], science photographer Richard Roscoe wanted to figure out what would happen if a human (or a grotesque hobbit) fell into lava. Would they sink right through or burn on top of the molten rock? You could... Read more
Patheos has added Camels with Hammers, written by philosophy professor Daniel Finke to the Atheist channel. Here’s a snippet of his intro post: I am like Nietzsche’s camel. While I am many miles away from morally perfect, I have been a generally conscientious person since I was a child and was devoutly, zealously, evangelically, self-sacrificially, and mildly puritanically religious until I was 21. And I am open to certain interpretations of my personality that see it as still fundamentally religious—as... Read more
As you may recall, concussions in football is one of my hobbyhorses. So of course I was interested when I saw that Kevin Cook had a NYT op-ed on the subject. If you follow the topic, you’ve probably seen most of the data, but he had some interesting information about how the NFL screens players: The N.F.L. now uses simple written or computerized cognitive tests to assess concussions. Before each season, players are shown a page featuring 20 words and asked to write down... Read more
Andrew Brown is in The Guardian claiming any sufficiently interesting theory of the world is indistinguishable from religion. There’s a lot to debate there, but do you mind if I put the broader issue aside for a second to come to the defense of science! Brown writes: And atheism can be just as theologically incorrect: today’s paper told me that: “our bodies are built and controlled by far fewer genes than scientists had expected“. The metaphors of “building” and “controlling” have... Read more
And they tempted Chris Hallquist (who blogs as the Uncredible Hallq) to forsake Freethought Blogs and join the Patheos Atheist channel). Chris has been an English teacher in South Korea and he’s soon to start work as a researcher for the Singularity Institute. I’ll confess, I’ve seen more of what he’s written at Less Wrong than chez lui, but I am intrigued by his attempt to beta test his new book. He’s putting chapters online as he writes and inviting... Read more
Since we’ve been discussing some Mormon perspectives on conversion and personal revelation, I’ve got the perfect excuse to link to Daniel Siliman’s essay on Catholic conversion stories. It’s very much a RTWT, but I’ll post an excerpt to whet your appetite. (Ok, it’s a long excerpt. I got carried away.) My sense is, too, that while there’re certainly historic examples of Catholic conversion narratives, that this widespread popularity — that conversion narratives as a common Catholic practice — is new.... Read more
There are less than two months til Halloween, and I’m pretty behind on costuming. Last year I was a cyberpunk courier, and this year I’m planning to be a dryad. Last year’s costume was finished in a couple of hellish late nights, and I’d really like to avoid that fate this year. Except I made a map using Freemind of everything I need to do and think about, and the results were sobering. So, would you all mind if I... Read more
I’ve subscribed to an epistolary novel, which may be of interest to readers of this blog. It is titled Ora et Labora et Zombies. Ora et labora (pray and work) is a motto of the Benedictine monks; et Zombies is where the plot kicks in. The story is set in the present day. There has been some kind of cataclysm, and our protagonist has retreated with his son to a Benedictine monastery. His wife was out of town as the crisis broke, so... Read more
Tony Jones blogs for Patheos at Theoblogy and he’s put out an open call for tough questions for Christians. Quoth he: I’m not afraid of doubt. I, myself, am a doubter. But I consider a large part of my vocation as a Christian theologian to proffer intellectually honest answers to the big questions of faith. So this series is for everyone who doubts. It’s for your friends who are agnostic and atheistic. It’s a place for them to email me... Read more
It’s a guest post by Michael Haycock! He blogs aperiodically at Not a Tame Lion, and helped clear up factual questions about Romney’s priesthood along with more abstract questions about Mormon theology of priesthood the last time he guestblogged here. Now he’s popping in to talk about conversions than win over hearts as well as minds in the light of a recent On the Square piece. It is a typical indictment of Mormon proselytization and practice that it’s all predicated on... Read more
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