Fact: Intelligent Design is harmful because it teaches religious theories as science, which discourages critical thinking.
Fact: Religious people fight for Intelligent Design because they believe evolution is at odds with their beliefs (aka creationism).
Fact: Religious people are not likely to abandon their beliefs and accept evolution en masse.
Fact: Stephen Jay Gould proposed that science and religion are not incompatible, in that science is the wrong medium with which to investigate religion and vice versa. This approach gives Christians room to believe that God created the universe and set evolution in motion.
Fact: Richard Dawkins believes that religion is harmful. Dawkins doesn’t exempt religion from critical examination and doesn’t sell out to gain a wider audience.
Question: Should skeptics accept creationism as separate from and compatible with evolution so that more Christians accept Darwin’s theory, and quit fighting for Intelligent Design?
Just a quick note to say Dragon*Con starts tomorrow. For those of you unfortunate enough to not be attending, you can follow the action at the Skeptrack blog. There’s also a Twitter for Skeptrack, plus of course, you can follow me, Carr2d2 or A.Real.Girl via Twitter as we gloat keep you informed!
Don’t forget to join the illustrious and multi-talented Geek Goddess (of Skepchick Calendar fame) and the Greater Houston Skeptic Society for their inaugural meet-up tonight, August 27, 2008 at the Ragin’ Cajun restaurant (Richmond Ave. location) at 6:30 or 7:00pm CST until whenever.
Approximately 20 people have already RSVP-ed, (see Meetup.com), many of whom read this blog and/or post regularly over at the JREF forum. So there will be some faces (well, names anyway) that are familiar to you hardcore Internet skeptics. And GG tells me we will have the back/side room to ourselves.
As this is the first gathering, it is going to be extremely informal, but I know GG will be looking for input from everyone about future meetings and other things we can do as a group, so bring your kick ass ideas along with a good appetite for Cajun food.
The sexual revolution in the 1960s was great, but you know what? It didn’t fully take.
We can speculate about why. It could be due to periodic resurgences of conservative idealism over the last few decades, or it could be that Americans got too busy with consumerism and eating to care much about sex. But the inroads of that glorious revolution didn’t permeate our culture as well as was hoped. I mean, I was born sometime after it happened, and I’ve been waiting my entire life for the Christian right in this country to stop ruining all of our fun.
Historically, those exalted, self-moralizing dipshits have been the bane of folks like me who like to have a drink every once in a while, and particularly who aren’t ashamed they get randy and really like sex. The puritanical residue that sees sexuality as dirty and somehow immoral is still strong in the US, despite the 1960s. If strip clubs aren’t being closed down because they are too close to a school or a church, some asswipe is lobbying for pasties and a three foot rule for the dancers. Adult video stores and newsstands are picketed and eventually have to shut their doors under pressure from the “righteous”. We can’t have a breast exposed on TV, nor can we say or print many of the cool words associated with sex, like fuck and ass pirate. [Read more →]
So, if you follow my Twittering, you’ve already had a preview of my burning question: If you could have any one superpower, but to have it you would have to be wearing a superhero suit, how often would you wear the suit?
That’s all you get… I don’t care what superpower, or what the suit looks like; I just wonder how long it would take before you get bored of the power and stop wearing the suit. (Come on, you know you would, don’t even try and lie…)
But to know how long it would take for you to get used to the power and the suit, you’ll have to talk about both things, so better just to start there.
Carbs kill cells that regulate appetite - I couldn’t resist posting this after Masala_Skeptic sent it with the title of “Why I am addicted to potatoes.” A woman after my own heart.
Online beauty pageant for nuns - I could not make this stuff up. And then there’s this quote from an article sent in by Mike, “Do you really think nuns are all wizened, funereal old ladies? Today it’s not like that any more, thanks to an injection of youth and vitality brought to our country by foreign girls.”
To those who were at Boston Skeptics in the Pub Trivia this evening, here is the video clip you’ve been awaiting. During Round Four (guess the monster round) and later, I spent quite a bit of time joking about the mothman saying the bone=chilling word “chapstick.” At least one person out of forty was as amused as I was, so to catch the rest of you up, here’s the trailer for the Mothman Prophesies. Fast forward to 1:30 for the lulz. It’s currently 1:30 am and I keep watching and rewatching, laughing hysterically. Those of you who were not at Skeptics in the Pub, you truly missed out on many good times, mostly of which* involved me saying “CHAP-STICK” breathlessly into the microphone at random moments.
*mostly of which? That can’t be right. I’m very tired.
Most of us have friends that are true believers of one wooey thing or another. But when is it too much?
When do you decide that someone believes in something that makes it impossible to be friends with them? Would you stop being friends with a good friend who believed in that something? Or would it just prevent you from starting a new friendship with them? Or are there no friendship litmus-test topics, but rather only opportunities to educate friends?
I swear this will be my last rant about pet psychics. For today.
When I saw the headline, “City puts the bite on pet psychic,” I was way too optimistic. I actually got a little giddy, thinking that this little New England paper accomplished what the San Francisco Gate could not: an actual news report about a scam artist getting busted. I was ready to overlook the fact that “puts the bite on” is not a commonly used phrase that would make sense — after all, the journalist doesn’t usually come up with the stupid, godawful punny headlines. I was intrigued to find out what the psychic had done to get “the bite” from the city and eagerly clicked the link. [Read more →]
On this day in 1609, Galileo went before the Venetian Senate to present his telescope. Although he presented this as his own invention, he did get some inspiration from Dutch spectacle makers who, earlier had combined lenses to create…erm, well…. the telescope. (To be fair, Galileo’s telescope was an improvement on the original.) (And he rocked even harder and used it to change the world.)
Regardless, Galileo’s presentation to the Senate was very successful: he garnered a lifelong appointment to the University of Padua, and with his telescope he was able to see three moons of Jupiter, observe the phases of Venus, prove heliocentrism, and, well, you know, change the world. (Rocking harder, like I said.)
On this day in 2008 I’m on my way across the country, stopping first in Boulder, and then on to Dragon*Con on Thursday. I will rock as hard as I can, but I’m not promising anything world changing.
Oh, I’m bringing 2009 Skepchick and Skepdude Calendars to D*C, don’t you know, and they’ll be for sale through out the weekend. If you want to have them signed, this is the last chance this year. Ben Radford, D.J. Grothe, Richard Saunders, Alison Smith, and my own self will be there with Sharpies. Same pricing as ever: $20 for one, $35 for two.
Unfortunately, I was unable to put together the kind of porn bonanza I had for bug_girl’s birthday Friday. Turns out, there is no TARDIS porn on the interewbs. Well, I’m sure there is, but I can’t find it. I putting out an APB for all Skepchick readers to be on the lookout for some porn and to please post it here!
With all these Skepchick birthdays, I’m a little concerned for my marriage should my husband look at my Google history. (”No, really, I was searching those terms for my friend!”)
The best I do was bake this cake for you. Which obviously got kidnapped and taken to London instead of being delivered to the beach for you and Masala_Skeptic to enjoy today with your umbrella drinks and sexy skeptic friends. I apologize, but at least the British girl who stole your cake was nice enough to film herself enjoying it.
Hope you’re having a really great one. I wish I were on the beach with you today; I hear the weather is almost as amazing as you are.
It’s a week of new features and here’s the newest: The Weekly Wrap-up. TWW is a one-stop-shop for the week’s posts, including brief descriptions and links. So, if work is crazy, your internet goes down, or you get distracted by life and fear you’ve missed something important - TWW is here for you. No need to scroll through pages of prior posts - that’s way too much effort! It’s all here.
The name, btw, is up for grabs. I’m pressed for time this weekend and didn’t even attempt to come up with a creative name. I am, however, thoroughly confident that one exists. If any clever, nerdy, and/or snarky suggestions magically appear in the comments, a very special Skepchick commenter may win the honor of naming the newest Skepchick feature. Oh, and my undying gratitude.
