Good without God, believers and otherwise

At Daylight Atheism, Ebonmuse has posted on the struggles of non-believers to put their simple messages in public places that invite traditional religious messages. Examples are these inflammatory messages: "Millions of Americans are Good without God," and "Don't Believe in God? You Are Not Alone." In another recent post, Ebonmuse points out that many Americans lie about going to church. The actual numbers of people who attend church regularly are much lower than self-reports. His analysis includes strategies for severing the alleged link between religiosity and morality. These are two of the highly relevant posts that you'll find at Daylight Atheism, an excellent site that explores religion and atheism.

Continue ReadingGood without God, believers and otherwise

Progressives need a story

I have previously written about the importance of storytelling. It is arguably the most effective way to make a memorable and effective argument. In the January 3, 2011 edition of The Nation, Eric Alterman argues that conservatives have a story and progressives do not.

[I]f you ask most Americans what conservatives believe will fix whatever is wrong with America at any given time, they can give you a simple, coherent response: lower taxes, less government, more “freedom.” It may be wrong. It may benefit only the rich. But it is easy to understand and repeat, particularly when billions of dollars have been invested to make it appear plausible.… Liberals do not appear to address potential solutions with anything like the far right's aura of God-given self-confidence.
Alterman points out that the Democrats' lack of a story lets Republicans run wild. It allows Republicans to proudly argue for “a tax 'compromise' with the president in which they are happy to assign more than 133 billion (out of a total of 347 billion) to fewer than five million Americans--the five million who are already lucky enough to be earning more than $250,000 per year.”

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More incredible animations of microscopic worlds

In recent weeks, I've spent some time trying to learn more about the inner workings of cells. It turns out that there are some fantastic animations that have been created on this topic. For instance:

Harvard University selected XVIVO to develop an animation that would take their cellular biology students on a journey through the microscopic world of a cell, illustrating mechanisms that allow a white blood cell to sense its surroundings and respond to an external stimulus. This award winning piece was the first topic in a series of animations XVIVO is creating for Harvards educational website BioVisions at Harvard.
How were these animations made? The New York Times provides the explanation. And here is the accompanying video.

Continue ReadingMore incredible animations of microscopic worlds