You’ll never find anyone who writes more clearly about mathematics than John Paulos. Exhibit A is Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and its Consequences (1990). Paulos doesn’t limit his inquiries and writings to pure mathematics, however. Mathematics permeates numerous social issues, and Paulos is happy to jump into the fray whereever that is…
Could this headline ever run in a major newspaper?
Of course not! Never is the alleged wall between the news department and the sales department of newspapers so low as during the holy season of senseless spending.
Yes, I changed this headline to make a point. The real headline disturbed me and I was struggling to effectively explain why. I even considered an alternative make-believe headline: “In the name of Jesus, newspapers promote the buying of useless things, through purported news articles, to make their advertisers happy.” Both of my false headlines reflect the deep and disturbing reality of what drives modern day American Christmas better than the headline that actually ran. Here’s the actual front page headline reporting the earth-shaking news that Thanksgiving Friday retail sales were brisk:
The actual headline works hard to convince us that we the shoppers are heroes trying to conquer the challenge of shopping on a deadline or, perhaps, victims of the long lines. I seriously question both of those characterizations. I would say that many of us have been hoodwinked by fake news.
For the next thirty days or so, newspaper “articles” and television “news” reports will work hard to convince us to buy expensive and unnecessary consumer goods, allegedly to honor Jesus Christ. The message is absurd. Absurd, but powerfully seductive.
Science Network, an educational organization based in California, recently sponsored a La Jolla, California conference entitled “Beyond Belief: Science, Religion, Reason and Survival.” According to this article, the conference rapidly escalated into an invigorating intellectual free-for-all.” You can watch videos of the sessions here. The speakers were numerous well-credentialed scientists…
Here is a link to a 2006 documentary called "The Root of All Evil? - Part I," narrated by Richard Dawkins. In this elegantly written and presented documentary, Dawkins does not mince words. He explores the seductive beauty of religion, as well as the damage that religion, especially fundamentalist religion,…
Here's a short video of Richard Dawkins recently answering this question.