I remember when the FBI unleashed their "Carnivore" internet monitoring system in the 1990's. Everyone was up in arms because the FBI could listen in to all email and run it through filters to store a database of all emails containing suspicious phrases, or from specific addresses. The controversy got…
Edge.org has just released it's Annual Question. This year's version: WHAT HAVE YOU CHANGED YOUR MIND ABOUT? WHY?" I've read a couple dozen answers so far. As always, the answers are intellectually stimulating, challenging to common sense and entertaining. Television producer Karl Sabbagh weighs in this year with his realization that expertise has serious…
"Duelity" has put together a creative side-by-side presentation for your enlightenment, with a fun twist. When you visit Duelity, pick "Watch," then choose "Duelity" (rather than just "Creationism" or just "Evolution") for the best effect.
If it's an emergency situation where you lost your glasses and you need to read something, all you need is a leaf and a tiny stick, or a piece of paper and a pin. Robert Krampf explains it at the Science Education Company. I just tried his simple technique and…
If you’re tired of hearing heated yet worn-out arguments regarding religion and science, check out this intellectually nimble and energized exchange published by Edge.org: Responses by David Sloan Wilson, Michael Shermer, Sam Harris, P. Z. Myers and Mark D. Hauser to Jonathon Haidt’s “Moral Psychology and the Misunderstanding of Religion.” Here’s a link to Haidt’s original article (“Moral Psychology and the Misunderstanding of Religion.”).
David Sloan Wilson sets the tone by challenging “the new atheists” to answer all four of the following questions:
1. Is there any empirically verifiable evidence for the existence of supernatural agents?
2. If not, how can we explain the phenomenon of religion in naturalistic terms?
3. What are the impacts of religion, good or bad, on human welfare? and
4. How can we use our understanding of religion to advance the goals of a stable and peaceful society?
Wilson argues that the new atheists sometimes neglect questions 2, 3 and 4. “This is like a debater leaving the debate after the opening round.”
For his part, Sam Harris reaches even deeper than usual in two his arsenal of weapons to present the many stupidities exhibited by many religions. In the process, Harris suggests that Haidt had incorrectly argued that all religious ways of life contains some wisdom and insights. In his response, Haidt makes it clear that he is suggesting no such thing. I won’t review the challenges and criticisms issued by the other reviewers point by point, but I’ll skip to Haidt’s …
