Comments on: Let’s Play “Lose Ben Stein’s Movie”

By: JJ

JJ — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 23:03:54 +0000

Here’s a less breathy and more hard news version in the Orlando Sentinel –
The anti-evolution bill passes in the Senate”

Whatever your view of Reason and Not, you might want to wade into the 143-and-still-counting comments . . .

By: JJ

JJ — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 23:00:05 +0000

Too bad the IDiot bill passed the Florida Senate today, see the Florida Baptist Witness story here, read it and weep for Reason . . .

By: Legislative “Nutz” Scraping “Bottom” of Issues Barrel « Cocking A Snook!

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 15:26:50 +0000

[...] the absolute s**t about Ben Stein’s documented propaganda as “evolution academic freedom” continues to be excreted in my state capital’s chambers, as the education funding crisis and [...]

By: Ben Stein’s Expelled — EXPOSED! « Cocking A Snook!

Ben Stein’s Expelled — EXPOSED! « Cocking A Snook! — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 14:43:35 +0000

[...] my state could use right now, with that twisted sophist “academic freedom” protection bill (specifically to protect creationist teaching in public school science class) moving through the [...]

By: JJ

JJ — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 14:17:40 +0000

From Liza at Culture Kitchen: Expelled EXPOSED — “sit back and pass the popcorn. . .”

By: Nance Confer

Nance Confer — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 12:49:11 +0000

http://boremetotears.blogspot.com/2008/03/in-case-you-missed-story.html

Dawkins and Myers speak.

Nance

By: JJ

JJ — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 00:26:46 +0000

Childish, toddler — that version of the story really is quite “id” and not much ego-superego, now that you mention it!

By: Lisa Giebitz

Lisa Giebitz — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 22:19:19 +0000

Ugh, I forgot about that childish notion that it’s all here for our pleasure.

Though even toddlers get their playthings taken away when they can’t take care of them.

By: JJ

JJ — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 19:41:03 +0000

Inspiring video I hadn’t seen, thanks Lisa —

All this put me in mind of Inherit the Wind the classic movie in which, to defend the glaring fatal contradictions in his biblical literalism, the preacher and populist politician explains flatly that “I do not think about things I do not think about!”

By: JJ

JJ — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 19:21:30 +0000

Good point — maybe because they also believe “man” was given “dominion” over them and so they serve at Man’s pleasure?

OTOH, it’s all “life” and taken together directly supportive of human life too, so you’d think “pro-life” would include all life, i.e. would translate to pro-bio?

By: Lisa Giebitz

Lisa Giebitz — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 17:42:04 +0000

You know, this has always stumped me:

If those ID/Creationists guys believe that each species was put here just the way it is now by God himself, why do they seem complacent about animal/plant preservation? It seems to me, by their logic, that they’d go NUTTERS over the impending extinction of a species, seeing as an example of Divine work would be gone forever.

Just saying.

Made me think of this talk by E.O. Wilson:
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/83

By: JJ

JJ — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 14:37:30 +0000

Could be — and at least we do know very clearly what Dawkins himself has in mind, along with the endower of his Oxford chair for “the public understanding of science” because it’s beautifully spelled out in this 1995 letter:

The public’s expectation of scholars is high, and it is only fitting that we have a high expectation of the public.

‘Understanding’ in this instance should be taken a little poetically as well as
literally. The goal is for the public to appreciate the order and beauty of the abstract and natural worlds which is there, hidden, layer-upon-layer. To share the excitement and awe that scientists feel when confronting the greatest of riddles. To have empathy for the scientists who are humbled by the grandeur of it all.

Those in the audience who reach the understanding sufficient to reveal the order and beauty in science will also gain greater insight into the connectedness of science and their everyday life.

Finally,’ science’ here means not only the natural and mathematical sciences but also the history of science and the philosophy of science as well. However, preference should be given to specialties which express or achieve their results mainly by symbolic manipulation. . . the utilization of powerful mathematical and data processing tools ensure tremendous progress.

At the same time, the very means of success tends to isolate the scientists from the lay audience and prevents the communication of the results.

Considering the profoundly vital interdependence between the society at large and the scientific world, the dearth of effective information flow is positively dangerous.