Finds good in all religions. No good in atheism though.… Read the rest
Priest Arrested in Brazil on altar boy charges 
May 25th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The third case of sexual abuse involving a priest in Brazil in the last two months. … Read the rest
Priest says better a dead woman than an abortion
May 25th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“There are some situations where the mother may in fact die along with her child,” says Rev. John Ehrich, medical ethics director for the Diocese of Phoenix.… Read the rest
Two errors and a slur
May 25th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Of Karl Giberson’s, that Jerry Coyne points out. Giberson replies, but incompletely.… Read the rest
New sandbox rules
May 24th, 2010 12:32 pm | By Ophelia BensonKarl Giberson explains about political science in the US and what it means for how we have to behave:
America has a complex and enduring commitment to pluralism. We want people to be free to act — and believe — as they please. But we must all play in the same sandbox, so we are attentive to the idiosyncrasies of our playmates, especially when they don’t make sense to us.
By “attentive” it turns out he means we don’t disagree with them, and by “idiosyncrasies” it turns out he means beliefs, no matter how unreasonable and arbitrary and evidence-free. So we must all play in the same sandbox, meaning, apparently, that we must all spend our lives three inches from … Read the rest
Giberson explains about theodicy
May 24th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
How does Jerry Coyne know, I don’t know, nobody knows, therefore God is just.… Read the rest
Dawkins and Randi mourn Martin Gardner
May 24th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
He was immensely lively, and brimming with youthful intelligence and curiosity, right to the end.… Read the rest
Phil Plait on Martin Gardner
May 24th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Martin’s books showed me how to think around some problems, how to take that needed step to the side to see the solution.’… Read the rest
Giberson to ‘new’ atheists: play nicely
May 24th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Cites ‘the New Atheist Noise Machine,’ says ‘the New Atheists are behaving like a boorish bunch of intellectual bullies.’ Nice.… Read the rest
David Colquhoun on the Integrated Health Trust
May 24th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The advisory board of IHT consists almost entirely of supporters of various forms of alternative medicine.… Read the rest
Those who can’t, give a “boot camp”
May 23rd, 2010 5:39 pm | By Ophelia BensonHmm. I see where Chris Mooney says he is
giving a four hour “boot camp” on science communication to a group of graduate students and other interested parties. The session begins with an overview of the “theory” of science communication–why we must do it better, what the obstacles are, and how a changing media environment makes it much tougher…Then, the session goes into a media “how to”–rules for interacting with journalists, media do’s and don’ts, and an overview of various key communication “technologies,” such as framing.
Interesting, but one question that occurs to me right away is what makes anyone (including Mooney) think Mooney is the right person to teach anyone how to communicate? He’s strikingly bad at it himself. … Read the rest
Timeless twoofs
May 23rd, 2010 12:53 pm | By Ophelia BensonJerry Coyne points out this here Clergy Letter Project. It’s a thing where a bunch of clergy sign a letter saying science and religion can be compatible. Very useful in its way, no doubt, but it says some dubious things on the way there.
Many of the beloved stories found in the Bible – the Creation, Adam and Eve, Noah and the ark – convey timeless truths about God, human beings, and the proper relationship between Creator and creation expressed in the only form capable of transmitting these truths from generation to generation.
Oh really? What “timeless truths” does the beloved story about Noah and the ark convey? That there is a god watching human antics as if we were … Read the rest
Absurd objections to the first synthetic bacterium
May 23rd, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
PZ goes through them so that you don’t have to.… Read the rest
Martin Gardner 1914-2010
May 23rd, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
For 35 years, he wrote Scientific American’s Mathematical Games column, educating and entertaining minds.… Read the rest
Helios Homeopathic Childbirth Kit
May 23rd, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A set of homeopathic remedies to support you during pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding, just £29.95.… Read the rest
Ben Goldacre on evidence-based social policy
May 23rd, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Politicians can divine which policy works best by using their special magic politician beam.… Read the rest
Julian Baggini interviews Ben Goldacre
May 23rd, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Goldacre has an MA in philosophy from King’s College London, squeezed into the middle of his six-year medical training.… Read the rest
Jason Rosenhouse reviews Elaine Howard Ecklund
May 22nd, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Her data show that 23% of scientists are traditionally religious; her Templeton-funded book says nearly 50% are.… Read the rest
Larry Niven on Harvey Mansfield and manly courage
May 22nd, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
And the Templeton Foundation, virtue ethics, In Character, and other risible subjects.… Read the rest
Lunchtime O’Jokes
May 22nd, 2010 12:29 pm | By Ophelia BensonDecca Aitkenhead’s article on Hitchens is very snide, but one suspects there is a good deal of truth in it. In particular I can’t help being amused by her portrayal of his sense of humor.
… Read the restThe march of time certainly hasn’t altered one thing about Hitchens, which is, alas, his unaccountable pleasure in word games of the most puerile variety. Page after page is devoted to the infinite hilarity derived by Amis, Rushdie, McEwan and Hitchens from substituting in the titles of well-known books, films and songs the word “dick” for “heart”, or “fuck” for “love”, or “cunt” for “man”.
“Oh, I know,” he chortles, when I bring this up. “Shameful.” He surely can’t still find these jokes funny, can
