All entries by this author

Report From the Secularism Conference *

Nov 13th, 2007 | Filed by

Jacoby, Hecht, Goldstein, Dawkins, Tyson, Druyan, Kaminer, Goldberg, Tabash, Stenger.… Read the rest



The demotic Supreme

Nov 13th, 2007 10:20 am | By

Jeffrey Toobin wonders why Clarence Thomas is so pissed-off. (Why indeed. He is a Supreme Court justice after all – what more does he want? Universal adulation? Well – sorry, but that’s not owed to anyone.)

A touchstone of Clarence Thomas’s career on the Supreme Court has been his hostility to what he calls élites…“All the Law School cares about is its own image among know-it-all elites.”…“Nothing but an interest in classroom aesthetics and a hypersensitivity to elite sensibilities justifies the school districts’ racial balancing programs,” he said. “If our history has taught us anything, it has taught us to beware of elites bearing racial theories.”

One wonders what he thinks he is, if not a member of a … Read the rest



Clarence Thomas’s Memoir is a Howl of Rage *

Nov 12th, 2007 | Filed by

Beyond belief that Thomas’s success owes nothing to the affirmative action he has come to despise.
.… Read the rest



‘On the Media’ on Gujarat and Tehelka *

Nov 12th, 2007 | Filed by

Asks the wrong questions, but interesting.… Read the rest



Najam Sethi, Editor of Pakistan’s Daily Times *

Nov 12th, 2007 | Filed by

As long as you are in charge of the Army, the Army obeys you. You can be extremely unpopular and still rule.… Read the rest



A Chat With Simon Blackburn *

Nov 12th, 2007 | Filed by

‘I don’t think of myself as diluting philosophy, rather I’m bringing more people to it.’… Read the rest



Clarence Thomas Fumes at ‘Élites’ *

Nov 12th, 2007 | Filed by

Throughout his judicial career Thomas has, in the name of anti-élitism, shown great solicitude for actual élites.… Read the rest



Einstein’s Wife: PBS continues to fail the test of integrity

Nov 12th, 2007 | By Allen Esterson

The story so far: In 2003 the US Public Broadcasting Service first broadcast the documentary “Einstein’s Wife” (co-sponsored by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation), which purports to present evidence that Einstein’s first wife, Mileva Marić, was a brilliant mathematician and scientist who co-authored his epoch-making 1905 papers, and whose major contributions to his work had been carefully concealed throughout the twentieth century. In fact, as Alberto A. Martínez has demonstrated,[1] the film is a travesty of the historical record. I belatedly came across the film and accompanying PBS website in late 2005, and, following a close examination of the historical evidence, in March 2006 I submitted a complaint to the PBS Ombudsman, providing documentation of the falsehoods, misconceptions and tendentious misrepresentations … Read the rest



Through a glass darkly

Nov 11th, 2007 6:12 pm | By

More again on fiction and why we get so involved in it. There are further posts by Richard at Castrovalva and Dale at Faith in Honest Doubt, twice.

I said something in a comment on Fiction and Unreality yesterday that came back into my head this morning (hours and hours ago, and I’ve done many things and been many places since then; it seems like a lifetime ago) and suggested part of an answer to the original question (why we get so involved in stories and with the characters in them).

…of course the thing that makes (good) novels so engrossing is that in fact we know far more about the point of view characters than we

Read the rest


The Home Office on Hate Crime *

Nov 11th, 2007 | Filed by

Lots of hate crime, lots of perps, lots of new laws, lots of ways to report, lots of support, lots of everything.… Read the rest



Ben Catches a Boo-boo *

Nov 11th, 2007 | Filed by

Free energy! More comes out than goes in! If your meters aren’t working, that is.… Read the rest



A Masterclass in Spotting Fallacious Science *

Nov 11th, 2007 | Filed by

Science and technology committee report on scientific developments relating to the Abortion Act.… Read the rest



Jesus and Mo Discuss Blood Atonement *

Nov 11th, 2007 | Filed by

Mo thinks it’s sick.… Read the rest



Laws Against Hatred Not Such a Good Idea *

Nov 11th, 2007 | Filed by

Any incident perceived by the victim or any other person as motivated by hate is a hate crime. Hmm.… Read the rest



The Crude Dualism of Popular Culture *

Nov 11th, 2007 | Filed by

Medicine is portrayed in mainstream media as crudely biomechanical, Ben Goldacre notes.… Read the rest



The Turning

Nov 11th, 2007 | By R. Joseph Hoffmann

Roy Vagaries. I’m pleased to be here today with former world heavyweight atheist, Professor Antony Bird. Professor Bird stunned the world a few months ago in an article where he claimed to have experienced a religious conversion. Professor Bird, can you describe the experience for us?

Professor. Experience. Yes, very important. Believe nothing if you haven’t had one.

Roy Vagaries. Professor Bird, you are the author of several essays in which you claim that atheism is the only reasonable position. And you have changed your mind?

Professor. Mind – very important. Indeed. Believe nothing if you don’t have one.

Vagaries. So you have changed your mind?

Professor. Not so much changed as rotated. Literally … Read the rest



Delaram Ali Faces Prison and a Flogging *

Nov 10th, 2007 | Filed by

She joined a protest last year calling for greater legal rights for Iranian women.… Read the rest



Report on Cold Reductionist Killjoy Research *

Nov 10th, 2007 | Filed by

But science journalists are notorious for oversimplifying the science…… Read the rest



Scientists Are Cold Reductionist Killjoys *

Nov 10th, 2007 | Filed by

‘People are attracted to people who are attracted to them.’ Ow, that’s cold.… Read the rest



MCB Head Speaks Up *

Nov 10th, 2007 | Filed by

Stoning is a metaphor for disapproval. Who knew?… Read the rest