So, following on from last nights show here’s the main news item of the week. On saturday 10th December we will be having a 1 year Birthday show that should last within the region of 12 hours. Why 12 and not 24? Well simple, thats how long we were up against Neph in the call that started it all. We will also be taking to oportunity to do a little bit of fundraising for the Secular Students Allience, this predominantly American based group supports students aolder High School pupils in setting up secular/humanist groups and provide support for any getting grief from religious types.
To this end we intend to hold a charity auction during the show as well as having things set up for people to donate without buying, with that in mind we’re looking out for interesting things that can be auctioned so if you have an item you’d like to donate then get in touch. We’re also sorting out a guest list of co-hosts and hopefully some special guests, if you’ve got any suggestions for either of them we’d love to hear from you.
‘Look at that.’ my mum said, pointing into a branch of LUSH, ‘How does somewhere like that stay open in the middle of a recession?’
For those who don’t know, LUSH sells luxury soaps and other cosmetics. I disagree with her on two points. First, she thinks their soaps smell horrible, but I rather like them (though not at the price – talk about paying through the nose). Second, I understand full well how such a chain stays afloat in economic times as desperate as these. The reason? They have a magic word that makes otherwise sane human beings spend twice as much money as they should: ‘Natural’.
I’ve written before on how the creationism and intelligent design movement, and the discussions surrounding it in the United States, is quite the alien concept to me. With the very few things that I do know about biology, evolution and the scientific method that these proposed “theories” have absolutely no scientific merit whatsoever.
So I’m still amazed at how effective they have been, and still are, at spreading their disinformation. They have been especially effective with creating arguments that sound convincing, but when you take a closer look you find out that it’s just not supported by anything in science. In almost every single case it’s an argument/question that has already been dealt with by scientists.
This is the reason the following post on SkepticTV caught my attention. It also shows why it is important that organisations like the NCSE exist, and how important they are with helping teachers and schools in countering the nonsense:
Continue reading Teaching Evolution In A Climate Of Science Denial
As promised this is where I found out about the paintings from my last post. Steven Newton of the NCSE gave a talk about the above topic and whilst it does focus on one scientific concept I think it’s fair to say it can be loosely ascribed to all topics if the science denialism really does spread laterally. It also shows that creationism is much more wide spread in the states than some of us (myself included) would have realised. I know that there are a few creationist churches within modest driving distance of where I live, although I’m not aware of any of their kids challenging their teachers the way some do in the states.
Continue reading Teaching Evolution in a Climate of Science Denial
This is something that I’ve taken from a video of a talk I plan to post soon but I thought I’d post this first. The talk is by one of the chaps in the NCSE and whilst at the time of writing my post on that isn’t written when it is you’ll find the link here. The speaker uses the image I’ll link you too below as one of a number to help set the scene for his talk, and this one in particular gives you a good dea of how they think. And to be honest I’ve got to agree, which has nothing to do with him being a fellow geologist (although that does make him awesome!).
The painting dpicts a scene where jebuz has pitched up outside the white house where he dangles a copy of theAmerican constitution, behind him is an assortment of dead people from various points in American history, to the front left are representatives of what makes America great at the moment and then to the right are some of those that are hell bound, including a cameo from ol’ horny
Continue reading A Window Into The Minds Of Fundamentalist Christians – One Nation Under God
Last week I left a post here giving my thoughts on the YouTube drama between potholer54 and Amenakin. Given the readily apparent rationality of both parties involved, I felt sure that the two could come to some arrangement, and indeed they have. This video was posted identically on both YouTube channels.
Continue reading UPDATE: Amenakin Has Redeemed Herself (kinda)
So there I was bimbling about on the web as I’m want to do from time to time and talking scepticy stuffs with people and the BCSE was brought up, now whilst it’s name might sound like its some relative of BSE I can happily assure you that it isn’t. So what is it? Well I’m sure that most of you will have heard of the NCSE over in the states, well the BCSE is the British version.
You probably heard this more than once before: “Animals reproduce after their own kind” as the Bible states. A big problem I, and the entire scientific community, have with this statement is how do you define the word “kind”. In biology, the field I’m most familiar with, “kind” is a meaningless term and is only used in informal discussions. There is no harm in using the word ”kind” as saying that a particular animal, plant etc. is a special kind of animal or plant, usually highlighting a feature that is special to that plant or animal. In recent discussions I listened to or was a part of ; “kind” was more than once introduced by the creationist. When asking for a definition of the word you usually get definitions who are in themselves completely meaningless.
