Life Without a Net
evolution
Book Review: The Religion Virus
I don’t say this about very many books, but Craig A. James’s The Religion Viruscan facilitate a wholesale change in the way we think about religion. By itself, it stands strong and makes a great argument. When it works together with the already growing “God Virus” meme, it forms a powerful meme-plex, and gives us a … Continue reading
Suffering and Evolution
(Originally posted March, 2009) When I was born, Sociobiology had yet to be published. By the time I began my first year of “life science” in school, it was still being talked about only in the most erudite of academic circles. By the time I reached college, inklings of the dangers inherent in a sociobiological approach … Continue reading
Why Females are Picky… In the Vagina
The Interwebz are full of paysites, blogs, and infomercial videos ostensibly teaching men how to understand, cope with, and ultimately conquer female choosiness. Sure, there are plenty of web sites for women, too, but none of them teach girls how to get laid. Women already know the secret to that: Leave the house. Sit by … Continue reading
Irrational vs. Irrational
I don’t like it when non-believers say things like, “I want to end irrationality.” For one thing, it’s bad marketing. Telling 70% of the population they’re irrational is counter-productive, even if it’s true. (If they really are irrational, why would using reason to convince them of this have any effect?) More importantly, it’s a woefully … Continue reading
Population and Morality
I wrote recently on the topic of moral behaviors as a function of environment more so than character, and today I’d like to apply the same kind of thinking to the topic of population. To begin with, let’s remember that human behavior (whether we judge it as morally good or not) is largely determined by … Continue reading
Evolution and Accommodationism
At the recent Evolution 2010 conference, there was a two hour talk on accommodationism. There’s been plenty of scuttlebutt on the blogosphere about it, too. I was not there, so I can’t comment on the specifics of this particular talk, but this seems like a good time for me to discuss my views on accommodationism, … Continue reading
Atheism, Theism, and Evolution
If you’re like a large percentage of American skeptics, you probably have a pretty good idea of what this entry is about. I’m going to go on at length about how evolution is proven, and that it disproves this or that religious tenet, and so forth and so on. But that’s not what I’ve got … Continue reading
Children Can Tell It’s Made Up
There’s a great story on Atheist Nexus about a six year old boy who had no trouble figuring out that Intelligent Design is a silly idea. Read it HERE. “So God made everything?” he asked. “Well that’s what some people believe,” I stated, “but I don’t think so.” This sent him into hysterics. “He made … Continue reading
Sonic the Hedgehog and Evolution
When I talk to Creationists, I generally run into a lot of ignorance about how we “prove” evolution to be true. I think a lot of them really do believe that we invented the whole thing because we found some rocks that look like fish. Young Earth Creationists are a particularly funny bunch because they … Continue reading
Design and Transitional Fossils
This is Tiktaalik. It was discovered by Neil Shubin and several of his colleagues, who had been looking for it for over a decade. In many ways, Tiktaalik is the scientific equivalent of the Crocoduck. It really is a transition between two modern forms of life — fish and amphibians. The details of Tiktaalik‘s “transitional … Continue reading
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