ريتشارد دوكنز's Blog, page 800

Atheist Experience #472: Halloween

The Atheist Experience #472 for October 29, 2006, with Matt Dillahunty and Ashley Perrien. Halloween. Ashley and Matt talk about the silliness of various superstitions surrounding Halloween.

We welcome your comments on the open blog thread for this show.

► http://freethoughtblogs.com/axp/

YouTube comments are at present disabled in our channel, to the displeasure of some. However, each video has a prominent link to the associated open thread that appears on our blog. In the past we’ve tried opening up the channel to comments, but we found that a very high number of episodes wound up being flooded with a combination of spam, long winded apologists, and various obscene or misogynistic comments directed at various hosts by people with an axe to grind. This seems to be the nature of YouTube comment sections, in our experience.

We do moderate the blog, the same way that we moderate chat during the show, as well as comments on our Facebook group. For comment sections that are “officially” associated with our show (and, to a much lesser extent, channels that may give the unintended appearance of being official), we prefer not to play host to straight up ad hominem attacks and bigotry. As a general policy we do not block commenters simply on the basis of disagreement with our point of view. However, we do prefer discussion environments that don’t actively chase off more reasonable contributors.

——-

The most up to date Atheist Experience videos can be found by visiting http://atheist-experience.com/archive/

You can read more about this show on the Atheist Experience blog:

► http://freethoughtblogs.com/axp/

WHAT IS THE ATHEIST EXPERIENCE?

The Atheist Experience is a weekly cable access television show in Austin, Texas geared at a non-atheist audience. The Atheist Experience is produced by the Atheist Community of Austin.

The Atheist Community of Austin is organized as a nonprofit educational corporation to develop and support the atheist community, to provide opportunities for socializing and friendship, to promote secular viewpoints, to encourage positive atheist culture, to defend the first amendment principle of state-church separation, to oppose discrimination against atheists and to work with other organizations in pursuit of common goals.

We define atheism as the lack of belief in gods. This definition also encompasses what most people call agnosticism.

VISIT THE ACA’S OFFICIAL WEB SITES

► http://www.atheist-community.org (The Atheist Community of Austin)

► http://www.atheist-experience.com (The Atheist Experience TV Show)

More shows and video clips can be found in the archive:

► http://www.atheist-experience.com/archive

DVDs of the Atheist Experience can be purchased via:

► http://www.atheist-community.org/products

MUSIC CREDITS

Theme song: “Listen to Reason,” written and performed by Bryan Steeksma.

► http://www.youtube.com/bryansteeksma

► http://www.myspace.com/bryansteeksma

NOTES

TheAtheistExperience is the official channel of The Atheist Experience. “The Atheist Experience” is a trademark of the ACA.

Copyright © 2014 Atheist Community of Austin. All rights reserved.

Orphan Pygmy Marmoset Loves Being Brushed By A Toothbrush

Plants and Animals





Photo credit:

Screen Shot via Rare Species Conservatory Foundation

Pygmy marmosets are the smallest monkeys in the world, and man, are they adorable. Ninita is a pygmy marmoset who was born deaf and abandoned by her parents at 3 weeks of age in 2012. She was injured and sick when she was found and adopted by the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation. With a little rehabilitation and tender loving care, Ninita healed quickly and became very playful and loving. Her favorite item to play with is a toothbrush.

Idiot Jumps On Top Of Tiger Shark

Plants and Animals





Photo credit:

Screen shot via Blinky Bill

While out on a boat with some friends, an Australian man dediced to jump out into the water onto a tiger shark that was swimming nearby, feeding on a whale carcass. As soon as he hits the water, he scurries back to the boat while his friends taunt him and joke that he’s about to get eaten.

Family of Five Killed, Now “Enjoying an Even Happier Place” than Disney World

Two days ago, a family from Texas suffered a horrific tragedy when a long-planned trip to Disney World ended in a fatal car crash in Louisiana. Five members died — two parents and three of their children.

Said the mother’s stepbrother:

“En route, God had other plans as five members of our family are now enjoying an even happier place.”

The day I read the story, I came across another one, from Puerto Rico, that also involved the violent death of multiple members of a family. A 13-year-old boy’s father, mother, grandmother, and older brother were ruthlessly shot in the head during a home invasion. The 13-year-old, pleading for mercy, was stabbed in the neck and left for dead, but he survived.

Said a police spokesman:

“It was a miracle from God that he is alive.”

I’m rarely tongue-tied, but nothing that flows out of my keyboard today quite encapsulates the strange mix of sorrow, vexation, and exasperation that’s come over me after reading these articles.

Help me out?

(Image via Shutterstock)

Discover More Women Philosophers at Philosop-her

I just came across Meena Krishnamurthy philosophy blog highlighting the work of women philosophers called Philosop-her. Each blog post is a rigorous and representative philosophical article from a different featured woman philosopher. Here’s a full table of contents of the blog’s posts so far: November 21, 2014: Susanna Siegel (Harvard) “The Rationality of Perception” November 14, 2014: Heather Logue (Leeds) “How [Read More...]

ESPN Suspends Baseball Writer Keith Law for Defending Evolution on Twitter

About a week ago, retired baseball star Curt Schilling took to Twitter to criticize, of all things, evolution:

It went on like that for a while.

One of the people responding to Schilling’s ignorant tweets was ESPN baseball writer — and therefore, Schilling’s work colleague — Keith Law:

At no point did Law say anything remotely offensive. But it didn’t matter. According to Deadspin, Law was suspended by his bosses and told to stay off Twitter, at least temporarily:

Heavy-tweetin’ ESPN baseball writer Keith Law has been noticeably silent for the last couple of days. That’s no coincidence — he’s been given a Twitter timeout by ESPN, and we’re told that it’s for loudly and repeatedly defending Charles Darwin from transitional fossil Curt Schilling, his Bristol colleague.

…

Law was ordered to stay off Twitter on Wednesday. A source tells us he’ll be allowed back on Twitter on Monday.

Marcus Aurelius’s Stoic Stand Up

Michael Connell’s take on what Marcus Aurelius might be like as a stand up comedian cracks me up: For some of my own thinking that is either distinctly Stoic in character or in dialectical tension with Stoicism, check out any of these favorite posts of mine: How To Live Happily: Have No Expecations I Am [Read More...]

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, in a Minor Key

Who knew there was such a hilariously sad song buried in “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”? H/T: Amber Your Thoughts?

Hottest Year Ever, and Amazing Gecko-Man Getup!

SciShow News explains the latest climate weirdness, and why the Global Warming Hiatus wasn’t really what it sounded like. Plus, see how humans have harnessed the climbing power of the gecko!

Hosted by: Hank Green

———-

Like SciShow? Want to help support us, and also get things to put on your walls, cover your torso and hold your liquids? Check out our awesome products over at DFTBA Records: http://dftba.com/scishow

Or help support us by subscribing to our page on Subbable: https://subbable.com/scishow

———-

Looking for SciShow elsewhere on the internet?

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/scishow

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/scishow

Tumblr: http://scishow.tumblr.com

Thanks Tank Tumblr: http://thankstank.tumblr.com

Sources:

http://www.darpa.mil/NewsEvents/Releases/2014/06/05.aspx

http://www.nature.com.weblib.lib.umt.edu:8080/nature/journal/v405/n6787/full/405681a0.html

http://www.nature.com/news/2002/020828/full/news020826-2.html

http://www.wmo.int/pages/themes/climate/significant_natural_climate_fluctuations.php

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-11/uoh-woe111314.php

http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2014/11/14/october_2014_was_the_warmest_october_on_record.html

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/sep/09/research-global-warming-hiatus

http://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/news/features/food_chain/index.cfm

http://www.npr.org/2014/11/16/364479391/patch-of-pacific-water-is-warmest-in-decades

http://www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/pub/82616.php?from=282303 (graphics for warming ocean)

http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/v4/n10/full/nclimate2357.html

Atheist Experience #435: Darwin Day

The Atheist Experience #435 for February 12, 2006, with Matt Dillahunty and Jeff Dee. Darwin Day. Jeff talks about Darwin Day.

We welcome your comments on the open blog thread for this show.

► http://freethoughtblogs.com/axp/

YouTube comments are at present disabled in our channel, to the displeasure of some. However, each video has a prominent link to the associated open thread that appears on our blog. In the past we’ve tried opening up the channel to comments, but we found that a very high number of episodes wound up being flooded with a combination of spam, long winded apologists, and various obscene or misogynistic comments directed at various hosts by people with an axe to grind. This seems to be the nature of YouTube comment sections, in our experience.

We do moderate the blog, the same way that we moderate chat during the show, as well as comments on our Facebook group. For comment sections that are “officially” associated with our show (and, to a much lesser extent, channels that may give the unintended appearance of being official), we prefer not to play host to straight up ad hominem attacks and bigotry. As a general policy we do not block commenters simply on the basis of disagreement with our point of view. However, we do prefer discussion environments that don’t actively chase off more reasonable contributors.

——-

The most up to date Atheist Experience videos can be found by visiting http://atheist-experience.com/archive/

You can read more about this show on the Atheist Experience blog:

► http://freethoughtblogs.com/axp/

WHAT IS THE ATHEIST EXPERIENCE?

The Atheist Experience is a weekly cable access television show in Austin, Texas geared at a non-atheist audience. The Atheist Experience is produced by the Atheist Community of Austin.

The Atheist Community of Austin is organized as a nonprofit educational corporation to develop and support the atheist community, to provide opportunities for socializing and friendship, to promote secular viewpoints, to encourage positive atheist culture, to defend the first amendment principle of state-church separation, to oppose discrimination against atheists and to work with other organizations in pursuit of common goals.

We define atheism as the lack of belief in gods. This definition also encompasses what most people call agnosticism.

VISIT THE ACA’S OFFICIAL WEB SITES

► http://www.atheist-community.org (The Atheist Community of Austin)

► http://www.atheist-experience.com (The Atheist Experience TV Show)

More shows and video clips can be found in the archive:

► http://www.atheist-experience.com/archive

DVDs of the Atheist Experience can be purchased via:

► http://www.atheist-community.org/products

MUSIC CREDITS

Theme song: “Listen to Reason,” written and performed by Bryan Steeksma.

► http://www.youtube.com/bryansteeksma

► http://www.myspace.com/bryansteeksma

NOTES

TheAtheistExperience is the official channel of The Atheist Experience. “The Atheist Experience” is a trademark of the ACA.

Copyright © 2014 Atheist Community of Austin. All rights reserved.