Promoting Science and Critical Thinking
There are plenty of folks who embrace truly bizarre ideas, but some of these concepts are just so decoupled from reality you just cannot grasp how such a belief was ever embraced as a good idea by anybody at all. One example of this is Breatharianism. This is where individuals believe that they do not … Read more
The academic rebellion initiated by Cambridge mathematician Tim Gowers is growing in strength. First a bit of context. The Victorian model of academic publishing has become obsolete because of the Internet and so historical momentum is the only reason these publishers continue to own and profit from researchers’ copyrights, review work and editorial efforts. If … Read more
It is interesting to observe how thoughts tend to ripple into communities, but perhaps not a surprise. As various groups interact and meet on the Internet, ideas are debated; the result …some proposals are rapidly quashed while others survive and so take root and often get repeated. Perhaps what we are seeing is akin to … Read more
Did you know that the word “Soul” does not describe anything real? I do hope so. For religious folks it is supposed to be the incorporeal (and immortal) essence of you. There is in fact no consensus, some beliefs claim that only humans have soul’s while others suggest that all biological organisms have souls. There … Read more
It’s traditional to stick a few exclamation marks along with the words “Radical secularism”, but since I’m not a religious nut, I’ve left them off. So the Catholic News Service has a story with a few items in it that deserve some commentary. It is the usual waffle about the evils of secularism… “Radical secularism” … Read more
The Guardian had a great article yesterday by a chap called Jeremy Marks. In it he describes how back in the 80’s he started a group called “Courage” with the primary aim of “Curing” gay folks. He himself was, and still is, gay. He writes … …in 1986, I came across a group called the True Freedom Trustand went … Read more