Monthly Archives: January 2014

Age of Ignorance

Posted on 14 January 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

Via Paul Fidalgo’s blog at CFI, an essay by Charles Simic, in The New York Review of Books, from about two years ago. http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2012/mar/20/age-of-ignorance/ In the past, if someone knew nothing and talked nonsense, no one paid any attention to … Continue reading →

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Debate Consternation

Posted on 13 January 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

There is some consternation in the science/atheist community that Bill Nye, the Science Guy, has agreed to debate Ken Ham, the Kentucky Creation Museum guy, about evolution vs. creationism. The attitude many others in the science community (names too numerous … Continue reading →

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Atheism as Luxury?

Posted on 9 January 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

Connor Wood, at Science on Religion: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/scienceonreligion/2014/01/does-atheism-arise-from-wealth/#more-1015 Because ritual and conformance are easy. There’s good evidence that atheism and secularism are much more costly, in terms of sheer energy expenditure, than religious ways of organizing society. Conclusion: So is atheism … Continue reading →

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Why Religion Is Oppressive

Posted on 9 January 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

http://www.alternet.org/why-so-much-religion-oppressive Subtitle: “The rules of the Abrahamic religions may have once helped societies survive and thrive. But in a modern context many are change-averse and oppressive.” Another example of how I feel the morals of religions are based in the … Continue reading →

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Why Drugs Are Expensive

Posted on 9 January 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

A Scientific American blog, via Andrew Sullivan: http://dish.andrewsullivan.com/2014/01/08/not-because-we-are-evil-because-we-are-stupid/ Often you will hear people talking about why drugs are expensive: it’s the greedy pharmaceutical companies, the patent system, the government, capitalism itself. All these factors contribute to increasing the price of … Continue reading →

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Two posts about Christians and gays

Posted on 9 January 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

Long answer to a situation about two gay brothers growing up in a conservative Christian ‘bubble’. http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2014/01/08/sl-letter-of-the-day-bubble-boys Who wants to sit around being awkwardly civil with people who don’t accept you because they love their unseen god more than their … Continue reading →

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Her

Posted on 6 January 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

I am of mixed minds about HER, the Spike Jones written and directed film, set in a near-future Los Angeles, about a dweeb (Joaquin Phoenix) who falls in love with the new artificially intelligent operating system (installed on his home … Continue reading →

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End of 2013 Links and Comments

Posted on 4 January 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

It’s been busy over the holidays, with family events and whatnot, so here is a belated list of links and comments from the past couple weeks. Salon: 10 signs that religious fundamentalism is going down One could hope. Religious fundamentalism … Continue reading →

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Your Brain on Religion

Posted on 4 January 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

Interesting article today on Salon, an excerpt from a book by D.F. Swaab, about to be published. This is your brain on religion: Uncovering the science of belief I especially agree with this, the first paragraph: As far as I’m … Continue reading →

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