UC Davis and the Threat of Numbers

On yesterday’s radio show, Shawn Otto briefly mentioned the Protestant Reformation and its influence on governmental systems. In short, by widely spreading the idea that knowledge was directly accessible to the individual, instead of only through the intermediary of a priest or king ruling by divine right, the Reformation paved the way for our modern democracies.

It is easy, in this era of consolidated power, for our leaders to forget that they don’t lead by the grace of God or unusual virtue on their part, but it is true nonetheless. They lead because we agree to be led. They fall from power when we refuse to follow.

UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi received a lesson along these lines this weekend. Continue reading “UC Davis and the Threat of Numbers”

UC Davis and the Threat of Numbers
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Thanksgiving Recipe: Squash Ravioli

The fall housecleaning is done. Our houseguests are here. That means it’s time to turn our attention to the Thanksgiving food. Over the next few days, I’ll be reposting a few of my favorite harvest festival recipes.

I know it’s a little early, but I started cooking for Thanksgiving today. We decided, oh, about the time that winter squash came into season that we wanted to serve squash ravioli for one of the vegetable dishes. So today I picked up a couple of small acorn squash and baked them in a tiny bit of water until pliable.

Continue reading “Thanksgiving Recipe: Squash Ravioli”

Thanksgiving Recipe: Squash Ravioli

Clay Farris Naff Responds…Sort Of

Well, now I understand why Clay Farris Naff assumed Dawkins was “infuriated” by disagreement. It appears to be sheer projection.

Friday, my response to Naff’s attempt to hypothesize a secular explanation for our universe that still encompassed intentional creation was posted at the Scientific American guest blog. Shortly thereafter, I started to get mentions on Twitter from Naff. Well, the first one I didn’t get because he had my Twitter handle wrong.

I received a few more tweets from Naff Friday. Continue reading “Clay Farris Naff Responds…Sort Of”

Clay Farris Naff Responds…Sort Of

Saturday Storytime: Movement

Nancy Fulda is an editor and short story author who is, as so many do, working on a novel. Hopefully it will be as good and as thought-provoking as this story.

“Would there be side effects?” My father asks.  In the oppressive heat of the evening, I hear the quiet Zzzapof his shoulder laser as it targets mosquitoes.  The device is not as effective as it was two years ago: the mosquitoes are getting faster.

My father is a believer in technology, and that is why he contacted the research institute.  He wants to fix me.  He is certain there is a way.

“There would be no side effects in the traditional sense,”the specialist says.  I like him even though his presence makes me uncomfortable.  He chooses his words very precisely.  “We’re talking about direct synaptic grafting, not drugs.  The process is akin to bending a sapling to influence the shape of the grown tree.  We boost the strength of key dendritic connections and allow brain development to continue naturally. Young neurons are very malleable.”

“And you’ve done this before?”  I do not have to look to know my mother is frowning.

My mother does not trust technology.  She has spent the last ten years trying to coax me into social behavior by gentler means.  She loves me, but she does not understand me.  She thinks I cannot be happy unless I am smiling and laughing and running along the beach with other teenagers.

“The procedure is still new, but our first subject was a young woman about the same age as your daughter.  Afterwards, she integrated wonderfully.  She was never an exceptional student, but she began speaking more and had an easier time following classroom procedure.”

“What about Hannah’s…talents?”my mother asks.  I know she is thinking about my dancing; also the way I remember facts and numbers without trying. “Would she lose those?”

Keep reading.

Saturday Storytime: Movement

A New Creation Story

The God of the Gaps must be feeling mightily squeezed these days. Is it any surprise that someone wants to give him/her/it a whole new universe in which to hang out?

Clay Farris Naff tries to do just that in a post today on the Scientific American guest blog titled, “A Secular Case for Intentional Creation.” The post isn’t about the creation of Earth or humanity, which Naff kindly considers settled, but about the creation of our universe itself. It’s one of those happy-middle arguments that insists that both extremes must be wrong.

Unfortunately, as is often the case with these arguments, the position of one side is pushed a bit further in order to make room in that middle.

In this case, Naff is unhappy with the usual suspects, the New Atheists. (In the interests of disclosure, I consider myself a New Atheist and derive a small income from blogging as one.) Where are the New Atheists wrong about the origin of the universe?

A week ago, Bora Zivkovic sent me a note to say that the Scientific American guest blog would be publishing a post by an accommodationist. He wanted to know whether I wanted to write a response that would appear with the accommodationist post. I’ve written for the guest blog before, so he knows I meet deadlines and don’t need much editing–the sorts of things an editor likes.

Having the response to a post like this appear at the same time as the post is, of course, the sort of thing a “New Atheist” loves. I jumped at the chance. The results are up today. Go read.

A New Creation Story

Atheists Talk: Shawn Lawrence Otto on Science Denialism

Shawn Lawrence Otto has just launched his book, Fool Me Twice: Fighting the Assault on Science in America

, a richly documented and well-reasoned analysis of modern science denialism, especially addressing climate change. Shawn notes that scientists are inherently apolitical in their work, but that science itself is always political, and ties this important observation into recent patterns of partisan maneuvering, questionable journalistic ethics even among the upper echelon of the fourth estate, and religious distortion of scientific findings and science-based policy making.

Join us on air for what is guaranteed to be a lively and enlightening conversation, and then join us at Q. Cumbers for brunch. If you bring a copy of Shawn Otto’s book and a pen, you can get it signed!

We would also like to note that this Sunday’s Q. Cumbers brunch will be also be a meet-up of a different kind. There will be at least three FTB.com (Freethought Blogs) bloggers at the brunch, Stephanie, Greg, and coming down from Canada with his wife Jodi, Jason.

Shawn Lawrence Otto’s website is here.

Listen to AM 950 KTNF this Sunday at 9 a.m. Central to hear Atheists Talk, produced by Minnesota Atheists. Stream live online. Call in to the studio at 952-946-6205, or send an e-mail to [email protected] during the live show. If you miss the live show, listen to the podcast later.

Atheists Talk: Shawn Lawrence Otto on Science Denialism

Busy Times

Like Jason, and for many of the same reasons, I’m running around like mad these days. Last night was a brief interlude of internet silliness and dandelion wine, but I’m paying for it now in playing catch-up. So to entertain you while I do ALL THE THINGS, have some young red pandas, playing at being territorial in the snow.

And more appalling cuteness:

Continue reading “Busy Times”

Busy Times

A Good Lie for Jesus Is Immortal

Yesterday, the Oklahoma City city council voted 7-2 to add sexual orientation to their nondiscrimination policy. Without religion, this sort of thing would be a simple vote, a non-event. With religion?

Pastor Tom Vineyard, of Windsor Hills Baptist Church, cited a New York judge in saying more than half of murders in large cities are committed by gay people.

Vineyard received the longest standing ovation of the day after his remarks.

*headdesk*

Half my headache is due to the bizarre nature of the “statistic” itself. Half is due to the frustration I share with GetReligion that the reporting stopped there. This goes beyond “he said, she said” reporting to credulous “fruit bat said” reporting. This isn’t the sort of thing you can just publish and leave there.

Being the helpful person I am, I set my Google Fu on the task of tracking down this mysterious judge. Continue reading “A Good Lie for Jesus Is Immortal”

A Good Lie for Jesus Is Immortal

Our Ever-Plastic Brains

One point of critical importance in the debate over how much our genes account for variability in intelligence (current status: no effect demonstrated in normal cognition) is that human brains are ridiculously plastic. As would be expected in an organism that can create and function in a wide variety of social structures, our brains can and do structure themselves on the fly. When you see a headline that says, “XYZ Rewires Our Brains!” the only appropriate response is, “Duh.”

A very recent study suggests that this plasticity may be more radical than we already knew.

Continue reading “Our Ever-Plastic Brains”

Our Ever-Plastic Brains