Arguments from Ignorance

I have been browsing around the web and I still don't get how people can put up statements that amount to -

I don't understand how something happened therefore Goddidit'

Surely this level of mind numbing ignorance should be impossible in a world with so much easy to access information. Unless the subject is very obscure or advanced simple use of a search engine should show you the answer to nearly any question you care to ask, if anything you will get too many theories, to much information.

I wish people would learn to research before venturing dumb ass comments.

Opinion is a fine thing, it promotes discussion and forces people to evaluate their own beliefs. There is no such thing as a stupid question, there are vacuous questions and pointless questions, questions designed to limit rather than expand knowledge, there are loaded questions, but no stupid ones. Stupid answers, however, come by the bucket load

Democracy may actually work

Well it looks like common sense may have prevailed, the bill to limit the research into stem cells has been fairly conclusively kicked to the curb. Hopefully this will open up the flood gates to get this vital research moving along.

As an aside the bill to reduce the time limit on abortion also got a thumping, not quite as bad as the previous bill but nice to see choice is still valued by large sections of the community. It was interesting to read the articles in some of the tabloids about babies born very premature but had been kept alive. While I stand in awe of the skills of the medical professionals involved in delivering a baby 3 months premature the fact that a couple of children got very lucky doesn't seen to be a good basis to change the laws, most babies that premature will either die or suffer serious long term problems.

And the reaction of the bible bashers, find out the people who didn't vote for them and start campaigns to get the ones with the smallest majorities replaced by more considerate (drones) MPs, nice to see democracy in action.

Who Guards the Guards

This is an interesting piece in the Guardian, it would appear that the use of the word 'cult' is considered insulting and provocative by the City of London police, at least when it is used to describe Scientology.

Given the fact that people are allowed to stand on street corners and yell 'Baby Murderer' at pro-choice advocates, something most people would find highly offensive and abusive, why can a peaceful demonstration not voice it's feelings about a highly questionable organisation? to be honest if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck chances are ........

Stem cell research

There has been a lot of shouting about the new developments in stem cell research, namely the creation of cybride cytoblasts. Unsurprisingly various religious notables have been spouting off about 'human dignity' and 'playing god'. The particularly amusing shoutiness was about allowing MPs to have a free vote on the bill governing this very useful bit of science, the fact that all the religious MPs where not actually expected to vote their conscience, so much as be good little followers and do what the mother church tells them really shows the startling ability of the religious to honestly believe two mutually exclusive things at the same time.

I have a fairly personal stake in all this, my mother suffers from Alzheimer's, one of the conditions that they believe this sort of research may be able to help with. I try to keep my anger in check but there is only some many times i can hear someone say that a bundle of cells smaller than a pin head has more right to life than my mum before i feel my knuckles start to itch.

The enormous hypocrisy of defending the 'human dignity' of a cytoblast while at the same time failing to recognise the very real needs of the actually ill manages to sadden and sicken me in almost equal measures. I am not a supporter of unregulated scientific experimentation, at all times the gains must out way the losses and that is a very difficult line to follow, but in this case this really should be a no brainer.

Homeopathy, it makes me mad

It has to be said, after religion, this particular brand of woo is not only the most profitable it is also the most nuts. A simple Google search will throw up more than enough reasons to want to take the whole 'industry' seal it in concrete and drop it in the North Sea. If people want to believe that shaking a sample of distilled water can some how make them better then more fool them, and to some degree I have little sympathy for them if they lose there money to the charlatans flogging the stuff.

However what really ticks me off is that millions of pounds from our taxes goes to fund NHS homeopathy hospitals. That's my money, well not all my money of course mores the pity, going to fund some gibbon who thinks that poring distilled water onto a sugar tablet for some reasons qualifies as medicine. Given that we seem to be short of money for clinically tested drugs and basics like beds to put patients on and cleaning materials to keep on top of the various 'super' bugs, it seems not just foolish but criminally negligent to divert funds to these quacks.

Interesting times at the Vatican

It looks like it is alright to believe in ETs. Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes claims that an ET would simply be another part of creation, and that we should not limit the 'Creative Power' of god to only creating things on this small ball. Seems funny to me that there is no mention of extraterrestrials in the 'good' book, surely any other intelligent creation would get a mention somewhere?

To be honest I am on the fence as to alien intelligences, the math of probability is compelling but we simply know to little about the origins of life on this planet too really speculate. That being said it would be excellent to see what knots various religions tie themselves in to justify their continued existence when the first little green man appears on the scene and blows some fairly big holes in a number of ancient texts.

Simple starts, small thoughts

I have been browsing the offerings at Fundies say the darnedest things and while some of quotes are funny, and some down right scary, the theme running through so many of them seems to be fear of the unknown. Why is it that the religious mind seems to be obsessed with being able to answer all the questions? What is so wrong with 'We don't know the answer'?

The irony is that one of the most common complaints levelled at atheists is that they remove the wonder and mystery in the world, when reducing all the unknown to 'God did it' has to be the worst kind of removal of wonder that there is. Where are the questions? The curiosity?

It would be easy to rant about how the want to fill all the knowledge gaps with a god risks ending the development of technology and science, but I think that the saddest thing is when someone losses the will to ask 'Why', such a simple question and yet one that seems to cause the most problems. A lack of belief in a supreme being does not reduce the beauty of the world, it makes you realise how lucky we are to live in universe so amazing and complex.

Hummm Blog

Well this is my first effort at blogging, I have to admit to being inspired by this Blog

http://splendidelles.wordpress.com/

I can't help but feel if someone half may age can write so well and eloquently about subjects i feel are important I should really be doing more than just reading what is out there.

So we shall see where this takes me, i currently read a number of skeptical blogs and the more I read the more I realise how little I know, not a new piece of wisdom but still just as true.

Anyway, now to find something to actually post about, there is a whole universe of possibilities out there, lets give it a poke and find out what falls out