WASPS - World Atheist Science PeopleWASPS - World Atheist Science PeopleWhat is WASPS? World - anyone, anywhere. Atheist - the supernatural does not exist. Science - acquiring knowledge based on the scientific method. People: people of science not people of faith Articles
Free Burma - Int'l Bloggers Day 04 Oct
2007-10-03 07:25:00 Join the campaign! clipped from www.free-burma.orgclipped from www2.free-burma.orgInternational Bloggers ' Day for Burma on the 4th of OctoberAbout "Free Burma!"International bloggers are preparing an action to support the peaceful revolution in Burma. We want to set a sign for freedom and show our sympathy for these people who are fighting their cruel regime without weapons. These Bloggers are planning to refrain from posting to their blogs on October 4 and just put up one Banner then, underlined with the words „Free Burma!“.1. Publish a posting (Bulletin Board, Forum, Blog, Social Network, Static Website…) on the 4th of October with the header: “Free Burma!” 2. Tag it if you can with “Free Burma”3. Choose a grafic from our Grafics page and4. Link to www.free-burma.org there your readers will find some informations about the campaign and Burma and a participant list which you can join. Even if you're a webmaster of a bulletin board or social network you will f... More About: S Day
The Incas "fattened up" children for human sacrifice
2007-10-02 23:27:00 reposted from: BBC (video)The Incas "fattened up" children for human sacrifice, a British-led research team has discovered.WASP: World Atheist Science People More About: Children , Human , Sacrifice
Birds see magnetic fields
2007-10-02 18:10:00 reposted from: SciAm (mp3)WASP: World Atheist Science People More About: Birds , Fields , Magnetic Fields , Magnetic
Questions for Christians, #1
2007-09-30 23:13:00 reposted from: http://templewhore.blogspot.com/2007/09/q s-for-xians-1.html- and see her blogs comments Questions for Christians , #1 Never having been a Christian per se, I find the Christian mythology perplexing, self-contradictory and often morally questionable, not to say absurd. In the unlikely event that there are any Christians lurking about, peeping at my nudies, I have a few questions I'd like to ask. Some I've asked before but never received a satisfactory answer to. These questions are intended to provoke thought and honest discussion. Former Christians are, of course, welcome to reply as well.I've previously had some hostile reactions to questions like these. Christians who feel that I am attacking their religion simply by asking probing questions might ask themselves why analysis of their mythology makes them uncomfortable.Question #1: If Adam and Eve didn't understand "good" and "evil" before eatin...
This about says it all to me by middle-aged-atheist
2007-09-30 22:59:00 reposted from: http://middle-aged-atheist.blogspot.com/2 007/09/this-about-says-it-all-to-me.htmlW ASP: World Atheist Science People More About: Middle , Theist
What is Science? What is Religion? by WASP
2007-09-30 20:16:00 WASP: World Atheist Science People More About: Religion
What is religion? What is Science?
2007-09-30 20:12:00 reposted from: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bhascience/ files/BASELINE THINKING: A Summary on 6 Sept 07By David FlintScience We have a good consensus on the nature of science. Science, we think, is an attempt or set of attempts to understand the universe. It has four distinctive characteristics:1. It creates theories (models) which must (after Popper) be refutable in principle (Rees, Coleman, Flint, Egan, Catt)2. It tests its theories against evidence (from observation and experiment) (Pepperdine, Renshaw, Coleman, Flint, Rees, Jellis, Poppleton, Behman, Edmondson, Roberts)3. It employs a variety of distinctive methods (eg peer review, double-blind testing) (Pepperdine, McNight, Rogers, Flint, Poppleton)4. It is the product of a community (ideally but not necessarily open) which shares results, methods and comments (Flint, Poppleton).Religious beliefsThe substance, nature, sources and consequences of religious beliefs are distinctive:1. Substance: They claim to be ab... More About: Religion
Astronomy Picture of the Day - Milky Way
2007-09-30 18:39:00 reposted from: Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2007 September 30 A Milky Way Band Credit & Copyright: John P. Gleason, Celestial Images Explanation: Most bright stars in our Milky Way Galaxy reside in a disk. Since our Sun also resides in this disk, these stars appear to us as a diffuse band that circles the sky. The above panorama of a northern band of the Milky Way's disk covers 90 degrees and is a digitally created mosaic of several independent exposures. Scrolling right will display the rest of this spectacular picture. Visible are many bright stars, dark dust lanes, red emission nebulae, blue reflection nebulae, and clusters of stars. In addition to all this matter that we can see, astronomers suspect there exists even more dark matter that we cannot see. WASP: W... More About: Picture of the day
Camelot is Only a Model: Scientific Literacy in the 21st Century
2007-09-28 08:14:00 reposted from: http://www.seedmagazine.com/news/2007/09/ camelot_is_only_a_model_scient.phpThe Second Prize Winner of the Second Annual Seed Science Writing Contest answers the question: What does it mean to be scientifically literate in the 21st Century ? by Steven Saus • a nuclear medicine technologist at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, OH. When I was five, my mother tried bribing me to behave while she shopped. She handed me a toy plane as we passed through that aisle; I held the package tightly while we checked out. After we got to the car, my childish fingers attacked the plastic and pulled the die-cast jet from its marketing prison. The long, patient wait while Mom finished shopping had paid off. In my hands I held a brand-new replica of a Harrier jet. A brand-new replica Harrier that had one tail fin angled forty-five degrees out of true. After some crying on my part, we gathered the packaging from the ca... More About: Model , Literacy , Camelot
Sciences and pseudo-science at Think Humanism forum
2007-09-27 09:41:00 reposted from: http://www.thinkhumanism.com/phpBBForum /v iewforum.php?f=14Interesting sub forum at Think Humanism . Topics include: British Humanist Association Science Group at YahoogroupsCritical Analysis of Icons of EvolutionThe mind is what the brain doesRichard Dawkins - Enemies of Reason:Slaves to SuperstitionGlobal WarmingAliens, biology, evolution and organised religionWASP: World Atheist Science People More About: Sciences
About the British Humanist Association Science Group
2007-09-27 09:33:00 reposted from: http://www.bhascience.org.uk/About the British Humanist Association Science Group The BHA Science Group is for all members of the BHA with an interest in science. You do not need any formal scientific qualifications to join, but you do need to have a passion for science and a concern for the role of science in society.The group has two broad aims. Firstly, it aims to encourage interest and awareness of humanism (and membership of the BHA!) among scientists and people with a scientific bent. It will do this by reaching out to such people who are not currently members, and also by providing news and activities and information to those who are already BHA members.Secondly, the group aims to increase improve understanding of scientific knowledge and principles among the BHA membership and wider public. It will do this by providing resources on relevant topics to any and all interested individuals.Currently, the group operates informally, with activity focusse...
My God Problem
2007-09-27 08:40:00 reposted from: http://www.secularhumanism.org/library/fi /angier_24_5.htm My God Problem by Natalie Angier The following article is from Free Inquiry magazine, Volume 24, Number 5. In the course of reporting a book on the scientific canon and pestering hundreds of researchers at the nation's great universities about what they see as the essential vitamins and minerals of literacy in their particular disciplines, I have been hammered into a kind of twinkle-eyed cartoon coma by one recurring message. Whether they are biologists, geologists, physicists, chemists, astronomers, or engineers, virtually all my sources topped their list of what they wish people understood about science with a plug for Darwin's dandy idea. Would you please tell the public, they implored, that evolution is for real? Would you please explain that the evidence for it is overwhelming and that an appreciation of evolution serves as the bedrock of our understanding of all life on this planet? In o...
Needles 'are best for back pain'
2007-09-26 09:12:00 reposted from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7011738 .stm Needles 'are best for back pain' Acupuncture is said to release the body's vital energy Acupuncture - real or sham - is more effective at treating back pain than conventional therapies, research suggests. A German team found almost half the patients treated with acupuncture felt pain relief. But the Archives of Internal Medicine study also suggests fake acupuncture works nearly as well as the real thing. In contrast, only about a quarter who received drugs and other Western therapies felt better. Acupuncture represents a highly promising and effective treatment option for chronic back pain ... More About: Pain , Back , Back Pain
Infrared Andromeda
2007-07-21 20:49:00 Explanation: This wide, detailed Spitzer Space Telescope view features infrared light from dust (red) and old stars (blue) in Andromeda, a massive spiral galaxy a mere 2.5 million light-years away. In fact, with over twice the diameter of our own Milky Way, Andromeda is the largest nearby galaxy. Two smaller companion galaxies, NGC 205 (below) and M32 (above) are also included in the combined fields. The data confirm that Andromeda (aka M31) houses around 1 trillion stars, compared to 4 hundred billion for the Milky Way. WASP: World Atheist Science People More About: Infrared
Evolution : not "just a theory"
2007-07-21 16:28:00 clipped from www.notjustatheory.comWhen scientists use the word theory, it has a different meaning to normal everyday use.In science, a theory is not a guess, not a hunch. It's a well-substantiated, well-supported, well-documented explanation for our observations.Some people think that in science, you have a theory, and once it's proven, it becomes a law. That's not how it works.A theory never becomes a law. In fact, if there was a hierarchy of science, theories would be higher than laws. There is nothing higher, or better, than a theory.These explanations are called theories, and will always be theories. They can't be changed into laws, because laws are different things. Laws describe, and theories explain.Just because it's called a theory of gravity, doesn't mean that it's just a guess.The Theo ry of Evolution by Natural Selection is our best explanation for the fact of evolution.Evolution is not just a theory, it's triumphantly a theory! WASP: World Atheist Science ...
Why The Placebo Effect Varies From Person To Person
2007-07-21 16:20:00 clipped from www.sciencedaily.comGreat Expectations: Why The Placebo Effect Varies From Person To PersonScience Daily — Why do some people experience a "placebo effect" that makes them feel better when they receive a sham treatment they believe to be real -- while other people don't respond at all to the same thing, or even feel worse?Using two different types of brain scans, U-M researchers have found that the extent to which a person responds to a placebo treatment is closely linked to how active a certain area of their brain becomes when they're anticipating something beneficial. Specifically, the research finds strong links between an individual's response to a placebo "painkiller", and the activity of the neurotransmitter known as dopamine in the area of the brain known as the nucleus accumbens. That's a small region at the center of the brain that's involved in our ability to experience pleasure and reward, and even to become addicted to the "high" caused by illicit dru... More About: Lace
UK Brights actions - 2007 Survey
2007-07-20 22:03:00 The number of people in the UK self-identifying as Brights has recently passed 3000.This milestone is to be recognised by extending to everyone who has done so an invitation to participate in the first-ever online survey of Bright actions and attitudes.This survey is the most comprehensive of its kind and is to give you the opportunity to express your views, help determine the future direction of the Brights movement in the UK, and provide an accurate picture of the constituency's membership.You are therefore invited to take part by going to:http://the-brights.net/polls2/fillsurv ey.php?sid=4The survey is extensive and so you will need to allow at least 20 minutes to complete it. But please don't let this put you off as the sacrifice of your time will be enormously outweighed by the value of your contribution.So, please DO IT TODAY, DO IT TOMORROW or make a note to DO IT SOON! Don't miss your chance to make a difference!Brightly and with thanks,Quentin Brodie Cooper=============... More About: Survey
Science Not to Blame for Non-Religious Scientists
2007-07-18 09:23:00 reposted from LiveScience By Dave Mosher, LiveScience Staff Writerposted: 29 June 2007 03:51 pm ETShare this storyAdd to deliciousDigg It!Save to NewsvineAdd to redditAdd to NetscapeEmail to Friend EmailScientists are less religious than the general population, a new study shows, but the reason has little to do with their study of science or academic pressures.The findings challenge notions that science is responsible for a lack of faith among researchers, indicating that household upbringing carries the biggest weight in determining religiousness."Our study data do not strongly support the idea that scientists simply drop their religious identities upon professional training, due to an inherent conflict between science and faith, or to institutional pressure to conform," said Elaine Howard Ecklund, a sociologist at the University at Buffalo and co-author of the study."It is important to understand this, because we face religious-scientific controversies over stem-cell research and e... More About: Religious , Blame , Lame
Darwin Fish Exposes Christian Privilege
2007-07-18 09:14:00 reposted from Atheist RevolutionWednesday, July 11, 2007Labels: life as an atheistI like the Darwin fish. To me, it is a healthy pro-science statement. Of course, I acknowledge that it also carries an anti-religion connotation for some people due to its design (i.e., borrowing from the Christian design which came first) and the inevitable conflict between religion and science. I'm also aware that some people view displaying a Darwin fish as an act of symbolic aggression. More than just being an interesting symbol that is interpreted in diverse ways, the Darwin fish exposes the scope of Christian privilege and says volumes about the plight of nonbelievers.I do not have a Darwin fish on my car, but I would very much like to. Why? I perceive it as one of the rare symbols which conveys both a pro-science and an anti-superstition sentiment simultaneously. Since I am both pro-science and anti-superstition, it is an unusually accurate symbol for my worldview. But the main reason I'd like... More About: Fish , Pose
The Republican War on Science Rages On
2007-07-14 08:03:00 reposted from RichardDawkins.net by CNN Reposted from:http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/0 7/12/the-republican-war-on-science-rages- on/Click here to play videoFormer Surgeon General Richard Carmona's testimony has once again highlighted the extent to which the Bush administration suppresses and manipulates science to fit their narrow ideological view. Whether it's stem cell research, global warming, the Plan B contraceptive, or abstinence-only education, they consistently put appeasing their extremist, fringe base over the interests of the country at large. CNN's Christine Romans details the many battles in Bush's War on Science .TONY SNOW: But nobody, as far as I could tell, was, "muzzling" him. But on the other hand, there is certainly nothing scandalous about saying to somebody who was a presidential appointee, you should advocate the President's policies.That about says it all: If appointed by the Bush administration, you are required to advocate their policies, eve... More About: Republican , Republica , Republic , Rages
Richard Dawkins Replies to David Sloan Wilson
2007-07-14 07:53:00 reposted from Richard Dawkins .net by Richard Dawkins Reposted from:http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/07-0 7-11.htmlIn his Skeptic article entitled "Why Richard Dawkins is Wrong About Religion" (initially published online in eSkeptic, July 4th 2007), David Sloan Wilson writes:When Dawkins' The God Delusion was published I naturally assumed that he was basing his critique of religion on the scientific study of religion from an evolutionary perspective. I regret to report otherwise.Why would Wilson 'naturally assume' any such thing? Reasonable, perhaps, to assume that I would pay some attention to the evolution of religion, but why base a critique on an evolutionary perspective, any more than on Assyrian woodwind instruments or the burrowing behaviour of aardvarks? The God Delusion does, as it happens, have a chapter on the evolutionary origins of religion. But to say that this chapter is peripheral to my main critique would be an understatement. When I was asked to prepare a...
Simon Jenkins calls for disestablishment of the Church
2007-07-14 07:32:00 reposted from GuardianSorry, Pope, but this 'proper church' declaration is surreal nonsense I'm an atheist but still I resent this joker in Rome slighting my community. A residual theological chauvinism is aroused Simon JenkinsFriday July 13, 2007The Guardian This week's declaration by the Pope that the Church of England and other denominations are "not proper churches" was strictly for addicts. Like Dr Johnson responding to Berkeley on the non-existence of matter, I was tempted to walk round to my local St Mary's, kick a buttress and "refute it thus". Then I remembered that Pope Benedict is a theological surrealist. His church is like Magritte's pipe: "Ceci n'est pas une pipe." He talks in riddles.Like many atheists who love churches, I am constantly diverted by the ectoplasm of religious disputes. Anthropologists may explain that when the vicar of Bootlington Parva dresses up at the altar, ... More About: Calls , The Church , Establishment
Jonathan Edwards deconversion
2007-07-14 07:13:00 reposted from TimesOnline‘I have never been happier’ says the man who won gold but lost GodA giant leap of faith took Jonathan Edwards to Olympic glory in Sydney. Then he found the foundations of his life were crumbling It is the afternoon of September 25, 2000, and Jonathan Edwards is making his way to the triple jump final at the Olympic Stadium in Sydney. In his kitbag are some shirts, spikes, towels – and a tin of sardines. Why the sardines? They have been chosen by Edwards to symbolise the fish that Jesus used in the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000. They are, if you like, the physical manifestation of his faith in God. As he enters the stadium, he offers a silent prayer: “I place my destiny in Your hands. Do with me as You will.” A few hours later he has captured the gold medal, securing his status as one of Britain’s greatest athletes.“I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to ther... More About: Econ , Deco , Version
Bill Moyers interviews E.O. Wilson
2007-07-13 23:18:00 reposted from RichardDawkins.net Bill Moyers Journal Reposted from:http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07 062007/profile.htmlClick here to play video Read the Transcript:http://www.pbs.org/moyers/jour nal/07062007/transcript1.html"Every kid has a bug period...I never grew out of mine."Edward Osborne Wilson grew up off the gulf coast of Alabama and Florida, becoming fascinated at a very early age by the diversity of the natural world surrounding him. After blinding himself in one eye while fishing at the age of 7, Wilson explains that he no longer was very good at bird-watching, so decided to "turn towards the little things in life," namely ants.At 13, he discovered the first U.S. colony of fire ants near the docks of Mobile, Alabama, well on his way to becoming one of the country's foremost myrmecologists (ant biologists), discovering the ways intricate chemical signals affect colony behavior. While a professor at Harvard, Wilson used his... More About: Interviews
Brainwashed children plead to die as martyrs in Red Mosque siege
2007-07-13 22:54:00 reposted from RichardDawkins.net by Dean Nelson, Times Online Thanks to Linda Ward Selbie for the link.Reposted from:http://timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/wo rld/asia/article2042156.eceSAIMA KHAN wants to die a martyr. Life is transient, she told her father in a telephone call last week, and the real glory is to sacrifice it for Allah. Her statement would be alarming at any age, but Saima is only 10.As she spoke, rifle shots rang out, the acrid smell of tear gas drifted over Islamabad and hundreds of troops surrounded the pro-Taliban Red Mosque , a religious school complex in the heart of Pakistan's capital where Saima was among hundreds of children being held as virtual hostages in a stand-off between militants and the government.Saima and her 14-year-old sister, Asma, were embroiled in a struggle for the soul of Pakistan in which up to 70 militants died last week and more than 100 were injured, according to mosque officials.Holed up inside the complex behind the lines of tro... More About: Children , Martyrs , Red Mosque , Lead
Rats influenced by the kindness of strangers
2007-07-13 22:32:00 reposted from RichardDawkins.net by NewScientist.com Thanks to Ian for the link.Reposted from:http://www.newscientist.com/article/ mg19526115.100-rats-influenced-by-the-kin dness-of-strangers.htmlIf rats benefit from the kindness of strangers they are more likely to assist an unfamiliar rat in future. In doing so, they provide the first evidence of an unusual form of altruism that appears to violate evolutionary theory.Claudia Rutte and Michael Taborsky of the University of Berne, Switzerland, trained rats to pull a lever that released food for their partner in the next cage. If the rats subsequently received snacks released by lever-pulling strangers in neighbouring cages, they were more likely to lever-pull and so feed another unfamiliar rat in the future. In other words, the rats became altruistic in response to a general level of cooperation in the population.Theoretically, such "generalised reciprocity" shouldn't exist. In large groups, dirty rats will take adva... More About: Kindness , Range , Kindness of Strangers , Rats , Tran
Won't anyone stand up for God? by Daily Mail
2007-07-13 22:10:00 reposted from RichardDawkins.netThanks to Linda Ward Selbie for the link.Reposted from:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv e/femail/article.html?in_article_id=46679 4&in_page_id=1879Atheists are on the march. The idea of God is under fire. The practice of religion is being condemned as a major source of evil in the world. The latest assault comes in a book entitled God Is Not Great by polemical writer Christopher Hitchens.The work, subtitled The Case Against Religion, is already on the bestseller list of The New York Times. It arrives hot on the heels of The God Delusion, another bestseller from Professor Richard Dawkins. Both authors are militant atheists who want to destroy the faith of believers.Dawkins expressed the hope that 'religious readers who open this book will be atheists when they put it down'. Hitchens states boldly: 'Religion is man-made. Religion poisons everything.' Of course, it is not difficult to convince us that religions can generate evil and violence, c... More About: Mail , Daily , Daily Mail , Stand Up , Stand
How to challenge Hizb ut-Tahrir
2007-07-13 21:17:00 Posted from The Centre For Social Cohesion Since it emerged that the attempted Glasgow and London attacks were carried out by men with links to Hizb ut-Tahrir, a global Islamic movement, calls for the government to ban the group have grown ever louder.However supporters of a ban have given conflicting – and often less than convincing - reasons for the ban. Patrick Mercer, the former Conservative spokesman on security, told the BBC's Today programme that a ban was needed because the group “supports terrorism” and claimed that several of its former members are suspected of carrying out terrorist attacks: “Major terrorist figures like Khalid Sheikh Muhammad and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi – who have been at the c... More About: Challenge , Allen , Halle
Guide to the Gods
More articles from this author:2007-07-12 20:02:00 web site is somewhat of an eye-sore, but good info clipped from www.godchecker.comTHE PANTHEONSAFRICAN GODSAUSTRALIAN GODSAZTEC GODSCARIBBEAN GODSCELTIC GODSCHINESE GODSEGYPTIAN GODSFINNISH GODSGREEK GODSINCAN GODSJAPANESE GODSMAYAN GODSMESOPOTAMIAN GODSMIDDLE-EASTERN GODSNATIVE AMERICAN GODSNORSE GODSOCEANIC GODSROMAN GODSSLAVIC and BALTIC GODSSOUTH AMERICAN GODSSOUTH-EAST ASIANCHRISTIAN SAINTSNow featuring over 3,400 Gods , Goddesses, Spirits, Demons and Saints! WASP: World Atheist Science People More About: Guide , Guid , The Go , The G 1, 2, 3 |
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