Are there such things as scientific facts? Does it make any sense for there to be? The answer is yes, but most of the claims which are assumed to be facts are not actually facts at all, at least not if you are speaking within the realm of scientific investigation.« Continue »
Religiophobia on Quora
I was quite excited to find Quora. An open forum for seeking information is a great idea. Unfortunately I quickly ran into a number of issues. The following is half a warning and half a complaint.« Continue »
The “Best” of Jerry Coyne Arguments And Comebacks?
Today I ran across a compilation of arguments and comebacks by Jerry Coyne, the author of “Why Evolution Is True” and “Faith Versus Fact: Why Science and Religion Are Incompatible.” I found myself shaking my head at so many of his comments, that I decided to write a full rebuttal, as I often do. This does not cover every point, but it covers most of them. I will also most likely update this page a few times, as I have more discussions on this topic.« Continue »
How would I use the Powerball Jackpot?
The current Jackpot is $1.3 billion. It may even go higher before the Wednesday drawing. I can’t say that gambling is a good way to “invest” and I think of it more as a form of entertainment, but still, if I did happen to win, I wouldn’t just spend it all. It amazes me how many people win hundreds of millions of dollars and then end up bankrupt in a few years. I don’t think people realize just how much it costs to **maintain** all the stuff they buy, so they spend a lot of their money, and then spend the rest trying to maintain the things they’ve purchased.
So how would I use the jackpot? Well, let’s assume that the after tax lump sum amount is $450M. I would take $50M off the top, and use that for living expenses, spending money, etc. Why so little? It’s because the rest would go into businesses. Then I can help ensure that I’ll **always** have a lot of money to do with as I please. It would also result in a lot of jobs produced.
Here are the companies that I would create, and why.« Continue »
Fighting God: A Rebuttal
After reading an article on David Silverman, an active member and current President of American Atheists, I decided to pick up a copy of Fighting God: An Atheist Manifesto for a Religious World, which is Silverman’s first book. When I started writing this rebuttal, I had only finished two chapters of the book, and wrote the rest as I continued to read through the text. I managed to get about half way. The rest of the book was more or less just a battle plan for militant atheists, so it wasn’t really useful for this essay.« Continue »