Archive for the ‘Science’ Category


“It would be hard to overstate the time and talent wasted in the study of this so-called science. The men who believed in astrology thought that they lived in a supernatural world–a world in which causes and effects had no necessary connection with each other–in which all events were the result of magic and necromancy.

“Even now, at the close of the nineteenth centjury, there are hundreds of men who make their living by casting the horoscopes of idiots and imbeciles.”

–Robert Ingersoll, “Which Way?”

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quoted in The Heretic’s Handbook of Quotations

Front cover of "The Heretic's Handbook of Quotations


“Science flies you to the moon. Religion flies you into buildings.”

–Sign at Reason Rally, Washington, DC, 2012


by Chaz Bufe, publisher See Sharp Press

It’s escaped general notice, but climate change deniers are helping to ensure the financing of present and future  jihadi movements, and the emergence of new ones. How? When you think about it, it’s pretty damn obvious.

The climate-change-denial industry is a bought-and-paid-for creature of the fossil fuels corporations (notably Exxon) and right-wing billionaires (notably the Koch brothers) who derive much of their income from oil, coal, and natural gas.  Its sole purpose is to sow disinformation and confusion about climate change; its pundits and spokesmen claim that there’s a “controversy” about climate change, when the overwhelming majority (95%+)  of climate scientists and scientific studies of climate have concluded that climate change is real and is a major threat to the planet.

To that end, sowing confusion and disinformation, the oil industry and right-wing billionaires finance “think tanks” (e.g., The Heartland Institute and The Heritage Foundation) that provide “experts” to deny scientific fact in the media, and an organization (ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council–a group of lobbyists, corporate executives and subservient legislators) designed to enshrine the corporate agenda in state law.

In one particularly revealing and egregious example of its priorities, ALEC is attempting to have states roll back or abandon their renewable energy mandates, and it has attempted, notably here in Arizona, to have the corporation commission discourage individuals from installing photovoltaic systems on their homes.

But why would the oil industry and its lackeys do such things? The answer is obvious: to keep the U.S. (and the rest of the world) dependent on fossil fuels so that the energy companies can wring every last dollar from the sale of oil, coal, and gas, as sea levels rise and the world slowly roasts.

Well, guess what. Guess who else profits massively from oil sales: Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states.

As has been widely reported, the primary bankrollers of Al Qaeda, ISIS (now mostly self-financing), and Al Nusra were/are the rich oil families from those countries. As long as the world remains dependent on oil, and oil prices remain high, the members of those oil-profiteer families will have plenty of money to continue financing murderous, medieval, anti-Western, anti-American jihadis.

In the end, it’s pretty damn simple:  supposedly patriotic climate change deniers are engaging in what is in effect a treasonous activity–in their reckless pursuit of private profit, they’re helping to ensure the funding of  present and future jihadi movements.


by Chaz Bufe, publisher See Sharp Press

The more literally people take their religious beliefs, the worse they tend to be: dogmatic, arrogant, authoritarian, cruel, willfully ignorant, and self-pitying.

Let’s take these in order. They’re all related; they’re interlocking. (We looked at these in more detail in 20 Reasons to Abandon  Christianity, Part I and Part II. Here, we’re only hitting the low points.)

Dogmatism. Asserting that some “holy” book or man is invariably correct–despite oftentimes massive evidence to the contrary–is almost a dictionary definition of dogmatism.

Arrogance. Just look at the self-congratulatory, self-referential terms religious folk use: “the chosen people” (or simply “the chosen”), “the elect,” “the redeemed,” “the saved,” etc., etc. And then look at how righteous they feel about imposing their dogmatic beliefs on others.

Authoritarianism. ISIS with its shariah law is only the worst recent example of this. Look also to Boko Harom in Nigeria and the mullahs in Tehran.

Here in this country, look at America’s Taliban: the Christian fundamentalists, conservative Catholics, and Mormons intent on turning this country into a theocracy (a “Christian nation”) with their religious beliefs jammed down everyone else’s throats via the government. (They’re already done this to a great extent via intrusive laws with no secular justification, such as those restricting abortion, [until recently] those outlawing “sodomy,” [until a few decades ago] those restricting or banning birth control devices, and those denying assistance in dying to those with terminal illnesses or intolerable pain. And let’s not forget about the “war on drugs”–conducted by uniformed terrorists–which is in large part fueled by religious “moral” fervor.

Cruelty. This is so obvious it seems almost  unnecessary to provide examples, but just to hit a few of the low points: the Inquisition with its ecclesiastical torturers; the mass burning of “witches”; imprisonment of atheists (in 19th-century England). And currently, denial of access to abortion to rape and incest victims; vindictive prosecution and imprisonment of those who help those in intolerable pain die with dignity; (until recently in this country) cruel, lengthy prison terms for the victimless “crime” of “sodomy”–an unfortunately common, current practice in all too many other religious countries;  support for the death penalty, and the slavering, vicarious enjoyment of judicial murder; and the hideous, unjustifiable sentences routinely imposed on drug “offenders” for their victimless “crimes.”

Willful Ignorance. Again, this is so obvious that there seems little point in mentioning anything but the low points. Climate change denial. Creationism. Submission of women. Persecution of gays. Leviticus (the entire damn thing–almost nothing but vicious assertions and incitements to murder). The list goes on. Christian apologists go in with predetermined conclusions, cherry pick the evidence to find anything that supports their wishful thinking, and ignore the rest — the exact opposite of the scientific approach.

Self-Pity and Paranoia.  Christian crybabies constantly whine about how “persecuted” they are. What’s the reality? The number of laws prohibiting Christian worship in the U.S.? Zero. Property tax exemptions for  churches?  Universal. Clergy housing tax exemptions?Universal. Money from the government to churches? Very, very common. An entire TV “news” network devoted to flattering the most fear-driven, vicious, authoritarian Christians? Check. Cruel religious precepts, with no secular justification,  enshrined in law? Almost universal. Laws restricting access to abortion. Laws restricting access to or (until relatively recently) banning contraception. Laws outlawing homosexuality–almost universal in the U.S. until very recently, and still very common in Christian countries outside the U.S.  Laws prohibiting individuals from controlling their own lives and deaths? Almost universal. And, lest we forget, nearly 80% of the U.S. public is Christian, along with a good 90% of U.S. lawmakers.

The way the Christian victims in the U.S. manage to put up with such terrible persecution is a constant mystery and  inspiration.

And, yes, the very being of all too many American Christians, their cruel, intrusive, authoritarian nature, is enough to gag a maggot.

But what of the decent Christians we all know? They’re decent people to the extent that they cherry pick Christian scripture and preaching and ignore the rest. They’re cafeteria Christians, choosing what they like and discarding everything else. Why do they do this? Because scientific advances have revealed how outright insane many religious beliefs are, and because they’re nice people. Not as a result of religion, but despite religion. They’ve simply discarded the most inhumane aspects of it (after 250 years of secularism, which is powerful only because of its ideas).

What’s the harm in this? you might ask. Well, first off, they’re taking financial advantage of the rest of us.  Their churches contribute nothing to schools, libraries, fire departments, or the other services they and their members use. The rest of us pay for this with our property taxes.

And, probably worse, liberal Christians provide cover for their mean-spirited, goose-stepping co-religionists. They make religion appear almost respectable. We’d all be far better off if they’d abandon it and allow those who take their religious beliefs seriously, literally, to reveal the true nature of religion. (This is the wonderful thing about the Westboro Baptist Church ["God Hates Fags"]: they’re honest, and they reveal the true nature of Christianity. Fred Phelps was absolutely right when he said of the Bible that there are two verses about hate for every one about love.)

Right-wing, theocratic Christians are a deadly threat to our lives, families, and freedoms. Liberal Christians who know better and who reject the more vicious parts of Christian dogma should be ashamed of themselves. They provide camouflage for the mean-spirited authoritarians intent on turning the U.S. into Iran.


Front cover of Free Radicals: A Novel of Utopia and Dystopia, by Zeke Teflonby Zeke Teflon, author of Free Radicals: A Novel of Utopia and Dystopia

About 15 years ago, I was sitting around one night watching The Hitler Channel.  They were showing a “documentary” on folks who claimed they’d been abducted by aliens. After about 10 minutes of it, I said to myself, “Self, you can’t let ‘em get away with this! Who are you not to ridicule them?”

This song was the result.

I’m an awful vocalist, and it took me literally 15 years to find a good one to do it. Finally, after endless badgering, my pal Abe agreed to record it (but for the final screaming and begging of a guy being probed — that’s yours truly; Abe just couldn’t get into it.)

This is the result. Enjoy.

Abductee Blues


Front cover of "The Heretic's Handbook of Quotationsby Chaz Bufe, publisher See Sharp Press

Know-nothingism has become fashionable on the religious right. Many right-wing fundamentalists insist that assertions contained in an ancient mish-mash of a book are every bit as valid as carefully arrived-at, repeatedly tested scientific theories and conclusions.

In a striking bit of irony, some go even further and (unconsciously) mimic academic postmodernists, insisting that all “opinions” (including scientific conclusions) are equal. Thus willful ignorance among the least educated mirrors willful ignorance among the most educated.

Given all this, it’s good to remind ourselves of why facts matter, and why science is superior to religious faith.

Failure to take facts into account has real-world consequences. To cite a trivial example, if you believe you’re invulnerable because you believe you are, test your hypothesis by stepping in front of a truck. To cite a sadder, all-too-real example, science has established that the similarities between human beings vastly outweigh the differences, and that there’s no basis for assertions that any race is superior to any other. So, are the opinions of racists just as valid as  the scientific conclusion that the differences between racial groups are trivial?

To cite still another example of why facts matter, in the Middle Ages in Europe, with science at a standstill, many believed that disease and bad weather were caused by witchcraft. End result? Tens, perhaps hundreds, of thousands of “witches” were brutally murdered for “causing” storms and disease.

There are innumerable other examples demonstrating why facts matter. And, yes, you can’t absolutely prove anything, but probabilities are so high in so many cases that it’s reasonable to act as if the probablity is 100%.

So, facts do matter. But why does science trump religion?

1. The scientific method is the only way to arrive at the most probably correct explanation of almost anything. Scientists do this by formulating hypotheses, checking those hypotheses against observed phenoomena, devising experiments to test the hypotheses, checking them for internal consistency, and checking to see if the hypotheses can generate accurate predictions. Then doing all this over and over again, with different scientists repeatedly testing the hypotheses (“theories” if they consistently pass all these tests over a prolonged period of time) through experiment, observation, and analysis.

This is a bit different than pointing to a hoary book written in large part by iron-age slaveholders and asserting, “This is a fact! It says so here!”

2. Science is self-correcting. Religion isn’t. Science continually tests and refines hypotheses and theories to arrive at more accurate explanations. Religion doesn’t.

A good example of this is provided by scientific exploration of racial differences between humans. In the 19th century, some scientists asserted that whites were superior to other races. By the middle of the 20th century, other scientists had definitively debunked those assertions through observation, experiment, and analysis. (Yes, there are still a few racist scientists, but their assertions are knocked down almost as soon as they make them, and the vast majority of scientists now accept, in line with scientific research, that assertions of racial superiority or inferiority are baseless.)

The overt racism of the Book of Mormon slightly predates the racist assertions of some 19th-century scientists, with the Book of Mormon itself referring to caucasians as “white and exceedingly fair and delightsome” (2 Nephi 5:20-21); and as late as 1935, Mormon Prophet Joseph Fielding Smith asserted that “because of [Cain's] wickedness he became the father of an inferior race.” (The Way to Perfection, p. 101)

Finally, in 1978, in response to widespread social condemnation (and undoubtedly a desire to increase the number of potential converts), then-Prophet Spencer W. Kimball announced a new “revelation” that the church should abandon its racial restrictions on the priesthood (but not the “revealed” racist passage in 2 Nephi, nor the racist statements of previous “prophets”). That’s a bit different than the way science handled the matter, eh?

3. Science improves daily life. Religion doesn’t. One clear example of this is in the field of medicine. Scientists discovered the microbial nature of disease. That discovery led to use of antiseptics and the later development of antibiotics, which have saved the lives of untold millions.

In contrast, religion has led to no developments that improve daily life. (And please don’t start talking about the power of prayer and the peace it brings–we’re speaking here of demonstrable physical improvement.)

4. Science leads. Religion lags. A good example of this is our understanding of the universe beyond the Earth. Early scientists (Copernicus, Galileo, et al.) led the way to accurate description of the physical universe.

At the same time, the church was insisting that the sun revolves around the Earth, and hauling scientists who dared to state the opposite before the Inquisition.

Another example of this is the scientific versus religious attitude toward women. Science has established that while there are obvious and not-so-obvious differences between men and women, their intellectual abilities are almost identical (with a few end-of-the-bell-curve differences in a few specific areas).

In contrast, religion has insisted on the inferiority and consequent subordination of women from antiquity. To cite but two of a great many Bible verses denigrating women, “How then can man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?” (Job 25:4) and “These [redeemed] are they which were not defiled with women.” (Revelation 14:4)

Today, some religions have acknowledged reality and accept the equality of men and women. Others have dug in their heels and still insist upon female subordination, though most are now wary of openly stating that women are inferior. And it’s safe to say that the more conservative the religion–that is, the more literally its members take their scriptures–the more likely they are to insist upon the inferiority and subjugation of women.

5. Finally, as Neil deGrasse Tyson famously remarked, science opens doors and religion closes them. Science not only leads to improvement in daily life, but to broader intellectual horizons; it encourages people to think for themselves, to question everything; it leads to one question after another.

Religion insists that all the answers are contained in ancient holy books, and that it’s wrong, dangerous to question those answers–that you have an intellect, but you shouldn’t use it.

It’s hard to conceive of anything more stultifying.

 

 

 


Code of the Lifemaker cover

Code of the Lifemaker, by James P. Hogan. Del Rey, 1983, 295 pp., $13.95 (reissued in 2010)

reviewed by Zeke Teflon

When the Huygens probe descended to the surface of Titan in 2005, I was bitterly disappointed. I’d been irrationally hoping that it would deliver images of the exceedingly strange mechanoid civilization and environment that the late science fiction author James P. Hogan vividly describes in his 1983 novel, Code of the Lifemaker.

But no. All the probe returned was a bonanza of scientific data.

In Code of the Lifemaker, Hogan achieved something difficult: a successful synthesis of hard science fiction and social science fiction. He devised a well developed, unique setting for the story, and in the story he examines questions such as what makes us human? does god exist? what is the role of religion in society? what is the role of science in society? Despite delving into these heavy questions, the tone of the novel is light, and in places it’s very funny.

Most of the book’s events take place beneath the impenetrable (to telescopes) clouds of Titan, where a million years ago a radiation-damaged alien ship set off an automated, runaway explosion of technological development–extraction processes, factories, machines of all types, robots–all controlled by badly corrupted software. The end result was the evolution of a very complicated mechanical ecology, whose development Hogan describes in a lengthy prologue (10 pages!) that’s entertaining despite being pure exposition (what sci-fi writers often describe as an “infodump”).

This unique ecology is inhabited by the Taloids, sentient robots, who are remarkably human in thought and action, who are at approximately a Renaissance level of social and political development, and who understand their mechanical ecology no better than Renaissance humans understood their biological ecology.

In the novel, the first probe to Titan revealed this ecology (in roughly 2015), but the government suppressed the images so as to be able to exploit the knowledge to be gained and get a leg up on the Soviets. (Code of the Lifemaker was written in 1983; at the time, almost everyone–including this reviewer–assumed the Soviet Union would exist well into the 21st century.)

The action begins with a joint government/corporate (General Space Enterprises Corporation–GSEC) mission to Titan consisting of scientists, government functionaries, a military contingent, corporate tools, and, as part of the GSEC p.r. campaign to sell the exploitation of Titan, one of the novel’s two protagonists, the famous psychic, Karl Zambendorf. (The other is the Taloid scientist and victim of religious persecution, Thirg The Questioner.) Once at Titan, the expedition quickly establishes contact with the Taloids and conflict commences in the Earth delegation between those who would enslave the Taloids and those who would assist them, and on the Taloid side between the budding scientists and their version of the Inquisition.

Zambendorf, originally presented as an unsympathetic fraud, is later revealed to be a confirmed rationalist who hoaxes the public largely because he thinks they’re so stupid that they deserve to be hoaxed, and why shouldn’t he be the one to profit from it? The detailed descriptions of how Zambendorf and his team pull off their hoaxes add an enjoyable, and unexpected, element to the novel. (All but one of the hoaxes describes are standard scams “psychics” routinely perpetrate; the only exception is an elaborate hoax Hogan devised that would only work over interplanetary distances.)

Thirg, the Taloid scientist, is also entertaining, mostly in his role as an acerbic critic of religion. The following quote is fairly typical:

“Does it not seem strange that eternal salvation for the many, in a herafter which they are asked to accept on mere assurances, should be attainable in no other way than by their enduring hardhips gratefully and laboring their lives in wretchedness for the further enrichment of a pious few who exhibit a suspiciously unholy interest in the quality of their own herenow?”

And some of the descriptions of Titan’s mechanical ecology are whimsical and wonderful:

“[Thirg's] home was situated in a small clearing amid pleasant forest groves of copper and aluminum wire-drawing machines, injection molders, transfer presses, and stately pylons bearing their canopy of power lines and data cables, among which scurrying sheet riveters, gracefully moving spot welders, and occasional slow-plodding pipe benders supplied a soothing background of clattering, hissing, whirring, and clunking to insulate him from the world of mortals and their mundane affairs…”

While scientific discovery has rendered impossible the setting of Code of the Lifemaker, its treatment of the many philosophical, scientific, and religious questions it raises remains as timely as when Hogan wrote the book over thirty years ago.

Highly recommended.

(We’ll review The Immortality Option, the sequel to Code of the Lifemaker, within the next two weeks.)

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Zeke Teflon is the author of Free Radicals: A Novel of Utopia and Dystopia. Zeke is currently working on its sequel.

Front cover of Free Radicals: A Novel of Utopia and Dystopia, by Zeke Teflon

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