Links to satisfy the ravening heathen

Hey, pharyngulites. I used to subscribe to the entire scienceblogs combined feed but it swamped all of other feeds so I removed it. Now I am missing some of them.

Which other scienceblogs do you highly recommend?

Guess I'll go hang out at the Carnival and be a heathening raven for a while...

Does that involve giving godless 'pinions to anyone in range?

Actually, I think ravens make some very intriguing sounds.

Living in raven country,
John

in addition to telling a group of atheists that there are rational reasons for people to be religious

Sure there are. Getting your hands on some of that "faith-based initiatives" loot, for example.

Michael:

The only other two I follow regularly are Good Math, Bad Math; Effect Measure and Jason Rosenhouse's EvolutionBlog.

Grrr. Make that "the only other three". Too many thought processes going at once. . . .

Blake, --- --

Interesting that 2 out of your 3 blogs are by mathematicians. Only a day or so ago I came across a reference to this very concept you've demonstrated.

There are only three kinds of mathematicians. Those who can count, and those who cannot.

Is that rational reasons to be religious or that there are rational explanations as to why people are religious ?

The former seems silly, the latter possible.

Being one of those who read about today's event on Pharyngula, I attended PZ's presentation and enjoyed it very much. Although it is a bit of a letdown to see rather mild-mannered biology professor instead of a vicious attack-atheist. Then again, we didn't have a creationist in the audience even though the room was packed... :-)

Matt Penford, leaving aside the necessary background info from PZ about neurobiology and evolution, I anticipated his conclusion that the religious impulse derives from the fact that humans are 1) social animals, 2) that we communicate and use symbols in doing so, 3) we learn from imitation, and 4) we empathize and anthropormorphize about other's state of mind. I agree with PZ that while religion is a byproduct of the above, it is not a necessary inference. So it's basically explanations, not actual reasons.

OT question:

You people are smart and well-informed.

Are we coming to the point where it's time to consider plans for leaving the US in the event of a government crackdown and suspension of democracy?

I know this makes me sound super-paranoid. I know the chances are still pretty slim. I hope that we're going to survive the remaining 2 years of Bush in office.

But....

We may be one terrorist attack away from martial law. I don't know if this democracy could survive another 9-11.

This is the closest most of us have ever experienced to a country teetering on the edge of fascism. I don't want to leave it until too late, when I realize that I can't get out.

I'm embarrassed to be writing this. It's not very skeptical of me. Makes me sound like a 9-11 'truther'.

Rational reason to be religious: I just ran into a 35-year-old guy who is dating a 19-year-old field hockey player. Where did they meet? At church. Now I'm questioning my atheism.

Sockpuppet -- I don't think it's going to happen this time around. It seems like the media is turning against Bush, and the Republican party is slowly, slowly turning against him. I was extremely worried about it maybe 2 years ago, and mildly concerned until about 4-5 months ago.

I do think, however, that the long-term prospects are not good. George Bush is an uncharismatic effin' IDIOT. If (when) someone [i]competent[/i] with the Republican's latent fascist governing philosophy gets into office, I'd be very concerned. The American people have shown they are willing to put up with an alarming level of centralized unaccountable control. They are also scared shitless of terrorism, and it wouldn't take much of anything to get the country back to it's Mussolini-style post-9/11 spirit.

sockpuppet:

This is the closest most of us have ever experienced to a country teetering on the edge of fascism. I don't want to leave it until too late, when I realize that I can't get out.

Well, you are not alone. Many people on the net have the same feeling.

Nothing would surprise me anymore. I could see either a real or engineered terrorist attack followed by suspension of the 2008 elections real easy. Fascists aren't known for getting power and then giving it up easily.

"sockpuppet:

This is the closest most of us have ever experienced to a country teetering on the edge of fascism. I don't want to leave it until too late, when I realize that I can't get out."

The Japanese incarcerated during WWII might think we've come a tad closer, and that during a liberal Democratic administration.

Interesting that 2 out of your 3 blogs are by mathematicians.

It is The Scientist Conspiracy.

For example, even Terence Tao writes engagingly about evolution, with a feasible level of math for a noted precocious math genius and Fields medalist. (I.e. no math. :-P)

I would add denialism and Evolving Thoughts to the list of blogs to occasionally drop in on, if science as social phenomena or philosophy is your mettle.

inkadu:

Well, that sounds bad. OTOH you have to ask yourself: are you only out for the body, or do you want to have someone you can understand out of bed as well? Speaking of which, the bod/bed ratio of faith heads is questionable. :-P

Torbjorn - Only out for the body. Which is why I'd stay away from biology departments, where I'm sure to find plenty of smart attractive women. Smart chicks would see right through my schtick.

Go for the Psych Dept. chicks. They're more likely to be confused about their self-confidence (score!), will settle for what comes along (score!), and are crazy in bed (double score!). ;-)

I LIKED that it was the mild-mannered biology prof rather than the vicious attack atheist--although I would have been happy with either. For the first time it began to occur to me how ideas from Dennett, Sloan Wilson, and Boyer could integrated into a comprehensive hypothesis of the evolution of religion, because each deals with a different facet of religion's grip on human minds. Also, the analogy to sports presented itself to me--we didn't evolve to play football or golf, but look how easily games can co-opt the features evolved for other reasons, including social and mental features.

I think when admitting that there are rational reasons for religion it is helpful to remember that the reasons are for the BELIEF, not for the thing believed in. Perhaps we are so constituted that an existential decision of one brand or another aids our flourishing. (Which reminds me of what Shepherd says to Mal in his death scene in the movie "Serenity": "I don't care what you believe in, as long as you believe in SOMETHING.") Fair enough, but so much the better if what we believe in has a strong rational basis...or at least not a fataly irrational bias. We can benefit from the positive features of religion without falling for the mind-hacks at its core.

"sockpuppet:

This is the closest most of us have ever experienced to a country teetering on the edge of fascism. I don't want to leave it until too late, when I realize that I can't get out."

If I were you, I'd get my ducks in a row. I've done a lot of research on expatriation. There are a lot of options now if you have some money and/or the right profession or contacts. There are large expatriate communities in a lot of places. Central America is especially attractive now. 100k beachfront homes, etc. Think California 100 years ago.

If you are in such a position, consider yourself very fortunate. There is little I'd like to do more than emigrate. But since I have none of the aforementioned qualifications I've concluded that, barring a miracle, I'm stuck here for the duration. And I don't believe in miracles.

So, I guess I'll just have to stay here and fight. I'm not sure what for. I can't vote (25yr old drug felony), I can't own a firearm to practice for the revolution, and I can't get a license even to be a barber, let alone anything else useful or regulated. Hell, I'm not even allowed into Canada for a day visit. I'm a disenfranchised man without a country anyway. Oh well, I guess I'll just sell everything I own, buy a sturdy sailboat and become a pirate. Or a floating evangelist. Or both. No license required.

Regarding David Ritter:
Oh, that the Internet had the power (and someday, I hope, it will) to bring about the impeachment of such politically hypocritical roaches!

Interesting that 2 out of your 3 blogs are by mathematicians.

It is The Scientist Conspiracy.

For example, even Terence Tao writes engagingly about evolution, with a feasible level of math for a noted precocious math genius and Fields medalist. (I.e. no math. :-P)

I would add denialism and Evolving Thoughts to the list of blogs to occasionally drop in on, if science as social phenomena or philosophy is your mettle.

inkadu:

Well, that sounds bad. OTOH you have to ask yourself: are you only out for the body, or do you want to have someone you can understand out of bed as well? Speaking of which, the bod/bed ratio of faith heads is questionable. :-P