Penn & Teller do the Bible
Video available here. Seems like they reach a reasonable conclusion to me!
Cassini pictures from Saturn
The Cassini imaging team have released some raw images sent back by the Cassini space probe. They are amazing.
Towards 2020 Science
This weeks Nature journal has a series of articles on the future impact of computers on science. The articles are all free for non-Nature subscribers. This access is sponsored by Microsoft Research who have a site on the Towards 2020 Science project.
You can download the 2020 report from the site or request a print copy. It’s a weird paper size so requesting a print copy might be a good idea. The Nature Podcast this week also includes info on ion channels and Towards 2020 Science. Available via the Apple iTMS (you need iTunes installed for this) or at the Nature site directly.
The 2020 stuff is really good if you are interested in the interface between computing and science.
Archbishop of Canterbury against creationism in schools
Credit where credit is due. Kudos to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, who has said in an interview with The Guardian, that creationism and ID should not be taught in schools. Bleedin’ obvious of course, but good that the head of the Anglican Communion is willing to say it publicly.
Atheism fastest growing segment in “faith” survey in USA
This is encouraging, although it’s still way down the scale. But it’s good to see that free thinking and common sense have not been completely wiped out in the USA. More power to the godless of America.
BTW: Faith is in quotes in the title as atheism isn’t a faith.
Good book review
There is a good review of Daniel Dennett’s Breaking the Spell, and also Lewis Wolport’s Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast. I like this section:
But what really troubles us, and what is not really tackled by either author, is the fact that a belief in the existence of deities invariably comes with an intense urge to shove that conviction down everyone else’s throats and to proselytise. This can lead to tensions, to put it mildly, a point succinctly made by my old friend, Katharine Whitehorn, the former Observer columnist. As she once wrote: ‘Why do born-again people so often make you wish they’d never been born the first time?’
V for Vendetta
Went to see the new movie version of the V for Vendetta books tonight. I loved it. Lots of ideas and layers at work in this film. It certainly made me think. Some people are complaining that it glorifies terrorism. I think the word bollocks is an apt response to that. Well worth seeing. I’ll be going again.
People should not be afraid of their Governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.
Daniel Dennett Interview
There is a good interview with Daniel Dennett it today’s Observer. It’s based around his new book, Breaking the Spell. I like this quote:
“Of course I’m going to hurt people’s feelings,’ he says, ‘but I don’t want to offend people casually. I really want to do it on purpose.”
Yep. If people are believing idiotic ideas, then call them idiots.
Liquid water on Enceladus
Rumours, and premature press releases!, indicate that a paper in Science by the Cassini Imaging Team suggests that there is liquid water near the surface of the south pole of Saturn’s moon Enceladus. That would be interesting in its own right but it seems that they have detected simple organic materials, and that there is more heat on average emerging from the south polar terrain, per square meter, than from the Earth. The bit in italics is a quote from the Cassini Team page. It’s a bit ambiguous. What do they mean by materials and when they talk about the heat output do they mean more heat per square meter when compared to the polar regions on Earth or other regions of the Earth?
I’m looking forward to getting the paper from Science.
The stars my destination
With apologies to Alfred Bester for the title. Saw this on the Bad Astronomy blog. New Hubble picture of M101. It’s 170.000 light years across and contains a trillion stars. And that’s just 1 galaxy out of trillions.
If that doesn’t make you stop and gawk at the sheer splendour of the Universe then I suggest you check in to the nearest hospital, as you’re obviously very ill. And some people try to explain the Universe with Poof! God did it! Yeah, right. Giggle.
Reason’s a bully
Classic line from today’s Doonesbury. Damn those pesky facts getting in the way of faith. Reason most certainly is a bully when it comes to pointing out falsehoods.
Pro-Test
Much kudos to Pro-Test. It’s about time that the case for animal testing was put in a robust manner. Ultimately some things have to be tested in an animal model before human trials are performed. I’m all in favour of minimising the use of animals to the bare minimum but, at the present time, their use is essential for progress in the biomedical area.
Update:
BBC news story on Pro-Test rally in Oxford
Observer story on Pro-Test
Observer leader
Times Online article
Telegraph article
Pluto gains 2 new moons
Astronomers using The Hubble telescope have imaged two additional bodies in the Pluto/Charon system. All 4 bodies orbit a centre of gravity that lies just above the surface of Pluto. Interestingly the orbits of Charon, P1 and P2 (as the new moons are designated) have a 12:2:3 orbital resonance. For each 12 orbits Charon completes, P2 completes 2 orbits and P1 completes 3. This implies that the moons where formed from a collision event that ejected material that later coalesced into the bodies. The gravity in the system isn’t strong enough for captured P1 & P2 to have formed the resonant orbits in the time the Solar System has been in existence. There is more info in this weeks Nature. If you don’t have access there are many other sources on the Internet. It’ll be interesting when the New Horizons mission gets to the Pluto/Charon system in July 2015.
This story is covered in this weeks Nature Podcast as well.
[Dramatisation] Small Gods – Terry Pratchett
BBC Radio 4 will begin a 4-part dramatisation of Terry Pratchett’s Small Gods on 28th February. Should be good. The dramatisation they did of Pratchett’s Mort a few years ago was good.
See the BBC Radio 4 programme page.
Scientific American Podcast
Scientific American has started a podcast. The first one is available via links at their site. First impressions are good. It’s got subdued production values and gives you information without a lot of gee-whiz bells and whistles getting in the way.
The TV show CSI gets a mild ribbing as well at the end of the podcast 🙂
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Happy Darwin Day
Today is Darwin Day. We celebrate the life and works of one of humanities greatest thinkers on this day, the anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth in 1809. This should be a public holiday. Let’s lobby our MP’s.
Some other Darwin Day links:
Seed Magazine Podcast
Seed Magazine has a podcast that seems good. Just recently subscribed so it’s still on probation. The Nature podcast has lived up to expectations. It’s essential listening. I don’t like the New Scientist podcast. It’s too glitzy.
Bloody Windows Spyware
A guy I know, but haven’t seen for ages, arrived at my door the other day and told me his Windows laptop was displaying ads and stuff after his kid went to some site on the Internet. I was just heading into the office so couldn’t fix it. I’ve decided I’m not going to either. I don’t need that crap in my life anymore. I’ve told him to take it to a PC shop and get it fixed.
I felt bad doing that. I’m sure it’ll get easier as I do it more and more. I’m not fixing anybody else’s PC just cause I happen to know them a bit. Or even worse, because they are a friend of a friend.
Here is the best solution.
More religious meddling in politics
Just what we need. Another religious person with an influence over our politicians. WTF do the interpretations of 3000 year old ramblings have to do with our actions in the 21st Century. Nothing in my opinion. Humanity needs to let go of all this religious nonsense and move on. I fear it might be too late however. The world is slipping back into silly dogma. It wasn’t meant to be like this. 🙁
I’m off to read this again. That’s the kind of future we need.