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San Francisco, 12:51 PM
Sun Nov 29
10 posts in the last 24 hours
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12/13/08
Chapter Five: The Metaphysical Claims of Religion Are False
Hitchens begins this chapter by saying that the strong faith that could stand up to any form of reason is long gone. He compares the popular knowledge of the world in Thomas Aquinas' time to what we now know about the world. He uses the example of Laplace ("It works well enough without that hypothesis [God]")[9] to demonstrate that Laplace didn't need God to explain things, and neither do we. He claims that religion becomes obsolete as an explanation when it becomes optional or one among many different beliefs. He concludes by saying that the leap of faith is not one leap; it is a leap that is repeatedly made, and people find it difficult to rely on faith, instead attempting to "prove" God's existence.
12/14/08
Aquinas firmly believed that spiritual matters simply could not be evidenced in the physical universe. His notion was that faith was "the certainty of evidence which we DO NOT YET HAVE".
Besides which, even IF the hypotheses of our worlds work without the notion of God (which they do), that in no way disproves the existence of God. Simply showing that he does not HAVE to exist for the purposes of one question is different from showing that he does NOT exist.
12/13/08
This sarcastic Foucauldian response brought to you by my finals, and my never-ending quest to avoid them.
In a more lighthearted vein: Yes, but can science explain... EL CHUPACABRA?
12/13/08
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12/14/08
12/14/08
Although that whole Zeus thing was pretty bonko though.
12/13/08
Just say NO to religion, save everyone of us from future shame.
12/14/08
I think yours is the religion of maybe mixing mescaline with lsd?
12/13/08
12/13/08
12/12/08
12/12/08
Harry Potter has a very mechanistic approach to magic more along the lines of alchemy, and the museum probably understands that a lot of genre fans don't put up walls between the different subsections of speculative fiction so crossover traffic will be high.
They had the Titanic exhibit which is only arguably scientific but was nevertheless fascinating and had much to do with the time period when the world switched full gear into being a full-on industrialized society.
I'm sure they'll do a nice job making the HP exhibit educational and informative. They always do.
12/12/08
Jesus, there's a museum that should be terminally defunded.
12/12/08
Gotta tell you, io9. The fuddy duddy buzzkill quotient on this blog has gone WAY up since the early days.
12/12/08
12/12/08
Nice.
12/12/08
12/12/08
I've got nothing against the magical fiction. I love vampire movies and the PRINCE OF DARKNESS. But that's all about suspension of disbelief. And I don't think kids should be encouraged to blur the distinction between reason and fantasy. It leads to things like "Creation Science."
Again, sorry to be a prick.
12/12/08
12/12/08
It is also arguably a comprehensible leap in logic. Real writers - like Spinoza and Descartes in the Age of Reason, and Carl Sagan in our age - would say it's the inevitable bi-product of a less-than-rigorous approach to science.
12/12/08
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12/12/08
True Blood is exactly the kind of thing people think of when they hear the phrase "urban fantasy."
The modern setting of HP does not make HP urban fantasy, but I invite you to constantly refer to the series as urban fantasy and see how many weird looks you get.
12/12/08
It's all about the money, as depressing as that is.
On a tangent, why is the "number of views" icon a teardrop?
-Kle.
12/12/08
12/12/08
It's always been one of my favorite places.
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12/12/08
...
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12/12/08
HP as urban fantasy... HILARIOUS!
12/12/08
12/12/08
[letmegooglethatforyou.com]
Urban fantasy is, essentially, any contemporary fantasy that is set in the real world rather than some imagined one. It's not a matter of urban versus rural settings. Lord of the Rings would be fantasy because it's set in Middle Earth. Harry Potter would, at least in part, be urban fantasy because it takes place in contemporary England. Likewise, True Blood (and the corresponding Sookie Stackhouse books) are another example of urban fantasy in a rural setting.
12/12/08
To sum up: Wev.
12/12/08
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12/12/08
Maybe it's an attempt to get kids interested in science again...
12/12/08
12/12/08
It'll fit right in... right next to the fantasy Moon landing display.
12/12/08