Archive for March, 2008
New Book: Asimov’s Guide to Science
Just got Isaac Asimov’s Guide to Science in the mail and I’m really looking forward to reading it cover to cover. I checked this out from my local library a while back and was stunned by the sheer amount of information contained within it’s stout 945 pages. The copy I got is in excellent condition so I’m really jazzed. This is probably going to become one of the best overall reference books on my shelf.
The book goes in-depth into most major areas of both the physical and biological sciences including a whole section on mathematics within the context of science.
Biology is amazing
This video is pretty old but I still find it pretty amazing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gm1BHwD1WpM
Credit: Biovisions at Harvard University
The Crash of Oceanic 815
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6O_3stvCRdc
An Atheist’s Creed by P.Z. Myers
I believe in time,
matter, and energy,
which make up the whole of the world.
I believe in reason, evidence and the human mind,
the only tools we have;
they are the product of natural forces
in a majestic but impersonal universe,
grander and richer than we can imagine,
a source of endless opportunities for discovery.
I believe in the power of doubt;
I do not seek out reassurances,
but embrace the question,
and strive to challenge my own beliefs.
I accept human mortality.
We have but one life,
brief and full of struggle,
leavened with love and community,
learning and exploration,
beauty and the creation of
new life, new art, and new ideas.
I rejoice in this life that I have,
and in the grandeur of a world that preceded me,
and an earth that will abide without me.
- P.Z. Myers
(Via: this post at Pharyngula)
Nothing Hurts Like…
I have a big soft spot for disappointment. I remember growing up we didn’t have lots of money so we sometimes had to settle for generic products or off-brand versions of the expensive toys and gadgets. The disappointment could be harsh, but it taught me a valuable lesson. When and when not to show that disappointment. I could never express dismay at a newly unwrapped Christmas present right there in front of my parents. So I learned to hold back in order to spare my parents their own form of disappointment: A disappointed child.
My memories are full of realizations of unfairness. My mother exclaiming, “That’s crummy!” in an eager attempt to make me feel better. And now, as an adult, I look at others and wonder what their disappointments might be. What dreams of theirs have not come to pass as so hoped for.
So where’s this all going and why? Well, recently someone disappointed me. Wrote a song about it. Sharing it with you.
Staring Out A Window. Riding In A Car.
When I think back to being a kid, one of the memories that always jumps out at me is resting my head on the window in my parent’s car on a long trip, perhaps on the interstate, and just experiencing everything that passed my eyes and ears.
I wanted to write a song to expressed that experience vividly. Something that made true to the variety of thoughts, events, scenes, sounds and everything else that comes and goes while you gaze out the window of a moving vehicle.
Why I’m A Skeptic
I think, in the heat of specific debates (Evolution vs. ID, astrology, etc.), the real reasons for my skeptical and scientific outlook on life is sometimes lost. When I became interested in science again in my mid-twenties, I began to realize that after all my schooling… all my memorization of dates, charts, formulas, theories and people, I had completely missed the point. The point was not just that those people lived or that those elements existed. It was all about how they were discovered. What methods were used and why. What I should have been taught was critical thinking and how to apply it. I became increasingly aware of our modern school system’s growing tendency stifle creativity and critical thinking and just focus on the meaningless facts. Children are taught to “color in the lines” and frowned upon for not. They are taught that mistakes are bad, when, in fact, they are our truest and most honest learning tools.
With this idea in mind, I began searching the internet for more information. I eventually came across a variety of skeptical organizations and began to realize that many of my ideas and concerns were shared by others. Since that time, I have joined what can only be described as the modern skeptical movement, in an attempt to encourage the institution of critical thinking classes and vigorous debates, within these classes, in all areas of study.
