By Madison S. Hughes (07.21.2012)
Optimism is a refuge reserved for the delusional and the willfully ignorant. It serves as a shallow subterfuge for ignoramuses to protect them from the depressive realism of toilful thought.
h/t: r/atheism
h/t: r/atheism
I could while away the hours, conferrin’ with the flowers
Consultin’ with the rain
And my head I’d be scratchin’ while
my thoughts were busy hatchin’
If I only had a brain
I’d unravel every riddle for every individ’le,
In trouble or in pain
And my thoughts I’ll be thinkin’
I could be another Lincoln
If I only had a brain
Oh, I could tell you why, the ocean’s near the shore
I could think of things I never thunk before
And then I’d sit, and think some more
I would not be just a nothin’ my head all full of stuffin’
My heart all full of pain
I would dance and be merry, life would be a ding-a-derry,
If I only had a brain
Yeah, it’s sad, believe me, missy,
When you’re born to be a sissy
Without vim and verve
But I could show me prowess, be a man not a mou-ess
If I only had the nerve
If I only had the heart
If I only had a brain
As soon as I opened the door and saw the two men standing there, each with a backpack, one holding a book and the other a magazine, I knew I should have ignored the knock. But it was a slow afternoon, so I thought I’d play along.
Of course, based on their age, their clothing, and their general demeanor, I could tell immediately who they were. Who else but scientists would be in their 60s, wear lab coats on a beautiful spring day, and crack nary a smile? I slightly raised my eyebrows, letting them know I was open to their pitch but warning them that my patience was limited.
“Good afternoon, sir,” said one of the men, without smiling. “We’d like to talk to you about something that’s important to all of us – especially these days.”
“And what might that be?” I said, not moving from the doorway.
“The value of science, of rationality, and of the pursuit of truth. The absolutely essential quality of asking questions wherever the answers might lead. And the resistance to supernatural dogma.”
“I see,” I said. “And why is this important to me?”
h/t: Planet Atheism
h/t: Mike Daniels
Sri Lankan scientists have identified a new genus of fresh water fish and named it after the evolutionary biologist and renowned atheist Richard Dawkins.
[…]
Pethiyagoda, an ichthyologist and internationally acclaimed conservationist, said extensive studies in India and Sri Lanka showed that the level of diversity among such fish was “much greater than previously suspected”.
This was partly the reason that the study group had chosen to name the new genus after the 71-year-old Dawkins, the British author of the anti-religion polemic, The God Delusion.
“Richard Dawkins has through his writings helped us understand that the universe is far more beautiful and awe-inspiring than any religion has imagined[.]”
