SCIENCE – EVOLUTION / COSMOLOGY: Richard Dawkins & Lawrence Krauss / “Something From Nothing?” / 02.04.2012
2
Tag Archives: science
RELIGIOUS PARODY, ART AND SCIENCE: DarkMatter2525 / “The Lambaste Supper (and Sagan)”
REASON: philhellenes / “Science Saved My Soul”
ARROGANCE OF IGNORANCE: Staks Rosch / “Another Example of Christian Arrogance”
Earlier this week, Gore Vidal died. For those who don’t know, he was a giant intellectual and a vocal atheist. I wrote about his death on Examiner and some Christian had to chime in on it in the comments section. She writes:
“It’s so sad to me to realize the genius of Gore Vidal yet somehow he had such an ignorance about what is heaven and the hereafter. However it will be God’s grace that will get him into heaven. Wow I bet he is surprised now.”
Related articles
- IN MEMORIAM: Gore Vidal / “Gore Vidal, American Writer And Cultural Critic, Dies” / (AUDIO) (alwaysquestionauthority.com)
SCIENCE: “Evolution vs. A Dumbass”
h/t: I Hate All Your Gods
LITERACY: “Print is Dead”
h/t: Truthdig
IN MEMORIAM: Sally Ride / “R.I.P Sally Ride, First [American] Woman (and Lesbian) In Space”
Yesterday America lost one of its most recognizable space pioneers, Dr. Sally Ride, who not only was the first American woman in space, but spent her life advocating for women’s greater involvement in science and engineering.
Here’s her official obituary:
Sally Ride died peacefully on July 23rd, 2012 after a courageous 17-month battle with pancreatic cancer. Sally lived her life to the fullest, with boundless energy, curiosity, intelligence, passion, joy, and love. Her integrity was absolute; her spirit was immeasurable; her approach to life was fearless.
Sally was a physicist, the first American woman to fly in space, a science writer, and the president and CEO of Sally Ride Science. She had the rare ability to understand the essence of things and to inspire those around her to join her pursuits.
Sally’s historic flight into space captured the nation’s imagination and made her a household name. She became a symbol of the ability of women to break barriers and a hero to generations of adventurous young girls. After retiring from NASA, Sally used her high profile to champion a cause she believed in passionately—inspiring young people, especially girls, to stick with their interest in science, to become scientifically literate, and to consider pursuing careers in science and engineering.
In addition to Tam O’Shaughnessy, her partner of 27 years, Sally is survived by her mother, Joyce; her sister, Bear; her niece, Caitlin, and nephew, Whitney; her staff of 40 at Sally Ride Science; and many friends and colleagues around the country.
This statement about her partner told the public what they hadn’t known before–Ride was in a same-sex relationship. “I hope it makes it easier for kids growing up gay that they know that another one of their heroes was like them,” her sister Bear Ride told Buzzfeed. We still have a ways to go, though. Because of DOMA, however, her partner will not receive federal benefits.
Related articles
- Sally Ride, first American woman in space, dies of pancreatic cancer; survived by partner of 27 years (miamiherald.typepad.com)
SCIENCE: Dawkinsia / “Sri Lankans Name New Type of Fish After Richard Dawkins”
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[.]”
CHRISTIAN SATIRE: “Christian Logic in a Flowchart”
h/t: Planet Atheism
h/t: Friendly Atheiest
SCIENCE: “Higgs Boson: ‘God Particle’ Discovery Ignites Debate Over Science And Religion”
[…]
The Higgs boson explains why particles have mass — and in turn why we exist. Without the boson, the universe would have no physical matter, only energy.
The cosmological implications are hotly debated. Can God fit in a scientific story of creation?
The answer is “no” for Lawrence M. Krauss, an Arizona State University theoretical physicist. He argued in Newsweek that the Higgs boson discovery “posits a new story of our creation” independent of religious belief.
“Humans, with their remarkable tools and their remarkable brains, may have just taken a giant step toward replacing metaphysical speculation with empirically verifiable knowledge,” he wrote.
With enough data, physics would make God obsolete, he said. “If we can describe the laws of nature back to the beginning of time without any supernatural shenanigans, it becomes clear that you don’t need God.”
Religious believers see things differently.
[…]
This much is true: Higgs bosons — which permeate the universe — help us understand how something comes from nothing.
Related articles
- Will the Higgs boson be our last great discovery? (nation.com.pk)
Always Question Authority 