Promoting Science and Critical Thinking
Now here is a nice poster that has been circulating. Many of those who dare to embrace doubt see it, click “Like”, and then share it in turn with others, and so it, or some variation of it, continue to circulate. There are however a couple of things that bother me here. Now please do … Read more
A recent article in Salon reports on the rising tide of disbelief in Saudi Arabia … In this country known as the cradle of Islam, where religion gives legitimacy to the government and state-appointed clerics set rules for social behavior, a growing number of Saudis are privately declaring themselves atheists. The evidence is anecdotal, but … Read more
So how should people who are on the receiving end of a constant stream of hate mail respond? There are of course many options that range from the snide rebuttal, through to a well-reasoned appeal designed to stir up human empathy, or perhaps even to rise above it all and ignore it. Given all the distinct possibilities … Read more
I tripped up over the details of this one the other day, and it truly is bizarre. It is one of those cases that pops up whenever you might be tempted to think, “nobody could be that stupid”, because sure enough, up pops somebody who is quite determined to prove you wrong about that. A couple of … Read more
The former Islamic extremist and now anti-extremist campaigner, Maajid Nawaz, has had a bit of a hatchet job done to him by David Shariatmadari within a Guardian article. He was supposedly being profiled, but then Mr Shariatmadari laced it all with some anonymous quotes and essentially stuck the knife into him. Was it Really A hatchet Job? … Read more
OK, let’s cut to the chase and give you the answer up front … probably not in our immediate future, because humans are by nature naturally selected with many cognitive biases that make us like this. There is a really good article over at BBC Future by Rachel Nuwer that covers this question, and so I’m … Read more