Comments on: …what do you think of this quote?

By: TB

TB — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 17:48:16 +0000

By: ER

ER — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 16:57:43 +0000

The theories of cosmology, like the Big Bang, are all just as unlikely and difficult to accept as a Creator. As I mentioned earlier, simply thinking the universe was created by a great intelligence cannot be dismissed out of hand. That he still might be actively involved in the management of the universe is a bit harder to accept, as there is no direct evidence of any driving force in the cosmos other than natural law. Presumably, it was the original software installed at the creation.

The idea this creator is still active, that he is cares about us, or is even aware of our existence, is starting to stretch credulity.

Whether or not we eat meat on Fridays, or what political party we support, or whether or not we wear a condom, is none of HIS business.

By: FrankC

FrankC — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 16:34:35 +0000

Man’s unfailing capacity to believe what he prefers to be true rather than what the evidence shows to be likely and possible has always astounded me. We long for a caring Universe which will save us from our childish mistakes, and in the face of mountains of evidence to the contrary we will pin all our hopes on the slimmest of doubts. God has not been proven not to exist, therefore he must exist.
Academician Prokhor Zakharov

By: ER

ER — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 14:05:36 +0000

Steven Gould’s liberal and humanistic view as represented in his remarks is certainly the only civilized way to think about this issue, but Gould himself was demonized and despised by fundamentalists for his cogent defense of Darwinism and other concepts not to their liking. I recall expressions of glee and celebration when he died, and the sincere hope that he would suffer an eternity of torment in Hell. In another age, not all that long ago, (one viewed with fond nostalgia by those same fundamentalists), his physical safety and even his life would have been threatened by his views and beliefs.

The danger in any superstition is not that someone might believe it, but that they can use that belief to justify violence against those who don’t. It is no coincidence that religious fanaticism is being nurtured and exploited, excused and pandered to, by political extremists who may not themselves share in that fanaticism or even in that theology.

The idea that the universe was created, and may even be managed, by a powerful “supernatural” intelligence, is a perfectly reasonable hypothesis, and certainly cannot even be ruled out.
But the idea that those who believe this can tap into that authority to control others is repulsive to me, as are those who seek to ally themselves with that bottomless well of hate for their own cynical purposes. The fanatic can be forgiven, he at least sincerely believes his own nonsense. The opportunists who seek him out to further their own agenda, cannot.

By: alcaray

alcaray — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 04:25:01 +0000

…for any dismissal or denigration of the comfort still sought by many folks from theology. I may, for example, privately suspect that papal insistence on divine infusion of the soul represents a sop to our fears, a device for maintaining a belief in human superiority within an evolutionary world offering no privileged position to any creature. But I also know that souls represent a subject outside the magisterium of science. My world cannot prove or disprove such a notion, and the concept of souls cannot threaten or impact my domain. Moreover, while I cannot personally accept the Catholic view of souls, I surely honor the metaphorical value of such a concept both for grounding moral discussion and for expressing what we most value about human potentiality: our decency, care, and all the ethical and intellectual struggles that the evolution of consciousness imposed upon us.”

-Steven Gould

By: podrock

podrock — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 03:33:42 +0000

Scientists are human. We can believe in silly stuff too.

There are many examples: Newton with his alchemy and end of the world calculations, Pauling and his vitimin C, Tesla talking to aliens …

But science doesn’t rely on personality when it comes to what stands up to the test of time. Newton’s calculus and principles of gravity work, the rest of his passions are forgotten because they don’t work. Scientists want what works.

I’ve known many geologists who were teaching when the evidence for Plate Tectonics became overwhelming. (The dating of the seafloor using paleomagnetics showing the growth pattern of the ocean basins.) It was hard on them. Much of what they thought and taught was suddenly obsolete. But the better model opened new avenues of exploration. They were excited at the new opportunities. That’s science.

When I hear that the resolution of a question of nature is “God did it” I hear a mind that has decided to stop questioning.

While ole Bucky Fuller had some rather unscientific beliefs himself, I liked what he said of humans:

“Humans are local-universe information gatherers and problem solvers.”

Defaulting to deities stifles both pursuits.

By: Jody

Jody — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 03:10:00 +0000

Yeah…I caught that too Pod.

However…this man is highly respected among scientists.

Jes sayin’.

By: podrock

podrock — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 02:36:04 +0000

I don’t see why “We must assume…”

By: ER

ER — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 02:14:12 +0000

He is probably mistaken. n/t