Arm yourselves, part 2

"Surely Jeff," you might be asking, "the chasm between faith and reason isn't that large? Can't we all just get along and coexist?"

Please read this article and get back to me.

Arm yourselves

I encourage you to read Sam Harris' latest letter to the scientific journal Nature. [via Pharyngula]

Here's a little blurb:

At a time when Muslim doctors and engineers stand accused of attempting atrocities in the expectation of supernatural reward, when the Catholic Church still preaches the sinfulness of condom use in villages devastated by AIDS, when the president of the United States repeatedly vetoes the most promising medical research for religious reasons, much depends on the scientific community presenting a united front against the forces of unreason.

I watch the watchers!

If you've never seen the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Who Watches The Watchers", you're missing out. It deals with an accident that causes a violation of the Prime Directive, and nearly sets off a period of religious violence on a primitive world.

For a long time I've been a fan of the Nitpicker's Guides. In the first of the TNG Nitpicker's Guides, published in 1993, Phil Farrand is obviously offended by this episode and goes on an extended rant:

The Star Trek genre has traditionally been "message" television. Beginning with the original Star Trek series, Gene Roddenberry used futuristic settings to deal with sensitive topics. For instance, to demonstrate the stupidity of racism, he put two men on display. Both of them had two-tone skin -- half black, half white. However, one had the black skin on the right side while the other had the black skin on the left side. This difference became a source of unending conflict and eventually destroyed their world. This innovative setting allowed the viewer to see racism in a new light -- to evaluate it without the interference of predispositions.

Star Trek: The Next Generation carries on this tradition to some extent. The creators attempt to deal with difficult topics in meaningful ways. Occasionally, however, the series has all the subtlety of a placard emblazoned with, "Message, people. Here comes the message! Make sure you don't miss THE MESSAGE." In short, the series can get heavy-handed.

This episode is a good example. Its message can be summarized in two statements. First, the creators propose that any belief in one or more supernatural beings is bad. Picard says that reviving the Mintakan belief in the overseers would send them back to the "dark ages of superstition and ignorance and fear." (I guess we know how the writers feel about belief in the supernatural.) Second, the creators of this episode propose that a codified framework will prevent religious belief from degenerating into cacophony. Dr. Barron, the anthropological expert in this episode, tells Picard that without a rule book the Mintakan belief could degenerate into "inquisitions, holy wars ... chaos."

Human history proves the falsehood of this second statement. Both Christianity and Islam have highly codified beliefs. Yet, at times, both have engaged in inquisitions and holy wars. Religious abuse doesn't occur because of a rule book. It occurs because individuals thrive on controlling others. This desire for control extends beyond supernatural belief systems. It permeates every level of our society -- from government to the home.

In addition, a Gallup poll conducted in 1986 showed that 94 percent of Americans believe in God or a universal spirit. (The Gallup organization has not conducted a "belief in God" survey since that time.) Therefore, the first message statement -- that all belief in the supernatural is bad, superstitious, and ignorant -- effectively classifies the great majority of Americans as dolts.

I suspect the reason that this episode got so deep under Phil's skin is because it provides an equally believable explanation for Jesus. Jesus might not have necessarily been divine... he could have just been a starship captain. Unfortunately for Christians, this is an irrefutable argument.

(Another question this episode brings up is, who's better, God or Picard? I'm going with Kirk.)

Mis-timed detonator

I'm sorry to anyone who tried to come to C4[1] Detonator and wasn't able to find us.

Due to my personal stupidity, we had no reservation, and I didn't realize that Volare would be so packed. (As in, when I got there at 6:20, they told me they had no tables until 9:00.) Thanks to everyone who showed up at Volare (and followed me to Buca di Beppo), and also to everyone who showed up at Fado Irish Pub.

I hope tomorrow runs a little more smoothly -- I don't think hot dog stands require reservations! :-)

Numbnuts with attitude

Dear Northwest Airlines,

Let me tell you about my experience flying from Detroit to Chicago today.

It started with my luggage being carefully examined by a man who admitted that he had never been on a plane before. I don't know what purpose was served having my underwear ogled in a public place, but it wasn't very pleasant.

My flight was originally scheduled to take off at 1:34 pm. Due to a flight attendant being late, the estimated departure time was extended to 1:50 pm. After boarding the plane and taxiing to the runway, the pilot discovered that some maintenance paperwork had not been filed, so he had to return to the gate.

By the time I took off, it was 3:30 pm. Note that I could have made it to Chicago faster if I had driven my car.

Hypothetical question: If I had taken a customer satisfaction survey after landing in O'Hare Airport, what scores do you think you'd have received?

Sincerely,
Jeff

Go Honest John

I'm going to reprint this editorial from the Detroit News just in case it gets sucked behind a paywall.

Stop dividing, destroying Detroit's neighborhoods
John Thompson and Graig Donnelly

In the midst of the 40th anniversary of that pivotal and explosive summer for the civil rights movement in Detroit, a very important point is being left out. Detroit has a rich history of people expressing their individuality through their homes. We have both lived in this city our entire lives and are sick of watching this right threatened by policies that divide and destroy our neighborhoods.
The threat comes in the form of seemingly positive legislation that is designed to spur reinvestment in the city. Through several tax-incentive programs, select neighborhoods and, in particular, new developments enjoy a property tax rate far below the standard for the rest of the city.
There are three reasons why we find this to be so alarming:
Detroit is systematically gentrifying whole neighborhoods. We tear down public housing and replace it with homes that cost more than a quarter of a million dollars. Those neighborhoods are fast becoming places where people who have been there for generations can't even afford to buy their own homes. They fear their next tax bill while their new, wealthier, neighbors pay a fraction of what they do.
Splitting haves, have-nots
Many homes in perfectly good neighborhoods are becoming unmarketable. You spend your life and countless resources trying to improve your home in a city where only 15 or 20 years ago banks wouldn't give you the time of day. You had to scrape together whatever you could to do renovations and repairs yourself, only to see, all of a sudden, your neighbor's house across some line on a map become more valuable because they get that tax break.
Maybe you're about to retire and you would like to move into something a little smaller and with less maintenance. Now you can't sell your home.
We are only further driving a wedge between the haves and have-nots in and around our city. Detroit has always been divided. Factories destroyed Polish neighborhoods. Entire cities were constructed so Henry Ford could keep his black workers away from his white workers. Corporations bought our public transportation system and shipped it to other countries. Freeways were built through black, Asian and Hispanic neighborhoods. White families were encouraged by low-interest, government-backed mortgages to drive out on those freeways and never look back.
Now there's a movement of people realizing what they missed in Detroit, and we're giving them an advantage. How about the rest of us who stayed?
Those of us who stayed did so for a lot of reasons. Some of us were stubborn. Some of us knew that we weren't welcome in the places a lot of people were going. Some of us felt it was the right thing to do. And some of us couldn't leave.
Our reasons don't really matter as much as our right to the same advantages as the people coming back.
Detroit is in desperate need of many things. One of those things is real tax reform. The current policy is merely a Band-Aid. In fact, we're causing far worse wounds for the sake of the one we've bandaged.
We write this knowing that we live in the tax break neighborhoods. We write it for our neighbors whom we don't want to see suffer.
John Thompson is owner and Graig Donnelly is an employee at Honest John's Bar and No Grill in Detroit.

Man shark, part 2

In case you were creeped out by the last post, here's... Rachel Stevens in FHM.

Now that's wholesome!

Man shark

If you're looking for a thrill of the homosexual type, don't open up Terminal.app and type

man heap

Best parenthetical evar

To all the Bush-loving conservatives still out there, Johann Hari has a thought for you:

When you are more inclined to blame liberal op-ed writers for the Iraq disaster than Donald Rumsfeld, something has horribly gone wrong with your explanatory framework.