I'm a lifelong atheist and a molecular biologist with a passion for science and a passionate opposition to its enemies.
Imagine this scenario: A father and mother take their child to a park and the child falls into a lake. The parents can swim, but their child cannot. Despite this, they do nothing and watch the child drown. What should happen to the parents? Immediate arrest? Removal of all their other children? Jail time for manslaughter? Some combination of those options? How about letting them take advantage of a law that allows them to let their children die and a… Read more
With all the accumulated idiocy emanating from creationists such as Ray Comfort, Ken Ham and prisoner #06452-017 Kent Hovind, it can be easy to forget that there exists an entire sad universe of Creationists making their nests in other countries and other religions. Enter Turkey, a country seeing an alarming rise in Islamism that is finally finding its way into the sciences. A conference recently took place at the prominent Marmara University, titled “Why Does Science Deny Inter-Species Evolution?” It… Read more
Researchers at the University of British Columbia have found a much lower degree of theism amongst the autistic, linking their lack of belief to their diminished mentalizing capacity. Mentalizing can roughly be defined as the ability to imagine what other people are thinking and to perceive or interpret behavior in accordance to intentional mental states (understanding needs, desires, reasons, etc). Original research available here. It has long been understood that people with autism have diminished mentalizing capacity. What does this… Read more
If you are an out atheist in the U.S., chances are you’ve gotten some level of blow-back for being open about your atheism. Being openly critical of religion can hurt you, professionally and personally. However I’m guessing that the last time you snarked about Noah’s ark on Facebook, re-tweeted the link to a Neil deGrasse Tyson rant, or commented on Friendly Atheist, the idea that the government could come down on you like a ton of bricks didn’t even cross… Read more
