This is a guest post by Jessica Ahlquist. Jessica is a Junior at Cranston High School West. As my last blog post for Friendly Atheist, I wanted to write about my experiences in 7th grade with a creationist teacher who was actively teaching intelligent design in the classroom. His name was Mr. Gamba and he was the technology teacher at my middle school, Western Hills. On my first day of class, I was super excited (because I’m cool like that)…. Read more
This is a guest post by Katie Hartman. She is a student at Missouri State University and the organizer of Skepticon 4. Quiz time! When was the last time your belief structure on a topic important to you shifted significantly? Yes, I can see all you ex-theists out there. Put your hands down! That one doesn’t count. I mean, isn’t it a little too easy? Yes, there’s probably no god. You’d think anyone who didn’t sleep through their science classes could… Read more
This is a guest post by Laura Shiley. She is a junior at the University of Colorado – Boulder and a member of the Secular Students and Skeptics Society (SSaSS). Putting down the megaphone and putting on a thinking cap If you shout for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days you would produce enough energy to warm a cup of coffee. Yelling is inefficient. Save some time and just use a microwave. Have you ever noticed how debates tend to… Read more
This is a guest post by Carly Jane Casper. She is a junior at Indiana University and a member of Secular Alliance at Indiana University (SAIU). As a child, let people push you around for being more interested in stars and plants than boys and Beanie Babies. Try to explain yourself when your classmates throw basketballs at you in gym class, try to tell them that you just want to be friends. Cry when they call you a freak, but… Read more
This is a guest post by “Bob,” Executive Director of the Skagit Secular Student Alliance. This past weekend I was lucky enough to attend the 2011 Secular Student Alliance Annual Conference. Among the speakers was American Atheist president David Silverman, and it was a speech I enjoyed. His talk focused on inspiring us secular youth; emphasizing how we are the future, and how the future looks good. I couldn’t agree more, and found the talk pretty inspirational in this sense. His talk… Read more
This is a guest post by Cory Derringer. He is a senior at the University of Northern Iowa and a member of the UNI Freethinkers and Inquirers (UNIFI). I ran across this article at reddit.com/r/psychology. I thought it would be cool to share something really awesome involving computer science and neuroscience. Neuroscientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have used electrode implants in epilepsy patients to give those individuals conscious control over the firing of some single neurons. The… Read more
This is a guest post by Derek Miller. He is a sophomore at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a member of the Illini Secular Student Alliance (ISSA). As the dust settles from the 2011 Secular Student Alliance Conference, I feel a need to call some extra attention to what I consider to be the most misunderstood speaker of the weekend. I am referring to Anthony Pinn, a professor of Humanities and Religious Studies at Rice University. His talk, titled… Read more
This is a guest post by Dave Muscato. He is a student at the University of Missouri, and is a member of the University of Missouri Skeptics, Atheists, Secular Humanists, & Agnostics (SASHA). In light of Texas governor Rick Perry’s “The Response,” I’m writing briefly about prayer. Prayer is one of those things that religious people love and atheists love to hate. But actually, I’d like to put forth the idea that prayer can be—can be—a useful thing. I’m not… Read more
This is a guest post by Stef McGraw. Stef is a Junior at the University of Northern Iowa, and is a member of the UNI Freethinkers and Inquirers (UNIFI) . After being discussed by Jon Stewart on The Daily Show this past Thursday, it’s now more than just the atheist community debating the so-called “9/11 cross.” The controversy, for those who don’t know, is over whether or not two beams that formed a cross in the Ground Zero rubble should… Read more
This is a guest post by Ed Clint. He is a senior at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a member of the Illini Secular Student Alliance (ISSA). A letter to Interfaith, from ISSA (Illini Secular Student Alliance) Dear Interfaith, It’s over between us. Here’s the thing, Interfaith: I tried. I really tried. Two years ago I knew nothing at all about you, but I felt obligated to at least get to know you. I went to your dinner with… Read more
