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Factonista
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Science. Humanism. Atheism. Politics.
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Why skeptics do not, and should not, waste their time with academic theology
Theology, like all religious institutions, demands respect where none is earned. Historically they serve only the functions of defending dogma to no one in particular, providing cover for the rare believer who comes to doubt the various absurdities of his faith, and of optimistically regurgitating the failed arguments of previous theologians. There is nothing here with which to engage. There is no novelty among them to treat with new counterarguments.
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Teaching Science
I have nine minutes to write this post. I do not have internet at my house, even though I ordered it. I am a slave to the hours of the coffee shop.
There are a few problems that I face with teaching science. First of all the only reason given for teaching anything in science is the state mandated standardized test in science. This is only half the problem.
The other half is that most science teachers don’t know science themselves.
These problems compound to getting a batch of students who are basically good kids, whose parents have no idea who Carl Sagan was. Their number one extracurricular activity is usually based in Church (probably because its free). Their only exposure to science is fed to them by the ignorant who don’t give [...]
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3 Weeks In and Grades are Due
Well, I became a teacher to save the world.
I became a teacher because unscientific, mooshy, subjective thinking dominates the world. I want to teach kids to be driven by reason and critical thinking.
I became a teacher to give youngsters, especially those who are less likely to succeed academically, an edge in life.
I have a science degree with a great deal of primary scientific research experience.
I became a teacher to save the world.
But so far my first three weeks of being a teacher have consisted of being given too much secretarial work to properly prepare my classes or even grade work. I have to have 12 grades by Monday. Actually, technically they are 3 days late on Monday, but thats when the administration starts paying attention.
I would love to have my [...]
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Good Cop, Bad Cop: PZ and the Creation Museum
“Look! It’s PZ!” Cheers went up and applause ensued. PZ Myers finally arrived at the Creation Museum in northern Kentucky. This was the first time the famous (or infamous) blogger had ever visited the place that defied his field of study, accepting only microevolution, but vehemently denying macroevolution. Like everyone else, I wanted a picture with the atheist icon and somehow managed to get one. The place buzzed with excitement. However, as I looked around I realized that although PZ was important, he wasn’t nearly as important as what he had done. When I pulled into the parking lot for the “museum” what I saw amazed me. Two extremely long lines…of non-believers. There was also a fairly large group of more that had already received their ticket, an “I was [...]
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Why does Secular Activism matter?
My personal history with faith is quite different from many of the non-believers I have met. Since this is my first post and I’ve been having trouble coming up with something to write, I’m going to try to draw upon that, to write about why I became involved with secular activism and why i think its important to make the case for a rational world.
When i was fifteen i decided to make a leap of faith and became an orthodox Jew. It was a long journey. 3 years later, I woke up in the summer of 06′ somewhere in the heart of Brooklyn, i had a beard that touched the ground, my tefillin (Jewish phylacteries) next to my bed, and my siddur on the cabinet next to me. I was [...]
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