May 31, 2008
Category: Religion
From Michael Ruse's review of The God Delusion in Isis: More seriously, Dawkins is entirely ignorant of the fact that no believer - with the possible exception of some English clerics in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries - has ever...
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Posted by Jason Rosenhouse at 11:12 PM • 72 Comments •
May 30, 2008
Category: Philosophy
In his book Indiscrete Thoughts, mathematician Gian-Carlo Rota spoofed a certain style of book reviewing: The bane of expository work is Professor Neanderthal of Redwood Poly. In his time, Professor Neanderthal studied noncommutative ring theory with the great X, and...
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Posted by Jason Rosenhouse at 8:26 PM • 78 Comments •
May 29, 2008
Category: Miscellaneous
There are certain milestone moments in the history of any household that, while representing small triumphs, are also tinged with a bit of sadness. Baby's first steps. The first visit from the Tooth Fairy. High school graduation. Each represents a...
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Posted by Jason Rosenhouse at 3:57 PM • 7 Comments •
May 28, 2008
Category: Religion
There is something about Richard Dawkins that seems to drive otherwise intelligent people completely out of their minds. Dawkins writes a book called The Selfish Gene, and some scholarly critics actually go after him on the grounds that genes can...
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Posted by Jason Rosenhouse at 8:19 PM • 38 Comments •
Category: Politics
According to former White House Press Secretary Scott McLellan, the Bush administration has been somewhat less than forthcoming:...
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Posted by Jason Rosenhouse at 5:51 PM • 9 Comments •
May 27, 2008
Category: Religion
This essay by Peter Bebergal is getting some bloggy attention. Chad Orzel liked it. John Wilkins calls it “lovely, lyrical and wistful.” P.Z. is less impressed. I'm with P.Z. Surprise!...
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Posted by Jason Rosenhouse at 7:39 PM • 96 Comments •
Category: Anti-Creationism
Tomorrow is the first anniversary of the big Creation Museum in Kentucky. They grow up so fast, don't they? To recognize the occasion, the Northern Kentucky Enquirer offers us this article. It's a sadly typical representative of the genre....
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Posted by Jason Rosenhouse at 4:34 PM • 7 Comments •
May 23, 2008
Category: Miscellaneous
It seems I'm not the only one who's spent the last year worrying about whether I needed to update my CV. My SciBling Janet Stemwedel got tenure! In philosophy no less. (You can have a career doing that?) So congratulations...
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Posted by Jason Rosenhouse at 6:04 PM • 2 Comments •
May 22, 2008
Category: Science
Check it out: Self-medication may be the reason the blogosphere has taken off. Scientists (and writers) have long known about the therapeutic benefits of writing about personal experiences, thoughts and feelings. But besides serving as a stress-coping mechanism, expressive writing...
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Posted by Jason Rosenhouse at 7:29 PM • 11 Comments •
Category: Religion
I'm about halfway through Reza Aslan's book No God But God: The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam, published in 2005. I've read enough to recommend the book whole-heartedly. Aslan is an excellent writer who presents some very dry material...
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Posted by Jason Rosenhouse at 6:54 PM • 21 Comments •