Pharyngula

Posted by: PaleGreenPants | October 1, 2009 9:10 AM

I'm sorry, I just don't like the guy (Colbert). His ironical style is tiresome after a while.

Posted by: Ray Moscow | October 1, 2009 9:14 AM

I love Colbert's question: "If we've been evolving for millions of years perceive beauty and to be beautiful, why are there still so many ugly people?"

Posted by: SC OM | October 1, 2009 9:16 AM

Watched it last night. That was fun.

I adore Stephen Colbert. Adore. But it bothers me that he's a Catholic, even if (perhaps in part because) he jokes about it. The RCC is a dictator-loving, oppressive, misogynistic, murderous institution founded on superstition and obfuscation. I don't see how someone with his social/political views could in good conscience be part of it.

Posted by: RichardMNixon | October 1, 2009 9:48 AM

"I don't read books."
He's got the creationist character down pat.

Posted by: Mike Wagner | October 1, 2009 9:50 AM

PSA for Canadians:

http://watch.thecomedynetwork.ca/the-colbert-report/interviews-a-z/interviews-d/#clip16569

Posted by: Susan | October 1, 2009 10:11 AM

Colbert can be a difficult gig for those with a serious message, but I thought Dawkins did great. It probably helped that he'd been through it before. I love Colbert, and when a guest can give him pause, as Dawkins did, and cause him to really have to reach for his character's perfect response ["I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention"] it's just the best. Good job, Mr. Dawkins! You seemed to have a lot if fun, and it was the perfect end to my Blasphemy Day!

Posted by: SC OM | October 1, 2009 10:13 AM

I'd have to say that one of the advantages of the Catholic meme is that it allows for hypocrisy.

...This is one of the more likeable details about Catholicism,

I agree with your characterization, but not your interpretation. I see nothing positive about this hypocrisy, and it allows for the horrors of this institution. ("You" who can use condoms are not a poor African woman being denied them because of the Church. "You" who can hate Nazis are not someone in South America who just saw her government toppled in a Church-supported right-wing coup. This hypocrisy is disgusting.) I recently wrote something for my blog on compassion and fanaticism in Puritan New England:

http://saltycurrent.blogspot.com/2009/09/puritan-monster.html

But it's not 1637. It's 2009, and no one (here) has to belong to any church. It's a choice. To oppose unreason and oppression in general and then represent/teach in an institution that is their foremost historical proponent is, to me, morally problematic.

[Sorry - have to go. :/]

Posted by: vimes | October 1, 2009 10:30 AM

@PZ:

Colbert just kind of talks over him the whole time, but that's to be expected.

Of course he's doing that - keep in mind who he is emulating. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FARDDcdFaQ

Posted by: Uncle Glenny | October 1, 2009 10:51 AM

via Wonkette

The beatnik Marxist radical hippies at NPR have an on-line poll: “Should Dem. [Grayson] Apologize For Saying GOP Wants You ‘To Die Quickly’?”
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2009/10/should_dem_apologize_for_sayin.html

Posted by: The Pale Scot | October 1, 2009 11:13 AM

Paging Cliff;

Yo Cliff, slid on back to the bottom of the old thread.

http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2009/09/no_crazier_than_genesis.php

Posted by: Glen Davidson | October 1, 2009 11:21 AM

Colbert just has to act like an ass (with quirks) to emulate the IDiots.

Easiest job on earth to "question evolution," which is why so many dolts do it.

Glen D
http://tinyurl.com/mxaa3p

Posted by: Uncle Glenny | October 1, 2009 11:36 AM

Mmmmmmm, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Great example.

Maybe with some bacon.

Posted by: Cyberdraco | October 1, 2009 11:49 AM

Josh Timonen made that tie for Richard Dawkins ( it is on the 8th picture page in "The Greatest Show On Earth")

I read the latest Rolling Stone magazine which features an interview with Stephen Colbert. Exceprts here : http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/29956798/stephen_colbert_on_deconstructing_the_news_religion_and_the_colbert_nation/
His show is all about comedy and improvisational wit. He makes no personal political claims and just wants people to laugh. He is a devout Catholic in real life and made one particular disturbing comment. " I think suffering makes us human." Or something along those lines...it kinda got me angry, otherwise knowing his 'characters' on the show have almost no real life basis is acceptable.

The show is still funny, but I do not laugh as hard knowing he wants people to suffer so they can 'feel' human.

Posted by: Michael | October 1, 2009 12:37 PM

Actually, Cyberdraco, in that interview that you linked, he says "From a doctrinal point of view or a dogmatic point of view or a strictly Catholic adherent point of view, I'm first to say that I talk a good game, but I don't know how good I am about it in practice." One thing people need to remember about Colbert is that the actor Stephen Colbert plays the character Stephen Colbert on the Colbert Report. That's not his real-life persona up there. He admits to modeling his character after Bill O'Reilly, and that it's way over the top compared to his real-life views. He does a really good job of mocking the hard-core right-wing TV personalities, and if you take his whole show with a (large) grain of salt, it's very easy to enjoy it.

Also, Sili, Colbert went to Iraq this summer to visit the troops and do his show over there for a week (a la Bob Hope). While there, President Obama gave a direct order to General Odierno (I think) to shave Colbert's head. He did, of course, and Colbert has been working on growing his thick, lustrous mane back ever since.

Posted by: Sastra | October 1, 2009 12:41 PM

Ostranenie #20 wrote:

it occurred to me, in all seriousness, that believers have simply been hypnotized. just as you can't talk a person who's been hypnotized to think he's a chicken out of thinking he's a chicken, no matter what you say, so you can't talk a "true" believer out of his beliefs, no matter how ridiculous. does anyone know the biological explanation of hypnotism, who might tell me if this is an adequate explanation?

This idea -- or a variation of it -- is already out there as one of the theories concerning the origin and basis for religious belief. Try looking for either Wings of Illusion: The Origin, Nature, and Future of Paranormal Belief or, better yet, The Corruption of Reality: A Unified Theory of Religion, Hypnosis, and Psychopathology, by psychologist John F. Schumaker.

As I recall, Schumaker used to work with anorexics, and became fascinated with dissociative trance-induction techniques and their effect on the "brain's remarkable capacity to process information along multiple pathways" -- and therefore end up firmly believing in contradicting 'facts' ("I know I am too thin, but I know I am too fat.") Some of neurologist Ramachandra's books also deal with people who have mental blocks similar to what happens with hypnotism, though I can't remember how far he goes into hypnosis itself.

I think Schumaker has had some articles in Skeptical Inquirer, too. Hope that helps.

Posted by: Forbidden Snowflake | October 1, 2009 1:01 PM

This reminds me of a bit by Dara O'Briain (the "get in the sack" guy). Catholicism

From the comments:

LordOmberus (3 weeks ago) Well you could always get yourself excommunicated.

Protip: Try shitting in the Pope's hat.

Posted by: Cyberdraco | October 1, 2009 1:22 PM

There are at least a dozen more questions Colbert is asked that only appear in the magazine itself. Since someone mentioned Bill O'reilly, I remembered that Colbert was asked about O'Reilly and Hannity and possibly Beck.
He thought that O'reilly is being serious and believes all that crap he spews (my words, not Colbert's of course) But thinks that Hannity is pandering to the deluded masses, for ratings if nothing else.

Of course, this could still be a character of his ( He even told the interviewer, "How do you know I am not playing you right now?")

He does attend a Catholic church and teaches Sunday school to elementary children, but how much he is dedicated to the Vatican or how serious he takes the bible are questions that may always stayed unanswered.

On a personal note, I will be attending a Dawkins lecture at UVA on October 16th, if I am lucky, I will get my copy of "The Greatest Show on Earth" signed as well.

Posted by: Peter G. | October 1, 2009 2:15 PM

"He makes no personal political claims and just wants people to laugh." Are you kidding Cyberdraco? He makes nothing but personal political claims that are transcendentally clear to anyone who understands satire and parody. He plays perfectly the part of Simplicius to whatever Sagredo he has on the show.

Posted by: SoSayethTheSpider | October 1, 2009 3:22 PM

FYI, Francis Collins is the guest tonight.

As for the Dawkins interview, it was prototypical Colbert. The interviews are rarely informative. It's a platform to entertain and sell books. If you are looking for more, you are watching the wrong show.

Posted by: shonny | October 1, 2009 3:36 PM

On the subject of books, The Atlantic had an interesting snippet about book bans:
http://correspondents.theatlantic.com/david_shenk/2009/09/in_honor_of_banned_books_week_my_hometown_considers_banning_some_books.php

Fighting the stoopid ain't gonn be easy!

Posted by: Jadehawk, OM | October 1, 2009 4:07 PM

huh.... that reese's cup argument is strangely convincing...

Posted by: Treppenwitz | October 1, 2009 4:27 PM

Whoever thinks either Colbert the character or Colbert the person was contemptuous of Darwin is seriously irony impaired.

It's just Poe's law in action.

I have to admit that I kind of think Dawkins should stick with books and lectures. For some reason he never strikes me as quite comfortable on TV, even in his own documentaries. Maybe it's because his style doesn't lend itself to soundbites, or maybe it's just that I'm kind of like a longtime listener of a band's studio albums hearing a live performance for the first time and being disappointed when the songs don't sound quite the same.

In any case, outside of his books, I think the Q&A sessions he sometimes does after lectures are the best thing he does, and I wish more of them were available.

Posted by: bobxxxx | October 1, 2009 5:36 PM

Colbert did an excellent job of pretending to be an uneducated creationist moron, and Dawkins couldn't possibly have done better than he did.

Posted by: whiskfern | October 1, 2009 6:16 PM

Cyberdraco"

"On a personal note, I will be attending a Dawkins lecture at UVA on October 16th, if I am lucky, I will get my copy of "The Greatest Show on Earth" signed as well."

If it's anything like waiting in line in Minnesota last spring, be prepared for at least a 2-hour queue! Poor Dawkins looked like a limp dishrag by the time I presented my TGD to him to sign. But PZ was there to cheer him on the whole time.

No matter the occasion, I have always been inspired by Dawkins' unfailing kindness and good manners.

Posted by: RamziD | October 1, 2009 9:10 PM

I see Richard is letting his hair grow out. I wonder if he's gonna keep it going and put it in a ponytail? :P

Posted by: Gregory Greenwood | October 1, 2009 9:45 PM

It is a sad indictment on the political and cultural literacy of the far right Christian fundamentalists that there are Xians who actually think that Stephen Colbert is a champion of their cause, like another O'Reilly or Hannity.

I can just imagine all the fundies who watched this edition of the Colbert Report, and were so deficient in the irony meter department, that they assumed that the interview was serious. Its easy to imagine them there, cheering Colbert on while erroneously assuming he is one of them. Clapping their hands in a fashion not unlike the clapping of a seal's flippers, whenever they think Colbert 'got one over' on Professor Dawkins.

Satire is a form of relatively refined comedy that is wholly lost on the average drooling fundie.

I think Colbert did fall out of character a little once though. A true fundie would have said;

'I don't read books like yours. I burn them.'

While lacking the critical faculties to remember that the babble itself is merely a peice of subpar fantasy fiction.

Posted by: Liveliest Crib | October 1, 2009 10:32 PM

Cyberdraco:

He is a devout Catholic in real life and made one particular disturbing comment. " I think suffering makes us human." Or something along those lines...it kinda got me angry, otherwise knowing his 'characters' on the show have almost no real life basis is acceptable. [ ] The show is still funny, but I do not laugh as hard knowing he wants people to suffer so they can 'feel' human.

Hmm. I tried to find the suffering quote in the article, but I guess it was either not in the excerpts or not said in that particular interview.

In any case, do you have the context of the quote? To me, it seems quite a leap to infer from quote-unquote suffering makes us human that Colbert wants people to suffer in order to feel human. Of course, I don't know the exact quote or its context. In any case, acknowledging that suffering is a part of the human experience and/or that we can learn and grow from our misfortunes does not necessarily reflect a desire for people to suffer or the belief that people cannot be human without suffering.

Personally, I couldn't care less what Colbert's private thoughts are. I think his satire is brilliant and his sense of humor very entertaining. I'm a huge Aerosmith fan too, and it really doesn't bother me that Joe Perry is a kooky Republican. I still love the music.

Posted by: Kazzaqld | October 2, 2009 1:11 AM

Thanks PZ, I missed it both last night and when it was repeated this morning - d'oh!

Prof Dawkins acquitted himself very well, I thought. Really looking forward to seeing you and him in March in Melbourne!

Posted by: Rorschach | October 2, 2009 5:30 AM

10 f'ing login attempts later....

Collins did much better than RD on Colbert, but he was asked not a single question regarding his religious whackjobbery, and plenty time to talk.

Posted by: Andyo | October 2, 2009 8:37 PM

Kagato #50

Thanks for that Hitchens link. The guy is just hilarious, he manages to be a gentleman, an ass, and a comedian all at the same time. The guy in the audience yelling in frustration "Yes! Yes!" was kinda like we all feel around here sometimes.

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