The G-Word

Scott Aaronson talks sense about religion, in response to an emailer who stopped reading his quantum computing lectures because he made references to "God":

What I'm trying to say, Bill, is this: you can go ahead and indulge yourself. If some of the most brilliant unbelievers in history -- Einstein, Erdös, Twain -- could refer to a being of dubious ontological status as they would to a smelly old uncle, then why not the rest of us? For me, the whole point of scientific rationalism is that you're free to ask any question, debate any argument, read anything that interests you, use whatever phrase most colorfully conveys your meaning, all without having to worry about violating some taboo. You won't endanger your immortal soul, since you don't have one.

See, this is why he's the world's second funniest physics blogger, and I'm just a cranky guy with a website. I would've just muttered "Oh, Jesus Christ, lighten up, willya?" and gone about my business. Scott turned it into something good, and there's more good stuff in the comments.