sudo life

On Saturday I ventured out of my apartment to a place in Kansas City I’ve not been before: Parkville. I’ve been near it, but never in it. I’ve been missing out. This is a charming little town, right on the missouri River and smack dab in the middle of the KC Metro area, but strangely isolated. The town only has about 5,000 people in it, so it’s small, but it’s home to Park University, which I wish I had known about before. Of course, as a private institution, it would have been out of my price range, but still, it looks like such a nice place.

Saturday was a nice day, and there were people milling about, I really got the whole small town feeling. But I wasn’t there to just check the town out; I was a man on a mission. About a week ago, I heard about this store, called the H.M.S. Beagle. I had posted to a local freethought group about available local amatuer science clubs, and someone mentioned this store. If only I had known about it before… This store isn’t like those dinky ’science’ store like the Discover Channel store. Those stores sell little more than ’science toys.’ This is the real deal. And it’s a nice looking store as well.

They have glassware, Science and Technical books (new, used, and rare). A ton of telescopes. Geological tools. Slides. Chemistry Sets. Kids science clubs. Adult science clubs. The people who work there all have backgrounds in science (either already have a degree, or a student working towards a degree). I talked to the owner, and he informed me that they can order anything they don’t already have, including… dissection specimans! Dissections have always given me the willies in the past, but now I’m actually looking forward to doing one. That’s a ways off in the distance, though. There’s probably a bunch of legalities I need to find out about, too.

They also supply chemicals, which would have been wonderful to know while I was making my movie over the summer. Well, a nice person supplied me with some Sodium anyway. Thanks again, nice person!

I don’t yet have the resources to start working on my lab, but next month, I ought to. It’s probably a good thing, because I need to have some idea of some specific things I want to do first. Right now, some bacterial cultures are on the list, but I won’t get a microscope until Christmas time, so I should probably hold off on that. There was a neat little book at the store called ‘Grandads Wonderful Book of Chemistry,’ that may offer some pointers. The biology book I’m working on has been great so far, but I’ve not gotten too in depth yet. I want to finish Gödel, Escher, Bach first. (BTW, if you haven’t read GEB, then I highly recommend it.)

Science chemistry, Kansas City, Science

Lifehacker is talking about the benefits of skepticism.

Creativity – The best way to prevent new solutions is to believe you already have the answer. Allowing a gap of doubt can allow creative alternatives to flow in. If you are adamant that advertising will not work for your product, you might cut off hundreds of ideas for improving your business.

Amen to that!  There are several others listed, and I completely agree with what is being said.  Skepticism has been the route to balance in my life, the route to understanding.

There is also an amusing story from The Big Room calling for a government War on Science. I find the idea amusing.

Life Hacks creativity, Science, skepticism

One year ago today was a Sunday.

I woke up, and packed my bags. I was going to go to Portland Oregan early the next morning to attend OSCON. I was somewhat excited, but worried about how I was going to pay for it. I was also lonely, oh so very lonely. It’s easy to admit now. I refused to admit it even to myself until last week. I would tell myself that all sorts of different things, rationalize it every which way. Somehow admitting to myself that I was lonely wasn’t something I wanted to do.

After packing my clothes, I sat down on my couch. Just sat, not sure what I was going to do, wanting to do something, but not having the energy for anything. There was a website I could have been working on, but I couldn’t find the energy to get up and walk over to my computer to test it out. I pulled out a cigarette and smoked it, a temporary feeling of satisfaction rushing through my head. When that was gone, I smoked another. A headache creeped into my head. I hated smoking, but what else could I do? I couldn’t do anything else.

Eventually, I opened the lid to my laptop and started watching some of Carl Sagan’s Cosmos series. I had recently located them on Google Video and was slowly making my way through all 13 episodes. Press play, and click the lighter. The nicotine calmed my mind; Sagan’s words smoothed my spirit.

A few episodes later, it was time for lunch. I wasn’t hungry, but I found something to eat anyway. Skipping meals is always a bad idea. Eat some food, lay back down on my couch. Press play. Mind won’t concentrate. Press stop. I need something… what? Pick up my cell phone. Look up the number I want to call. Put the cell phone back on the table. Press play. Mind wanders. Press stop. Pick up cell phone, press call. Press hang up before the call is answered.

Get up, take a walk outside to clear my head. It doesn’t work. Get back, take a shower, because I don’t like being sweaty. Sit back down on couch. Pick up the phone, call. I let it get answered this time.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Josh. Are you going to that church service you were talking about?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Ok. If you decide to go, I would like to tag along.”

“Ok.”

That conversation isn’t exact, but close enough. Soon it’s decided that we’ll go. I hang up the phone and check myself. Still feel like shit. I put the phone down and walk over to the kitchen, then take an asprin. Headache doesn’t leave. Pull out another cigarette. Light it up. Looks like I’m getting low, better stock up before I leave. Hmm, can I take a lighter inside of security? Doubtful, better pack one. What am I going to do during my 5 hour flight? Try to sleep. Maybe I’ll quit. Decide I should. Thow out the rest of the pack.

I go to the store to buy several packs anyway.

I get back to the apartment, and break out a light right away. Dammit, I told myself I was quiting. Why did I go to the store? I feel lonelier than ever.

I pickup the phone again. Can’t bother the same person, need to find someone else. 10 minutes later, I realize no one else is around. Take another asprin. Can’t have too many, or I’ll get sick. Take another anyway.

I look at the clock. The time is growing near. Need to take a shower, wash the smell of smoke off myself. My friend hates the smell, but I’m more ashamed of myself. Don’t want her to know. She does anyway. Get new clothes out of the dryer. No way they smell like smoke. If I lose a friend, at least it won’t be because of that. Brush my teeth for ten minutes. Have to make sure it’s clean. Still not sure. Brush some more.

I go out to my car, drive slowly to her house. Knock on the door. She’s talking on the phone, and I’m relieved that all I have to do is smile. She drives us to church. We arrive. She’s looking for her friend. I realize she likes him. I think it’s great, I’m happy for her, and I hate myself for feeling a little more lonely and jealous.  Jealous because someone can feel that way, and someone can recieve those sorts of feelings.

Don’t think about it Josh. Think of something clever to say. Look around. See what’s there. Time to take a seat. Oh no, where do I sit? Take the seat right next to her, possibly make her uncomfortable, or sit one seat over, and make it seem like I”m trying to push her away.

I hate sitting in public rows of chairs. I never know what to do, no matter who it’s with.

Decide on one seat away. Being too far from someone is better than being too close.

Read the slide on the wall. Look around as people come in. Do you know anyone? What will you say if you see someone you know? Tell the truth? Smile and give general answers? Pretend to need to go to the bathroom? Or perhaps it wouldn’t be pretending. Now I need to go. Is it alright to smoke outside a church? Doesn’t matter, didn’t bring my cigarettes, and I don’t want my friend to know anyway. Read the next slide on the wall.

It’s time to sing. Stand up. I feel numb. Try to open my mouth. Nothing comes out. Then a sound. I look around. I feel like everyone is staring. No one is. For some reason, that doesn’t make me feel any better.

People are raising their hands. They’re so sincere. I used to be them. I remember raising my hands. I remember singing. I wrote worship songs. We sung them in church. I used to cry when I sang. I used to feel god’s presence.

I don’t raise my hands. I don’t cry. I don’t feel anything.

It’s time to set down. Someone stands up, some announcements. They talk about a camping trip. I went on one of those before. I always felt so lonely every time. I made a huge mistake at the first one. I never forgave myself. I deserve to feel lonely. They thought I was mean. I was only defending myself. No one believed me. I don’t deserve to defend myself. Good thing I sat one seat over.

The speaker starts talking. We should keep the sabbath holy. The jews had a hard time remembering. They stoned to death those who didn’t (did they do it the same day?). Today, we need to do the same. Not stone people to death. Set apart some time each week for us to be with god. He wants us to do that.

I want to scream. I swallow instead. Don’t they get it? My frustration grows. I want to get up and leave, but stay seated. I listen. The speaker had a problem with his bike (or was it car) breaking. It was because he hadn’t kept his time with the lord. The lord was trying to tell him to spend more time.

I shake my head. This is gibberish. Don’t they understand? Pull out a scripture. Interpret it anyway you like. It’s meaningless.

The pastor is actually telling us first that:

A) God tells us what he wants us to do.

and

B) When god tells us, he doesn’t tell us exactly what to do, we need to interpret it, make it fit our time period and culture.

The hypocrisy is getting a number of amen’s. I feel the world rushing in around my. My head feels like it’s about to explode. The numbness is gone, only to be filled with pain. God, why do you let us do this? Why are you so confusing? Why won’t you answer my prayers? Why won’t you heal me? Why did you make me such a shitty person? Or if I did that to myself somehow, why won’t you help me change? I need you. I’m shit, yet you still love me. I’m so grateful for your love, but why can’t I feel it? Why can’t you show it to me? I know I can’t show others that I love them, does that mean you must ignore me to? Isn’t that part of the problem?

As the questions flow, I start going around in circles, always rationalizing away the obvious answer that will make it all stop. It’s not true. There is a god who loves me. If only I will try a little harder.

The service is over. We leave. She asks me what I thought. I’m not sure how to answer. I reply that I don’t understand. I try to explain, but I don’t think I make any sense.

I stay silent the rest of the time.

Thank her for going, it’s time to get back to my apartment.

I get in, change into my shorts. More comfortable. Sit down, light up a cigarette. Mind slows down.

Press play.

Trying to focus. It actually works a bit.

Time passes as I watch.

Press pause. What did Sagan just say? Rewind. Press Play.

Yes, that is what Sagan said. I can’t breath all of the sudden. Tears rush from my eyes. Is it really that simple? I want to scream. I want to break something, throw something. But I sit. My hands are shaking. And then my arms. What am I going to do?

I lean forward, and put my head in my hands. Dry my eyes. My head feels like it’s about to explode.

Breath. In. Out. In. Out. Breath through your nose, dammit! It’ll calm you faster. How do you know that? There are nerve endings in your nose that will get soothed.

Everything stops.

I have my answer.

I don’t believe in god.

One year ago today.

Personal Atheism, change, christianity, Philosophy, Science

Someone once argued with me, concerning evolution, “science has been wrong before.”

True enough. I didn’t reply at the time, for a variety of reasons. Today, I would challenge them to name something that science has been wrong about. There are several possible choices. One common answer is thinking the earth was flat (most people don’t know about Eratosthenes calculating the diameter of the earth around 200 B.C). Never-the-less, the fact remains that the argument is right. We have been wrong about things in the past. We’re still wrong about some things. We know that many of our theories are incomplete.

Given all of that, though, there is a better point to be made. Science is unique in the way that it is the only self-correcting field out there. All of those times science has been wrong about something, I can guarantee you, it was not the priest that fixed it, but another scientist.

Theology christianity, debate, evolution, Philosophy, Science

Starting in my teenage years, I slowly dropped, as so many teens do, into a depression. There were many different factors, mostly social at the time. I’m a very socially awkward person – I don’t understand people very easily, and interacting with them can be very difficult because of that. Once I graduated, I expected things would get to be much better in college, but this was not to be the case. Things got progressively worse over the next four years.

As a dedicated Christian, I kept looking to god to heal me and guide me in the way that he wanted me to go, but I was always left wanting. God’s silence left me baffled. I began wondering if perhaps Christianity was wrong, so I looked into other religions. I looked into Eastern religions, learning quite a bit about Buddhism and Taoism. I read books about the Zohar and Kaballah. But nothing really jumped out at me. There didn’t seem to be much substance to be had. Eventually, I returned my focus to Christianity.

That was when the real trouble began.

I thought that maybe I wasn’t a ‘good enough’ Christian, and that’s why god wasn’t around. I needed to try harder, to put more effort into my faith. So I did. But as I did, I began get rumblings in the back of my mind. Something just wasn’t right. Why were Christians behind the war in Iraq? Didn’t Jesus specifically say ‘turn the other cheek?’ Or how about the hundreds of other things Jesus set the example for us on, and yet very few christians actually do? Socially things took a turn for the worse as well, and my depression grew even deeper. A good friend moved away forever, a friend who had been a large presence in my life. Another good friend was in the hospital, far away. Then a good friend from the past seemed to turn his back on me. I couldn’t sleep, worried that I was missing out on life itself, a loneliness that I tried to cure other ways, but couldn’t fix. My insomnia created a snow ball effect, each day things getting progressively worse.

My pleadings with god were nothing more than words spoken into the air for all the good they did. I felt abandoned by everyone – my psychosis too far gone to accept the love of my family, and no time with work and school to go and visit them. I had seperated myself from everyone.

In September, 2005, everything came to a head. I was suicidal, hanging on by a thread. The only thing that kept me from taking that final step was the financial responsibilities I had taken on. If I was going to take my own life, I didn’t want to leave a mark on anyone else – it would be a private thing. By that time, though, I had incurred several thousand dollars worth of debt due to college, and I wasn’t going to leave that behind for my parents. But even that motivation was slipping away. Eventually, I broke down, and checked myself into a hospital, where I stayed for 10 days.

Those 10 days provided much perspective, and were very helpful. I was happy and relaxed until the point that it came time for me to leave. I was a bit apprehensive, but eventually determined to turn things around in my life. I got back and started making changes, but each one was a battle. I started to take more risks socially, and sometimes those paid off. I was still making mistakes, though. It was during this time that I had the only argument I’ve had with a very dear friend during this time. It was because I had gotten too ‘clingly,’ and I didn’t understand. But I battled through it. Eventually I got better with fighting against my own mind.

As time continued on, the battles proved easier, though something was still nagging at the back of my mind. Where was god, and why wasn’t he providing guidance, and the help that I needed? Some people might say that god wants me to be reponsible for my own self, and I shouldn’t rely on him to live my life for me. I can accept that. But I had been taught to believe that Christianity was about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and you can’t have a one way relationship. I thought you were supposed to feel the presence of god. My prayers were still not answered, not even in the negative. I had ceased to feel the presence of God, and I didn’t know why.

I began to feel in my gut that something was very wrong with christianity – perhaps even several things. I expected that at the core, though, it would be just one thing. I began to wonder about conspiracy theories concerning the catholic church, and other things. Later on, I would be amazed that the answer would be much simpler than that.

I began to do research on the net about the creation of the bible, and ran into a documentary on Google Video called “Who Wrote the Bible?” This was an eye-opener to say the least. The bible’s divine inspiration did not seem as clear all of the sudden. This incident was also important because I discovered Google Video as a resource, and soon after than I ran into “The Root of All Evil?” on that same site.

The Root of All Evil? opened my eyes to several things and planted several questions. Was faith really dangerous? Why did evolution make more sense when Dawkin’s explained it than the other times I had heard about it? Was my faith the same thing that drove the motivations of terrorists? What were the products of Christian Faith? A pit in my stomach began to grow rapidly. Had I been completely wrong about Christianity, indeed god in general? It was the scariest thought I ever had, and I quit my inquiry for over a month because of it. Perhaps it would be better if I didn’t know!

My mind would not make things so easy, though. Two contradictory ideas had been planted in my head, and I was caught in the turbulence of cognitive dissonance. My mind would not let it go. Searching Google Video one day, I ran across a series by Kent Hovind, and my faith was restored. The bible did provide a better explanation about the creation of the world than evolution, and that explanatory power was definite evidence of divine inspiration, no matter the origins of the bible. I wanted to discover more about this man of god, Kent Hovind.

The internet is a double edge sword. The golden tongue of Kent Hovind is not so shiny when you look at the arguments against him. I discovered logical fallacies, and was able to immediately spot them in the speeches from Hovind. My newly restored faith vanished once again.

Can you imagine what it’s like to go back and forth like this? The world right-side-up one moment, skewed the next, and backwards just a moment later. My mind couldn’t keep up. The depression I had been through before began to creep back up, but I didn’t want to go down that road. This time I had better tools in my pocket. I knew what I needed to do – gain perspective. So that’s what I did. I began reading everything I could get my hands on about Science, Skepticism, and Atheism, because I had the Christian perspective and I needed the opposite perspective.

In my readings, I began to see a pattern. Slowly, one by one, my precious beliefs were being dismantled. Everything I held dear was was being destroyed. It hurt, but I had no way to argue it. The arguments were rock solid, but still I refused to give up my beliefs. Something was missing, I just knew it. I couldn’t have been wrong about everything! The thought of a godless world was still to scary to even consider.

Then in July of last year, I stumbled upon the thing that would lead me to take the final step – Carl Sagan’s Cosmos series. In each of the thirteen episodes, I came to see the beauty in the world, a beauty that didn’t require the existance of God, but was available to everyone, no matter their beliefs. Finally, in the thirteenth episode it all clicked. Carl Sagan, in his ’spaceship of the mind’ had just witnessed the destruction of earth due to nuclear war. He said this:

“We had accepted the products of science, but not it’s method.“

I had to stop the video; the words had cut straight to my heart. This is what it is all about. This was the problem with Christianity that I had been looking for. When I started my journey, I expected that after I discovered what was missing, my faith would be complete. Just the opposite happened because when I discovered what was missing, it was at that very moment I became an Atheist.

There were no fireworks, no celebrations, but no tears by that point either. An overwhelming peace settled over me for the first time I could remember in quite some time. I had discovered the key to happiness, and I was now ready to go into the world.

I would be lying to say that it was all easy after that. For the first few months, I would still have moments where I cried out to god, not yet fully understanding the change in my own life. I had the key, but I hadn’t quite figured out how to use it properly, and doubt came when I used it wrong. But as time went on, I began to figure it out. Will I make mistakes in the future? Without a doubt, but now my toolbox is complete, so I will be prepared.

So what was the problem? Perhaps it wasn’t clear above. The problem is faith itself. Faith is opposed to science, and reason. When I started really learning about the world, faith didn’t make sense. Why was it that the world made more sense in the end if there was no god?

Let me lay out the three reasons I’m an Atheist.

1. The non-explanatory power of god. Basically, god isn’t required to explain the world, and further-more, using god as an explanation only complicates matters more instead of making them simpler.
2. Problems specific to Christianity. Why are there so many contradiction in the bible? Why isn’t the message of Christianity unique if they’re right and everyone else is wrong? Why does the bible contradict known history? Why does the bible make so many scientific mistakes? Those are just a few examples.
3. The Problem of Hell. The ideas of a loving god and a place of eternal torture are mutually exclusive.

What does all of this mean? It means that in the last year, I’ve finally conquered my depression. I’m not saying that I’ll never feel depressed again, but the big things that were driving my depression have been defeated. It means I’m at peace, confident, and for the first time I can really remember, mentally healthy! I have gained an basic understanding of the world around me, so I can move through this world, literally and figuratively, with relative ease. Furthermore, I know how to gain more understanding. If I run up against a problem, I know how to solve it! Help won’t come from above. That’s a ‘long wait for a train don’t come.’ Now know the power of reason and science. There are thousands of more words that I can write about this, but what it all comes down to is this: Today I can honestly say that I’m a happy human being.

Losing my faith was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but nearly a year later, it’s been worth it.

Personal Atheism, change, Science, videos

Well, I’ve wrapped up my viewing of the Planet Earth series from the BBC, narrated by David Attenborough. Only one word is needed to describe the experience: WOW! If you have not seen this yet, you will not be disappointed. And for only $55 at amazon, there is no excuse not to have it as a part of your DVD collection.

The series is marked by the footage of things that have never been captured on film before (and in some cases, never even seen before), incredible camera work to capture the scenery, and jaw-dropping scale. The first time I saw the footage of Angel Falls was nearly overwhelming.

One thing the film really brings to my attention, and something I’ve been loath to think about in the past, is the knife edge we are now walking in reference to our global environment. Some of the things they caught on film is likely to never be seen again; the animals will be gone. After seeing these on screen, the disaster that would be their loss is really driven home. Sadly, in some cases, it might be too late.

So check it out! As I said, you won’t be disappointed.

Science biology, inspiration, Science, videos

It is a good question, and I’ve been asked it quite a bit this semester. The answer I usually give is that the requirements worked out for my degree such that I have to take Calculus III. This is true, but my experiences this semester in this class has led me to something else.

The class started out rocky. The actual professor wasn’t there for the first 3 or 4 weeks of class, and during that time, we had 4 seperate teachers come in to cover basic Vector Calculus. I struggled for the first time in a math class. It had been 2 years since I took Calculus II, and I had heard that Calculus III is supposed to be the hardest undergraduate class someone can take. So I was very anxious about this venture. But now, with two weeks left in the semester, I couldn’t be happier with my choice. I have fallen in love with mathematics once again.

When you really understand an equation, there is something almost spiritual that happens. Others have described it as ‘reading the mind of god,’ but I don’t like that language. It doesn’t seem descriptive enough. It’s finding out something about reality completely with your mind, something that you know is true! You are literally discovering an ultimate truth with every step of the theorem.

Call me crazy but my two favorite math class periods in high school we when they actually showed the proof to two important concepts: the irrationality of square-root of two, and the derivation of the quadratic equation (x equals negative plus or minus the square root of b-squared minus four A C, all over 2 A.). It was one things to just be told these things, but for me, the more important question was, ‘How did we know them?’

This leads to something else, something that has drawn my interest lately, especially after reading ‘The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics in the Natural Sciences.’ I am a music major – how does this all fit together? Music may be the universal human language, but mathematics is the language of the Cosmos.

Mathematics education, math, Science

From a blog entry about psychiatry:

“When Marco Polo saw the exotic one horned quadruped, his frame of reference required that it could be none other than a unicorn, even though it did not conform exactly to his prior conception of it. Marco Polo made his observation fit his existing paradigm of zoology. While superficially (and in retrospect) this may seem silly and arbitrary, it is in fact the opposite, Marco Polo believed the only thing he could believe—because the alternative was to believe he had discovered an entirely new, unheard of, creature.“

While the original post dealt with psychiatry directly, I think there is a wider lesson to be learned here. Our assumptions about knowledge and authority can lead us down the wrong path.

Philosophy Science, skepticism

The Prisoner’s Dilemma is a classic non-zero-sum game in game theory. I know that can sound a little intimidating, but I’ll lay it out in it’s simplest terms, because it really is quite simple to grasp, and quite valuable to understand.

As a former Objectivist, I really understand the power of selfishness and what it entails. Everyone is basically selfish – in fact, it’s impossible to be completely altruistic. However, that explanation depends on very rigid definitions of both altruism and selfishness, and those definitions are rarely used outside of Objectivism. The main point is that most people, most of the time, will look to maximize their own gain, and I think that most people will agree with that. Objectivism states that this can be a very valuable tool for the betterment of everyone, and there is a lot of evidence that backs that up. The problem is that it never takes into account non-zero-sum games, such as the Prisoner’s Dilemma.

To illustrate what I mean by a non-zero-sum game, let me explain the Prisoner’s Dillemma. Imagine two people who committed a crime together. When they are arrested, they are seperated into two different rooms, and the prosecuter comes in to talk with each of them. The situation is explained to them. If they betray the other person and turn states evidence, they will get away scot free. If they stay silent, while the state can’t convict them for the original criminal act, they can easily get a conviction for a smaller act committed later. The options each person is facing are these:

1. Stay silent, get convicted for the smaller offence, serve 5 years in prison.

2. Turn states evidence, betray their partner and serve no prison time.

It seems pretty obvious that option (2) is the best option. However, there is a twist. The other person is also getting the same deal, so the situation is more complicated. The possibilities are now this:

A. Both stay silent, both serve 5 years in prison.

B. One talks while the other stays silent, and so one goes free while the other spends 10 years in prison.

C. Both talk, where they both serve 10 years. In other words, if they both turn states evidence, there is no need for a deal, so they both go to prison.

Now the Dilemma should be clear. If they both take option (2) from above, they will both serve 10 years prison time. However, if one stays silent, they risk the other turning states evidence and getting off free while they serve 10 years prison.

What would you do?

Given that situation and the options given to each, I’m going to define option (1) as altruistic in nature, and option (2) as selfish in nature. If both people act purely selfishly, as our tendencies are, they both lose greatly. If only of them acts altruistically, they risk being screwed into something pretty bad. The best option now becomes for them to both act altruistically, seeking cooperation instead of self-preservation.

That deserves quite a bit of meditation. As in the Tragedy of the Commons, the best option for both the group and the individual over the long run is more altruistic behaviour than purely selfish behaviour. However, where as the tragedy of the commons can be addressed through private ownership to a point, the Prisoner’s Dilemma is more about interaction, which can be more difficult to really grasp, and I think relevent to morality. Where-in Objectivism holds selfishness as the highest moral principle, it does not necessarily reflect reality. Obviously, altruistic behaviour can lead to an even greater gain, depending on the situation. Those situations are non-zero-sum games.

Given that gaining and keeping resources is good for the individual, we can now derive a moral principal. In a non-zero-sum game, it is morally best for an individual to act altruistically, and immorral to act selfishly.

Okay, you might be wondering why I’m taking the time to write something so blazingly obvious to anyone. As an atheist, I’ve been accused as being a moral relativist, or even worse, completely lacking in morals. This is obvious to the accuser because morality can only come from god. I have now answered those accusations. I have demonstrated the creation of a moral principal using only reason, and without invoking the supernatural. What’s more, it can be applied equally to everyone, and it’s reasoning is available to everyone. It is not dependent on revelations to the elite, or an ancient and contradictory book. It something you can learn, here and now.

This is not something new. It’s not something I did completely on my own. This has been explained over and over again, and as I mentioned, there is a whole field dedicated to the study of such situations. Richard Dawkin’s has done a documentary on the subject called ‘Nice Guys Finish First,’ which explains the subject much better than I can hope for.

Philosophy Atheism, Mathematics, morality, Science

I’ve been a scientific skeptic for over nine months now, and I’ve discovered that most people don’t really know what this means. So, I’m going to attempt to explain it.

You can boil down the concept of scientific skepticism down to one single concept: we know things based on empirical evidence. But what does that mean? It means that the only evidence acceptable in support of something is that evidence that is available to everyone and can be verified by anyone.

When looking at the phrase ’scientific skepticism’ it’s important to focus on the first word. A scientific skeptic uses science and the scientific method to verify or discover new evidence.

There are many famous scientific skeptics you probably already know about. Here is a short list: Carl Sagan, Richard Dawkins, James Randi, Penn & Teller, and even the Mythbusters crew.

Using the scientific method, there are several things already know. We understand the effects of gravity (but are still working on how it works), the concepts of thermal-dynamics, the workings of the atom, evolutionary biology.

The things that there isn’t empirical evidence for are the things that the skeptic rejects. Examples of these things include: homeopathy, psychic readings, telepathy, and faith healing.

Sometimes the question arises about things everyone feels that they know, but we don’t really have evidence for. There is a scene in the movie, Contact, that illustrates this. The main character is asked to ‘prove’ that she loved her father. The point is that this was something she knew was true, but couldn’t really prove.

But is this a proper application of the skeptic epistemology?

There are several ways I’ve approached this problem. The first goes something like this. Personally, she has a lot of evidence for the fact that she loves her father. She has no problem knowing beyond all doubt that it is a simple fact. However, getting proof to this fact demonstrable and verifiable to a third person would be a bit more difficult. Some say that it would be possible for her to be hooked up to an MRI or EEG machine and readings of her brain to be taken. Or perhaps measurements of her body chemistry and how it reacts to thoughts of her father. In the end, however, there is an important thing to note that makes all of this rather pointless. She’s not trying to get other people to believe that she loved her father. It doesn’t really matter what anyone else believes. If she were to take on the task of trying to get other people to believe, perhaps then it would be necessary to provide such evidence.

When approaching a new idea, a skeptic will take a neutral stance and then look at the evidence. If the evidence contradicts the idea, then the idea is wrong, or incomplete. If the evidence is not enough to render a judgement either way, the skeptic will withhold judgement. This is an extremely important point. Skeptics are more tied to the method of knowledge discovery than to the knowledge itself. If contradictory evidence appears, the original idea is discarded and the search for a new one begins, one that fits with the evidence. Sometimes such new ideas are easily located, others may forever be out of our reach.

Philosophy meaning, Philosophy, Science, skepticism