Jack S

A new paper maintains that religion has historically impeded the progress of science AND that the most accomplished scientists tended to be those who were least religious. That is, the paper supports the "conflict hypothesis" between science and religion.

whyevolutionistrue.com/2024/12/17/h...

Thought he already had one

Smellin' of Trump

The Right to Die: The Freethinker and the Assisted Dying Debate Over the Years - The Freethinker With the passage of the second reading of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill in the…

In light of the recent news about the assisted dying bill in the UK, editor @danieljamessharp.bsky.social takes a look back at some recent and some not-so-recent coverage of this contentious debate in the pages of the Freethinker.

freethinker.co.uk/2024/12/the-...

'I didn't change, the left did' The lucrative confidence game of heterodoxy

I thought this from @jamesbloodworth.bsky.social was well worth a read. Particularly important, I think, is the idea that this has all happened before - and a lot of it is about money.
www.forthedeskdrawer.com/p/i-didnt-ch...

Wow. Here is one to brighten up your morning. The first images of the restored interior of Notre Dame cathedral. Breathtaking. In just five years France did it

What’s Happened to Free Speech? Musings of a Troubled Freethinker - The Freethinker This is almost certainly the first and last time the words of George Galloway will be repeated in…

In light of sociocultural trends in recent years, Bob Forder feels troubled about the cause of free speech.

freethinker.co.uk/2024/11/what...

NSS refers charity in extremism case to regulator over misogyny Islamic charity gave teaching role to extremist and hosted sermon saying men should force wives to "cover up"

New: We’ve referred an Islamic charity involved in an extremism court case to the regulator, after a misogynistic sermon came to light. Charities must not be used as a vehicle for misogyny and extremism. www.secularism.org.uk/news/2024/11...

I think the 'see less of this' button is rigged

It is deeply alarming that an MP is calling for the introduction of new blasphemy laws. Concerningly, the Prime Minister offers no defense of free expression.

MPs should uphold values which are foundational to our society - not seek to dismantle them.

#blasphemy

a man in a blue jacket is looking at his watch in front of a neon sign that says cafe ALT: a man in a blue jacket is looking at his watch in front of a neon sign that says cafe

How about two dollars and a... Casio?

Made me chuckle. Had this sitting in my Goodreads for ages as a hint but no one's bitten. Just going to buy and wrap it for myself I reckon.

Buddhism: The Religion That Wasn’t—And Now Is (Part One) - The Freethinker One of the questions that has long troubled students of Buddhism is whether or not it should be…

How can Buddhism, lacking belief in a supreme deity, be a religion? 'The answer to this question requires that we travel back in time for tens of thousands of years, at least 70,000', says Buddhist priest Brian Victoria.

freethinker.co.uk/2024/11/budd...

Why Immigrants Need US Border Enforcement Many people were surprised by the number of Latinos who voted for Trump, but opposition to mass migration does not just come from Anglo nativists.

Many people were surprised by the number of Latinos who voted for Trump, but opposition to mass migration does not just come from Anglo nativists, writes David Stoll.

quillette.com/2024/11/26/i...

Nigel Farage looks like the future of right-wing politics The Tories ought to be more concerned. Farage and Reform look now as if they represent the future of right-wing politics.

What the Trump-Farage-Musk alliance means for Britain - Piece from me in the Spectator
www.spectator.co.uk/article/nige...

Indeed. It's the same mindset which is driving the return to Jesus. I'm sure many can't decide who they would rather be saved by.

There's not even really a right to be heard, only to speak. In the marketplace of ideas, people choose who they listen to just as they choose which stalls they buy from in a regular marketplace. If people are not listening to you, it's your responsibility to make your wares more appealing.

There's an argument to be made that we might be witnessing a kind of cultural evolution. We didn't know what we were doing before, and now we're self-correcting.

The bacteria in your gut depend on where you are in the social network around you.

The microbes within us treat our social networks as the extended environment in which they thrive. They can spread from person to person.

New #HNL work out today in @natureportfolio.bsky.social . 1/

Yeah, he didn't really make it obvious that the ketamine bit was a metaphor...

Book review: Fluke by Brian Klaas The musings of a "disillusioned social scientist"

"My life was only made possible by a gruesome mass murder".

How chance and chaos govern everything:

The Roman roots of the Dulwich Wood Penis Gang If you go down to the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise… in Dulwich Wood – a charming fragment of the medieval Great North Wood in south London – the self-dubbed ‘Penis Gang’ have been at wor...

Too much to take in... www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-...

Gervais has mastered the art of dropping the t

Xmas Ad 🎄

Identitarian Politics: A Guide for the Confused The roots of wokeness

First part is here
nickcohen.substack.com/p/identitari...

A Good Country’s Bad Choice And what I got wrong about the 2024 election

American regress. Latest in @theatlantic.bsky.social www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

Am I alone in thinking? ‘Et remarquant que cette vérité, je pense, donc je suis, était si ferme et si assurée, que toutes les plus extravagantes suppositions des Sceptiques n’étaient pas capables de l’ébranler, je jugeai…

Before we preach compassion towards machines, how will we know they can suffer? Before we learn to love or hate them, how will we know they can return our feelings?

What I got wrong about the 2024 election, my latest in @theatlantic.bsky.social