Monthly Archives: February 2012

Jacob Bronowski

Posted on February 28, 2012 by

I’ve just finished reading Jacob Bronowski’s exhilarating Ascent of Man (1973). It had been on my mental bookshelf for a while, and I’m glad I finally got around to reading it. In his introduction, Richard Dawkins states that there is a memorable … Continue reading →

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Target: reason

Posted on February 18, 2012 by

Wow, this theocratic call-to-arms by Baroness Warsi slipped right by me! She’s actually proud to be leading “the largest ministerial delegation from the United Kingdom to the Vatican” ever (that is, to a “country” which despises everything modern liberal democratic … Continue reading →

Posted in Religious idiocy, Separation of church and state | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Too much of nothing

Posted on February 10, 2012 by

Well, I finished A Universe From Nothing, and the “nothing” business was cleared up in the end. ***SPOILER ALERT*** Apparently “nothing is unstable” is a fundamental principle which gives rise to the inevitability that out of nothing something will eventually … Continue reading →

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Nothing much

Posted on February 9, 2012 by

I’m reading Lawrence Krauss’s new book, A Universe From Nothing (every so often I enjoy punishing myself by trying to figure out what cosmologists are learning about the cosmos). About the first half of the book is setting up the … Continue reading →

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An eviction notice

Posted on February 6, 2012 by

Every time I go to the supermarket there’s an African man selling socks in the parking lot. It’s not always the same man, but he always has the same approach: “Hello, my friend…” after which he goes on to coax … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Humanism & Freethought, Man About Rome | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Warning: this will hurt your eyes

Posted on February 5, 2012 by

This is an optical illusion – via Michael Shermer. Don’t stare at it for too long or you might begin to feel dizzy. This radial sunburst illusion is known as the Asahi figure, and the researchers analyzed people’s eyes while … Continue reading →

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