Mobile Science

I came across this new(ish) tag meme at ERV’s place and thought it looked interesting.  Here’s my attempt.

Q1. How would you define “atheism”?

The lack of belief in deities.

Q2. Was your upbringing religious? If so, what tradition?

Yes, I was brought up Catholic but left as soon as I was old enough to say no to my Nanna and mean it.  Later in life I fell into the Anglican church in Australia and crawled back out about a decade later.

Q3. How would you describe “Intelligent Design”, using only one word?

Ooh, there are so many good ones…  ‘arseholes’, ‘frackwits’, ‘wackaloons’, ‘liars’…

…but I’ll go with ‘disingenuous’ since I feel that encompasses both deliberate ignorance and dishonesty.

Q4. What scientific endeavour really excites you?

Science education and spreading critical thinking skills.

Q5. If you could change one thing about the “atheist community”, what would it be and why?

Its size.  More atheist voters = less theist voters = less decisions being made about the world I live in on the basis of bronze-age superstition.

Q6. If your child came up to you and said “I’m joining the clergy”, what would be your first response?

“If you want to be a professional liar be a magician instead – that way you lie to your audience only, not yourself as well.”

Q7. What’s your favourite theistic argument, and how do you usually refute it?

I don’t really have a favourite – I think they’re all pretty bad and boil down to either wishful thinking or arguments from fear.  If I had to choose I’d say that the one I ‘enjoy’ hearing is the usual Jehovah’s Witness opening when they come to my door: “Don’t you think the world is in a terrible state?”  This is, of course, supposed to be answered with a heartfelt Yes, leading down the garden path of ‘this sinful generation’ to the ‘better way that awaits’ and the ‘loving god who calls’. 

I really enjoying derailing the whole thing by answering upfront, “No - the value of human life is held in higher regard than at any time in human history, we now have the power (if not always the political will) to abolish hunger and many diseases, and the world is so brilliantly interconnected via electronic media that it can even create the illusion of a terrible world by bringing us immediate reporting on anything from anywhere on earth.  Next question?”

Q8. What’s your most “controversial” (as far as general attitudes amongst other atheists goes) viewpoint?

I think ‘Nisbetian Framing’ sucks.

And I don’t really think that Julia Sweeney is all that funny.

Q9. Of the “Four Horsemen” (Dawkins, Dennett, Hitchens and Harris) who is your favourite, and why?

Dawkins – definitely Dawkins.  Good science, excellent writing, accessible and certainly no more ’shrill’ than he needs to be to be heard over the background noise of knees creaking in pious genuflection.

Q10. If you could convince just one theistic person to abandon their beliefs, who would it be?

(I’ll look to the world stage rather than my own household…) The Pope – then he might get around to weeding out paedophiles instead of hearing their confessions, and finally let Africans use condoms.

Now name three other atheist blogs that you’d like to see take up the tag meme:

…and say we did
Bad Astronomy
Conversations with an ex-JW