Reflections on life at “De Witte Wand”…
And also, yesterday the first gay marriage in south africa took place.
Thanks, Golf, and good luck to the happy couple…
I believe that the onus is on those who believe in the existence of a god to provide reasons for that belief. (This is a point which the philosopher Antony Flew has well made.) I can’t prove that there is no god, but in the absence of good reasons for believing that a god exists, I live my life without belief in a god. In particular, the success of scientific explanations of the natural world makes religious explanations redundant. It’s in that sense that there is a tension between science and religion. The two are not logically incompatible, but the more we succeed in discovering well-founded scientific explanations of the origins of the cosmos, the origins of living species, and so on, the more the explanations in terms of a divine creator become redundant. They add nothing.
David Ng, over at The World’s Fair blog has an entry on an interesting looking book: Hungry Planet. It’s a photo-essay of the authors’ visit to 30 families in 24 countries for a total of 600 meals. The striking thing are the photos that compare what each family eats in a week. The western obsession with packaged and processed food (and the quantities thereof) was never more tellingly conveyed. A book for the "nice-to-have" wishlist, I think.
Bloody scary if you ask me. It’s one thing that really frightens me, losing control of your mind. I remember finding myself standing awake in my room once in the middle of the night (years ago), obviously startled from some dream. The worst thing was that though I was essentially awake, I did not recognise my room or surroundings at all – it was like I’d been put somewhere else. I waited for it to pass, it didn’t. I got scared, suppose I stayed like this? I decided to go and wake my parents, but the thought of looking at them and not knowing them was too ghastly, so I stayed put. It faded after about ten minutes presumably as full consciousness returned. Very unpleasant.
Me too (scared of losing control of one’s mind). I’ve not had an experience like yours, but I do recall that when I was a young teenager, I sometimes felt as though I was outside my body. This usually happened when I was riding my bike downhill, for some reason…
Maybe this is why I don’t much like Dawkins. Nail on the head. I’m all for hearing and listening to the views and experiences of others, but I can’t stand it when people (of any view or opinion) hammer others with ‘I’m right, no question, you’re wrong and what’s worse, you’re stupid kind of approach. It also makes me suspicious when there is a level of ‘violence’ in opposition – why? He also never seems to allow the slightest possibility that the great Dawkins may either be in any way wrong, or in any way just lacking the experience or understanding of others and therefore, its their error, not his. I think you’ve nailed why I don’t take to the man, views irrelevant.
Gelert, I think you are responding to Dawkins’ manner, rather than what he’s actually saying. I honestly think he is a most rational man, and the baldness with which he often states things is not so much as "I’m right, you’re wrong" as "here are the facts, take them or leave them". That’s why I think Tyson’s remark was spot-on. Dawkins is also a good scientist, in the sense that if you do show him evidence to refute his hypotheses, he will take it on board, unlike many (most?) on the other side of the debate. But I accept that it doesn’t seem to come across that way.
This I can well believe. But you’re much too interesting to make anyone sick mate.
From what I have read regarding Japan’s urban planning policy and its
history of building ’60s New Towns’, that catered for a middle class,
baby boomer generation who desired for suburban 3room or 2room LDK
detached and semi detached housing has actually been fundamental in
creating a psychological and geographical divide between marital
couples. The marital couple, through the distance created as a
consequence of the sprawl of the suburban New Towns were left to lead
almost entirely separate lives from each other as the man spent most of
his time commuting and working late and the women found means of
supplementing and replacing his absence through the social networks of
other desperate housewives in the sprawl of the suburbs. Cultural
pressures which are anti-divorce and the expectations of the role of
the wife probably aided the impact of the retiring husband, but
non-the-less a two bedroom flat may have been more advisable in
maintaining a stronger social integration. Just my thought.
,, yess i agree,,and since i work in a nursery,, we still trying to change that view ,,believe it or not ,,parents still not keen on boys playing with the dolls or girls with the trains ,,,ohh,,well it will change one day hopefully,,,,nice site,,xdee
Denise, glad to hear that you are giving the children the opportunity to explore their capabilities. Cheers!
Geoff Coupe's Blog 
Leave a comment