The road less traveled

Atheists aren't that bad

2009-02-26T13:46:00.001-08:00

Came across this video, which is very much along the lines of what I said in my last post : Atheists aren't that bad

Couldn't agree more.

Divine Performing Arts and Atheism

2009-02-04T07:52:00.000-08:00

Saw the Divine Performing Arts show in Richardson, TX last night. The show was vibrant and spectacular, though a bit longer than expected/needed. What pissed me off was a song (they had lyrics displayed by an overhead projector), that had the following lyrics: "Beware of the harms that atheism brings". My understanding was that the Chinese philosophies were largely atheistic/non-theistic.

Hmm...let us take a look at the pantheon of atheists (or non-theists) and the damage they wreaked on humanity:

Albert Einstein :"I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religion than it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it."
Arthur C. Clarke: "It may be that our role on this planet is not to worship God, but to create him."
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar: "In his later years, Chandra had openly admitted to being an atheist which also meant that he subscribed to no religion in the customary sense of the word." Vishveshwara, S. 2000. Leaves from an unwritten diary: S. Chandrasekhar, Reminiscences and Reflections
Benjamin Franklin : "I have found Christian dogma unintelligible. Early in life, I absenteed myself from Christian assemblies"
Jawaharlal Nehru, Indian statesman (1889-1964): A self-professed atheist, he said of India, "No country or people who are slaves to dogma and dogmatic mentality can progress." [Key Ideas in Human Thought]
Vincent Van Gogh: "I can very well do without God both in my life and in my painting, but I cannot, suffering as I am, do without something which is greater than I am, which is my life, the power to create."
Thomas Jefferson (Deist) : "History I believe furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government. This marks the lowest grade of ignorance, of which their political as well as religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purpose. " – Thomas Jefferson to Baron von Humboldt, 1813". "Religions are all alike – founded upon fables and mythologies."
Thomas Edison: "Religion is all bunk."
Baba Amte (1914–2008): Respected Indian social activist, known for his work with lepers
Bhagat Singh (1907–1931): Indian revolutionary freedom fighter.

The list of lumanaries are too long. I shudder at the very thought of the damage that Sagan, Nietzsche, Betrand Russell, Sartre, Roger Waters, Freud, Warren Buffet, Shelly, R.L. Stevenson, and other atheists unleashed on mankind!

Anyway, I am livid at those lyrics. Turns out that I am on the only one. Austin Cline has blogged about this. He says that Divine Performing Arts show which is touring the United States, is a propaganda piece for Falun Gong, is a spiritual discipline founded in China by Li Hongzhi in 1992.

TED: Of Bonobos

2009-01-23T18:47:00.000-08:00

I watched a video of presentation on bonobos: Apes that write, start fires and play Pac-Man by Susan Savage-Rumbaugh at TED. Absolutely fascinating stuff! I could not help but see the remarkable similarity between these lovable apes and us.

Carl Sagan's Cosmos

2008-09-12T15:09:00.000-07:00

Carl Sagan's Cosmos was the first TV program that enthralled me, and filled me with curiosity about the world around us. Here's a short animated clip on evolution:

I remember seeing this in 7th grade or so on the national TV broadcast on a Sunday. The world has made a lot more sense since then. We miss you, Carl!

Defining me

2008-09-10T12:45:00.000-07:00

Of late, I have been contemplating the word "atheist", a label that I had slapped on myself to define and encapsulate my convictions. While "atheism" does define one aspect, I don't think it is adequate. Most people seem to think that an atheist is a person who BELIEVES that there is NO god. I don't take this stance, as you can't prove a negative. Thus, I define an atheist as a person who sees NO REASON to believe in god. Just the way I feel that there is no empirical evidence to believe in ETs and UFOs. Maybe "non-theist" is a better definition of such a position.

While atheist/non-theist answers the question of belief in god, it does not describe me fully. Just as "Catholic" clarifies more than a broad term like "Christian", "atheist" relates to only 1 aspect. The other aspects that are:

I value knowledge and its pursuit
Universal brotherhood of mankind
A secular, earthly basis for morality

I think these values fit more under the definition of "Humanism". "Atheism" fits under the umbrella of Humanism.

The Evil Genes

2008-09-10T12:00:00.001-07:00

Ever wondered why certain characteristics seemed to get inherited over generations? A daughter who is as hot-tempered as her mom, while the son inherits his dad's contrarian bent of mind....

In "Evil Genes: Why Rome Fell, Hitler Rose, Enron Failed, and My Sister Stole My Mother's Boyfriend", Barbary Oakley suggests that certain genes or combination of genes could be responsible for the malevolent character traits in people. She also points out that genes by themselves are not the only prerequisite for the development of the villains around us. The environment that a person develops in, interacting with these "evil" genes is what drives to people to sinister, Machiavellian personalities. In a study reported by the New Scientist in August 2006, Ralph Greenspan and Herman Dierick of The Neurosciences Institute in San Diego, California, have identified a single gene that turns fruit flies more agressive.

Makes me wonder what other character traits can be associated with gene combinations. Will we, someday in the future, be able to detect these personality disorders the we detect Down Syndrome today?

The Biological Roots of Morality

2007-06-26T13:32:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, WashingtonPost had an article titled "If It Feels Good to Be Good, It Might Be Only Natural" on new, exciting research on the biological roots of morality -
> the brain centers that are responsible for altruism,
> the role that evolution played in the development of our moral fiber, etc.

"...it is also a dramatic example of the way neuroscience has begun to elbow its way into discussions about morality and has opened up a new window on what it means to be good......"

Human-like Altruism Shown In Chimpanzees

2007-06-26T13:27:00.000-07:00

Felix Warneken and colleagues from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology present experimental evidence that chimpanzees act altruistically toward genetically unrelated conspecifics.