The Invisible Dragon.

I have always been interested in learning, in discovering. I was always fascinated by the fantastic, and yearned for the mythic. It always seemed strange to me, how I seemed weird to the masses for scouring endless pages, and documentaries in search of dragons, aliens, and ghosts. After all, most of them believe in gods, and afterlifes and things with even less evidence than the former two of my claims.

Anyway. In my search for these awesome creatures, I read many books that made promises of evidence. And yet time and again. There was nothing convincing. I couldn't find any evidence to make a claim where I could take out my game console and say, if I'm wrong about this claim, you can have this. Nope not once. Eventually, I grew tired of the search, and realized that I'm wrong. Dragon's aren't real, Aliens don't visit the Earth, Ghosts are figments of one's imagination, and slowly the myths became understood as misunderstandings and exaggeration.

Some may say I've lost the sense of wonder that exists in believing in these wild fantasies and legends, I say, "I have not, I have simply drawn the line between fiction and reality. I still think dragons are cool, aliens fighting with beam swords are awesome, and animes with demons are enjoyable. I just realize that I have no way of defending the claim that any of them are real so I won't make the claim. Much the same with deities. I could tell you of several logically possible deities (though they are either evil, weak, or indifferent, and closer to the Greek, Roman, Norse, Hindu, Shinto etc, than the idea of one all powerful being in charge of everything) and yet I could not defend a single one of these with a shred of evidence.

In the end I wish people would actively search for evidence in order to support all of their claims, and not wait for someone to "disprove" the existence of the thing they have no evidence for. Because the next time someone uses that logic with me... well then, I'm a god. oh.. if you kill me, I will rot away and become one with the universe and work in mysterious ways, and I'm right unless you disprove me.. except I won't do that because that would be intellectually dishonest.

Great Snakes!

Today's Guest on "Why Religions Anger Me" is the Hindu practice of Nag Panchami. Snake worship is what it is supposed to be, snake torture is what it is.

So what exactly are some things that take place during this worship of snakes? well, lets see. Snakes are often starved before hand, have their fangs removed, have their mouths sewn shut, and are force fed milk (snakes and milk don't mix, it can lead to the snakes experiencing digestive troubles and often dying). And I always thought worship was meant to be a horrifying experience for the worshiper.

But yes, this is essentially what happens to these magnificent creatures on the day that they are supposed to be honored. You know.. snakes are awesome, yes, it would be awesome to have a day in their honor, where people get to learn about them, have myths about them debunked, maybe help save those that are in danger of extinction. However, forcing them through some crazy religious ritual is not awesome. It's down right inhumane, not that it bothers the religiously pious.

This I wish to have brought up in light of the recent ban on slaughtering conscious animals. This of course received a negative reaction from the Jewish and Muslim communities as it makes it impossible to have their Kosher or Halal meat, some even commenting that it was terrible that animal rights were being put before human rights... Well hate to... actually no, I love to say it. Your right to practice your religious whims ends where it brings needless harm to others, be they animals or conceited self-righteous apes (also animals).

Survival of the fittest?

Yes, it's an old quote. Something to do with Darwin and the theory of natural selection... though sadly, it is often skewed and used to justify terrible deeds.

There are many examples, The Third Reich, being one of them that pops up at first, but I want to focus on the stupid idea that we have to compete. That the only way that you can have comfort, is if it is through the misery of another. It's bloody everywhere. I hate it! I HATE IT!! I FREAKING HATE IT!!!

And you know what pisses me off even more are the people, with the power to change the system, that are in the system, they are not winners and they are not the losers, they are the ones who have yet to try, who kind of just sit there and shrug their shoulders and say.. meh, that's how the world works. Like hell it does. If that statement had any bit of truth to it, we would still be a bunch of barbarians who thought that killing each other was fun the way things were meant to be(and I mean actually killing each other, not virtually killing each other). The system is wrong, it helps the few and sacrifices the many. You pride yourselves, in having a will of your own, you pride your self in being conscious creatures.. so start behaving like them. The SYSTEM may be the KING but WE are the SYSTEM'S DEITIES, and no that crap about "I'm becoming part of the system to alter the system" rarely works. You need to create another better system, and roll with it until someone else comes up with a better idea. Evolution FTW.. angry rant end.

An Atheist's Argument For Faith

Now, I've spent a good amount of space on my blog defending atheism/science, and arguing against most premises of religion, if not all of it. Though I would like to attempt to defend the idea of faith. Now, I'm sure most you rationalists are thinking, wow, this guy is a mormon, and those of you on the religious right are going to be likely be conjuring some plan to quote me out of context. Those who are moderates, are probably thinking... well, I don't really know what you're thinking.

Now, in recent times religion seems to have hijacked the word faith (they're quite good at that). It seems to have been made some kind of religious virtue to have, and is looked down on by rationalists, atheists, scientists, and so on and so forth.

I would however like to say that it is a very important aspect, and that most of us, to some degree have faith. Heck, I've been an atheist for as long as I can remember. (Course I kept it a secret for a very long time, didn't quite feel like being outcast just yet, though I must say I lucked out in that my family and many of my friends didn't go crazy and stop talking to me, thank Athena for making them all reasonable).

Anyway, back to the topic of faith. I always thought of the word as a type of trust in matters of uncertainty. Not always really a bad thing, and often a necessary stepping stone. For example, when I got my first guitar, I was absolutely terrible. I didn't know anything about guitars (except that they sounded really cool) and that I had nearly failed a guitar class in jr. high.  I had faith (a type of blind trust in myself) that I could in fact learn how to play guitar, and be good at it. It's taken about 5 years but I'm finally a decent player, still have a ways to go, but I likely won't make your ears bleed. The thing is that faith can be a "secular" word, and it can be a very important stepping stone in order to further yourself in situations where there is uncertainty. I still think it's stupid to think that you're right because you have faith, and that it is the pillar of truth, but it is a stepping stone. Let's not throw it away completely.   

Tl;dr  Faith isn't really such a bad thing, as long as it's used as a launching point for gathering evidence, not the verdict.

PS: Like I said before, don't quote me out of context.

Prayer, The dark side.

I will personally fire a kamehameha wave at any omnipotent deity that would listen to my prayers before helping the countless (well, not really countless, but more of I'm too lazy to find the actual number, but it's likely over 2 billion) of people that needlessly suffer, and that's just the people I'm taking into consideration here. I haven't even looked at the billions of animals and other lifeforms that are abused.

Now, I understand as to why someone would pray.
They think that it actually does something. Well at best it is a placebo, at worst, it's extremely harmful, because it leads people to neglect processes that would actually be helpful.

Yet I have another reason for not praying. I don't want the help of a magic sky man. Even if there was 100 percent undeniable proof that a magic skyman existed I wouldn't ask for it's help. That's just sad. I can't even think of doing that. That's no better than cheating, rigging the system, taking steroids. If I were able to do well on a test because I prayed to a god, then there is something inherently wrong with that test, because it is not testing my intelligence, it is testing my ability to beg a superior to help me. Also if this being helps me before a more needy creature, then that shows a lot about the character of this being.

But I suppose I am being too harsh. There are plenty of people who put a genuine effort in, and then ask that god look over them. I suppose that is understandable, I have no contempt for such a request, but I think it is a little silly. What this does is it gives credit for your actions, and for the actions of the people that helped you to a being that doesn't actually exist. Really, if you can do something with god's help, you can do it without... though I suppose for irrational actions like flying planes into buildings filled with innocent people, or shooting abortion doctors, one would need "god's" help, because there would be no rational reason for committing such an act and believing it to be a good thing.

Anyhow, this is the way I see it.

If you want to help fight a disease, instead of giving money to a church or a temple, or whatever, and asking for god to help rid the disease, donate that money to a research fund, that is working to cure the disease of your choosing.

Instead of praying that god help you with your test, or football game, or interview, take those minutes to practice, or just relax.

Instead of trying to make a deal with the big man, like help me win this lottery and I will donate 1000 dollars a year to a poor person, work hard to make lots of money, and then donate that money to those in need (and as a bonus you'll actually be a morally good person, as opposed to a bargaining scumbag who thinks is paying a small fee for a large reward.)

Anyhow, that's my reasoning. It's why I never honestly prayed to a god. I can't recall if I ever thought that god was real (To my knowledge, it was just a pretend thing... at least that's what I remember concerning my earliest recollect-able memory), but as far as memory serves, I always disliked participating in prayers and other rites of religion that are supposed to bring forth the help of god.

Some say, "God helps those who help themselves" I say, "Those who help themselves, help themselves."

Also, head over to god-comics.com for a laugh, though some of the comics are pretty graphic. They are also hilarious, like the one I posted up top.

Science, Destroyer of Creativity? I think not!

So here we go again.

I haven't blogged in a while, but I'm back. This is simply a topic that I can't be silent about.

Now I know many people think science is a close minded way of thinking but to the contrary.

I'm going off of something a friend of mine said, "I'm surprised you're going into an applied arts program, you think with science, so you always think inside the box, most artists are religious because they aren't inhibited by only what's real."

Now I must say.. It's not that I lack an imagination.. it's simply that I don't call things that have no evidence, fiction. And I enjoy fiction very much.. usually in the form of anime and video games.

However what interested me was the comparison that was brought up. Science is narrow minded, but religion is not..

BLASPHEMY!!!

Science is by far the most open minded field in all of existence. You can claim whatever you like, you're in no matter limited to only what the books say. The only catch is that if you want to claim that something is true. You need to back up your claim with facts. If science has a theory, and newfound facts contradict the theory, science revises the theory.

On the other hand, religion is pretty much as close minded as things get. One is not allowed to question it, one is not allowed to challenge it, one is not allowed to present evidence against it. No matter what kind of evidence one presents it doesn't change it's delusions. It claims to be the absolute truth, and it won't alter it's stance until it's PR is in danger. If one presents contradictory facts to a religion, the religion simply says. "This book is the book of truth, and I'd rather believe the word of some bronze age writers than the meticulous work of scientists who have access to much more knowledge and better equipment. Since this book was written by my imaginary friend, I will throw out the facts that are in front of my face."

There's also another difference.
We need Science, but we'd be better off without Religion.

Just compare the amount of suffering that has been a result of listening to authority and absolute truths without first questioning them. Science has progressed to make our lives better. Yes, the increased technology has lead to more lethal weapons.. but it's our imaginary friends, and our irrational pride, statism, and piety that leads to those weapons being used.

Whether it be the word of gods, god kings, or whatever. Question everything, doubt everything, scrutinize everything. If they can back up their claims good for them. However, in most cases when someone tells you not to question something, it's because, they don't actually have the answers.

Martial Arts and Skepticism

So as you all know, I hope you do anyhow, I am a great skeptic.

Now, you may ask, what does martial arts have to do with skepticism?
Well I will tell you what. You see, the problem is many school of modern martial combat function like religions rather than institutions of science. Your teacher tells you something, and you have to buy it. That's it, you are not allowed to question it in the slightest. Especially if you train at one of the mac dojo's.

Each style has it's own set of techniques, and they are fundamentally very similar, however the fact remains that none of these styles are all powerful, yet many people versed in just one style tend to think it is the ultimate. I have known of Muay Thai fighters that scoff at karate and wing chun or tae kwon do, and vice versa. Only rarely does someone take a lesson from all the styles.

Now I'm not the greatest fighter, heck, I wouldn't even probably match up against any of the people I am criticizing in a "fight". However, that has a lot to do with my passive attitude, since I find fighting to be extremely stupid, and when I spar my goal is to try and defeat my opponent without harming them. Of course in a life or death situation, the only option would be a savage and brutal offense on my part until my attacker was immobilized or I was slain.

Returning to the original idea however, I will explore two different kicks. Both of them are called a roundhouse. However they hold their origins in two branches. The first being Tae Kwon Do, and the other being Muay Thai (I know other styles also have roundhouses but I will use these two for the sake of this article.)

The Tae Kwon Do Roundhouse features a snap and a return, while the muay thai version has a follow through.

Now if one were to only be versed in one school of combat, they would likely claim that their version is superior. However the problem, is that neither kick is perfect, and it is best to have both in ones arsenal. In actual combat you have to deal with circumstances like terrain, weather, environment, clothing (if you're in a suit and you get attacked, you will have to react differently than if you had your gi)

I'm not saying that these martial arts terrible, but I do ask that anyone who partakes in any type of training question every part of it. And don't be afraid to experiment, just know, that if you claim something is the ultimate style, it truly must be unbeatable in any circumstance.. I have yet to come across such a style or such a martial artist.

Learn from them all, but do not fall victim to any.

Science covers facts, Religion covers them up.

 

http://www.reddit.com/r/atheism/comments/f5tv4/so_true/   that's where the idea originated from.  

Existence Does Not Mean Worship

So, I know that many of us non believers are asked the question, "What would do if God was proven to be real?"

Well, first of all it depends which God are we talking about?
Are we talking about the scary, jealous, egocentric, mental sky man Yahweh?
Or perhaps we are speaking of Hades, or Zeus, neither of whom I would consider calling moral.
There are also the Gods of Hindu Mythology, and the Gods of Egypt, and many others, so many infact, that it would take me more time than I would care to spend to list even a tenth of them.

However for the sake of this argument I will be using the notion of Yahweh, since he is the most widely known of all Gods, and the most widely worshiped.

Now, I suppose you might call me insolent, but I can say that most people are superior to Yahweh in the moral sense, and it's possible that in the distant future, we will rival, and surpass his fictitious might.

But Alas, I am not being fair, I said I would assume that Yahweh was real for the sake of this argument.
If I were to actually come face to face with him, the results would likely be similar to the following
Replace Frieza with Yahweh
Minus the fact that I never served the mental man in the first place, nor do I have any offspring to carry on the battle, but I would nonetheless defy Yahweh.

Now some may say, but you can't go against the very thing that created you. That would be disrespecting it.
Well, if there is a being that created a world, where people suffer unfairly, and a being that gives the ability to choose but condemns us for not bowing our head to it, then I'd rather burn in hell than kiss its feet.

If one looks at Yahweh, the sick freak slaughters millions of people for trivial reasons. He's like the original Hitler... Heck, if it were real (again there's no compelling evidence to believe in it), I wouldn't be surprised if Hitler was burning in Hell only because he outdid Yahweh's KDR (Kill Death Ratio, for those of you who don't play many video games)

Regardless, there is no reason to worship anything. Any being that wishes to be worshiped, or cares who worships it and who doesn't, should be by default made unworthy of being worshiped.  Now on the other hand if such a being had been more moral, and more like us humans (when we are being rational) then perhaps, I might consider it a possible acquaintance. Possibly. Though, if the Deities turn out to be accurately described in those works of fiction.. then I will stand against them with what little might I have.

Also since I like to keep this a family friendly blog, I had to refrain from using some adjectives that would be better suited for describing those that many worship. Though I'm sure you can use your imagination.

A Must Read Book, for everybody

Here I am, never thought I would need to do this, but I'm endorsing a book...

I know, I know... books are nasty, they require you to think.. especially when you disagree with them (though I agree with Dawkins... in fact, the only reason I came across the man and his arguments is because they were essentially the same points I was trying to argue.. except he does it a million times better)

Anyhow, it's a great read, and personally, I think that any theology/ philosophy class that discusses divinity should give this a read.

Quote of the Day Jan 3 2011

if you want to do evil, science provides the most powerful weapons to do evil; but equally, if you want to do good, science puts into your hands the most powerful tools to do so.

Richard Dawkins

Atheists are Intolerant of Faith, not really.

Now, for some reason, Atheists are looked at as the most evil, and immoral people to ever walk on the face of this planet, by many theists.

Now it's true, there are plenty of us who argue against faith, and what not, and why wouldn't we? It's a fair topic of discussion. However, as soon as the debate start..

many throw a fit and go. You can't question my beliefs! How dare you! It's my faith! It's beyond human understanding (funny, they claim to understand it, but claim that it is beyond sciences reach). You're intolerant if you don't let me believe whatever I want to believe!

Alas you see, we are not stopping anyone from believing in anything. We are simply arguing. We are talking and discussing, and we are debating. We are challenging the idea that faith is a virtue. Last I checked, belief without evidence is the most ridiculous concept I can even try to comprehend. It's irrational, and it just plain doesn't make sense..

When we buy food, we look for the label that shows us the nutrients and ingredients.
When we buy medicine, we make sure it has been tested.
When we invest money, we look at the company's credibility.
When we have faith, we do so blindy.
We have no inclination that would lead us to believe one thing over an other (in terms of deities). And in fact when there is no evidence of something, it's best not to believe in it.

But that's not the point here, The point is we atheists, many of whom are rationalists, are in fact very tolerant of faith. Just because we argue against the idea, does not mean we are attacking those who posses the idea. We don't go around gathering up theists and burning them at the stake. Nor do we go hunt witch-doctors and astrologers and gun them down (though ironically there are pro-lifers who go around gunning down doctors that abort).

We are for the most part quite gentle people who would never physically attack anyone for disagreeing with us. We may engage in debate, but since when has, "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me" stopped applying. We won't be the ones hurling stones at our opponents, though we may hurl arguments, and try and know the idea that faith is a virtue of it's over-glorified pedestal. However the feeling is not mutual. There are plenty of faithful people (not all of them, and this is not to say that they are bad people, simply delusional, and consumed by indoctrination) who are willing to attack us physically (though it would make sense since there is no rational argument to justify faith). Just look at all the places around the world where people get killed for having a difference in opinion, then look at their levels of blind faith in something. The two are usually positively related.

So yeah. We are infact very tolerant, yes, many of us are against indoctrination, and would like to see religion's role severely diminished, and that people stop killing eachother over whose imaginary friend is cooler. We would like to see a world where reason trumps blind faith.

 You may say that I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one.

Homeopathy: Why it better not be right.

So an interesting thought occurred to me. Given that we live in a age where some people consider alternate medicine to actually work (granted it can have a placebo effect, but that proves that placebo works not the actual alternate medicine) I mean, if it actually worked, then it would be medicine.

Anyway back to the business of homeopathy.

These homeopaths claim that even though the water they sell has no amount of the active ingredient in it, it takes on the properties of whatever the ingredient was in the water to begin with, and since water it all magic and stuff, even after that ingredient is gone it still somehow remembers it. So can you even imagine how much nasty stuff has been in water over just the past few million years. Think of all the fecal matter, and carcasses, not to mention all the doings of marine life, coupled with pollution and chemicals and what not. So the water you drink supposedly can remember and holds the properties of all this nasty junk.

Think about that the next time you consider listening to a homeopath. (Also think about how there is no scientific proof in favor of the mumbo jumbo "medicines")

On a side note, I just had an awesome idea for a business.
I could sell flavored water, that had "medicinal properties" and my products tagline would be. "Like Homeopathy: but with better taste!"

Rat Brain Robot

RAT BRAIN ROBOT!!!

So yeah, for those of you that don't know this is a thing worth checking out.
It's a robot that is controlled by rat neurons. All in all, this is a cyborg. You know that fantasy of having immortal bodies with keeping nothing but our brains. well that's one step closer now.

Of course this brings in moral issues, and we should discuss, where these new cyborgs fall into in the spectrum of ethical treatment and such. and I think that it will be really cool to see where all this go.

It's truly remarkable how far we humans have gotten thanks to science in the past few hundred years. Imagine how far we would be if even more people were influenced to take up science, I'm of course talking about all those children out there that are taught science incorrectly, if they are taught it at all. but yes. I'll leave it at that for now.. science is cool.

Double Standards... Does Religion get undeserved respect and power?

Alright.. lets rewind to the freshman year of my highschool.

I had a gym class in which for three weeks we had a unit on square dancing.. anyone who knows me knows that I dislike dancing with a passion. I just can't dance... I don't know why, and I don't like dancing. If I can help it I'd avoid it for a long long time..

Anyway, what happened is that students who had a "religious" excuse were permitted to not dance, and could partake in a supplementary activity, which was working out. So without saying a word as to why I was doing it, I partook in the supplementary activity. I knew the other two guys who were doing it to. Neither of them were very religious, but because of their parents religion, they were able to squirm out of dancing, no questions asked.

On the other hand there was me. My parents are hindu, (they're very liberal, which is awesome) and well, I was an atheist in practice, an agnostic when questioned, though I preferred to avoid the "what religion are you?" question all together, and where I could help it, I would pretend not to listen to it, or would quickly change topics, or exit the vicinity of the question by actually leaving. It isn't that I was ashamed to admit that I don't believe in any kind of a god, just as I'm not ashamed to admit that I don't believe in Santa Claus, or that I don't believe in unicorns and fairies.

 I just know of the social stigma that comes with being an atheist.. you know, people see you as a immoral, baby eater who is going to fall to eternal torment (granted that this is the US, and the majority of it's inhabitants are followers of some kind of abrahamic religion). Though I must disagree. I do have morals, you can thank my parents for that. You can thank them for being good people and passing that down to me. Also I would never eat a baby. that just sounds plain nasty, and eternal torture, well, there's no evidence for it, so it's probably not going to happen.

Anyway, I digress. What happened then, is that I was put in a bind.. apparently to not fail, I NEEDED a note from a religious leader saying that I was exempt. Darn it. I knew there would be a catch. However, it wasn't going to end like this.. I was about to challenge their logic. So on the spot I made up a "religion", in accordance to this "religion", I was not allowed to dance. Now what? they would have to be hypocritical to fail me for those three weeks. Unfortunately it seemed that the school had no issue with that. I was called into a conference with my teacher and counselor. Well, a chance to defend myself. To defend the fact that personal convictions should be valued just as much, if not more, than religious convictions. The only difference
between me and the other two students was that they had years of tradition on their side. I did not. However their motives could not be questioned, because that would be attacking their beliefs.. yet my own personal beliefs, they had no problem tossing aside as though they were trash. The hammer was brought down on me, and well, thinking that I was completely alone, at that moment. when they threatened to fail me, I broke down.
I felt truly alone. At the time, I thought I was the only person in my entire school, maybe my entire town, heck maybe even the entire state, who found religion to be fairytales taken way too seriously. It was a feeling unlike any other.. A feeling of hopelessness. One that I wouldn't forget for a while. I guess, one could say I could somewhat empathize with the witches during the witch hunts.

Luckily for me, they were somewhat understanding. They told me never to pull a stunt like that. And since I had done the supplementary activity, I was allowed to get a passing grade, a D, for those 3 weeks of gym. On the other hand the other two students got an A for those 3 weeks, only because they had a religion behind them. That sounds a little too similar to discrimination I would say.

Though you must understand, I have nothing against the school nor the people that worked there. What I'm attacking is the double standard that society has set forth, the one where we are forbidden from questioning faith (which by the way is the illogical belief in something in the face of no/ contradictory evidence) From my example you can see what happens though. One persons "faith" is worthless and that person could be considered illogical, or stupid or insane. However when many people have faith and they organize.. it suddenly becomes reasonable and taboo to say otherwise.

As it happens our society give waaaaaaay too much respect to faith. Even more so than to reason. I think that this double standard needs to change. We need to if anything, respect the individuals convictions. However none of this should be done on religious ground. Why is that pacifists are fair game to be drafted, yet priests are not? Why is it that one's political stance can be criticized, but one's religion cannot. Heck, society will go as far to slander the morals of secularists/atheists/agnostics  but it won't even lift so much as a finger if those morals that are derived from a religion. (for more on that check out my older blog, "atheists have no morals?")
This kind of discrimination needs to end. And REASON needs to be valued over FAITH.

The Meaning of Life- Part 1: Evolution?

Yay, Time to speak out on another issue concerning science and it's clash against faith.

Now, this is a legitimate concern in our society, there are people that think that evolution is a hoax. That humans are not animals and did not originate from "monkeys". Actually, their claim is that they could not have, how is it possible that humanity spawned from the monkeys..... because you know.. that's totally what evolution is. One day there was a monkey and the next day they were human beings.. that's completely ridiculous. and yes.. that is.. to assume that evolution takes place that rapidly would be to spit in the face of science. Of course that's not true. That's not science, that is not evolution.

Evolution is a process that takes millions of years. It's gradual, and it's cumulative. It's not like one day, randomly there is random mutation and a monkey gives birth to a monkey man.. No.. not at all. In fact in all reality, it's no surprise many dismiss the theory of evolution so easily and would rather go with the idea of having a deity create everything. However this is because evolution is incorrectly taught in many places.. or at least not enough time is spent on it. I mean.. the facts are all there.. it is a theory that explains far more than creationism ever could, mostly because unlike creationism it does not rely on having an all powerful and untestable source.

 Evolution has evidence, that is something creationism lacks (no sacred texts do not account for evidence)
Anyways, evolution works, it really does. however it is not possible to see it's effects in one lifetime, but rather over thousands of lifetimes. Think about it.. think about the animals that roamed the earth millions of years ago and those that roam it today.. the ones today are vastly different than they were millions of years ago, at least for the most part. Can creationism explain how that is possible? Not really. (Also before you bash me for not giving the creationist theory equal chance, and yell about the missing links and stuff, please go do some real thorough research on evolution, look at the evidence and read the real theories of evolution and natural selection, and go find this on a reputable website or book. Besides, I know you have the internet at your disposal if you are reading this. Also please don't bring sacred text jargon in as evidence.. it really isn't.. )

Anyway.. think of evolution as a cumulative process. Think of it like this.. say you have an hourglass of red sand, 10,000 grains of it to be exact, and once every generation, one of those red grains is switched out for a grain of pink sand. now from one generation to the next, heck even spanning a gap of 100 generations, it would be hard to tell the difference between the hourglass.. however if one were to take the hourglass as it was at the beginning of the process and as it was at the end, they are two different things. One has red sand the other has pink, and all the hourglasses that came in between are intermediate stages. However while after a few thousand generations in between the difference between the hourglasses is apparent, between a just a few generations, the difference is hard to notice..

Anyway.. that's all for now, I'll get back to this topic, once I add in how natural selection and all that jazz works maybe people will come to understand evolution in layman's terms, but at least properly, and not have a skewed view of the sciences.


Note: As I cannot possibly give an in depth look into them, Please study the scientific subjects I have touched on more thoroughly on your own time, it will be rewarding,  



        

Atheists have no morals?

I'm writing this post here out of a kind of frustration that has resulted from many fundamentalists belittling me for being an atheist, and for using  hard scientific evidence and theory and statistics to back up my claims of morality rather than faith, religious beliefs and a popularity poll that somehow fallaciously claims that the more people believe in something the more honest it gets. 

I also don't like how these fundamentalists are allowed to attack science, yet the second I try to turn the tide, by questioning where their evidence is, they simply say that they could be right because I can't disprove them. So I asked them, in that case why do you not believe in the gods of other religions, you can't prove that they don't exist either.. again, they say that it is a matter of faith.. 

Anyway, this happened when we were debating divine command theory. 

The theory that anything that morals are derived from god. god tells humans what is right and wrong. 

Even giving them the benefit of the doubt, that their deities could exist. (Please refer to science if you want to know why I don't believe in such a being). I had to point out that the probability of the sacred texts not being true, or being misinterpretations of events, or even fairytales is more likely than them being the truth. Of course that was shot down, because they were right because they had faith that they were right, and were unwilling to listen to evidence that contradicted their beliefs. 

also since that day every time the moral question of sacrificing an innocent life is brought up, their one and only argument is that god condemns those who kill... that's it they won't lay a hand on an innocent person because they are afraid of eternal damnation. One of them even said.. what's to stop people from killing others if not for God. Then they went on question where atheists got their morals from. And this is a question that has been asked by fundamentalists over and over and over again, and we have answered, over and over and over again. And the answer is that our morals our based on reason. They are based on being tolerant, open minded, and decent human beings, because we value this one life that we have, and wish to live it to the fullest. 

Also if somehow it were scientifically proving that their religions were hoaxes. What would happen to their morals then? The atheists would still retain theirs, regardless of weather or not a divine being exists. 

All I'm saying is I am tired of the double standard that is constantly imposed against those who would listen to evidence in favor of those who won a popularity contest of belief and faith. Even after many of those beliefs and faith have had evidence presented against them. 

  Also in case anyone tries to start bashing science after reading my rant, please make sure you understand the actual scientific theory, and not just an "interpretation" or "opinion" of it. and if you wish to argue against it, please formulate a proper scientific experiment, and run several trials and then get evidence that after properly analyzed would refute a certain theory, and I guarantee that the scientific community (after following the proper scientific procedures) will revise their theory if the evidence after thorough research shows need for revision.  

      

East vs. West.

So just the other day in my Asian American Studies class, we were talking about the separation between the "eastern" world and the "western" world, among other things.

It's just interesting to me, that if you were to look at a map. The extreme edge of the east, and the extreme edge of the west are the exact same thing... In one sense there is no separation. Just thought I'd put it out there.

GAH.. I love/hate my brain.

So, here I am, in a bit of a bind, and I'm looking over some of my past assignments and stuff.

And well there's my homework. I went over the stuff again, and all the stuff was right.

Then I look at the midterm that kind drop kicked me. And well... apparently the way my mind works is that it likes to take things and flip flop them and what not. so for example. if I were to solve an equation that was x-2= z-y. Under normal condition and I have two of the variables, I would under normal conditions solve it easily. but under pressure, or rather when dealing with problems I cannot visualize I find myself unable to understand how to properly solve things or something. GRRRRR... It's like if I could relate it to visual image, math is a cakewalk. Physics was easy, as was Calculus, but take away my visuals and numbers suddenly become well, close to indistinguishable from eachother, at least when I'm under a time limit, or have something on the line.

It's frustrating at times. It's like I can understand the dynamics and motions that a complex machine could go through, and calculate the torques and everything. but the second it turns into just theoretical numbers. I find myself in a situation where my mind thinks it knows what it's doing, because it tries to create a visual aid thing and grrr. it fails.. >_<.. sigh... stuff that cannot be visualized is apparently beyond my comprehension,

Album Review: Guardian - Aetherborn

/So I recently found an up and coming band by the name of Aetherborn.

They have put out one E.P. to date, and it goes by the title of Guardian. I am about to review it.

Ascension: A hauntingly beautiful instrumental track that introduces the album, almost putting it on a majestic pedestal as it transitions flawlessly into the next track.

Re-pulse: This is by far my favorite track on this album. It sounds like something that would fit almost perfectly into a megaman soundtrack. The guitar riffs, coupled with the vocals that are similar to something from an Evanescence song, though distinct enough to stand out by them self. The amazing guitar solo at the end, making it feel like an epic battle is taking place. A wonderful song, made even better when listened to alongside ascension.

Guardian: This is probably the most famous song on the album and it is the titular track, although it is also the one that sounds the most "mainstream" though it's dark lyrics set it apart from similar songs. The vocals really shine on this one, and the instruments are on par. Also towards the end, the addition of the male vocals adds an interesting harmony.

Darkness Falls: This one sounds has a very dark feel to it, and it really showcases the drums and bass. Also the male vocals add depth to it. All I have to say is this would make an awesome song to spar/train to.

Rulers of All: This sounds like a battle theme from final fantasy game at first, which by the way is awesome. Once the vocals kick in, it makes me question why this isn't a opening song to some amazing new anime. all the instruments and the vocals kick it into high gear for a finale that was worth the wait. Also the piano towards the end, and the guitar solo. THIS IS WHAT A LAST STAND/FINAL EPIC BATTLE THEME SONG SHOULD SOUND LIKE!!!

OVerall: I kinda wish, this was the soundtrack to an awesome videogame or something, because it is a great album. And in the days of commercial music, this is truly a diamond in the sand. Obviously, there are things that could be improved on, but for a freshman effort this is truly amazing. I look forward to hearing more songs from them soon.  4.5/5

Link: http://aetherborn.tumblr.com/

Note: A score of 5/5 does not indicate that the album/EP is perfect. It just means that it's really really good, and one of the best that I have heard.