Magic and magic, what do they have in common? Perhaps I should clarify. What do prolific supernatural beliefs have in common with conjuring tricks?



In between study, I work as a close-up magician, performing at weddings, coorporate dinners, birthday parties and other such events. My passion for creating illusion has led me to perform for thousands of people, and to spend countless hours in front of the mirror, fiddling with cards, and studying the techniques and psychology of magic.…

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Bypassing a bibliography containing numerous books, articles and journals regarding Intelligent Design and Creationism, which do not reach the level of junk science and would need numerous upgrades to reach that plateau, it is important to understand how such thing harms the country. A recent survey of the top developed countries in the world ranked the United States as number 34 out of 35 in the acceptance of evolution, an embarrassment as well as a finding with enormous economic… Continue

I hate to bag on my own colleagues, but the evidence is overwhelming: most high school biology teachers either do not teach evolution or undermine their own teaching by giving nods and winks to creationist ideas. (See Most high school biology teachers don’t endorse evolution, by Valerie…

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So I got all nervous thinking that I wasn't going to comprehend what was written in this book. After the first chapter, big sigh of relief. I'm not going to babble on about the theories and laws Hawking and Mlodinow used to lead up to their theory of how we came into existence. I think the point of this book, IS there is finally a theory.

I feel like this book was meant to put out a rational non fantasy based argument for the existence of a uni/multiverse that doesn't have god in it.… Continue

I'm not usually for theist bashing but I can't help but secretly think that those who believe in god are stupid.

Christian friend (CF): How do you know god isn't real?

Me: A lack of supporting evidence.

CF: I have supporting evidence!

Me: Do tell?

CF: Creation

It is all I can do when someone provides such a crap argument not to ... I don't know .... Shake them really hard? I don't want to hurt or brainwash anyone but…

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I’m amazed and delighted at the many replies my column “Sick and tired of God-Stuff “ received. While I don’t want to gloss over the wonderful and much appreciated compliments from other non-believers, I found the replies from theists to be downright eye-opening in some cases.



One prolific writer, Mr. BPE,…

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http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-44168-Philadelphia-Freethought-Examiner~y2010m5d11-Sick-and-tired-of-godstuff--an-open-letter-to-theists



First of all, I am an atheist. Most likely one of the most adamant atheists you’ll ever meet. Let’s talk about why, and what it is that’s got me completely fed up with a good… Continue

A butterfly I designed using Charles Darwin's Finches. The different finch heads and beaks carefully arranged to form an image of a butterfly. The bird's eyes compliment the butterfly's unique wing design.

A Sumi-e style brush painting I created illustrating Stork Theory. Other than the stork's folkloric role as a bringer of babies and harbinger of luck and prosperity, Stork Theory is often used as an example to demonstrate how ridiculous it is to "Teach the Controversy."… Continue

A female FSM design I created with distinguishing female characteristics such as noodly appendage eyelashes and tender meatball cheeks. The melancholic expression is up to the viewer to imagine its meaning. I thought it was a trait that would be unique and unusual, up for debate, something different then what one would expect from the common stereotypical deity.…



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I was thinking today about how infuriating the "my mind is made up, don't confuse me with facts" approach of creationists is, and it occurred to me that the ID movement may, in the long term, be the best thing that ever happened for spreading the scientific worldview.

Before the intelligent design movement started its nonsense, the religious community and the scientific community lived in a sort of uneasy truce. But then the intelligent design people threw down the gauntlet and tried… Continue

The 2009 Camp Quest T-shirt design I created for Camp Quest UK. This is the male design, the female design is the same but with pink and purple tones.







Click image to see a display of the design on a t-shirt. Click… Continue

For just a moment, let’s run with the idea that life as we know it was designed by some higher intelligence which put together the basic chemistry for life in an organized and stable form at some time in the ancient past. Would it still have to comply with the laws of nature? How does one prove it in a scientific way? And how does the existence of countless other worlds make it incalculably tougher to prove that there's only one designer in the universe?



(… Continue

An occasionally used creationist tactic is declaring that evolution isn’t a scientific theory but a circular argument preached with the zeal of a religion. Evolution, they say, isn’t repeatable under laboratory conditions and if it’s not repeatable, it’s not science. Can we put evolutionary mechanisms to the test and show exactly how we can reproduce them in a lab?

( read on... )

a little background on me first.

i was raised in a liberal catholic family in the american midwest. about junior high i decided all that stuff was a crock of shit and my parents were kinda like, we believe but.... yeah, not literally. so they let me and my younger brother decide for ourselves. creationism was something that as a family was completely ridiculed.



so i had no interest in hearing anything about creationism or "intelligent design." until the other day when i was just… Continue

My dear friend Tiana had a fantastic idea. Since I'm going to be in Seattle this weekend, why not invite our old friend Casey out for drinks and a chat about our last visit? She sent him the following email this morning but we've yet to receive a response. I suppose he could actually be busy doing ... stuff.



"Hello Casey,



It’s been awhile since we’ve chatted, I hope all has been well with you and yours. I’m writing… Continue

This post was imported from Livejournal on 2008.07.17



Oh, happy day. Kansas has officially stopped teaching superstition. I would be more excited except that this should never have been an issue in the FIRST place.



from The Guardian:

Kansas Rewriting Science Standards Tuesday February 13, 2007 10:46 PM By JOHN HANNA

Associated…

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