Rores28
Registered User

Oh I've heard about Darwin's black box. It looks interesting. Ok i will check the documentary! Thanks.
Well i have my eye on "the selfish gene" but i was also thinking about the "blind watchmaker". Dawkins is a good read. It provides one with arguments (not that you need it : ] and not that i intend to use those arguments) but i mostly read the god delusion to see what it's about and i liked his writting style.

I caved in again (it's hard to stay away when physics is discussed - it is what i wanted to do all my life after all, but i chose something else for practical reasons )

I actually haven't read any Dawkins.. at least not his books. I've read alot of interviews with him etc... The only books I've read regarding the existence of God, are Darwin's Black Box, which is actually written by a proponent of intelligent design, and The Moral Landscape by Sam Harris (which it isn't exactly about the existence of God but does at least touch on the subject. I have however been in countless debates with people... If you can get it you might want to check out "The Atheism Tapes" which is a six part BBC special that you can get on netflix. It's basically just really casual interviews with noted atheists, Dawkins among them.

As for Dawkins books... while I haven't read them, the Selfish Gene is really what put him on the map I think

Hmm that's a good one! I like it.

Hehehehehe i've been into freud lately and i tend to find suchlike metaphors everywhere.
On a serious note my dialectic skills could use some sharpening. I've been hanging around people who more or less share my beliefs and i think i might need some stretching out : ]].

Are you into Dawkins books? It seems so. Last month i read the God Delusion (it seemed suitable for x-mas). Is there anything more of him you would recommend?

Yea SM argument does run into that but I think it is best whipped out when theists resort to the "It is just a matter of faith" maxim. It serves to dismantle or at the very least show the dangerous implications of that logic. If they are in fact disinclined because it lacks a historical text you can point out that it is apparently no longer merely a matter of faith but of faith mixed with hard evidence... or maybe soft or flaccid evidence in this case....

I agree that they are pretty frustrating and really I think in order to have any sort of staying power in these discussions it has to, to some degree, be masturbatory for the individual, which is why I think it often devolves into condescending little jabs. But I think its always a good subject with which to sharpen you dialectic skills...

After re-reading this I realize that there are a ton of penis metaphors...

The flying spaghetti monster argument, however inventive and clever it may be, i believe can never get you too far in a conversation because unlike religions it doesn't have a holy text behind it (although it would be really fun if one was written something like the Pnakotic Manuscripts : ]]]) and i have noticed that theists regard their holy texts as historical documents thus to them their validity can not be easily refuted (regardless of the so many inaccuracies etc etc).

(I answer here because i won't be visiting that thread again. Getting involved in suchlike discussions here in litnet -and in real life up to a certain extent, except if i am provoced- is something i have said to myself i will never again do. They lead nowhere because a) people, it seems, will never be convinced no matter what and b) they rarily take an interest in science, scientific evidence and hence they can not evaluate or understand the data)

I wonder if they got new stuff cuz I dont remember the stuff your describing..

*in an attempt to get the viewer to pay attention to the surroundings*

Ha. rhomboid's not just a muscle. But I am talking about the new one then. There's a wall with nothing but a blue rhomboid on it and the caption says something to the effect of the artist keeps their pieces simple in an attempt to pay attention to the surroundings. And, honestly, it probably would have been a nice piece out in say a rainforest or with some lush greenery and a waterfall, but they put it on a wall.

But maybe we are talking about dif museums cuz I dont remember rhomboids or vietnam stuff.... but I think i've only gone into the new building

The brick building is the older one. The greyish silverish one with a restaurant inside is new. Do you mean rhombus?