AFA Forums
Stephen Hawking: God was not needed to create the Universe
Thu, 2010-09-02 20:26The Big Bang was the result of the inevitable laws of physics and did not need God to spark the creation of the Universe, Stephen Hawking has concluded.
See:-
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/s...-Universe.html
Categories: Community
Not as interesting as most
Thu, 2010-09-02 18:50But I hope it's still worth the read.
Hi guys - I posted an introduction a while ago (and a random thread that I hope will blossom into a discussion regarding the Greens & Labor barely a few minutes ago!) but I hadn't posted a topic here, and I think given how far I am from the demographic here, it might be interesting. I'll try to compact as much into my 17.something years of life as I can!
I was born into an Anglican Family - we didn't go to church, but my mother was quite religious and my father was strongly ethical, although I don't believe he associated his ethics with his religious beliefs. My sister (3 years younger) always was and is a strong christian.
The majority of my relatives (mum had 4 siblings and dad had 2) are all conservative catholics. And by conservative, I mean verging on complete and utter lunacy (no offence to any right wing people here, they do you all an injustice).
I always believed in God when I was younger; for a long time I just did, without even thinking about it. I think most people can say that, and the only reason I'm stating is because I think it's relevant to how I "lost my faith".
I went to a state school for Primary - McDowall, if there are any interesting stalkers - and religion there was surprisingly full on. Approximately an hour of religion a week, with surprisingly religious tones at services & ceremonies. I didn't think much of it back then.
High school was where it all kicked off. My high school is an Anglican school, and is surprisingly religious. From the beginning (junior science for instance), religion permeated most facets of my existance in the younger grades. It's probably unfortunate for the conformists that I became interested in History then.
History provided a means for me to hypothesis about ethical and moral situations by judging peoples actions in the past - not for the purposes of evaluation academically (as in I staunchly oppose the movement promoting modern ethical evaluation of historical actions; judge by the day etc is how I would sum my views on the issue. But I digress.), but for basic interest. Why did people do these things? Why was there so much blood, so much death? My main interests early on were the Crusades (specifically the 2nd, but that's not relevant) and Europe in Transition - better known as the Fall of the Roman Empire. Through reading about these topics, and atrocities committed by religions, I approached my religion teacher in Grade 9 asking for his opinion on why these things occurred in the name of God.
Before I go on, it's worth mentioning that in my early grades at school I prayed. I've always been talented in a few areas (I hope that doesn't sound too arrogant, but aren't we all?) but I've also been lazy, so I prayed for God to help me with everything - social issues (I was bullied in younger grades, a skinny guy like me never coped well when verbal encounters turned physical) to work.
Anyway, I couldn't understand how people could justify everything with God. The Israeli-Palestinian dispute was present alot in the media at the time (why in particular I can't remember) and it occurred to me that religion was behind everything. It was my own little conspiracy theory, and I loved it.
The chaplain didn't. I got multiple detentions after I voiced my opinions in religion.
And then Richard Dawkins entered my life. By pure coincidence, I found some of his books. I read. I liked.
His books inspired me to research Atheism & Humanism. Since the day I read The God Delusion, I've considered myself an Atheist and never had a moments self-doubt since then.
My opposition to school religion turned from inquisitive to virulent. I argued and questioned everything that was being said to me. I also discussed it with my parents at home. As I was always a top debater, I took the liberty to start debating religious issues. Formal debates in school were and are hard to come by, but I took it seriously and I enjoy it to this day.
I argued ceaselessly with my father and he talked to me about how he was agnostic. A few months later (by the time I was mid year 10) he called himself an Atheist. I won't claim credit for "converting" him - I think books did that. He loves Hitchens in particular.
Meanwhile at school, some of my more intellectually minded friends had been discussing it alot. Out of the 120 people in our grade, 6 are Atheist. 5 are male and 1 is female.[/statistic] We began getting involved on a more wider scale, researching and writing about our beliefs to each other. It's nice because we're not like a weird group of people that sits aside at school; in fact 3 of the 6 (not including me) don't even sit with us. My fellow students don't really seem to care about religion, so long as we don't mess with theirs. It's gotten ugly before in those regards, but I feel that I'm rambling on already as is so I'll cut that out.
I heard about the Global Atheist Convention early last year. I jumped at the opportunity, and Dad bought the two of us tickets.
I loved every moment of it. I bought a t-shirt in particular, and I wear it every "free dress day".
I don't think this was a particularly coherent "coming out" story, but I hope you get the general gist. I never had a huge battle to come out; when I decided I was an Atheist, it was easy and very public. I've never been afraid to tell people what I think. Left wing issues (in particular gay marriage), Humanism and Religion are my favourite "interests", and I intend to join the Labor Party, as much as I dislike some of their party-line policies. If it doesn't work out I guess I'll just remain partyless, although I'd love to see them progress.
I intend to become more involved in Atheism in the future, and I hope this forum will provide a platform from which I can do so.
Thanks.
Categories: Community
NSW same-sex adoption bill just passes
Thu, 2010-09-02 17:16http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/...-adoption-bill
Quote:
Reintroducing the bill on Wednesday, Ms Moore included an amendment that gives church adoption agencies the right to refuse services to same-sex couples without breaching anti-discrimination laws.
Iam no expert on the law but isnt THAT discrimination
Categories: Community
Charles Darwin, terraforming pioneer?
Thu, 2010-09-02 16:11LINKY
Quote:
A lonely island in the middle of the South Atlantic conceals Charles Darwin's best-kept secret.
Two hundred years ago, Ascension Island was a barren volcanic edifice.
Today, its peaks are covered by lush tropical "cloud forest".
What happened in the interim is the amazing story of how the architect of evolution, Kew Gardens and the Royal Navy conspired to build a fully functioning, but totally artificial ecosystem.
By a bizarre twist, this great imperial experiment may hold the key to the future colonisation of Mars.
The tiny tropical island of Ascension is not easy to find. It is incredibly remote, located 1,600km (1,000 miles) from the coast of Africa and 2,250km (1,400 miles) from South America.
Its existence depends entirely on what geologists call the mid-Atlantic ridge. This is a chain of underwater volcanoes formed as the ocean is wrenched apart.
Ascension is one of a number of volcanic islands in the South Atlantic
However, because Ascension occupies a "hot spot" on the ridge, its volcano is especially active. A million years ago, molten magma explosively burst above the waves.
A new island was born.
Back in 1836, the young Charles Darwin was coming to the end of his five-year mission to explore strange new worlds and boldly go where no naturalist had gone before.
Aboard HMS Beagle, he called in at Ascension. En route from another remote volcanic island, St Helena, Darwin wasn't expecting much.
"We know we live on a rock, but the poor people of Ascension live on a cinder," the residents of St Helena had joked before his departure.
But arriving on Ascension put an unexpected spring in Darwin's step.
Professor David Catling of the University of Washington, Seattle, is retracing Darwin's travels for a new book. He told the BBC: "Awaiting Darwin on Ascension was a letter from his Cambridge mentor, John Henslow.
"Darwin's voyage of discovery had already caused a huge sensation in London," he explained.
"Henslow assured him that on his return, he would take his place among the great men of science."
At this fantastic news, Darwin bounded forth in ecstasy, the sound of his geological hammer ringing from hill to hill.
Everywhere, bright red volcanic cones and rugged black lava signalled the violent forces that had wrought the island.
Yet, thinks Professor Catling, amid this wild desolation, Darwin began to hatch a plot.
Out of the ashes of the volcano, he would create a green oasis - a "Little England".
Darwin's great buddy was Joseph Hooker, the intrepid botanist and explorer.
Only a few years after Darwin's return, Hooker was off on his own adventures, an ambitious slingshot around Antarctica aboard HMS Erebus and Terror. Mirroring Darwin's voyage, Hooker called in on Ascension on the way home in 1843.
Ascension was a strategic base for the Royal Navy. Originally set up to keep a watchful eye on the exiled emperor Napoleon on nearby St Helena, it was a thriving waystation at the time of Hooker's visit.
However, the big problem that impeded further expansion of this imperial outpost was the supply of fresh water.
Ascension was an arid island, buffeted by dry trade winds from southern Africa. Devoid of trees at the time of Darwin and Hooker's visits, the little rain that did fall quickly evaporated away.
Egged on by Darwin, in 1847 Hooker advised the Royal Navy to set in motion an elaborate plan. With the help of Kew Gardens - where Hooker's father was director - shipments of trees were to be sent to Ascension.
The idea was breathtakingly simple. Trees would capture more rain, reduce evaporation and create rich, loamy soils. The "cinder" would become a garden.
So, beginning in 1850 and continuing year after year, ships started to come. Each deposited a motley assortment of plants from botanical gardens in Europe, South Africa and Argentina.
Soon, on the highest peak at 859m (2,817ft), great changes were afoot. By the late 1870s, eucalyptus, Norfolk Island pine, bamboo, and banana had all run riot.
Back in England, Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution were busily uprooting the Garden of Eden.
But on a green hill far away, a new "island Eden" was being created.
Yet could Darwin's secret garden have more far-reaching consequences?
Dr Dave Wilkinson is an ecologist at Liverpool John Moores University, who has written extensively about Ascension Island's strange ecosystem.
He first visited Ascension in 2003.
"I remember thinking, this is really weird," he told the BBC.
"There were all kinds of plants that don't belong together in nature, growing side by side. I only later found out about Darwin, Hooker and everything that had happened," he said.
Darwin's artificial forest captures moisture from clouds that drift over Ascension's peaks
Dr Wilkinson describes the vegetation of "Green Mountain" - as the highest peak is now known - as a "cloud forest". The trees capture sea mist, creating a damp oasis amid the aridity.
However, this is a forest with a difference. It is totally artificial.
Such ecosystems normally develop over million of years through a slow process of co-evolution. By contrast, the Green Mountain cloud forest was cobbled together by the Royal Navy in a matter of decades.
Dr Wilkinson exclaimed: "This is really exciting!"
"What it tells us is that we can build a fully functioning ecosystem through a series of chance accidents or trial and error."
In effect, what Darwin, Hooker and the Royal Navy achieved was the world's first experiment in "terra-forming". They created a self-sustaining and self-reproducing ecosystem in order to make Ascension Island more habitable.
Wilkinson thinks that the principles that emerge from that experiment could be used to transform future colonies on Mars. In other words, rather than trying to improve an environment by force, the best approach might be to work with life to help it "find its own way".
However, to date, scientists have been deaf to the parable of Ascension Island.
"It's a terrible waste that no-one is studying it," remarked Wilkinson at the end of the interview.
Ascension Island's secret is safe for years to come, it seems.
Categories: Community
Can somebody explain Metaphysics to me in a nutshell?
Thu, 2010-09-02 14:20I have a friend on facebook who writes up a status that makes no sense and then she writes about 15 to 20 more comments in her own status they all continue on like a big annoying nonsense story.
I basically jumped in a said "WTF are you always going on about you sound angry at someone but you never get to the point"
Her reply is as follows "mitchell.... what do you do? and i want to tell you what ive told others... do you understand metaphysics? ai ai ai ai ai... these are messages.... its another form of translation.... its had to explain if you dont know exactly what its about..... dont take it personally.... obvisously ur not one who knows what im reffering to....facebook is used for many reason... i have mine ;)" (she's terrible with grammar and spelling too)
I've looked up Metaphysics online and it seems up there with tarot or homeopathy...what the hell is this shit?!
Seriously, this girl seems messed up, I'll screen shot a page of her ramblings on facebook and show you the sort of rubbish she posts! I just want to leave a comment that basically says "Metaphysics is stupid and you are very annoying"
So what in a nutshell is Metaphysics really?
Categories: Community
Leveni's corner of the Island
Thu, 2010-09-02 14:11Welcome, Leveni.
You'll read the Island FAQ, Welcome, and Wolty's List, of course.
Categories: Community
Eco bananas?
Thu, 2010-09-02 13:39Takinga brief stroll at lunchtime, I passed a fruit and veg shop and decided to top up my workplace fruit supply. Taking a man look*, the only bananas I could see were these "eco bananas", with tips dipped in red wax. Being unable to do without bananas, I bought some at about 40% more than the usual banana price.
Intrigued, I investigated and found this:
http://www.eco-banana.com.au/
Quote:
Wax Tip Eco Bananas are grown under an ecoganicTM certified system. An ecologically sensitive farming system that produces a sweeter, creamier, healthier banana with a longer shelf life ... whilst improving the environmental health of our farms, the soil fertility and ultimately the surrounding ecosystem including the adjacent Great Barrier Reef.
The ecoganicTM system dictates that, among other measures, NO insecticides are used for Banana Bell injection; NO nematicides, insecticides or miticides are used on the soil; and minimum fertiliser are used - producing a more natural growing cycle.
Being aware of the dodgy ripoff that is A2 milk, I was wondering: does anyone know if this is true, or a bunch of bollox?
For what it is worth, the eco-banana tasted like a banana, but was perhaps slightly firmer - pleasantly so - than a regular banana of similar apparent yellowness. But I've only had one so far.
* partnered women will know what I mean. Normal bananas were near the checkout. I didn't see them until I'd paid and was on my way out.
Categories: Community
Fred Faces Over Porn De-Nile (Fred Nile - pr0n viewer?)
Thu, 2010-09-02 08:20http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/new...-1225913034258
PORTS Minister Paul McLeay was sacked by Premier Kristina Keneally yesterday, three hours after The Daily Telegraph informed him an audit of parliamentary computers found he had viewed internet pornography. It can also be revealed that the audit, conducted two months ago, identified Christian Democrat MP Fred Nile as one of the biggest viewers of adult content.
Mr Nile claimed yesterday he had never viewed pornography and said his staff had used his log-on and done so for "research purposes".
But up to 200,000 suspect hits have been recorded under Mr Nile's log-on, sources said.
We should not judge, every-one needs as much "research" as they can get. ;)
Categories: Community
The spirituality of atheism.
Thu, 2010-09-02 04:20This is my first post here on the AFA forums. I'd just like to kick it off with a video which really redirected my understanding and concept of what athiesm meant. I was raised without any forms of religious influence on my life so I don't have any real early life religious experience.
You may have seen this video before. But please feel free to comment/respond etc.:D
Categories: Community
Christians could learn a lot about life from heavy metal, says cleric
Wed, 2010-09-01 16:47Christians could learn a lot about life from listening to heavy metal, according to a Church of England cleric.
The Rev Rachel Mann claims that the much-maligned form of music demonstrates the liberative theology of darkness, allowing its tattooed and pierced fans to be more relaxed and fun by acknowledging the worst in human nature. She says that by contrast, churchgoers can appear too sincere and take themselves too seriously.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/news...ys-cleric.html
Categories: Community
Moral Orel
Wed, 2010-09-01 16:47Anyone else here a fan of Moral Orel? I've only just recently started watching it.
Categories: Community
watch before you drive next
Wed, 2010-09-01 15:34warning some parts can be graphical
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1388779851607
Categories: Community
Teen drowned vicar after 'sex abuse'
Wed, 2010-09-01 15:11http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/795...fter-sex-abuse
Quote:
Christopher Hunnisett is accused of drowning Ronald Glazebrook in his bathtub before scattering his body parts in nearby forests when he was 17 years old in 2001, the Daily Mail reported.
Reverend Glazebrook offered Hunnisett accommodation at his home in East Sussex in southern England after finding out the boy was having problems with his parents.
But the teenager's friendship with the vicar soon deteriorated, with Hunnisett taking to physically abusing Reverend Glazebrook, force-feeding him and removing light bulbs around the house.
Prosecutors said Reverend Glazebrook wanted Hunnisett out of the home, leading to the killing.
Hunnisett told an earlier trial in 2002 there was nothing sexual about the relationship with Reverend Glazebrook, a position he has changed after his original conviction was quashed.
In the original trial Hunnisett said he had woken up to discover Reverend Glazebrook had drowned in his bath.
In the retrial, taking place at Lewes Crown Court, Hunnisett said he knocked Reverend Glazebrook into the bathtub while fending off a sexual advance, before panicking and cutting up the body.
He then tried to dispose of the body with the help of friend Jason Groves.
The trial continues.
Categories: Community
Popular Science Book Recommendations
Wed, 2010-09-01 14:26I am looking for a new popular science book to read. Does the AFA crew have any recommendations?
I have recently read a few by Richard Dawkins (The Ancestors Tale, The Evidence for Evolution & The God Delusion), Stephen Hawking (A Brief History of Time) and Brian Greene (The Fabric of the Cosmos).
Should I get another Richard Dawkins book? My favourite subjects are evolution and space stuff (cosmology) but I am open to other suggestions.
I have considered buying Carl Sagan's Cosmos since I love the series but I suspect it won't bring me anyting new.
Categories: Community
basket case rant
Wed, 2010-09-01 11:55Yesterday, out of the blue,I received a card from my last girlfriend telling me she still misses me. It's been over 6 years since I've heard from her. She is now married to another man,and living over 2000 miles away.
I just lost it.I was stunned at the feelings which arose; deep distress, anger,bemusement (why now?What's wrong? What does she want from me? Did she really not understand what that would do to me?)
She thoughtfully enclosed her address and email with her new name. Of course I responded how could I not? I'm weak;I still love her to distraction. I told her politely to fuck off. What I actually said was; "There is no way we can go back, and no way forward which would be acceptable to both of us--It was wonderful to hear from you.Perhaps do it again another few years. "
Right now I'm in a bad place. I also feel ridiculous, like a silly schoolboy suffering from unrequited love. I guess my dear old mum was right; the person inside never ages.
Rant over. I think I'll go and smash something.Then I'll sulk:mad:
Categories: Community
What's your forte?
Wed, 2010-09-01 10:33I'm really impressed with the number of smart people there are on this forum. I admit, I wouldn't stand a chance to debate most of you. But, I was thinking, everyone comes with a particular area of interest/expertise, and it would be interesting to know what everyone's forte/s is/are.
To start off, I guess mine is the area of child abuse, with maybe a bit of parent/adolescent conflict thrown in.
Categories: Community
Lord Blackadder is off (Well, we knew that)...
Tue, 2010-08-31 22:00... to Mother England for a month. Praxis' holiday talk made me all jealous, so I decided to emulate her eminently excellent endeavour and sally forth to Ol' Blighty. I will be taking in such wondrous sights as Stonehenge, Bath, Loch Lomand and The Shakester's hometown. Then I'll pop over to France for a bit and look at the big pointy tower thingy.
I have one of those marvelous iPhones with Tapatalk (thanks for the heads-up on that Praxis and Annie), so I will drop by occasionally. Keep the aspidistra flying! :D
Categories: Community
Bjorn Lomborg volte face
Tue, 2010-08-31 17:26Apparently he is publishing a new book stating climate change should be addressed, according to the ABC news this evening. He even decided on a neat $100M a year of funding. I have no idea what that is supposed to do.
There was a side statement that Michael O'Hanlon, science writer Britain's Daily Mail, has also changed view after recent research on site. He still thinks it is exaggerated but no longer maintains "nothing is going on".
Categories: Community
If it were true
Tue, 2010-08-31 15:07Just think for a moment what it would mean if religion were true
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWAUh...eature=related
(Youtube fixed by Black)
Categories: Community
Just 40km from Burgess Shale, anomalocarids and arthropods, oh my!
Tue, 2010-08-31 14:57LINKY - apparently some new taxa.
Quote:
One of paleontologys most revered fossil sites now has a baby brother. Scientists have discovered a group of astonishing fossils high in the Canadian Rockies, just 40 kilometers from the famous Burgess Shale location.
A paper describing the find appears in the September issue of Geology.
Since its discovery in 1909, the Burgess Shale has yielded many thousands of fossils dating to 505 million years ago a period often called evolutions big bang, when animals were exploding in diverse body plans. These soft-bodied critters scurried around on the sea floor, then were buried in mudslides and exquisitely preserved.
Burgess fossils appear in several outcrops, all within about 60 kilometers of Field, British Columbia, and all occurring in shale deposits of the Stephen Formation that are 270 to 370 meters thick. Now, a team led by paleontologist Jean-Bernard Caron of the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto reports finding Burgess-like fossils in the valley of the Stanley Glacier in Kootenay National Park, where a much thinner part of the Stephen Formation that ranges from 16 to 160 meters thick is exposed.
This new locality adds to our knowledge of the environments where these organisms lived and died and thus adds important context, says Peter Allison, a geoscientist at Imperial College London.
About half of the animal groups found at Stanley Glacier, such as trilobites, are found at other Burgess sites in different abundances. But the creatures unearthed also include eight taxa previously unknown to science. They include an unnamed worm; Stanleycaris hirpex, a segmented shrimp-like critter known as an anomalocarid; and an arthropod with big eyes dangling on stalks from its head shield.
Until now, paleontologists had thought one reason the Burgess fossils were so well preserved was because they settled in thick deposits at the bottom of an ancient ocean protected by a submarine cliff. But the Stanley Glacier fossils werent formed in the presence of such a cliff, suggesting that creatures can be fossilized in amazing detail in other environments.
We consider it likely that future exploration and study will continue to yield new taxa from the thin Stephen Formation, which is exposed over a broader area regionally than the thick Stephen Formation, the researchers write.
New discoveries are still emerging from the classic Burgess localities. In May, after studying new Burgess fossils from one of the original sites, Caron and colleagues reported new details on a creature that may be one of the earliest known relatives of octopuses, squid and other cephalopods.
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