What, Why & How do we Know ?
Very strange site linked by Ray Girvan, but with a wonderful gallery of pictures of various aircraft vapour cloud and vapour trail effects. Only of interest because of the tenuous reason I had to mention vapour trails when Dawkins referred to compressible flow. Any excuse – sorry.
I’m prompted here by a cross-search, that hit on a three year old post of mine referring to Sean Gould. Like me he’s a western engineer, and of a similar age, living in the far-east, in his case Thailand, and unlike myself, it seems he’s been there continuously for several years – his domain remains … Continue reading “From Ancient Books to the Novel”
Searching for Sue Blackmore’s piece in the UK Daily Telegraph Saturday Review, I stumbled across this A(australian)BC The Descent of Man programme on “modern” evolution. Sue was a contributing voice apparently, along with Dawkins, Pinker, and more. Modern mind in a prehistoric brain, would no doubt appeal to Enlightened Caveman. The more I read the … Continue reading “Evolution 102 ?”
I really would like to get off this “anti-theist” track, but it just keeps coming. The Rev Sam Norton posted this UK Grauniad link on MoQ the other day. It met with mixed responses ranging from cheering on the battle against “immature” atheists to those critical of its mealy mouthed tone eg “I can almost … Continue reading “A 21st Century Atheist ? I wish.”
I’m getting into a tight corner on MoQ-Discuss, where it has been impossible to avoid debate between scientific belief and religious faith. At least we’ve got the level down below the history of global politics and war, where there is some chance of debate rather than propagandised gain-saying. As you know I’ve been in many … Continue reading “What is science ?”
I said in the previous post that I owed David Deutsch’s “Fabric of Reality” a thorough review – well in my usual style I won’t have time for that, but I can now precis my impression of his main messages, having just finished reading it over dinner. Excuse some repetition with the couple of other … Continue reading “Four Threads Unify Reality”
(Still not got domestic internet access yet, here in Perth, so limited on blogging time at the moment.) Managed to spend two late afternoons on the beach this weekend, and finished Sue Blackmore’s Meme Machine. I have to say I’m still a fan of Sue’s writing, but I’m glad I didn’t read her best-seller first. … Continue reading “The Bitch is in The Driving Seat”
… is true, even though you cannot prove it ? The Edge 2005 Annual Question. All the usual suspects, mixed bag of answers though. Dennett, says language is a necessary pre-condition for consciousness, and interestingly, his reason concerns the need for “I”, a subject. Like that. Blackmore, says she believes that neither free-will nor herself … Continue reading “What Do You Believe …”