Ramblings of an Armchair Skeptic

Today is Charles Darwin's 200th birthday. I celebrated with a cupcake. Unfortunately, One of the side effects of being 200 hundred years old is that you are probably dead. Which, in Darwin's case, is probably a good thing as he didn't have to witness the circus that came to Dover, Colorado in 2005. Not the good kind of circus with elephants and popcorn either. The religious folk there decided that the kids in science class needed to hear that evolution isn't the only way that the earth and it's inhabitants came into being. They call this "science" Intelligent Design. This is simply creationism renamed and it has nothing to do with science. They claim to have evidence and they can prove that what they say is true. The Discovery Institute has many long papers on the subject. Not sure what there is to talk about for so long since their answer for everything is simply, "God did it." Oh sorry, I mean an "Intelligent Designer did it." It se...

I watched the documentary Religulous with Bill Maher the other night. It sheds a light on how religion really is detrimental to the progress of humanity. I know lots of people who are of the opinion that people should just let people believe whatever they want. That's okay to a point but then they are saying that it's okay for people in Africa to murder or torture their children because they were branded as witches. This is religion, these Africans are Christians and believe in the same god that the people I know do and they believe, just as the people I know, that their beliefs are true and no one can tell them different. But then they say, people can believe in whatever they want as long as it's not hurting anyone. But religion on a world scale is hurting everyone. I'll agree that my religious friends and co-workers are harmless and their beliefs don't impact me one way or another but I'm looking at the bigger picture and every time religious beliefs get ...

This time of year is always a time of decision for me. Should I tell my daughter that Santa is real? I don't think I can. Maybe it's the skeptic in me but I just can't make myself lie to her. She is six this year and finally grasping what Santa is supposed to be and she is bombarded with who he is and what he does from TV, books and movies. But I also find it hard to come right out and tell her that none of it's true. Yeah, I'm a gutless flip-flopper. When she comes right out and asks me if Santa is real I counter her questions with questions of my own. "Do you think he's real?" So far she has answered yes but I hear the hesitation in her voice. She is growing into a fine skepchick in her own right and I'm convinced she has doubts. But just like a true believer she WANTS it to be true so she convinces herself that it is. I'm okay with that though, as she gets older and learns to think more for herself, she will be okay with letting the myth go...

Why do the hosts of religious shows always speak as though they are addressing a room full of 5 year olds? Seriously, the blonde lady and her husband from 100 Huntley Street make my teeth ache.

This is another topic high on my irksome list and a concept that many believers have a hard time grasping. My friend tells me she has a cousin who has psychic powers. I say there is no such thing as psychic powers. She says, "prove there isn't!" Well it doesn't work that way. The onus of producing evidence lies with the person making the claim. Simple. My favorite rebuttal and staple argument in the skeptical community is the unicorn. I tell my friend that I have an invisible pink unicorn living in my backyard. She says "I don't believe you." So I say, "prove there isn't an invisible pink unicorn living in my backyard, as a matter of fact, prove there is no such thing as invisible pink unicorns." She can't. You can't prove a negative. It's up to me to provide evidence for my claim. I heard a good example from James Randi of not being able to prove a negative. Now my friend tells me that reindeer can fly. She knows it's true ...

The building I work in is haunted. It's true. At least according to the many employees who have personally had an encounter with our incorporeal mischief maker known as Jarvis. There are other spirits that call the Dow Centre home as well, but Jarvis is the one who gets the credit when things seem to be going awry. I've always found it fascinating that when some people have an experience that they can't immediately identify, they label it as paranormal. Hear a creak in the night? Must be a ghost. Got a chill? Those wacky spooks must be trying to get you riled again. Hear an eerie whisper? That's just dear departed Granny Betty wishing you a good night. Why don't people look into a natural cause first? I guess when something unexplained and scary happens, they have to justify it in their minds to make sense of it and be able to deal. I find the main reason many of the people I've talked to believe in ghosts is because they have had an experience that they just co...

So I was wondering, isn't prayer a direct defiance of god's will? I offer an example. Tamlandia is experiencing a drought. Crops are withering and people are about to lose money and lives. The leader of Tamlandia implores it's people to pray for rain. Okay, but if god knows all then I'm sure he would already be aware of the dire situation. Not only that, he would be responsible for it. God's will. So who do the Tamlandians think they are to question god's will? Didn't other folks get into plenty of trouble for doing that? The name Job comes to mind. I once read a statement on a believers website that all prayers are answered. It's just that sometimes the answer is no. So god has listened to all these prayers and yet has said. "Nah, I think I'll let the drought go on until a suitable number of people have died." So it doesn't matter how many people pray thousands of prayers for weeks or months. The answer could be still be no huh? Well t...