Interesting Stuff Thread

robindch

Malty_T wrote: »

An independent researcher recently tested the assumption that a stronger level of religious faith meant a safe and peaceful society.

That's Gregory Paul who's produced a couple of other papers over the years which have found the same thing, though at a lower confidence level.

Interesting to see Ireland up near the USA in terms of general religiosity, while out in front for alcohol consumption.

Turtwig

robindch wrote: »

That's Gregory Paul who's produced a couple of other papers over the years which have found the same thing, though at a lower confidence level.

Interesting to see Ireland up near the USA in terms of general religiosity, while out in front for alcohol consumption.

Quick google of his name landed me at this. It's eight mins long so it will probably be sometime before I get to watch it.:(

iUseVi

The world most accurate clock developed, accurate to within 1 second for 3.7 billion years:

http://www.gizmag.com/worlds-most-precise-clock/14088/

(not original source, I'm lazy)

robindch

Here's an interview with one of the top techies in google. Not much of it is relevant to here, but the last para's interesting:

Interview wrote:

Interviewer: To wrap things up, can you give me an example of a preposterous lie that tells a great deal about life?

Pete Norvig: How about ‘You have free will.’ Many philosophers and physicists would say that this is either a lie or at least that most lay people have a vastly oversimplified understanding of the concepts “you” and “free will.” And yet it is this illusion that allows us each to go on living our lives every day and doing good.

.

Coriolanus

robindch wrote: »

Here's an interview with one of the top techies in google. Not much of it is relevant to here, but the last para's interesting:

Linky to the full thing?

Dades

Nevore wrote: »

Linky to the full thing?

Here ya go.

Turtwig

A Beautiful Video on the Poles and Climate.

johnmacward

Mugabe's nephew's wealth is given to him by God.

Check out the video, especially the ending:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/8509149.stm

Pompey Magnus

johnmacward wrote: »

Mugabe's nephew's wealth is given to him by God.

Check out the video, especially the ending:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/8509149.stm

I saw some of that last night, its great the way religion helps them play mental gymnastics.

Galvasean

Bonobo apes share things voluntarily, just like humans do.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100212125708.htm

Ad that to the list of things no longer considered to be 'human' traits taht make us 'special'.

Galvasean

I only found out today that there is a species of Megaloceros (commonly known as the giant Irish deer) named after A&A poster boy Richard Dawkins called Megaloceros dawkinsi.

The more you know.

I stumbled across this article earlier on today. It's definitely worth a read. It details the logical fallacies many Creationists use to promote their view, and gives ways to debunk their arguments.

iUseVi

Meteorite contains complex organic molecules

http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/3313/extraterrestrial-organic-molecules-more-complex-earth

EDIT: That was a bad source, sorry. This ones a bit better:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8516319.stm

Mervyn Crawford

Review of 'The God Delusion'

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2007/mar2007/dawk-m15.shtml

robindch

Sonic boom becomes visible during the lofting of the Solar Dynamics Observatory last Thursday week:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsDEfu8s1Lw

Quantum John

www.amitgoswami.org

quantumactivist.com

www.quantumevents.ie/blog/

Turtwig

Interesting fail.

Flamed Diving

Funny how a scientist is charging €20 for a talk at a hotel.

Quantum John

Flamed Diving wrote: »

Funny how a scientist is charging €20 for a talk at a hotel.

And that is funny because???

Flamed Diving

This is the sort of thing that academics give talks at:

http://www.irisheconomy.ie/DEW1/DEW1.html

note the lack of hotels, book-signings and fees.

Chaa-ching!

Dades

Flamed Diving wrote: »

Funny how a scientist is charging €20 for a talk at a hotel.

I think he sounds like an interesting chap.

If he turned himself into some form of Deist, then I'd hear him out. If it turns out he's claiming a bunch of the world's religions are right, I'd want my money back.

cavedave

The freakonomics blog is looking for examples of parents hwo have to pretend to be christian. The post is here

I am interested in hearing similar stories from readers. I would not be surprised if political ideology is another vibe that gets faked once in a while.

Quantum John

This is the beginning of a paradigm shift in science and this guy is at the forefront. I understand you are sceptical about it but this is the real deal and it should be a very informative night and day.

He is saying that all religon is based on the same concept. That concept is a universe where consciousness is primary. Call it God or spirituality or whatever you like. It is based on what Einstein called "spooky action at a distance" and it is replacing the centuries outdated God that religon pushes on us. Come along you may be pleasently surprised!!

Turtwig

Quantum John wrote: »

This is the beginning of a paradigm shift in science and this guy is at the forefront.

No it's the not! It's the begining of a new era of more strawman sh1te. What he declares, or describes, as Quantum Physicis is no more closer to physics than a theory of gravity which allows a body with the mass of earth to be shaped like cube.

Dades

Quantum John wrote: »

Come along you may be pleasently surprised!!

I'll wait for the free TED talk, thanks.

liamw

Malty_T wrote: »

No it's the not! It's the begining of a new era of more strawman sh1te. What he declares, or describes, as Quantum Physicis is no more closer to physics than a theory of gravity which allows a body with the mass of earth to be shaped like cube.

Sounds like a bunch of pseudoscientific nonsense alright.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_the_Bleep_Do_We_Know!%3F#Academic_reaction

David Albert, a physicist who appears in the film, has accused the filmmakers of selectively editing his interview to make it appear that he endorses the film's thesis that quantum mechanics are linked with consciousness. He says he is "profoundly unsympathetic to attempts at linking quantum mechanics with consciousness."[18]

Flamed Diving

It is yet another example of the 'spiritual' attempting to stick a supernatural label onto any grey area of science.

Doncha know that the seven spinning chakras are tiny black holes?

FFS... go away!!!

GLaDOS

http://io9.com/5458304/research-shows-two-gay-parents-are-better-than-a-single-straight-one

Research Shows Two Gay Parents Are Better Than A Single Straight One

Anti-gay marriage activists have argued vigorously that children need a mother and father. Now a new research study shows that kids do need two parents — but that gender doesn't matter.

The research, which also speaks to the issue of gay adoption, is summarized in the lead article of the new Journal of Marriage and Family. Scholars, at USC and New York University, looked at a range of existing studies, including research on gay and lesbian parents, finding that it's ideal if a child is raised by two parents who are "responsible, committed, stable," but that the gender doesn't cause radical differences.

Sociologist Timothy Biblarz of the USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences says in a release about the study:

Significant policy decisions have been swayed by the misconception across party lines that children need both a mother and a father. Yet, there is almost no social science research to support this claim. One problem is that proponents of this view routinely ignore research on same-gender parents. The bottom line is that the science shows that children raised by two same-gender parents do as well on average as children raised by two different-gender parents. This is obviously inconsistent with the widespread claim that children must be raised by a mother and a father to do well.

liamw

Flamed Diving wrote: »

FFS... go away!!!

:pac:

But his name is Quantum John, he must know what he's talking about!

Turtwig

ScienceNerd wrote: »

http://io9.com/5458304/research-shows-two-gay-parents-are-better-than-a-single-straight-one

This is so old now, and still it will never be accepted by certain folk.:(
(For some truly depressing reading check Dave Quinn's "analysis" of research into these lines of inquiry. Ok, I'll grant him that some of them are biased, but the majority aren't and, then as to make his case for impartiality, he cites researchers who are quite obviously biased anyways. Just that they support his cause so no critical looks there. Oh world! How depressing you can be sometimes.)