I consider myself a privileged individual for many reasons, not the least of which being the fact that I get to live in Southern California.
A small part of that privilege is having access to some
excellent radio stations. I am a daily listener to 95.5 KLOS, the classic rock station in these parts,* and I am a rabid fan of the Mark and Brian show, their daily morning talk/variety show. These guys are smart and funny, and responsible for some wonderful events and charities in these parts.**
This morning, the hot topic was the recent court ruling in favor of gay marriage. The call-in response was largely in support of the movement (it is a liberal-leaning show and listenership, after all), but in the midst of it one obviously Christian lady called in and presented the idiotic 'slippery-slope' argument: "Well if a man can choose to marry another man today, what will he be allowed to choose tomorrow? What if he chooses to marry a little boy tomorrow?"
I'm not going to spend any time refuting Pedophile Lady's argument; my issue is with the way her comment was handled. Brian (1/2 of the show's namesake) quite appropriately dispatched her with a rebuttal and an "I'm ashamed and disappointed that this is your opinion", but he qualified it first with, "this is your opinion and I cannot tell you to change it."
...pardon me while I wrestle this soapbox into position...
Okay. Well,
I have an opinion about this, and I most definitely wish I could change his.
Right after I heard the exchange, I sent the show a quick TXT message (a great feature, by the way), something to the effect of, "Brian, maybe some of these people SHOULDN'T be entitled to their opinion when it's based on bad/damaging information."
Well, the coolest thing happened shortly afterward: during a commercial break, Brian called me to talk about my message!*** He was really curious and wanted me to elaborate on my message, so he could get a better feel for the point I was trying to make. He admitted that he personally agrees with me (Another atheist! WOOHOO!), but insisted that he couldn't tell her she was wrong because it would make him a hypocrite. I tried to give an argument against that, but didn't have my thinking cap on (read: coffee in my stomach) and didn't give him the most effective one.
So... he had to get back to the show; we exchanged our gratitudes and compliments, and hung up.
But right after we concluded our session, the brilliance started pouring out. Of course. I went to the show's website to take advantage of the extended format of an e-mail response, and penned this follow-up, which I'd like to share with you all:
This is a follow-up to a TXT message I sent earlier today; Brian called me back and we talked briefly about my statement that some peoples' opinions shouldn't be honored if they're based on bad information:
Brian, I (of course) couldn't think of the best language to convey my point right away when you asked me to clarify... but I want to take another stab at it.
My point is that you are *not* automatically a hypocrite when you present a firm opposition to someone else's opinion... because in some cases their opinion can be objectively incorrect.
To object to an uninformed opinion with an equally uninformed counter-opinion would be hypocritical, sure... but just because an idea is wrapped up in the context of 'Opinion' doesn't mean it should be afforded automatic protection from scrutiny.
It is possible to objectively measure the quality or validity of an opinion - It could be my opinion that Mark is a moron (sorry, Mark), and all you'd have to do is show me the results of his IQ test to prove that my opinion is completely incorrect. I appreciate your compassion if you don't want to offend me by pointing out that I'm wrong (and I think that's a big part of your stance - I won't argue with your being courteous to callers), but this is a relatively harmless example.
But what if there were such a thing as a harmful example? Pedophile Lady makes a claim that is founded by what she believes to be an irrefutable and perfectly correct source - her church, clergy and bible. When the bible was written, it was correct according to the best info we had at the time. But today, we know objectively that there are physiological explanations for the occurrence of homosexuality. We actually know better, now, than to think that homosexuality is a choice. It has been confirmed time and again with the same scientific rigor that has successfully given us 80-year life expectancies, air travel, radio talk shows, and every other miraculous achievement of modern society.
But, Pedophile Lady's opinion is incredibly prevalent right now...
...and simply because these incorrect ideas about homosexuality are encapsulated in the Protection of Opinion, we're allowing countless real people to suffer lives of forced compliance, and relegating them to a form of second-class restricted citizenship.
All for the sake of politeness.
At some point we need to see that we're allowing a greater evil to thrive, because we're unwilling to perpetrate the evil of telling people when they're wrong.
~Kevin
It's about civic duty. We should be able and
willing to stamp out harmful ideas and the acts they promote, especially when the cost of doing so (offending christians) is so feeble compared to the cost of doing nothing. It's time to bring a little obligatory rudeness into our arsenal.
* - I'm not going to tell you, but here's a hint: KLOS is named for Los (something).
** - See footnote above.
*** - This dude is a bonafide CELEBRITY. Of course I'm excited.
(A markov chain bible chapter using the entire KJV as input. The final verse is especially, er, chilling)
1:01 crow, thou shalt take the goods of his land:
1:02 And thou shalt fear, and let him acknowledge that the children of Ammon;
1:03 And Gilead, and Galilee, all the set feasts, by number, according to Christ Jesus:
1:04 That ye love one another, even as a servant, for a memorial before the ark of the Chaldeans:
1:05 for thou shalt not be purged from thy glory, and wisdom, and bow myself in great abundance.
1:06 And Solomon said, If we say then? Shall we give, or shall the earth feared, and said, He is antichrist, that denieth me before men, to pray before the LORD;
1:07 for he beareth not fruit he taketh away:
1:08 and they shall smite him;
1:09 or if there be any work that they might stand before their eyes, and, behold, they are consumed out of your dwellings.
1:10 And Pharaoh said unto them, and returned unto the king, That Daniel, which art infamous and much vexed.
1:11 Behold, the Hebrews hath met with us of his person, and well favoured.
1:12 And it came to her maidens.
1:13 She considereth a field, and thou shalt eat it in her month they shall burn it on a smoke, because the LORD which is a feast by an ordinance for Israel unto this day;
1:14 give me half thine house, and his hand toward heaven, that thou doest well to draw water.
1:15 And he answered, Here am I.
1:16 Are they not judge.
1:17 Shall I yet to cry unto God a more sure word of God made a covenant of the offering up of the LORD was there upon me.
1:18 They that forsake the idols of Egypt:
1:19 in vain shalt thou change them, and the priests of the children free.
1:20 Notwithstanding, lest we should pray for you in Egypt since it became as a bride adorned for her husband.
1:21 And I will make drunk her princes, and gave him to be feared above all gods.
1:22 For all this people, who have purposed to return unto thee the righteous shall be of the priests the Levites which are my people, and tongues, stood before the testimony, and cover you with mine own bowels:
1:23 Whom I would not destroy it for me, O thou fairest among women? what is his body, according to the earth.
1:24 And when the Jews which dwelt in a strange woman, from the pestilence;
1:25 that they might put us therein.
1:26 And when they had emerods in their own souls by their own confusion, as with his face about, and when thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, and for every man's money was not to covetousness.
1:27 Turn away my peace be with the mouth of the tabernacle of the LORD thy God, those deliver thou me.
1:28 For ye know these things will I send pestilence among you;
1:29 that ye might be the woman returned out of the night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, is the stumblingblock of their enemies:
1:30 and awake for thee, and as for me, which to day into mine hand?
1:31 Now therefore kill every woman
I was reading
this article on the unholy union of Garfield and Markov models and it reminded me that I'd never gotten around to trying out markov modelling first hand.
Over my lunch hour I cranked out the code at the bottom of this entry. And yes I write code over my lunch hour as a form of relaxation. What do you do?
In any case, the previous blog entry was the result of running this script on the book of Mark. Mark, Markov, get it?
Any way if you've ever wanted to generate your own biblical sounding text, here's your chance. Just download some scripture and crank up your python interpreter and away you go!
BTW, I'm really curious if Mark(ov) Chapter 1 get's any hits from people seeking Biblical inspiration. I know it inspired me.
import sys
import random
import itertools
#http://www.o-bible.org/download/kjv.txt
def make_frequencies(words):
result = {}
for i in range(2, len(words)):
w1, w2, w3 = words[i-2:i+1]
if (w1,w2) not in result:
result[(w1,w2)] = {}
if w3 not in result[(w1,w2)]:
result[(w1,w2)][w3] = 0
result[(w1,w2)][w3] += 1
return result
def find_first_random(freqs):
return get_random_ith_item(list(set([x[0] for x in freqs])))
def find_second_random(first, freqs):
pair = get_random_ith_item(list(set(x for x in freqs if x[0] == first)))
if not pair:
return find_first_random(freqs)
return pair[1]
def find_markov_random(first, second, freqs):
markov_words = freqs.get((first,second), {})
word = get_random_ith_item(itertools.chain(*[[x]*count for (x,count) in markov_words.items()]))
if not word:
return find_second_random(second, freqs)
return word
def get_random_ith_item(stream):
item = None
for i,x in enumerate(stream):
if random.randint(0,i) == 0:
item = x
return item
def markovize(freqs, output_length):
result = [find_first_random(freqs)]
result.append(find_second_random(result[0], freqs))
output_length -= 2
while output_length > 0:
w1, w2 = result[-2:]
result.append(find_markov_random(w1,w2,freqs))
output_length -= 1
return result
def main():
output_length = 500
words = ' '.join(sys.stdin.readlines())
word_frequencies = make_frequencies(words.split())
print ' '.join(markovize(word_frequencies, output_length))
if __name__ == '__main__':
main()
According to this thorough online survey, I have determined that I should get a Ph.D. in some area of science. Apparently I have chosen wisely..... I'd hate to think that I was wasting all of these years in school.
You Should Get a PhD in Science (like chemistry, math, or engineering)
|
You're both smart and innovative when it comes to ideas.
Maybe you'll find a cure for cancer - or develop the latest underground drug.
|
Cheers,
Me
Mark(ov) 1:01 he, casting away his wife, and raise up seed unto his disciples, How hardly shall they cast stones, and wounded him in the ship again departed to the poor, and thou shalt deny me thrice.
Mark(ov) 1:02 And when they had sent forth and laid hold on him: for they have heard the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
Mark(ov) 1:03 And these are they which are sown on good ground, and prayed that, if it were but the end shall not be among you: but whosoever shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ;
Mark(ov) 1:04 or, lo, he that hath, to him from every quarter.
Mark(ov) 1:05 And again he sent him away empty.
Mark(ov) 1:06 And again he sent another;
Mark(ov) 1:07 and him they cast stones, and wounded him in the bush God spake unto him, Seest thou these things?
Mark(ov) 1:08 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done?
Mark(ov) 1:09 And they call the King of the physician, but they that were rich cast in of their abundance;
Mark(ov) 1:10 but she of her daughter.
Mark(ov) 1:11 But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto him, Go thy way;
Mark(ov) 1:12 the devil out of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee.
Mark(ov) 1:13 But Jesus said, Verily I say unto him, Why do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be hated of all men counted John, that he would not suffer that any man should cast seed into the hall, called Praetorium;
Mark(ov) 1:14 and they bring a blind man by the farther side of the multitude, they took up twelve baskets full of fragments took ye up?
Mark(ov) 1:15 And they all saw him, and killed him, and said, And thou also wast with Jesus and his disciples asked him again of the Blessed?
Mark(ov) 1:16 And Jesus said, Forbid him not: for of such is the kingdom of God of the Jews?
Mark(ov) 1:17 For he taught in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.
Mark(ov) 1:18 And what I will, but what thou sayest.
Mark(ov) 1:19 And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto him, By what authority doest thou these things?
Mark(ov) 1:20 and what shall a man satisfy these men with bread here in the days of Abiathar the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses?
Mark(ov) 1:21 Ye have heard the word that was possessed with the wild beasts;
Mark(ov) 1:22 and the cock crew.
Mark(ov) 1:23 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto them, How is it ago since this came unto him, and put it on his eyes, and put his hands again upon his eyes, and put his own house.
Mark(ov) 1:24 And the unclean spirits, when they looked, they saw no man of him.
Mark(ov) 1:25 And always, night and day, and the chains had been seen of her, believed not.
Mark(ov) 1:26 After that he was as one that was sown in their synagogue a man leave his wife behind him, and from Idumaea, and from Idumaea, and from Judaea, And from thence he arose, and rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, By what authority doest thou these things?
Mark(ov) 1:27 and what buildings are here!
Mark(ov) 1:28 And Jesus answered and said
This blog was active from 2004 to 2008. It is no longer updated, but remains here an an archive of my philosophic thoughts and studies over the course of those years. Many of these thoughts developed into my new and main website,
The Humanist Contemplative. Please feel free to visit that site!
If you would like to browse these archives, there are at least three ways:
1) The Best of DT Strain Philosophy BlogYou can click
HERE to see a list of the best blog entries over several years. Please keep in mind there are many others.
2) Search TermsYou can use the search field above to search this blog. Suggested terms include: Stoicism, Buddhism, Taoism, Complexity, Science, Religion, Jesus, Christianity, Humanism, Violence, and more.
3) DatesThere are links to the right for different months and years for chronological reading.
There is also a sister site to this one, which contains many of my longer essays. The
DT Strain Philosophy Site can be accessed by clicking
HERE. That site is also now retired, but still contains these essays. Both of these sites have been rolled into my current one:
The Humanist Contemplative.
Thanks for visiting and for your time! :)
----------------------
Check out a non-affiliated announcement:
There are lots of opportunities to earn a philosophy degree at
online schools, even for adults.
For Wiki Wednesday, here's something I ran into the other day in reference to the idea of miracles.
Littlewood's Law says that if you define a miracle as a one-in-a-million occurrence, you should encounter something you'd describe as a miracle about once every month. The law is an application of the Law of Truly Large Numbers.
Whether or not we accept Littlewood's Law, or the assumptions that it requires (that an "occurence" happens to a person once per second, for example) it is meant to drive home the idea that, in a very large universe, uncommon things actually happens more often than you might expect. We humans have a tendency to attach undue meaning to exceptional events. This is, in part, because it's so difficult for us to grasp numbers that are beyond the scope of our daily lives.
A month of seconds is well over a million seconds, (Littlewood is only counting 8 alert hours per day) but when we look back over the month we do not remember it as a month of seconds. We don't even experience it as a month of seconds. It's no surprise to me, then, that when something amazing happens, people don't remember all the times that nothing amazing happened.
Technorati : mathematics, skepticism
So here we go with yet another bit of religious stupidity.... While I normally would provide some sort of commentary, my only response to this is - "Oh please!!!"
And yes, the pictures were included in the original email.
An atheist in the woods heard a sound behind him,
He turned to look. He saw a 7-foot grizzly bear charge towards him.
He ran as fast as he could up the path. He looked over his shoulder & saw that the bear was closing in on him.
He looked over his shoulder again, & the bear was even closer.
He tripped & fell on the ground.
He rolled over to pick himself up but saw that the bear was right on top of him, reaching for him with his left paw & raising his right paw to strike him.
At that instant the Atheist cried out,
"Oh my God!"
Time Stopped.
The bear froze.
The forest was silent.
As a bright light shone upon the man, a voice came out of the sky.
"You deny my existence for all these years, teach others I don't exist and even credit?creation to cosmic accident."
"Do you expect me to help you out of this predicament?"
Am I to count you as a believer?"
The atheist looked directly into the light, "It would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask you to treat me as a Christian now, but perhaps you could make the BEAR a Christian"?
"Very Well," said the voice.
The light went out. The sounds of the forest resumed. And the bear dropped his right paw, brought both paws together, bowed his head & spoke:
"Lord bless this food, which I am about to receive from thy bounty through Christ our Lord, Amen."
I was pleasantly surprised to see
this billboard the other day. (The Gold in the bottom corner is the Colorado State capitol building). This blog posting is to help it get beyond 14th Ave and Fox Street in downtown Denver. (Yes. I live in Denver).
Wow, I did not realize it had been so long since my last post. Actually, i have done half a dozen or so drafts to post on various things, but never really finished them enough to publish anything. Plus, I've been really thinking hard about not being anonymous anymore, and thus migrating everything into 1 blog. Each time I consider moving to one single blog I just can't seem to justify it. This one is mainly for rantings and just my own personal thoughts on things. The others that I have tend to be much more family related. Now that things have settled down I'll be sure to come up with something interesting to write about within the next day or so :)
WHAT THE F%$#?*
Website emails your personal message to unbelieving friends after you're swept up in the rapture!(Not a direct link - I always link through geekologie when they're my source)
Am I the only one that thinks that the people running this service are handily exempting themselves from the celestial self-checkout line by charging their customers $40 a year? Sure, it's not as much as an xbox live membership**... but they're essentially saying, "We're not getting into paradise anytime soon; we might as well get comfy while we wait".
Greed
is one of those killer sins, after all.
And let's face it, most of those letters are going to be a variation on the
"I fucking told you so" riff. ***
Also, I think they cribbed their delivery mechanism from
Lost.
* - FUCK
** - but it's also slightly less fulfilling, unless the peace of mind of having the last word is THAT important to you.
*** - Hell, they already made it through the gate, what's the harm in a little harsh language... especially when it's directed a heathens aplenty? I don't believe because I enjoy living in reality.
I also enjoy the company of others who have made the choice to live in reality. They are far more free to think, have ideas, and embrace change.
Like every other major change in my life, when I seriously considered the possibility that there might not be a god, I made a few pro and con lists. This included one comparing theists to atheists. (at the time I made the list I believed there was a god). Unfortunately Atheist came out as more emotionally stable people. I'm not calling it black and white, my mom AND in-laws are happy Christians, but over all atheist scored higher in areas I was seriously struggling.
Most of all I wanted to be happy, and I couldn't as long as I was going to receive nothing but circular reasoning. That shit drives me crazy. CRAZY crazy. Christianity, for me, was like taking a bad birth control pill. My boss is taking some that expired YEARS ago and all of the sudden she is making no sense at all and appears to be powered only by emotion. It's creepy to watch when she used to be so calm and reasonable. It reminds me of how I felt as a Christian.
When God is the answer, it is much easier to bottle emotions up and not deal with them. I mean, get in a trance and feel a magic release, but it really doesn't leave until you learn what you need to from it. At least not for me. I don't know that I'm right at all, but I feel like I'm making a good guess here.
Sure, not all Christians are emotionally retarded, but I most definitely was, and a whole lot of other people around me were, too. Many church members seemed to have temporary and sharp feelings of bliss, but 98% of the time it's depression, just waiting for an answer from god instead of thinking and figuring things out for yourself. I even faked all that Christian joy, because in order to spread the word of God it's important that you appear to be happy.
Then I lied about feeling happy for many years so that I wouldn't be a bad Christian. What if you were the only Christian a person ever met and you were sad around them too often? That person might not be as open to hearing the word of God.
Raise your hands and say it with me now, "When we all raise our hands and sway back and forth with our eyes shut it puts us in a suggestive state."
This applies to every religion. They all do it. First you sing or dance, then you sit down to hear someone talk, then you sing again. How about instead of telling people what to think we start teaching people how to think for themselves?
Shit, every time I make a good point I remember a Bible verse that wins against my point. The bible sure did take care of the nasty problem of people who have other ideas about life. The Bible says they are fools, so they must be fools! It reminds me of Lisa Simpson in the creationism class, when Ralph said, "Now Lisa's the new Ralph" The smart person is the fool, and that is all I needed to hear years ago to think there's probably a better life out there for me. Far, far away from the people who call me a fool for doing what it takes to find happiness.
Oh, yeah, the list goes on. What with the lack of proof, etc. Whatever. Observing the people around me was enough to help me make the leap. The science education is just more cake on the cake.
Currently Reading:
Mind LinesTranslated by L. Michael Hall & Bobby G. Bodenhamer
Culture and Aversion:In America, we'll do whatever it takes to keep from being bored. We'll do ANYTHING to keep from being bored. We'll spend ALL of our money to avoid being bored. We'll destroy ourselves to keep from being bored.
We buy expensive vacations that have "lots of exciting things to do". We buy the biggest and most expensive state-of-the-art entertainment systems, and then stuff our cabinets full of movies we're tired of seeing, but continue to watch at full blast volume. TV commercials and movies are louder and flashier then ever.
Some people drink, simply to drown out the internal noise. Some drink far too much, simply to drown out the internal noise. Some die from drinking far too much, simply to drown out the internal noise.
The Only Thing We Have to Fear:Why do we go to such extreme lengths to avoid boredom?
When we're bored, we're able to hear our minds. When it's quiet, you can't stop the flood of thoughts. What are these thoughts? What do they say to us?
When it's quiet, our personal demons come out and to eat us alive. All of our past failures and regrets come out to torment us. It's o.k. though, it's just an illusion. If you look around, you're fine. You're still there, whole and unharmed, just a little scared.
It's o.k.
When you wash dirty clothes, do you get angry at the water because it becomes clouded with dirt?
Namaste,
CET
"Much of the suffering in the world comes from the illusion that we are separate from one another." - Gautama Buddha
Alright, here is another anecdotal religious email forwarded to me. This one is about references to God in graduation speeches.....
They walked in tandem, each of the ninety-two students filing into the already crowded auditorium. With their rich maroon gowns flowing .. and the traditional caps, they looked almost ... as grown up as they felt.
Dads swallowed hard behind broad smiles, and Moms freely brushed away tears.
This class would NOT pray during the commencements---- not by choice, but because of a recent court ruling prohibiting it.
The principal and several students were careful to stay within the guidelines allowed by the ruling. They gave inspirational and challenging speeches, but no one mentioned divine guidance and no one asked for blessings on the graduates or their families.
The speeches were nice, but they were routine.....until the final speech received a standing ovation.
A solitary student walked proudly to the microphone. He stood still and silent for just a moment, and then, it happened.
All 92 students, every single one of them, suddenly SNEEZED!!!!
The student on stage.. simply looked at the audience and said, "GOD BLESS YOU, each and every one of you!" And he walked off stage...
The audience exploded into applause. This graduating class had found a unique way to invoke God's blessing on their future with or without the court's approval.
GOD BLESS YOU!!!!
As I have
discussed previously, I don't agree with using graduation speeches to promote one's religious views. If you are at a public school that is funded with public money, religion should not enter into such matters. But again, I wouldn't call myself an expert on the American Constitution (what with me being Canadian and all) so I don't know all of the specific rules in such matters.
With regards to the actual email..... I would like to express my disagreement with the final sentence. He did not invoke God's blessing on their future, he invoked God's blessing as a shield against the
evils involved in sneezing. These are two completely different reasons to ask for God's blessing and getting a blessing for one does not entail an automatic blessing for the other.
Cheers,
Me
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