femtolicious

Sunday New York Times Magazine has a story on Sigmund Freud - a committed atheist - and his re-examination of monotheism as a potential incubator of abstract reasoning and a rich inner life:

If people can worship what is not there, they can also reflect on what is not there, or on what is presented to them in symbolic and not immediate terms. So the mental labor of monotheism prepared the Jews — as it would eventually prepare others in the West — to achieve distinction in law, in mathematics, in science and in literary art. It gave them an advantage in all activities that involved making an abstract model of experience, in words or numbers or lines, and working with the abstraction to achieve control over nature or to bring humane order to life. Freud calls this internalizing process an “advance in intellectuality,” and he credits it directly to religion.

It is useful to remember that while dogma often marches in step with religion.. it is not exclusive to religion. It is not so much faith as it is obnoxious certainty that really pushes my buttons [beep!]…

Link

As the Ontario provincial election approaches, Pro(Re)gressive Conservative Leader John Tory has come out in support of teaching creationism in religious schools… with taxpayers paying the storytellers:

Speaking to reporters at the a Jewish day school in Thornhill, Ont., on Wednesday, Mr. Tory defended his plan to bring Jewish, Islamic and other religious schools into the public education system.

“They teach evolution in the Ontario curriculum, but they also could teach the fact to the children that there are other theories that people have out there that are part of some Christian beliefs,” Mr. Tory said at the Kamin Education Centre.

If elected premier on Oct. 10, Mr. Tory has promised to give private religious schools $400-million if they opt into the public system.

“Jewish, Islamic and other religious schools”… What about the Pastafarians?

Link: “Creationism raised as Ont. election issue” - Globe and Mail

Execute every last one of those water-borne pathogens with your funky pocket UV glowstick:

“I took a SteriPEN to Africa for 3 months this summer and the verdict is in: it’s the best water purifier you can carry without a tractor-trailer. It’s basically a UV ray flashlight you submerge into your glass. The water stays cool and it doesn’t change the water, except to kill all the living things in it, viruses included. It is expensive, but pays for itself quickly, as you don’t have to buy bottled water. On my trip, often when I asked a waiter for a glass of tap water, my request would elicit a smile or a laugh. In some cases, they simply would not bring me a glass of water. Most of the time, though, I convinced them — and then, to their amazement, I would take out the SteriPEN, push a button, and stir the water with the glowing purple UV light that always brought stares from other diners. After less than 60 seconds, I would take out the SteriPEN and drink the water, occasionally hearing gasps from other tables.”

Link