Riding Space Mountain with my fearless grandchildren. Not pictured: my wife, in the seat immediately behind me and screaming at the top of her lungs. … [Read more...]
Archives for 2013
Smart phones make some people act stupid
May 14, 2013 by 1 Comment
This is the start of a quick flurry of brief posts of observations that I made during our recent visit to Disney World. Now I want to clear the queue with a few comments that are relatively short and to the point before returning my full attention to a little more serious business. We had begun an unfinished conversation on evolution shortly before the start of vacation. I sincerely hope Dr. Leblanc and Andrey Pavlov will find the time to rejoin our conversation, as soon as their schedules permit. But while vacationing in Orlando, I couldn't help but notice that smart phones appear to make people act considerably more stupid than they might actually be. It seems that Disney provides several applications for mobile phones that allow people to know which rides have the fewest people waiting in line, maps to the park with a handy "You are here" feature, which rides offer their "Fast Pass", etc. These Disney mobile apps seemed to do just about everything for you except slice the bagel and butter it with cream cheese in the morning. Unfortunately, these apps proved so useful that many visitors were incapable of taking even a single step without staring at their phones. It often gave one the sensation of playing bumper cars with human bodies, a particularly unpleasant experience when one is not intimately familiar with the instigator of the collision. After several attempts to "turn the other cheek" and simply step out of the way, eventually I gave up and revised my park navigation strategy. When the meanderer in question managed to mirror every … [Read more...]
Vacation!
May 9, 2013 by 1 Comment
I'm sorry...I'm really not ignoring you. Well, actually I am, but I don't mean to be rude and it's only temporary. I will be on vacation for the next few days. If you happen to post a comment to my blog in the meantime and don't see it appear, please be patient. The website admin is officially off duty until next Tuesday, so your comments may not be approved beforehand. The timing of this vacation is a little unfortunate, given the recent flurry of activity in the comments from last month's post, my open letter to Jerry Coyne. There have been some interesting comments, particularly one by Dr. Leblanc, that merit further consideration in respectful discourse. Alas, the grandchildren have been promised a quick trip to Florida that was planned well in advance. Grandpa must not disappoint. Perhaps in the interim, Dr. Coyne will find the time to grade his compatibilism quiz that I took yesterday. Some very interesting conversation may be about to happen, possibly as soon as next week. If Dr. Coyne chooses not to participate, Dr. Leblanc seems a more than capable substitute, and he is willing to engage in serious dialog. Stay tuned! I don't think you'll want to miss it. … [Read more...]
Jerry Coyne’s compatibilism quiz
May 8, 2013 by 1 Comment
While I’ve been waiting and hoping for Dr. Coyne to respond to my questions about speciation theory, I’ve periodically scanned his blog Why Evolution is True to see if the opportunity has arisen for him to answer my questions. I'm sure that Dr. Coyne is a very busy man, and he just hasn’t had time to respond thus far. Of course, he had to travel and give a lecture at Appalachian State, take pictures to show off his spiffy new ostrich boots, make several gratuitous attacks on creationism and religion with cheesy cartoons, and time to post lots of cat pictures on his blog. But no time for me yet. I’m sure he’ll get around to my questions, eventually. Apparently, he does respond to email. In the meantime, in one of the sixty-plus blogs posted since my letter, Dr. Coyne published a pop quiz on compatibilism. I love a good challenge, so I’ve taken his quiz. Perhaps he'll even grade my answers. Thank goodness that Dr. Coyne helpfully defined compatibilism as “free will that accepts material determinism.” I must confess that I didn't know the definition, and the closest dictionary didn't offer me one. Because I accept genetics, DNA, and the power of heredity, I can also accept the concept of material determinism, at least up to a point. However, I must reject the proposal that people can’t be held morally responsible for their actions. In fact, I find that suggestion both appalling and absurd. Is Ariel Castro, recently arrested in Cleveland for kidnapping three women and holding them captive for a decade, only guilty of committing egregious evil … [Read more...]
