Kara Connor

“Disproportionate”? Sorry, I should have specified ‘relative to what’.

Yes, Israel is disproportionately represented in scientific and technological innovation relative to its population and size. I would say that Israel produces more high-level scientific and technological output than you would expect from its population, land area, or even it…[Read more]

I would have like to have been in the meeting when that idea was first floated. I think Israel’s longstanding advantage has been disproportionately dense networks connecting universities, engineering, medicine, entrepreneurship and venture capital. That produces a cultural environment in which somebody can plausibly say “Can I have some money to g…[Read more]

Have a great week!

Thanks Jake, I appreciate that. Yesterday a friend of mine said “Reg, I am so glad you are an atheist!” I looked a bit bemused as we know each other a long time and are both of us are ‘militant’ anti-theists. She caught my look and continued…..”I mean, even as an atheist, you would be able to convince certain people that God is real”. I replied…[Read more]

Let’s take the ‘Kafka Intifada’  a little further. However, I will coin it the “The Samsa Effect”.

Gregor does know that something has happened to him. What he fails to grasp initially is the significance of his transformation. His world has changed beyond recognition, but his inherited routine of thought continues running as though nothing fu…[Read more]

I don’t get why anyone would believe in stuff because they want to, rather than because they think it’s true.

We need to make a distinction between belief and inquiry. You can choose to examine a claim, expose yourself to arguments for it, avoid contrary evidence, join a community that reinforces it, or repeatedly rehearse certain ideas. Tho…[Read more]

Reg the Fronkey Farmer wrote:
What happens when hostility to knowledge becomes policy.

I don’t get why anyone would believe in stuff because they want to, rather than because they think it’s true.  I feel we have some kind of duty to the truth to be open-minded, independent-minded and anti-authoritarian in our thinking, and to let facts speak…[Read more]

Unseen wrote:
Is this post even visible to the other members?

@unseen, I don’t know what you want people to say.  Are you asking rhetorical questions?

Here is another post regarding the Sunday Book above.

Have a great week!

Over 50 years later and I can still recall the attar of silly putty. Beats incense any day. I guess plenty of young theists imprinted the face of Jesus in it and it stuck in the minds as the real deal 🙂

I made it through 232 of that video Enco. I got to 4:11. He does not know what atheism is and his arguments are terrible. But he does like “holy putty”.

To ensure my wording was correct, I got  Chat-GPT to edit and verify where needed. There are 2 different questions:

1. Can severe trauma during pregnancy alter the biology of the developing fetus?

2. Can trauma experienced by a parent before conception leave epigenetic effects                that are later detectable in children?

The…[Read more]

Reg the Fronkey Farmer wrote:
cooperative breeding is also evolving 🙂

The Homo erectus cooperative breeding was the culmination of a long process of peeling un-weaned infants away from their mothers, that might have taken 2-4 million years.  Great ape mothers do not like to give up their babies to anyone else.  It makes sense that the first p…[Read more]