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By Neece, on March 15, 2010, at 12:40 pm
 I have 2 studies to share with you then a video to cheer you up afterwards.
The first paper is titled ‘Believers’ estimates of God’s beliefs are more egocentric than estimates of other people’s beliefs’. It found through a series of 7 studies and surveys that people believe that god has the same beliefs that they have. Here is what they concluded:
The researchers noted that people often set their moral compasses according to what they presume to be God’s standards. ”The central feature of a compass, however, is that it points north no matter what direction a person is facing,” they conclude. “This research suggests that, unlike an actual compass, inferences about God’s beliefs may instead point people further in whatever direction they are already facing.”
Isn’t that convenient? It certainly explains how god can hate all the same people they hate, and basically agree with them [...]
By Neece, on March 7, 2010, at 2:26 am
 Stumbling around the interwebs, I found a site that I think you might love. It’s called Information is Beautiful. David McCandless takes all kinds of data and ideas and visualizes it in appealing ways.
The one I found that I thought was amazing was Snake Oil?: Scientific evidence for popular health supplements. (That link takes you to the interactive version. See the static version here.) On the side is a show me button that flies out a list of uses and types of supplements. Choose what you’re interested in to filter the results. The bigger the bubble, the more popular the supplement is. The higher on the chart, the more evidence there is that it works. Notice how many bubbles are below the Worth It line. Remember, the supplements are only good for the conditions listed inside the bubble, which [...]
By Neece, on February 25, 2010, at 4:30 pm
My friend Gerald found this interesting chart chock full of information. Of course, remember correlation does not necessitate causation, but it is striking how the numbers fall.
 Links on the full page [...]
By Neece, on February 25, 2010, at 11:00 am
There is a new Pew Survey about religion of people coming of age around the year 2000 (called the Millenials) out. It’s quite interesting. I’ve included some of the charts and tables for you.
What is interesting is how the Millenials are less affiliated, but they still believe in the afterlife, miracles, angels and demons to a high degree. I think that’s where atheism is lacking for a lot of people; that comfort that there’s more to life than just the natural, that life doesn’t just end when we take our last breath. Personally I find that it makes life much more precious.
Let’s see some charts and tables!
Note that in the Unaffiliated group are the Religious Unaffiliated, people who describe their faith as “nothing in particular” but say that religion is somewhat or very important in their lives. Whatever that means.
If you take [...]
By Neece, on February 23, 2010, at 8:59 pm
 As you may have guessed, I love science. I thought I’d share some studies that have been recently published that seem interesting.
First, we’ll start with Norway. They took a novel approach to dealing with staph infections. They drastically reduced their use of antibiotics. Some time ago I talked a bit about refraining from using antibacterial soaps which are harmful to you and those you love. Anyway, Norway is now the most infection-free country in the world. And they did it by reducing their use of antibiotics.
Midday Naps boost your learning capacity! Good news for those of us able to catch a few ZZZ’s during the day. New research from the University of California, Berkeley, shows that an hour’s nap can dramatically boost and restore your brain power. Indeed, the findings suggest that a biphasic sleep schedule not only refreshes the mind, but can [...]
By Neece, on February 18, 2010, at 12:45 pm
 I walked away from religion when I was 12. While it took me almost another 2 decades to become and accept that I am an atheist, I have basically lived without god for a long time. In fact, I’ve been an atheist for about 9 years and in that time, I have managed to refrain from killing anyone, stealing anything, cheating on my husband, and many other bad behaviors.
I do still drink copious amounts of coffee and swear a lot, but hey, nobody’s perfect. 
I’ve met christians who have said they would kill, rape, steal and basically go on a rampage without god watching their every move. I’m very glad those amoral people are afraid of burning in hell because they have no moral compass like most of us do. Those few people who think they need god to be good need [...]
By Neece, on February 4, 2010, at 6:50 am
 My friend Brent sent me a link to a page on the web. It’s a conversation with Robert Sapolsky, a quiet, funny, apparently brilliant professor of biological sciences at Stanford University and of neurology at Stanford’s School of Medicine. Professor Sapolsky has written several books such as:
The link Brent sent me was called TOXO and he suggested it to me because our book club is reading The God Virus: How religion infects our lives and culture, by Daniel W Ray. Now the video on that page was Robert Sapolsky talking about a most interesting parasite called
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I have 2 studies to share with you then a video to cheer you up afterwards.
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