Subscribe to and Contact HDC
|
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
By Neece, on April 28, 2009, at 9:13 pm
Today I thought I’d share some books, movies and podcasts with you. Like anyone else, I love being entertained. I go through phases where I only read textbooks, then sometimes I only want fiction. I’ve noticed that even when I’m only reading fiction I still seem to always get something more from the book, though. Right now I’m in a fiction phase, pointedly ignoring the dozens of textbooks I have piling up. Yet I still want to share the good ones with you because they are much deeper than just a light read. I also thought it was high time to share my favorite podcasts and some great movies with you. What all these things have in common, aside from being entertaining, is that they are all enlightening too. Bonus! 
So let’s start with podcasts. A couple years ago I finally realized [...]
By Neece, on February 12, 2009, at 6:18 am
First, Happy Birthday, Darwin! You don’t look a day over 70!
I found an article at New Scientist the other day. It’s called Born believers: How your brain creates god. I guess it makes sense, that humans create god by default. The research does not say that god exists, of course, only that creating religion is the path of least resistance. They also say that atheism will always be a tough sell and religion will never go away.
What I don’t like about the article is that it doesn’t have good links to all the studies that are referenced, some of which I haven’t found. But it’s a good overall general look at how several scientists are thinking about the mind and how humans create [...]
By Neece, on November 23, 2008, at 5:26 am
 I listen to several science/skeptical podcasts and like to browse the latest science headlines on Science Daily occassionally. I was searching for something the other day and came upon 2 news items that I find fascinating.
Atheists are often labeled as nihilistic, all doom and gloom, angry and miserable. But while I can be just as grumpy or unhappy as the next person, I like to revel in the beauty and complexity of the natural world. I find it awesome and inspiring. See? It’s totally reasonable to be a happy, moral and thoughtful person and be completely godless.
The first news report is from June 5, 2008. Humans Have TEN TIMES More Bacteria Than Human Cells. How amazing is that!? Only 10% of the cells in and on your body are human. The rest are bacteria. Now, before you grab that horrid antibacterial soap you insist [...]
By Neece, on November 15, 2008, at 2:09 am
 I read something the other day that was titled Atheistic Societies are Happy Societies. It’s based on a study by Phil Zuckerman and finds that the most organically atheistic countries in the world are better off.
The top 10 non-religious countries according to the study are:
- Sweden
- Vietnam
- Denmark
- Norway
- Japan
- Czech Republic
- Finland
- France
- South Korea
- Estonia
This is from the paper, from the site I was [...]
By Neece, on November 4, 2008, at 3:35 am
 Knowledge is power, my friends! A new study shows that when you lack control, you are more prone to see patterns in random images, or to see conspiracies and be superstitious.
Not long after I became an atheist, some personal stuff happened that made me really realize how little control I had in my life. Namely, I got in a car accident (some kid in his daddy’s car hit me while I was sitting at a light). Anyway, I didn’t have a god, religion or any other kind of magical fairy tales to pin the streak of bad luck I had. None of it was my fault, but bad stuff happened to me for a while.
I became rather superstitious. Unfortunately it’s taken me quite a few years to untangle myself from that crazy woo thinking. I still sometimes knock on wood when I say something bad. But now [...]
By Neece, on July 1, 2008, at 2:41 pm
Stumbling around the web, I found this article on Futuristic Materials. This stuff is just amazing, so I wanted to share it with you. Just think where we’ll be in 10 years if these materials go into products that are mass produced? I say it that way because I know there must be secret flying cars and robots that fold laundry out there, but still, I am driving my little old Subaru and folding my own laundry. And it’s the 21st century!
Anyway, enjoy these groovy new materials. They have awesome potential to change our world. And it makes me think, if I never imagined this stuff, what will they think of next!? Woot!
1. Aerogel: also called “Frozen Smoke”
|
Neece & Butch’s Zazzle Designs – Sir Lee Tees
Neece & Jenny’s Zazzle Designs
|
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:
Recent Comments