Inspiration for a Natural World-View
Inspriation
Scale of the Universe
Feb 24th
Now this is just awesome enough to bring me out of my temporary retirement (takes a few moments to load but worth it):
http://www.documaga.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/scaleofuniverse.swf
Best,
Myles
Holiday Gifts for Freethinkers
Nov 29th
Some of us freethinkers still enjoy celebrating the holidays and giving gifts. After-all, Christmas is just a mishmosh of ancient traditions. In fact, the only contributions of Christianity are it’s name (Christ Mass) and Santa Clause; Saint Nicholas being the patron saint of children, giving them gifts every December 6th.
Evergreen and holly trees were important in German festivals because they remained green in the winter. The Yule Log comes from the Norse God Yolnir. Hanging decorations on a tree was in honor of Yolnir’s story, who hung himself on a tree and killed himself with a spear. It was Queen Victoria, who came from a German Family, that popularized the tradition of an evergreen tree among English Families. Although winter festivities have been part of many cultures, the specific date of December 25th was declared Natalis Solis Invicti - the Birth of the Invincible Sun - by a Pagan emperor in 274 CE. Prior to that, the day was associated with a secular celebration of the Winter Solstice. It wasn’t a stretch for religions to turn the celebration of the Sun, into that of the Son of their God (Christianity wasn’t the first to do this; see Jermey’s article The Familiar History of Jesus).
Many of us falling under the definition of a Bright can celebrate December 25th with confidence. It’s a tradition spanning many cultures, and it is a great time to be with family and bring light to short winter days.
Here are a few ideas of how to shop for the freethinkers on your list:
Support a freethinking group. Give the gift of a membership to a group such as the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Atheist Alliance International, or donate to a Secular Student Alliance at your local college. Or purchase t-shirts, books and other swag from the website of a particular group to support their cause.
A Magazine Subscription. Many groups have magazines that you can subscribe to, such as the Council for Secular Humanism’s Free Inquiry and Skeptical Inquirer. The Skeptics Society has Skeptic Magazine. Publications that focus on science news, making stories understandable and entertaining, are great gifts; Discover Magazine and Scientific American are stellar publications.
Freethinking Swag. Here are a few of my favorite vendors:
- MadeWithMolecules.com: Jewelry, shaped like specific molecules, representing chocolate, red wine, and caffeine.
- WearScience.com: I particularly like their Teach the Controversy line of t-shirts.
- Evolvefish.com: A variety of mugs, shirts, buttons, bumper stickers, and nick-knacks. It’s not the best produced website, but they have lots of low cost items that would make great stocking stuffers.
- ThinkGeek.com: This is more of a science centered site. They have a ton of original products that will surely entertain and amuse. From laser pointers that reach clouds and Japanese toys using nano technology to evolution play sets and Einstein action figures.
Our Place in the Cosmos (Symphony of Science)
Nov 24th
Symphony of Science has put out another awesome song. The composer Jon Boswell is getting VERY good at creating music directly from the mouths of our world’s most influential scientists. He does this using software called Auto-Tune. This software – originally intended to correct pitch in vocalists who were tired after doing hundreds of takes – has become its own “creative” force in the music industry. The first obvious use I know of incorporating the digital extreme of this effect was in the song Believe by Cher. The use of auto-tune in Believe, like it or not, was subtle and artistic. Today the auto-tune effect is used in almost every pop song created, no longer hiding it’s original purpose of making performance artists sound like they can actually carry a tune (we are well aware that most of them can not). DIGRESSION — Performance Artist: The art of performing as if you were a skilled vocalist or song writer by utilizing your one actual skill, the ability to hire a personal trainer.
ANYWAY… Our Place in the Cosmos, is an example of using Auto-Tune for creating real art (a lesser but funny example being Auto-Tune the news). There is something gratifying about science as music. Particularly when it comes straight from the most well spoken public proliferators on their subjects. This piece includes Richard Dawkins, Carl Sagan, Michio Kaku, and Robert Jastrow. I’ve noticed this about scientists; they all seem to have unique and wonderful speaking voices. I know of a person who has never read a Carl Sagan book, but has listened to all of Sagan’s audio books read by the author. I don’t need to go that far because whenever I read a book by a popular scientist, I seem to hear their voice inside my head.
Symphony of Science
Nov 21st
“The more likely we are to assume that the solution comes from the outside, the less likely we are to solve our problems ourselves”
- Carl Sagan
The video above is from a project called Symphony of Science by an artist named John Boswell. I think this song sets the stage and makes for a great first post for what this website is all about. Carl Sagan was my main influence for accepting a natural world and rejecting the supernatural (and he probably has been so for many people who have found their way to this site). When you have the courage to see a universe without mythical Gods, you find yourself free of mythological demons.
