Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, when asked how the world might have changed, Dawkins responded:
Many of us saw religion as harmless nonsense. Beliefs might lack all supporting evidence but, we thought, if people needed a crutch for consolation, where's the harm? September 11th changed all that. Revealed faith is not harmless nonsense, it can be lethally dangerous nonsense. Dangerous because it gives people unshakeable confidence in their own righteousness. Dangerous because it gives them false courage to kill themselves, which automatically removes normal barriers to killing others. Dangerous because it teaches enmity to others labelled only by a difference of inherited tradition. And dangerous because we have all bought into a weird respect, which uniquely protects religion from normal criticism. Let's now stop being so damned respectful!
How about that one? Do I even need to say what's wrong with this?
EDIT: Without looking for any more specific quotations, the general idea that the "science" answer to the mysteries of the universe is the obviously correct one despite that we only have circumstantial evidence is absurd; he criticizes creationists for believing things without proof, but his own beliefs cannot be proven.
Also A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson.
In fact that second one is probably my favourite book ever. It's basically page after page after page of mind-boggling information delivered in Bill Bryson's incredibly witty and sharp style. Basically really really good.
out of all the vonnegut books i have, slaughterhouse five is low on the list
its really really good
i just like most of his other stuff even more
breakfast of champions is one of my favorite books ever
so maybe that one
yep
(every time knob posts assume i agree)
I disagree a lot.
Slaughterhouse Five tops my list because it was my first I read by him, and I really fell in love with it.
Breakfast of Champions, however, is great but not his best. His collection of short stories is fucking brilliant, but for top-of-the-list wonderfullness, I'd point to Galapagos or God Bless You Mister Rosewater.
Also, his cousin lives in Anacortes, near where my fiancee used to work. He would come in and rent videos from her all the time. Nice old fellow. Looks a lot like Kurt.
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RankenphilePassersby were amazedby the unusually large amounts of blood.Registered User, Moderatormod
RankenphilePassersby were amazedby the unusually large amounts of blood.Registered User, Moderatormod
edited January 2007
that's the one with all the ice nine and stuff, right?
yeah, cat's cradle
that's a great book
oh, speaking of books, Knob there is a used bookstore near me that has a copy of Animal Farm illustrated by Steadman, signed by Steadman, for, like, $120 or something.
It is totally awesome, but totally not going to pay that much for a book I'd be afraid to read.
but even though i love books, i'd never pay more than $100 for one
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RankenphilePassersby were amazedby the unusually large amounts of blood.Registered User, Moderatormod
edited January 2007
apparently he did versions of Alice in Wonderland and Treasure Island, too.
But yeah, I just about fucking died when I saw it.
If I was all Mister Carefree Moneybags McCashinpockets or something I'd have picked it up and then ate it page by page just to prove how much I savored each papery morsel
I keep meaning to pick up The Once And Future King because I hear it's great. I have a massive backlog of unread books though: Guns, Germs, and Steel, The Name of the Rose,War and Peace (though I doubt I'll be reading that any time soon), and A Feast For Crows, to name a few.
I recently threw away a hardcover copy of Book 10 of The Wheel of Time while cleaning up and reorganizing my stuff. I remember I bought it in pristine condition at a library book sale for 20 cents a little over a year ago, on impulse. When I found it again, I realized I would have to read the million preceding books, said "fuck that" and tossed it. I know I could have probably traded it in or sold it or something, but I figured I was doing the world as service by throwing it away.
I keep meaning to pick up The Once And Future King because I hear it's great. I have a massive backlog of unread books though: Guns, Germs, and Steel, The Name of the Rose,War and Peace (though I doubt I'll be reading that any time soon), and A Feast For Crows, to name a few.
All of those are excellent reads. And yes, The Wheel of Time series is not worth the effort anymore, sadly.
I keep meaning to pick up The Once And Future King because I hear it's great. I have a massive backlog of unread books though: Guns, Germs, and Steel, The Name of the Rose,War and Peace (though I doubt I'll be reading that any time soon), and A Feast For Crows, to name a few.
All of those are excellent reads. And yes, The Wheel of Time series is not worth the effort anymore, sadly.
I'm going to wait for A Dance With Dragons to come out, I think, before reading AFFC. That's still due out this year, right?
I'm going to wait for A Dance With Dragons to come out, I think, before reading AFFC. That's still due out this year, right?
I honestly wouldn't wait; you'll want to read everything to date at least twice and read into all of the subtext and plot twists. There are many of them.
I'm going to wait for A Dance With Dragons to come out, I think, before reading AFFC. That's still due out this year, right?
I honestly wouldn't wait; you'll want to read everything to date at least twice and read into all of the subtext and plot twists. There are many of them.
And by many, I mean "without end."
Go now, grasshopper.
I'm pretty good at keeping everything in my head, so I don't think I'll be reading AFFC twice this year regardless.
My goal is to wait until a hard publication date for ADWD is announced and then start reading A Game of Thrones again. By the time A Dance with Dragons comes out, I should be done with A Feast for Crows (having read the first three a second time, just to stay fresh).
Oh, okay. I got the impression that you had never read any of them. Carry on. But still, AFFC is fucking great with some of the character development, even though you only get to see half of the cast. Some of the things I've been waiting for finally happened.
Posts
How about that one? Do I even need to say what's wrong with this?
EDIT: Without looking for any more specific quotations, the general idea that the "science" answer to the mysteries of the universe is the obviously correct one despite that we only have circumstantial evidence is absurd; he criticizes creationists for believing things without proof, but his own beliefs cannot be proven.
Drez I love you.
hey satan...: thinkgeek amazon My post |
Also A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson.
In fact that second one is probably my favourite book ever. It's basically page after page after page of mind-boggling information delivered in Bill Bryson's incredibly witty and sharp style. Basically really really good.
Twitter | Facebook | Tumblr | Last.fm | Pandora | LibraryThing | formspring | Blue Moon over Seattle (MCFC)
Read the first three original books:
Dune, Dune Messiah, and Children of Dune.
Also, don't read anything by Brian Herbert.
He's in the habit of writing down festering horseshit that somehow gets itself published.
http://www.bartleby.com/158/ (complete text)
one of my favourite books
because it is my favorite book ever
I read it about a dozen times when I was in high school
its really really good
i just like most of his other stuff even more
breakfast of champions is one of my favorite books ever
so maybe that one
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(every time knob posts assume i agree)
I disagree a lot.
Slaughterhouse Five tops my list because it was my first I read by him, and I really fell in love with it.
Breakfast of Champions, however, is great but not his best. His collection of short stories is fucking brilliant, but for top-of-the-list wonderfullness, I'd point to Galapagos or God Bless You Mister Rosewater.
Also, his cousin lives in Anacortes, near where my fiancee used to work. He would come in and rent videos from her all the time. Nice old fellow. Looks a lot like Kurt.
Cat's Cradle.
I always get those two mixed up.
I'll give it two stars out of a possible five
yeah, cat's cradle
that's a great book
oh, speaking of books, Knob there is a used bookstore near me that has a copy of Animal Farm illustrated by Steadman, signed by Steadman, for, like, $120 or something.
It is totally awesome, but totally not going to pay that much for a book I'd be afraid to read.
that is almost worth the price
but even though i love books, i'd never pay more than $100 for one
But yeah, I just about fucking died when I saw it.
If I was all Mister Carefree Moneybags McCashinpockets or something I'd have picked it up and then ate it page by page just to prove how much I savored each papery morsel
But baby's got bills to pay
but then i am teh art nerd
and he considers alice in wonderland one of his best works
but it would totally increase your effective indie-snob level by approximately 37 Sufjans
but i love steadman, i have around ten books with his stuff in them
goddamnit
i would appreciate it if goddamned buttfucking gaytards would stop liking things that i like
Yes. I based all of my philosophical beliefs on Herbert West's ideas on materialism. This specific way of thinking is known as Plague Daemonism.
Is that because you got the book and like it?
Or really anything by him.
And if you're looking for the funny:
Also, Atlas Shrugged is really good. Coincidentally, a lot of Bioshock is based on stuff in it.
Was any of this mentioned before? I dunno, I only read the first post and the last page.
I recently threw away a hardcover copy of Book 10 of The Wheel of Time while cleaning up and reorganizing my stuff. I remember I bought it in pristine condition at a library book sale for 20 cents a little over a year ago, on impulse. When I found it again, I realized I would have to read the million preceding books, said "fuck that" and tossed it. I know I could have probably traded it in or sold it or something, but I figured I was doing the world as service by throwing it away.
I should have burned it.
Yes, I read it like....5 times.
hey satan...: thinkgeek amazon My post |
Kewlz. It's really bizarre in some parts, neh?
this is a great book.. so is every thing else by the author.
funny as hell and twisted.
All of those are excellent reads. And yes, The Wheel of Time series is not worth the effort anymore, sadly.
I'm going to wait for A Dance With Dragons to come out, I think, before reading AFFC. That's still due out this year, right?
I honestly wouldn't wait; you'll want to read everything to date at least twice and read into all of the subtext and plot twists. There are many of them.
And by many, I mean "without end."
Go now, grasshopper.
I'm pretty good at keeping everything in my head, so I don't think I'll be reading AFFC twice this year regardless.
My goal is to wait until a hard publication date for ADWD is announced and then start reading A Game of Thrones again. By the time A Dance with Dragons comes out, I should be done with A Feast for Crows (having read the first three a second time, just to stay fresh).
muh.
It's damned good, but very, very different.
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Childhood's End and The Light of Other days.
Rand is a good author but an awful philosopher.
Beautiful prose with poorly-executed ideas.
That thread-raping was glorious.