Open Letter

to the whole %*&# world:

NO.

I'm busy, God damn it.

How DARE you presume that what you want me to do right now is more important than what I want me to do right now.

Epistemic conscience

What if all this creationist nonsense is a good thing?

What if it's keeping science honest?

Seriously.

The scientific method's great, but if there were no competing worldview, wouldn't scientists get lazy? Wouldn't they get sloppy about adhering to their own rules? Think of Church-dominated Europe, and the Borgias.

The Drunkard's Walk

Suppose you're expected to be in a particular place, but you keep wandering off. Well, if you keep wandering, and you wander randomly enough, you'll pass through the place you're supposed to be occasionally. Someone whose job it is to evaluate whether you're where you're supposed to be, and who always goes to look for you at that spot, will conclude that you're there, but not often enough.

Now suppose you could take a pill that makes you walk faster. Makes you run, even. You'll still wander, but you'll pass through that spot more frequently. Someone checking that spot will conclude that the pill makes you better able to stay where you're supposed to be.

So, how about you?

Are you feeding your kids amphetamines?

Bumper Sticker

It's not magic. It's memetics.