An Atheist’s Concession

The other day I became bored (surprise) and decided to hop on Omegle. I typically find morons or people who don’t speak English very well, whether they are native speakers or not. To my surprise, there was one person who seemed engaging enough and somehow our conversation turned to “science.” It didn’t take long for him to discover, by asking, that I am an atheist just after I figured out he was a creationist based on a question posited to me about genetics.

I’m not an expert, but the sciences, both physical and biological, have been an obsession of mine since childhood. I can confidently say that I have a better working understanding of physics, biology and astronomy (maybe some chemistry) than most non-science majors. (Of course, explaining some of these issues to the guy on Omegle, or anyone else trying to understand basic scientific principles, becomes difficult when they can’t grasp the math involved.)

He asked, “Can you give a single example in which mutation has shown an increase in genetic information?” I wasn’t born yesterday, asshole. The question is flawed because it presupposes the fact that it can’t be answered. (Much like the challenge “Prove to me there is no god.”) There are also elements of the question that need to be further defined, such as the notion of an “increase in information.” Luckily, an expert has already answered this question in depth for me.

I had to end the conversation. It was just another creationist masking his intentions by appearing to make a sincere effort in discovering truths when he was alluding to the fact that a god must have been responsible for all things living (and non-living).

Then it struck me.

Through the years, while examining every single philosophical and scientific argument for or against atheism, it dawned on me that I was clinging to facts that would never be accepted by a creationist or theist. It didn’t matter how much scientific fact I presented or studied. It also doesn’t matter that some of the questioned posed defied logic (from both camps for their own purposes). A creationist or theist is never willing to concede the possibility that they might be wrong. Never.

So, here is my concession: I give you theists everything. Evolution is fake – both micro and macro. The Big Bang didn’t really happen. Things didn’t just appear from nowhere; they must have been created. Christ really did exist and he really did perform miracles. Everything I have fought tooth and nail for, it’s yours.

Now, tell me, how does that prove there is a god?

 

Is Facebook turning youngsters into lazy losers?

Some crazy scientist at Oxford has just uncovered some extraordinary news! It turns out that being active on Facebook, as well as other social networking sites, rewires a developing brain. Wow, that is groundbreaking. It’s not like learning how to play an instrument, listening to music, reading a story, playing sports and other activities will rewire a child’s brain. Oh wait, yes it does. Why is Miss Scientist so concerned? She feels that communicating online will eventually phase out real life conversations and dampen social skills. Someone should remind her that instant messaging has been around forever and that AOL allowed for profiles and social networking long before MySpace or Facebook ever came about.

Emily Yoffe at Slate says this scientist is concerned that “we are at risk of raising a generation of solipsists.” Are we? Or is the solipsist in all of us attracted to this medium of communication and sharing?

Someone needs to calm the alarmists down. Apparently, children’s brains are getting damaged because they aren’t engaging in activities that they have been for millennia. One would think that a child wakes up, spends all day on Facebook, and then goes to sleep and repeats the same thing everyday. Fact check: they don’t do that – adults do and it’s called work (how do you think all that daytime Facebook activity goes on?). Someone should remind these scientists that adult brains are capable of being rewired, damaged and reshaped, too.

I pose this question to those who think that Rock and Roll, TV, radio and Facebook are ruining the younger generation: Do you think there might be a certain personality type that is addicted to those activities? Is social networking ruining the brains of young children, or are young children with the disposition to abuse social networks being ruined?

Guns don’t kill people. People who want to own those guns and kill people… um, kill people.

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