Andy Nyman at TAM London 2010

As part of a series of official and unofficial fringe events taking place around the weekend of TAM London, attendees were offered discounted tickets to see Ghost Stories, a live stage show currently running at the Duke of York's Theatre. The show is produced by — and stars — Andy Nyman, whom I knew only from some TV appearances (for example in Charlie Brooker's zombie Big Brother spoof, Dead Set) and from his being credited as Derren Brown's co-writer.

The discounted tickets, it turned out, were for a performance of Ghost Stories on Friday evening at 9 pm, exclusively for TAM London delegates. The show is billed as the scariest in London, and I had serious doubts as to how it would play to an auditorium of skeptics.

To my surprise, however, Ghost Stories is a skeptical show, but no less scary for that. Indeed it was very scary, and spookily so — in the grand tradition of truly supernatural horror. The show's generally light-hearted tone is liberally punctuated with unsettling moments and unexpected shocks. Throughout the performance the tension increases as the audience's nervous laughter repeatedly morphs into gasps of terror. At one point towards the end of the evening someone in my row emitted a piercing shriek while jumping literally out of his seat.

So the following day it was a subdued Andy Nyman who took to the TAM London stage when Amateur Transplants had finished entertaining us immediately after lunch. Not everyone in the room had been to see Ghost Stories the previous evening, so he could not talk about the show in any depth. The format was not a talk or lecture, but the first of several discussions at TAM London. Andy Nyman was on stage with Richard Wiseman, with whom he has previous associations (there were photographs to back this up), and they had a nice chat that we were able to overhear, and — in the subsequent Q&A — to join in.

The effectiveness of Ghost Stories as a live experience relies to a large degree on the element of surprise, and Andy Nyman wasn't going to give the game away for those who hadn't seen it. He did, however, talk generally about what goes into making a successful show, whether on stage or on TV, and about his association with Derren Brown.

If you haven't seen Ghost Stories, do.

Some New Year thoughts on presuppositional logic

"Logic" is part and parcel of the nature of existence. How do I know my reasoning has any validity? Simple: I am aware that logic exists. Therefore I can rely on logic when I use reason as a path to knowledge. How do I know logic exists? The fact that I know anything at all is an indication that the underlying logic of reasoning is valid.

I can assume my reasoning is valid, because if I wasn't able to do it I wouldn't be able to make that assumption. Assuming things is part of the act of reasoning.

Presuppositionalists, however, claim that reasoning is only possible because God exists. They assume that if God hadn't created logic we wouldn't be able to reason, and that because we can reason, therefore God exists.

But logic isn't something separate and above the universe. Logic is not transcendent, it's merely a description of an aspect of the universe as we experience it. Asking whether there are absolute laws of logic is akin to asking if there's an absolute universe. It's like asking if there is matter and energy that is somehow "outside" the matter and energy of the universe, or "beyond" space and time. You might as well ask what happens when an irresistible force hits an immovable object, or what is the mathematical formula for the area of a square circle, or what's the marital status of a married bachelor. These questions don't make sense, and just because they can be asked doesn't mean they have answers. They don't.

Presuppositionalists claim that unbelievers have no basis for assuming that  their reasoning is valid, because (they say) we use unvalidated reasoning in an attempt to validate itself. On the other hand, presuppositionalists assume their reasoning is valid because reasoning was created by God. This, of course, presupposes the existence of God, and is the ultimate God-of-the-gaps argument: the only way that reasoning will work is if it was created by God — therefore God exists. But I would throw the presuppositionalists' question back at them: how do they know that their reasoning is valid? It isn't enough to say that God created reasoning, or even to say that there exist absolute laws of logic that transcend the universe. How do they know that? How do they know that such knowledge is true?

The truth is, they don't.

Burnee links for New Year's Eve

British Centre for Science Education: "Evolution and its rivals" - special issue of Synthese
The articles are available online for free (including as downloadable PDFs) until the end of 2010.
(Oops — a bit late with this! Maybe they'll be available again.)

A Holiday Message from Ricky Gervais: Why I'm An Atheist - Speakeasy - WSJ
Plain speaking from Ricky Gervais. However, some of the comments at the WSJ are pretty inane.
(Via RD.net)

Prince Charles too dangerous to be king: This eccentric royal could imperil monarchy | Mail Online
I think most level-headed people are aware of the the Prince of Woo's woolly-mindedness. He's propped up the alternative-medicine industry in the UK and his ill-judged pronouncements have stultified the country's architectural progress. Sure, he needs something to do while waiting to accede, but most of what he's done seems to have been on the whole detrimental. Maybe when he's King he'll be too occupied in the pomp and ceremony of regal duties to pay attention to his hobby horses.

Johann Hari: Your right to protest is under threat - Johann Hari, Commentators - The Independent
The threat is that people will be too afraid of indiscriminate police tactics to join what should be a peaceful protest.

But the shepherd never gets fleeced… : Pharyngula
OK, this is America, but I thought they were supposed to have "separation of church and state" over there. Apparently they just love their priests so much...

Daylight Atheism > Bowing to the Text
Concerning ID's intellectual honesty.

Intelligent Design creationism is fundamentally wrong : Pharyngula
PZ is a-skewering again. Shame he has to do this, but those IDiots are persistent. (And wrong.)

Casey Luskin distorts Behe’s paper « Why Evolution Is True
Exactly as Jerry Coyne predicted.

Does God Exist? Ricky Gervais Takes Your Questions - Speakeasy - WSJ
A follow-up to his previous piece. It's a gem.

YouTube - QED Vodka
Do you know how homeopathic remedies are made?


Celebrity endorsements that are science fiction trashed in annual list | Science | The Guardian
Unfortunately the people who lap up celebrity gossip are probably not the ones who read the Guardian science pages.

Sarah Hippolitus - Love is Stronger than Logic
A fascinating insight into a panel that took place after a one-on-one theist-atheist debate.

The New Age Medicine of Prince Charles | The Quackometer
Andy Lewis gets his teeth into the heir to the throne.

Ignorance: Comparing Dawkins and Plantinga | The Uncredible Hallq
Chris Hallquist is about to tackle the so-called philosophical ignorance of Dawkins and compare it to the so-called scientific ignorance of Plantinga. This could get interesting.

Sam Harris: A New Year's Resolution for the Rich
Clear and unequivocal. Plain speaking (as always) from Sam Harris.

Holy books for the UK government! : Pharyngula
There are probably plenty of candidates qualifying for legal protection from textual molestation.

Hyperbole and a Half: The Year Kenny Loggins Ruined Christmas
A heartwarming Christmas story (that encapsulates the skeptical viewpoint).

"Has God Gone Global?" — Night Waves — BBC Radio 3

From the BBC blurb:

Philip Dodd is joined by a panel of thinkers at the Sage Gateshead to discuss the impact global religion will have on future politics - for good or ill:

David Holloway, vicar of Evangelical Jesmond Parish Church in Newcastle argues that Britain must reconnect with its Christian roots.

Medhi Hassan, Senior Political Editor of the New Statesman Magazine and practising Muslim. A key opponent of Islamophobia in the British Press.

Maryam Narmazie, political activist and spokesperson for Iran Solidarity, Equal Rights Now, the One Law for All Campaign against Sharia Law in Britain and the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain.

Philip Blond, influential theologian behind Red Toryism and Director of the Res publica think tank.

(http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00wfxwh#synopsis)

45 minutes streaming audio available on iPlayer:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00wfxwh/Night_Waves_Free_Thinking_2010_Has_God_Gone_Global/

The discussion was considerably frustrating to listen to. Maryam Namazie had her work cut out countering the usual inanities: secularists have no basis for morality, Dawkins' stridency is the last gasp of atheism, we must live in harmony with other religions even though mine is true and all the others are false, etc.

Burnee links for Saturday

Greta Christina's Blog: Why Religion Is Like Fanfic
A post from 2007, but worth revisiting every so often.

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Stone Age flour

"Ultimately there can only be one ‘preconceived view of the evidence’ that can be correct—one that is based on a true history of man’s origins. The Bible’s account of history is true—a history that makes it clear that evolutionary ideas of a pre-agriculture ‘Stone Age’ are without foundation. Early man not only practiced agriculture but also made “all kinds of tools of bronze and iron” (Genesis 4:22), though later circumstances saw some people lose that capacity."

Creation Ministries International bemoans the "preconceived view of the evidence" allegedly adopted by evolutionary theory, then blatantly boasts of its own. Bye-bye logic.

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Sense About Science | The effects of the English libel laws on bloggers
An article complementing Sense About Science's guide ‘So you’ve had a threatening letter. What can you do?’

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I Have Been Putting on my Shoes | The Quackometer
Andy Lewis on libel risks and precautions for bloggers.

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Johann Hari: How to spot a lame, lame argument - Johann Hari, Commentators - The Independent
'what-aboutery', and how to keep arguments focussed.

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Richard Dawkins | Christopher Hitchens is my hero of 2010 | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk
One gnu-atheist praises another — no surprise there, but it's worth reading nevertheless.

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Greta Christina's Blog: Can Atheism Be Proven Wrong?
It could be, but like Greta I'm not holding my breath.

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Hospital Trust faces £120 million in cuts to front line services but finds the money for chaplains and prayer rooms | National Secular Society
According to the article the Royal Oldham Hospital prayer room has a new ablution area for Muslim users.

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Wikileaks and the Long Haul « Clay Shirky
Whatever is done about WikiLeaks, it should be legal. It's no good complaining that someone has done something illegal, and then using illegal counter-measures. See this quote from "A Man for All Seasons":

William Roper: So, now you give the Devil the benefit of law!
Sir Thomas More: Yes! What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?
William Roper: Yes, I'd cut down every law in England to do that!
Sir Thomas More: Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned 'round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast, Man's laws, not God's! And if you cut them down, and you're just the man to do it, do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!

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Curiouser and curiouser: managing discovery making : Nature News
Nobel laureate Ahmed Zewail explains why fundamental science is crucial to scientific progress.

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'Intelligent Design' is a flawed apologetic | Ekklesia
Bob Carling gives a comprehensive account of the condition of ID in Britain today, in the light of Michael Behe's lecture tour and the new Centre for Intelligent Design.

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Mutual criticism is vital in science. Libel laws threaten it | Ben Goldacre | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk
This is the gist of Ben Goldacre's recent World Service "Discovery" radio programme.

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The Scientific Guide to Global Warming Skepticism
A lay-person's guide (downloadable PDF).

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Manchester Made It Easy: QED. Manchester. Question. Explore. Discover.
Dr Janis Bennion explains about the QED conference in February.

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The Rogues Gallery » Blog Archive » Evil Woman
"If this does not define the word “Vulture”, than I do not know how else to define it."
It's hard to believe that the hospital authorities turn a blind eye to such despicable exploitation.

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Cardiff Humanists are not “aggressive atheists” trying to ban Christmas | HumanistLife
More on those angry god-deniers who are hell-bent on expunging all mention of Christmas from society.

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Pray, should we keep this law for ever and ever? Amen - News - TES Connect
No, we shouldn't. This is a hangover from a time when the religious make-up up state schools was different from how it is today. School assemblies serve several useful purposes, but "worship" isn't one of them. Many schools, as Andrew Copson points out, simply ignore the law. When I was in secondary education, our RE teacher told us that it was clear who was being worshipped in our morning assembly, and it wasn't God.
(Via HumanistLife)

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Adam Rutherford at TAM London 2010

"I'm going to talk to you about Jesus."

Thus did scientist, TV presenter, editor and professional geek Adam Rutherford begin his TAM London talk. It turns out that he had done the Alpha Course ― a series of free evangelical evening classes, versions of which are held all over the country, indeed all over the world. This seems a rather odd thing for him to have done, given that he is an atheist. The course is designed for those he described as the de-churched ― that is, those who were brought up with a more or less Christian background and belief, and subsequently lapsed. For the un-churched ― those who grew up without religious indoctrination ― the course is likely to be far less effective. As part of his exploration of the Alpha Course Adam Rutherford interviewed its current leader, the man responsible for its global expansion, evangelical preacher Nicky Gumbel. The whole thing is written up at the Guardian | Comment is Free | Belief (which I highly recommend).

I've seen the ads for the Alpha Course, and I've watched Jon Ronson's TV documentary. A few years ago I also saw several of the David Frost TV series "Alpha: Will it Change Their Lives?" and its more recent follow up: "Alpha: Did it Change Their Lives?" The David Frost series featured clips from the Alpha Course led by Nicky Gumbel at Holy Trinity Brompton. Apparently the satellite courses make extensive use of videos of Nicky Gumbel's sermons (if sermon is the right word), though they are free to adapt.

Prior to Adam Rutherford's talk I would have said that the most controversial aspect of the Alpha Course is the weekend away. The course includes a residential component at which the participants can immerse themselves in evangelical godliness, culminating in a session of glossolalia ― otherwise known as "speaking in tongues".

I got the impression from the David Frost series that the course is intended for teetering agnostics, and is unlikely to sway those who self-identify as atheists. There was nothing I heard in the Nicky Gumbel clips, or saw in any of the documentaries, to suggest that they are using anything other than small group dynamics to encourage people to share and discuss hitherto private thoughts about belief. To be honest, I found it unimpressive. The fact that they are promoting glossolalia suggests that the whole enterprise is geared towards emotional response and "personal experience of the Holy Spirit" rather than addressing annoying factors like reason and evidence.

Adam Rutherford's experience seems to bear out my suspicions, though he identified an additional concern that I don't recall surfacing in the documentaries. The Alpha Course, he says, is a homophobic cult. He puts it that strongly, despite finding Nicky Gumbel himself to be a thoroughly nice chap.

God-talk and eschatology at the Creation Science Movement

Over at the Creation Science Movement website, "Dr Stephen Hayes offers his thoughts on evolution, the fact of extinction and the environment."

Most of what he says seems relatively "non-creationist", though he seems to be hung up about what happens when species become extinct. He's claiming that because we don't see evolution instantly filling the gaps left by extinct species, therefore evolution isn't happening (which proves it isn't true). He even mentions that biologists don't expect to see evolution filling the gaps because it happens slowly. But isn't that precisely what we should expect? Extinction may occur "suddenly", but the resulting gaps in the environment aren't going to be instantly filled. Evolution takes time.

Further on he says this rather odd thing: "Species can split into different varieties through natural or intelligently guided selection-as with dog or apple breeding- but this is division, not addition of the gene pool." It is addition to the gene pool — where once you had a single species, now you have two. Greater variety or biodiversity is surely an increase in the total of genetic information.

Hayes seems to be in two minds about environmentalism, espousing sensible ecological husbandry on the one hand (not for the good of the planet, but because it will look good to be doing the right thing when Jesus returns), while on the other admitting it's probably all for nought as the good guys are going to be raptured.

Environmentalism clearly doesn't easily mix with God-talk and eschatology.