Comments on: Opinionated scientists: Karl Mogel gets it

By: The Inoculated Mind » Blog Archive » Website refit update

The Inoculated Mind » Blog Archive » Website refit update — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 01:09:02 +0000

[...] 5,000 people read my post about opinionated scientists! Phil Plait is directly responsible responsible for a good chunk of that, but indirectly, a bunch of other people helped [...]

By: Lurchgs

Lurchgs — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 23:01:35 +0000

Astrogeek -

Ignoring politics – which is all about who can tell the best lies… (and thus generating opinions about who is the best liar), religion is ALL about opinions. The difference? Actually, I’m not sure there is one.. Well, sometimes a person in office (note, I specifically didn’t say ‘politician’. Politicians are like bacteria – and about as smart) might actually have some contact with reality. Ok.. I can’t prove that. My head hurts…

I think I’ll just stop here and thank BA (and others like him) who have taken up the Syssiphusian task of educating the willfully ignorant. I can only hope that the boulder of ignorance squashes them not.

By: Irishman

Irishman — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 16:17:57 +0000

Buzz Parsec said:
> RBH, are you sure the columnist wasnâ€™t being sarcastic? Pasteur disproved spontaneous generation 150 years ago.

No, the columnist was being sincere. Spontaneous generation is the creationist description for how Evolution “claims” that life originated. It is a distortion of the scientific, naturalist premise that however life formed from organic molecules, there is a description in naturalistic terms. The biological topic is called biogenesis, and it is an open topic under investigation. No one has the answers, though there are some neat clues that have been uncovered.

The Creationists harp on this step because it is unanswered, so it is a great Gap into which to sqeeze their God.

By: Maria

Maria — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 13:23:00 +0000

Like Karl and the other bloggers he mentions (including you), I also believe that a blogger should write whatever he or she wants to write. THAT’S what blogging is about. The problem comes up when people try to focus their blogs to a specific topic (for example, astronomy) and they occasionally wander a bit to other topics that, although they may be related, they’re not related enough for some people.

I actually enjoy your political and anti-creationist ramblings and links MORE than the astronomy stuff. (When you start talking about physics, my eyes glaze over.) So I’m not “some people.” I’m the other people.

It kills me when all these “Pro bloggers” keep saying that you need to find a niche and specialize on a single topic. Don’t they see the box we’d be putting ourselves into as bloggers? Unless, of course, they expect us to start a separate blog about each and every topic that interests us. Let’s see…with one post a day on 15 different blogs…well, I might be able to squeeze in dinner once in a while, but I wouldn’t have time to get any paying work done to pay for it!

Anyway, blog about whatever you like. And please keep those skepticism-based posts and links coming. The people who don’t like it can go read another blog.

By: Gary Ansorge

Gary Ansorge — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 02:50:36 +0000

Why Phil, how dare you have an(informed) opinion on anything and being so unfair as to quote real, hard core FACTS. Why, that’s just despicable,,,dad gum facts. Always getting in the way of a good fairy god story,,,

Someday, we may have a mythology that not only inspires people but also encourages them to think.Then maybe we can really get something constructive done,,,

GAry 7

By: Inoculated Mind

Inoculated Mind — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 02:02:56 +0000

psst… one ‘n’ in inoculated. I was never here.

By: Will. M.

Will. M. — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 00:38:15 +0000

Moonage, they’re DemocratICcandidates; we don’t call you folks Republic now, do we? You may interpret the middle of the road D’s as having a professed desire to cut funding for governmental programs, but you sure don’t find the Democrats (a legit use of the noun) trashing science like the current administration. Look to the left side of the podium for some D’s who aren’t mealy-mouthed next time. You won’t find anyone on the R’s lecture circuit who will echo those D’s, but you sure will find a few Creationists.