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Archive of "News" Category
Single-issue Parrrrties…
I realise this is old news to most people by this point, but I’ve been stupidly busy over the last month or more and just haven’t had the time, or indeed inclination, to blog. Even my creative writing, which takes precedence, has suffered lately. But enough of that. What is this old news to which I refer?
The UK now has an officially recognised and established Pirate Party. No, this isn’t some attempt to nationalise children’s birthday entertainments (at least I don’t think it is); it is a serious political organisation with a serious message.That message, according to their website, is threefold: reform copyright and patent law; end excessive surveillance; ensure freedom of speech. Definitely policies I can get behind. But despite the multi-pronged nature of their “manifesto”, I have a hard time not categorising them as a single-issue party. Perhaps they would not dispute this.
The problem here is that single-issue parties do not get elected, and nor should they. For instance, at the time of writing this, their official manifesto contains the amusing line “Pirate Party UK has no opinion on whether Britain should or should not be a member of the European Union.” Is it sensible for a political party, I.E., a group presumably campaigning for votes, to have no opinion on this central topic in British politics? Even if you do not accept this, and think that “no opinion” is a perfectly acceptable position to take on Europe, then skip down to the economic policy. Yep, that’s right, they don’t have one.
As with every single-issue party, it seems that the function they intend (or are at any rate “destined”) to perform is that of a pressure group. Their true effect will not be measured in votes, but in public awareness of the issues; though it is true that any votes they do receive may well push the major parties into more serious consideration of those issues.
But why go to the trouble of creating a political party, when a pressure group is subject to far less red tape and hoop-jumping? If it is an effort to be taken more seriously, then they missed the lesson of the Snowdrop Campaign in 1997 – possibly the most effective UK grassroots pressure group in recent history. Indeed, their petitions resulted in new legislation being pushed through almost immediately by a new government terrified of the media’s disapproval after the horrific Dunblane Massacre. The resulting legislation, however, was rushed; as a result it was near-unenforceable and had to be reworded.
The media has evolved significantly since then, of course. 12 years ago the internet was just barely beginning to function as a media outlet, and the Snowdrop Campaign was one of the first to utilise its potential as a mass-communication tool. The Pirate Party is a group which, with technology as its primary background, is in a position to take full advantage of the new media, Web 2.0, or whatever other buzzword you’d like to use for it.Should they be an established political party? Well, it’s probably not necessary. But I do wish them the best of luck in getting their message heard.
Rumblings…
For various reasons, I’ve decided that the time has come to move my personal website from a friend’s server, where it has been sat happily for a good number of years, to a more .. official .. position. To this end, I have purchased a domain name and begun renting the old web hosting thingy.
I’m still deciding what the new site should involve, as I want more than just the basics I had on the old one. For starters, I intend to move this blog to the new address; but I also want the wider site to be about the general theme of this blog – science meets the humanities, finds they can get along, and all that.
I’ll keep you updated here, of course, at least until the new site is up and running and can get by on its own without stabilisers. Any suggestions you have for the new site will be gratefully received, of course.
Breaking my silence to support free speech
It’s no surprise to those who read this blog that I’m kind of in favour of free speech – you know, just a bit. It’s one of the many reasons I’ve taken an interest in the ongoing legal battle between Simon Singh and the British Chiropractic Association. It’s also why I’m here to promote the Sense About Science campaign to keep libel laws out of science. I’ve added the badge to the side bar and I recommend you click on it. If you’re just too damn lazy to scroll down (and who could blame you?) here it is:
And with that, I leave you again. I apologise for my long silences of late, but we still have no internet access in the flat and with my new job I have a lot less free time than I used to when I was unemployed. Hopefully the former situation will resolve soon, and I’ll be back with you, boring your eyes out as usual.
All the best, dear hypothetical reader. Until next time.
Two apologies, and a follow-up
The first apology is for the past month – not only has it been a hectic and internetless move to the new flat, but calamity and illness have also meant that I’ve been far from being in the right frame of mind to write here. The second apology is for the future, because I don’t know how often I’m going to be able to post over the next month or two. The internet connection is hardly forthcoming, and the precious hours I’m able to squeeze out of the wi-fi access at the pub are being consumed simply by trying to stay up-to-date and in contact with my friends. So, I apologise.
You might be interested to know that there have been a great many reasons to believe that the rune casting I made a month ago has proven to be true – certainly the move was made, and I even went down to Southampton for a very brief visit to bring more of my belongings up to the flat. This would definitely justify the presence of the “Raido” journeying rune. The “Algiz” sanctuary rune is similarly easy to explain through the new flat, as it is definitely starting to feel like a home and safe haven. The reversed “Dagaz” night rune, which apparently can serve as a warning of plans going awry, can also be seen to have come true. Let’s just say the move has not been without problems.
So a clean sweep with my first cast. Not bad going. It’s definitely illustrating for me how people can easily believe in the power of these things, particularly when the interpretation is so vague and malleable.
I hope I’ll be able to post a little more often now that things are starting to straighten out at home. I’ll definitely be back when the internet manages to make its glittering and wondrous way into our abode. Perhaps the next entry will be another rune casting. Whenever and whatever that next post is, I’ll see you then.
Premonitions
Today’s entry is about the future.
Firstly, because I need to warn you that the blog might be a little quiet over the next few weeks as I move to a new flat with the very special feature of Uncertain Internets. Got a few ideas in the pipeline, though, so hopefully I’ll be able to get online enough to keep this blog up and running.
Secondly, it strikes me that this is an ideal time to introduce a new regular feature here, tying into my status as a pagan atheist. You may or may not know that the Northern European mythologies, with which I most closely relate, contain a system of auguries involving runes. These work in much the same way as the more popular tarot cards, with a number of symbols standing for various ideas.
What I thought I’d do is something of an experiment, in no way scientific, into the practice of using these runes to read my “fortune”. After setting up the rules (the method of taking a reading, the meanings of each rune, and any restrictions on interpretation), I’ll try to take regular-ish readings and then see how true they turn out to be. So, on with it.Right from the outset, let me make this clear: this is not a test of the ability of rune-casting to predict the future or disclose facts about the past. The sole purpose of this little exercise is basically to just get an insight into how these readings can be interpreted to fit a normal life with normal events, without the intervention of a cold reader or medium.
My method will be simple: when making a cast, I will shake all the runes in my cupped hands, and carefully let three fall at random, without seeing which they are. Those will be my reading, and the rest put aside for the time being. If a rune lands facing up, its standard meaning will hold sway; if it is face down, I will interpret that as a reversed meaning – for instance, if Eihwaz lands facing up, it means safety; if facing down, it means danger or vulnerability.
Here’s a basic list of the runes and their primary meanings. Fehu: wealth. Uraz: strength. Thurisaz: chaos. Ansuz: wisdom. Raido: journey. Kaunaz: fire. Gebo: gift. Wunjo: joy. Hagalaz: disruption. Nauthiz: need. Isa: standstill. Jera: success. Eihwaz: safety. Pertho: future. Algiz: sanctuary. Sowulo: sun. Teiwaz: victory. Berkana: life. Ehwaz: horse. Mannaz: man. Laguz: water. Inguz: fertility. Othila: inheritance. Dagaz: day. Blank: destiny.
So right away we see that runes are representative of some very vague and open-to-interpretation notions. Virtually any reading could probably be twisted to fit the complexities of a normal life. But let’s not allow that to dissuade us! This should be fun. So here’s the first cast:
Raido. Algiz. A reversed Dagaz.
So a journey, sanctuary, and something that probably represents night. I’d call that a pretty great hit for a first cast – we’re moving (or “journeying”) to a new flat (or “sanctuary”) after all. Not sure what the night part represents, though. I’m led to understand that “day” carries along with it implications of certainty and optimism – as in, daylight is the time to get things done. Is it telling me that this is not the right time for a journey to our new sanctuary? Or is it reflecting our feelings of insecurity about the enterprise? Or perhaps it’s referring the the lack of security in my partner’s job right now. Hmmmm.
Well this might turn into a regular feature, it might not. Either way, it’s always interesting to think about why these methods of prediction and fate-reading are so popular, and why they seem to work so well a lot of the time. As I said, I’m not going to change my mind on this – I don’t believe that the rocks I drop with scratches in can tell me what’s going to happen next week. It’s just something I’m using to gain and share some insight into the interpretation process. I hope you enjoy and value it as much as I do.
Small wonders
By way of a new semi-regular feature on this blog, I intend to write a number of short pieces on the small things that one can so easily forget about, but which are nevertheless quite amazing when one stops to think. It is basically meant not only to inform and remind my readers of these small wonders, but also to reinforce the numinous aspect of atheism and scepticism. I’ve decided there’s not enough “holy crap this is amazing!” on this blog, and the new discoveries provoking that reaction are more or less covered by the main science blogs out there such as Pharyngula, Bad Astronomy, and Not Exactly Rocket Science. So I’m left with the stuff hiding in plain sight.
Look out for this new feature, coming soon to A Sceptical I near you. Early posts in the series are planned to cover aeroplanes, electricity, and cats.
A year of my Sceptical I
Well here we are, one year to the day since the birth of this blog. A lot has happened in that time, and all in all I’m pleased with the result; I remember the first excitement of getting a comment from someone with whom I’d never had any prior contact. In fact, I’d like to say thank you here to everyone who has commented on this blog over the last twelve months. There aren’t many of you, it’s true, but I am grateful for every word. In particular that first commenter, who has remained a regular reader throughout the short life of this blog – Andrew of WongaBlog. Thanks for sticking with me!
I was aiming to get 100 entries up by today, but sadly I have missed this target by just a few posts. Not that it matters, of course – and I’ll be passing this entirely arbitrary waypoint in the very near future. I have managed to meet my one entry per week target with only two exceptions thus far, which I am very pleased with.
Anyway, to mark this occasion I’ve been looking back through the archives from this past year, and here I present a few of my choice highlights:
Add pinch of salt before swallowing whole
This was the subject which first sparked my desire to start a sceptically-themed blog. It turned into something of an essay, which I have tried to avoid in more recent months – certainly without use of pictures. It is an examination of a piece of propaganda on YouTube which was being put about by supporters of Ron Paul in the run-up to the primaries. I still look on it as one of the better pieces of in-depth sceptical analysis to have appeared on this blog.A Cautionary Tale
This was a big moment for me. A very short entry just to bring Messers Fry & Laurie to my reader’s attention became that little bit more special when it was linked from Skepchick. It’s still awesome.The Pagan Atheist
My post finally explaining my position on mixing paganism with atheism. Quite a popular hit on google since, it seems, and one of my better entries.Fictional Sceptics in Pop Culture
In the first of what has become a series of posts on the subject, I discuss the importance of fictional representatives of scepticism, particularly in sitcoms – in which they are everyday people who just happen to have a rational outlook.The importance of antidote
Here I wax verbose about the links between two of my favourite subjects: scepticism, and philosophy as therapy. It’s hardly surprising the subject was on my mind, given that the latter formed a significant part of my MA dissertation.Home Turf and Away Turf
A pair of entries on the relationship between science and religion, which got a significant number of comments between them.The Life, Death and Legacy of Deep Throat
One of my better recent entries, this one examines the character of Deep Throat, the informant who leaked Watergate to the press. His significance for scepticism is greater than one might expect.Still in the pipeline at the moment are posts about the links between scepticism and idealism, an examination of Obama from a rational perspective, and of course the second part of my look at Star Trek.
In the meantime, thank you again for reading my little blog – I hope it was as good a use of your time as it has been of mine.
Brief update
Apologies for not writing for a while – I think this is the longest I’ve gone without uploading a new entry. There’s a lot going on at the moment, and most of it is less than enjoyable – this means that updates here are likely to continue to be sporadic for a while. I’ll write when I can, but my at-least-one-post-a-week aim might be ambitious.
In the meantime, however, I thought I’d inform you of an interesting development which is in the pipeline. As you may well be aware, London Skeptics in the Pub has been a roaring success, particularly in the last year or so. The sister event in Leicester is also doing well, with speakers booked for most of the coming year and attendance at a decent level. These two groups may be soon joined by a third – one in Birmingham. This is pretty great news for me, as I now live a stone’s throw away in Wolverhampton – so naturally I’d love to see it get off the ground.
The main organiser at the moment is none other than Jon Donni, of BadPsychics fame/infamy. There’s not yet a website set up, as this is still an idea being tested for feasibility. If you think you’d be interested in attending regular meet-ups with fellow skeptics in Birmingham, then head over to the FarceBook group and put your name down.
Hopefully you’ll hear from me again soon – at least one post a week is still the aim – but don’t be surprised if I’m a little quiet for a while. I’m still around, the blog is still active, so please be patient with me.
In the Blink of a Sceptical I
I’ve come up with an idea for a small featurette in this blog – occasional short, snappy posts blowing one widely-held belief or another out of the water by simple statement of the facts. In the blink of a sceptical eye, as it were.
Blink 1: Chameleons do not change colour to match their background. The colour change is instead a form of communication, often (but not exclusively) relating to mood. Recent research [via] has suggested that they can change colour for a mere millisecond – long enough to be understood by their fellows but not long enough to be spotted by predators.
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Greetings and welcome to this, the latest of my blogging projects. You may already be familiar with my personal blog, “My Whine in Silence”, or my music review blog “Bacchus, Bragi & Thor”. This blog will provide an outlet exclusive to my sceptical musings, which I feel to be quite an important part of my newfound inclination toward this world-view. That said, due to various commitments I find myself with, posts are likely to be relatively sporadic: at present I’m aiming for once a week, but this may well be rather ambitious. We shall see.
I’ve been planning to create this blog for some time now, and was prompted to do so by the appearance of a YouTube video to which I just felt compelled to reply. At the moment, I’m snowed under with essays to write for my Master’s degree, but hopefully I’ll either be able to fit this in around that, or will find the time once they’re out of the way.
As far as expectation of content is concerned, I imagine a lot of my posts will be links to other sceptical blogs with my two cents thrown in on whatever issue they’re discussing. My own areas of expertise (if it can be called that) are in philosophy and politics, so the posts written “off my own back”, as it were, are likely to fall under these subject headings. The first is certainly planned to.
So, welcome to A Sceptical I. Hopefully this is the first post of many.
Support Free Speech
