Comments on: Dawkins vs democracy

By: Will Podmore

Will Podmore — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 10:59:49 +0000

Brian Taylor writes, “Dawkins, and now Brian Cox, et al. whose scientific work may be fascinating, sadly become mindless tub-thumping fools -no longer interested in evidence- in relation to the phenomena of psychic or spiritual experience.”
No Brian, they consistently adhere to evidence and all the evidence proves that ‘the phenomena of psychic or spiritual experience’ are all fraudulent. Sheldrake is the deluded one, not Professors Dawkins and Cox.
Pat’s abusive and ignorant post misses every point he tries to make. Dawkins’ school of course produced many untalented people who have got ahead in the worlds of business and politics, but in higher education one needs not just ‘friends in publishing’ but genuine ability – which Dawkins has.
What ‘insane knee jerk reactions’ is Pat writing about? Dawkins publicly spoke out against the vicious illegal insanity of the US/British attack on Iraq. Was that an ‘insane knee jerk reaction’?
Abusiveness and evidence seem to be inversely correlated.

By: Edmund Potts

Edmund Potts — Tue, 28 May 2013 13:19:13 +0000

To paraphrase Francis Wheen’s excellent chapter on the subject in his book “How Mumbo-Jumbo Conquered the World”:

There is no such thing as alternative medicine, any more than the human body has an “alternative central nervous system” with which such medicine might interact. There is, ultimately, only medicine which works, and medicine which does not. If rigorous scientific studies of an ingredient in so-called alternative medicine show it to have real and useful physiological effects, then after the necessary research and trials it will cease to be alternative medicine and simply become “medicine”.

By: Pat

Pat — Fri, 24 May 2013 18:55:51 +0000

We already have a House of Lords filled with people like Dawkin’s, rich up-class public school snobs that got ahead not because their ideas where any good or original, or that they had talent but because daddy was rich enough to send them to famous schools where they made friends in publishing and have an insane knee jerk reactions to the real world.

Also, if you mean by ‘science comedy’ The Big Bang Theory, you’re wrong. It was never funny.

By: james c

james c — Fri, 24 May 2013 18:42:31 +0000

Terrible idea of Dawkins. Lords is for superannuated MPs and cronies only.

By: A, Theist

A, Theist — Fri, 24 May 2013 16:31:58 +0000

You complain about the qualifications about scientists, but what qualifications do the bishops have?

[Apart from 'believing' in a sky-fairy!]

By: Brian Taylor

Brian Taylor — Fri, 24 May 2013 09:15:39 +0000

Why do people embrace alternnative medicine? Because for many with chronic conditions, such as in my case M.E, it helps, whereas scientific orthodox medicine doesn’t. I’m quite happy to support good science, but Dawkins, and now Brian Cox, et al. whose scientific work may be fascinating, sadly become mindless tub-thumping fools -no longer interested in evidence- in relation to the phenomena of psychic or spiritual experience ( unusually perhaps amongst contributors to this site, I’m an animist and astrologer ). See, for instance, Rupert Sheldrake’s ‘The Science Delusion’.

By: GordonHide

GordonHide — Thu, 23 May 2013 13:58:07 +0000

As the breadth of human knowledge expands we can expect executive and legislative bodies to make worse and worse decisions based on relative ignorance. Relative, that is, to the total content of human knowledge.

I don’t know if Professor Dawkins’ proposal is a good idea but it must be worth considering some solutions to alleviate this problem for everyone’s benefit.

By: Bill

Bill — Thu, 23 May 2013 12:59:35 +0000

Very enjoyable article, thank you. Although I would caution that Prof. Dawkins enjoys throwing ideas out there for debate and people do seem to have a tendency to assume that he is one hundred percent behind them when often, it seems to me, he is only provoking discussion.
Also noticed your comment, “There is insufficient effort at understanding why people might embrace religion, New Age mumbo-jumbo, or alternative medicine, and occasionally a smug dismissal of the dumb, unlettered mass of humanity.”. I reently came read the book “Denial of Death” by Ernest Becker, it may interest you.