Irtiqa

If you people says that the ramsetu is untrue beca...

2012-05-24T04:32:41.958-04:00

If you people says that the ramsetu is untrue because if you visit that place & check there are still some stones lying in the water without any support. & there is a proof of that as well.Please get it verified

Salman Are you against Music and Dancing? If Harun...

2012-05-22T22:57:36.467-04:00

Salman
Are you against Music and Dancing?
If HarunYahya is never credible,why you want to reinforce that just because he made few dancing steps for a Music in his TV show..

Do you only like the Mullahs who come with a fiery eyes and condemn every thing as haram ,bidah,najeez whatever..?

She didn't say 'Astrology' which is a ...

2012-05-21T08:07:34.415-04:00

She didn't say 'Astrology' which is a blessing.

Ha! Actually Umair missed the opportunity to break...

2012-05-21T05:48:45.212-04:00

Ha! Actually Umair missed the opportunity to break into song and dance. I think that would have considerably broaden the appeal for astronomy in Pakistan!

But I see a future in screenplay writing for you...

There is a simple explanation for the background m...

2012-05-20T19:53:38.283-04:00

There is a simple explanation for the background music. This is actually a scene from a Lollywood movie. The plot goes nerdy man meets attractive young woman. He uses the most original pick up line in the book inviting her back to his place to see his telescope. Cue the romantic music as woman climbs the circular staircase to romantic bliss only to discover the telescope is for real and the guy really does want to talk astronomy. It won't get much interest at the box-office, somehow photos of the moon, planets and galaxies don't quite come up to the expectation of a romantic song and dance through fields of flowers against an alpine backdrop.

New Reasearch on muslim calendar http://www.multi...

2012-05-19T08:52:02.149-04:00

New Reasearch on muslim calendar

http://www.multifaiths.com/pdf/ramadan2012.pdf

Salman, I agree the views need to be aired but cre...

2012-05-18T05:57:44.780-04:00

Salman,
I agree the views need to be aired but creationist or secular conferences for that matter are not really a suitable venue. It takes serious discussion from both sides of the fence. Creationists typically misrepresent science and secularist science typically misrepresents religion. Until both sides can agree on what each is actually criticising progress can't be made.

Gary, One of the things that we have been finding ...

2012-05-18T04:43:01.791-04:00

Gary,
One of the things that we have been finding is that Harun Yahya is actually a relatively mnarginal figure here. Most people (including many of the creatioinists) don't take him seriously here in Turkey. That said, one of the speakers was a yahya follower. Rest - as you can imagine - follows a similar script: missing links - the old creationist trope - was the biggest deal here. The talks were in Turkish - but my colleague translated the basic gist of the arguments.

The question is how should scientists deal with this? The problem is that in Turkey the issue of evolution is mixed in with political ideologies (secularists and Islamists) and that complicates the issue. The young people at the conference were dynamic and bright. And yet, the only view they knew was that evolution is against Islam and that Muslims cannot accept evolution. A protest outside tranlsates not as an issue of science - but rather secularists muzzling voices of Islamists. In my view (and this view is still evolving - ha!) there needs to be a place for the students to air out their views (even if the views are wrong) and then also have a dialogue about these issues. If there is no room to air the views - then all the focus is on the lack of room - rather than on some argument about the substance.

Was it the usual Harun Yahyaesque rubbish or was t...

2012-05-18T00:56:14.318-04:00

Was it the usual Harun Yahyaesque rubbish or was there some serious discussion? I don't know about ignoring these characters.
nonsense dressed up as science should be challenged. Unfortunately in these sort of programs challenging by asking probing questions is rarely allowed hence the need to protest. If the protesters hold a symposium to counter the rubbish then others should be equally entitled to turn up and protest and even ask questions to prove just how stupid their claims are.

A beautiful article by P. Hoodbhoy. http://tribun...

2012-05-14T05:30:39.192-04:00

A beautiful article by P. Hoodbhoy.

http://tribune.com.pk/story/378243/a-half-win-for-science/#comment-709119

A beautiful article by P. Hoodbhoy.

2012-05-14T05:29:51.970-04:00

A beautiful article by P. Hoodbhoy.

Tom, "Regarding marriage (heterosexual vs gay...

2012-05-08T22:03:47.278-04:00

Tom,
"Regarding marriage (heterosexual vs gay vs multiple) the key question to ask is "What is marriage for"."

But I think this is the question where religious organizations (for example the Catholic Church) demand ownership which poses a problem for a secular society. I think the social effects arguments may also be a problem on the issues of equal rights. I know that you are saying that with respect to polygamy, but what if studies (and of course, studies involving humans are very tricky) showed that gay marriages have adverse social effects (however we define them). And just to be clear - this is not the case. Should then the governments be okay in banning gay marriage? From the equal rights perspective, I don't think this works. But if we take the example of the ban on first-cousin marriages, then I can see your point. But given the fact that 50% of marriages in the US end in divorce anyways, shouldn't the adverse effects be counted for straight marriages as well? However, much of it is moot point, as studies do not point to such a conclusion - and that leaves it a matter of equal rights.

A total aside: A few years ago, I was having a conversation with a sociologist friend of mine who works on household work distribution between couples. In response to the 50% rate of divorce, he was of the opinion that it is equally valid to be surprised of the fact that 50% of marriages do not end in divorce. May be we are asking the wrong questions. :)

Regarding marriage (heterosexual vs gay vs multipl...

2012-05-08T09:27:14.287-04:00

Regarding marriage (heterosexual vs gay vs multiple) the key question to ask is "What is marriage for". If the purpose is to create some kind of contractually binding agreement to increase the stability of a relationship between people who love each other, then there is no reason that it should not include any of these situations. However, I would point out that some research suggests polygamy has adverse social effects, so this is probably one case in which I would say the interests of society outweigh the interests of the individuals.

Regarding Templeton, it seems to me self evident that the views of the Chairman and President should be taken as an indicator of the organization. Also, this illustrates the problem of giving very wealthy people the power to dictate research and political agendas. Why should John Templeton Jr have all this power - just cos his dad was very rich?

Okay - it is on the summer reading list, along wit...

2012-05-08T00:00:46.861-04:00

Okay - it is on the summer reading list, along with Heaven on Earth.

awesomely beautiful... :)

2012-05-07T18:04:10.634-04:00

awesomely beautiful... :)

I'm interested in reading this book, too. Luhr...

2012-05-07T17:20:20.916-04:00

I'm interested in reading this book, too. Luhrmann's earlier work on witchcraft/magic in 1980s UK addressed the "why do they believe/think this stuff?" question, especially interesting because many of her subjects were in technology related fields. Her conclusion in that book was that there is a slow cognitive process by which beliefs, however illogical, unscientific, or irrational, become convincing. It sounds like she's moved on to the emotional side in this project.

Thanks Gary.

2012-05-07T09:24:32.621-04:00

Thanks Gary.

Got 'em right between the eyes Salman.

2012-05-07T06:57:07.113-04:00

Got 'em right between the eyes Salman.

Joanna, Awesome! No I did not know about it. Than...

2012-05-06T21:33:03.306-04:00

Joanna,

Awesome! No I did not know about it. Thanks for sending in the link!

Salman, In response to your interest in "ho...

2012-05-06T21:25:17.154-04:00

Salman,

In response to your interest in "how Muslims are forming their responses to different challenges of the modern world", have you heard of the "islawmix" project at the Berkman Center at Harvard? This is a web resource tracking and analyzing trends in Islamic law. They also follow news coverage of how Muslim individuals are engaging with Islamic rulings in terms of their personal choices. http://islawmix.org/

Thanks for the article, I'm working on another...

2012-05-06T20:39:23.564-04:00

Thanks for the article, I'm working on another one :-)

Khaled

You're gonna like this link. It is about the s...

2012-05-06T04:22:10.276-04:00

You're gonna like this link. It is about the scale of the universe all the way down to the smallest conceivable entity. Enjoy
http://htwins.net/scale2/

This is sad. Even more disappointing is the curren...

2012-05-02T23:29:27.432-04:00

This is sad. Even more disappointing is the current role of Pakistani media. The only TV channel back then, the PTV, did surely make a difference with its regular educational programs in 80s and early 90s (And Dr Hoodbhoy indeed played an immense role back then), the current situation is pretty much hopeless, if I am not wrong.

@Human Ape With the kind of effort you have put on...

2012-05-02T07:40:54.961-04:00

@Human Ape
With the kind of effort you have put on your blog, you certainly deserved better than zero comments on almost all your posts. I wish I could have enough reason to set up a constructive argument with you if you have an ear for some criticism of your viewpoint. Peace

That is certainly one of the things that makes aca...

2012-04-30T01:15:58.066-04:00

That is certainly one of the things that makes academia tempting.