Enough. I can't stand it.

This is all but the last straw. These United States I live in are filled to the brim with stupidity incarnate.

An ABC News story reports the opening of this shiny new museum that portrays Biblical six-day creation as fact and the theory of evolution as a source of evil. Some douchebag creation "scientists" claim that the theory of evolution provides no logical basis for moral behavior. Wouldn't that make those of us who actually understand biology even more admirable, to behave morally because we believe it is the right thing rather than fear of eternal damnation? Evolution provides no absolute morality because it's not a belief system or a life philosophy: it's a scientific theory, with a basis in fact and in logic. Creationists demonize evolution by pretending that it is some sort of alternative Bible. Who else smells bullshit?

The report says 60% of Americans believe in six-day creation. I don't know how much of that statistic is made up, but I don't doubt that the majority of Americans are nearly as soft-brained as the rest of the world thinks.

This is just fan-fucking-tastic. Now students everywhere will be giving their science teachers hell and backing their side up with reports of the fancy animatronics they saw in a museum.

I wonder if the remaining 40% would be willing to move with me to Canada. Maybe there's some room in Europe. I can only take heart in the knowledge that the number who understand evolution is greater than it was... I hope it continues to grow before the American Inquisition gets me.

Theism vs. Atheism: Moot Point

While I normally don't like taking sides in the God/No God debate, I have found a third side that makes the debate into a triangle. Whether or not there is an infinite God is a moot point.

One thing these two camps have in common is a claim that an infinite something or other exists. Theists claim the existence of an infinite God–infinitely powerful, controlling everything in the universe in some way. Scientists (not necessarily atheists) generally agree that the universe itself is infinite, without end.

In a universe without end, it follows that the possibilities are also endless, and that the world as we know it, with all of its physical laws, is but one of the possible outcomes. Furthermore, a God that is infinite encompasses everything in the universe.

But how can one infinite thing contain another? It is not possible per the very definition of infinity. Two infinites cannot share the same space; they must overlap. Not only do they overlap, but also they overlap completely, and therefore they are functionally the same thing. God and the universe are both infinite, meaning they are everything, but everything does not contain everything, everything does not come from everything, everything is everything. It is itself; God and the universe are each other.

God and the universe are the same thing: primordial existence, endless being that contains all things. For argument's sake, let us again separate these two ideas, and begin again with the premise that God is infinite.

The mathematical value of infinity contains the number zero; that is to say, everything includes no-thing. A God that is infinite therefore contains No-God as part of its everything-ness. If an infinite God exists, then we live in a world where God and No-God coexist as part of the same being, making the debate between theists and atheists moot.

If we begin instead with the premise that the universe is infinite, then God and No-God must both fit somewhere in that infinity. Even the atheistic view of an infinite physical universe necessitates the existence and the non-existence of God at the same time.

Just as the number infinity continues to be infinite no matter what other numbers are added or subtracted to it, so too do human concepts fade to insignificance when compared to the concept of endlessness.

I wrote this last night in a last-minute rush to finish a portfolio for my English class. Inspiration struck me when I least expected it, and left me unconscious.

Bringing Discordians together

I am a newbie in the world of Discordianism, so my enthusiasm for it may seem silly to some people. Since I don't much care about how silly I seem to other people, however, I'm trying to contact as many Discordian interweb-users as my attention span will allow.

This is partly because I want to attract some new members to the Discordian forums, which also happens to be new on the scene, as is the wiki attached to it.

I'm hoping that some of the Old Guard can be roused to contribute their marvelous discord and confusion to this new melting pot. And yet, I hesitate to contact just anybody, because I fear that putting too many Discordians and SubGeniuses in one place will cause a memetic explosion. Although...

Maybe that's a good thing.

Anyway, the mossy coconut is doing quite well now. The moss is returning to its healthy green color, after drying out and turning brown some weeks ago. Several new fern leaves have sprouted up, and surprisingly, the old ones have not dropped off like they did last time. I'll get a new picture of it up soon.

Also, I got the awesomest thing ever: a miniature Stonehenge model! I'll get a pic of that too...

Ooh, brain food

I just watched this, and I think it's a remarkably succinct description of terrorism and the effects it has. Because terrorists do not have a sufficiently powerful military machine to attack their enemies directly, they use dramatic tactics to instill a disproportionate amount of fear in the societies they oppose.

The role of government in managing terrorism should be to ensure that the fear and panic is not out of proportion with the reality of the situation. Instead, President Bush and political pundits have done the exact opposite, by telling us just how dangerous and evil the terrorists are and how intent they are on killing us and our families.

Frightening people this way is exactly in line with the goals of the terrorists.

And this entire post is entirely in line with me pretty much ripping off Ze Frank. Sorry.