Links for the Sabbath 5/13

Greetings! Welcome to another Links for the Sabbath! 

The first thing I'd like to talk about is an article defending the funding for "big science" in America. It's a really good read and I personally agree that stopping discoveries will only hurt us more and more in the long run.

NASA recently released a fantastic video about the future of their explorations. Asteriods. The little rocks floating out in the universe that we can explore, and will hold fantastic discoveries.

The last article is a short tibit from a student trying to relearn some of Quantum Mechanics. He talks about the photon and how it's the "smallest unit of currency in nature." Enjoy!

It's about time, Obama.

As you've probably heard, President Obama has finally voiced his support for gay marriage. After the past few years saying his views on the issue were "evolving," an interview on Good Morning America displayed just how evolved they'd become. 

There is no doubt that this is a monumental development in gay rights, as Obama is the first sitting president to publicly state full support for same-sex couples.

While most gay rights supporters and activists are ecstatic, some are less than enthused. They are saying that he didn't go far enough, and that his qualification of it being his personal opinion and of it being a states' issue is not only cowardly, but a step backwards. 

I disagree with his qualifications being so egregious as to cancel out his announcement entirely, though I am disappointed that he backed out of having to go through with his stance policy-wise by reaffirming gay marriage as best left up to the states.

Still, I cannot help but be overjoyed. Finally, in the year 2012, the U.S. President has come out in support of equal rights for people who are still seen as lesser by 40-50% of the population (depending on the poll). It sends a powerful message to the country and to the world that President Obama stands on the side of equality. 

How will this affect his chances of reelection in November? Honestly, I don't think it will end up making an election-deciding difference. But no matter what happens, I'm glad he made his (perhaps forced) announcement. There are no excuses not to be on the side of civil rights.

Links for the Sabbath 5/6

Welcome to summer! You've survived the tasks of the year, finished your exams, dotted all the i's on the final paper and now you're ready to do it again in three months, right? Well.. Maybe not. In the mean time why not come by brunch and have some chinese?

The first thing I'd like to share is a fantastic picture of the elementary particles of the standard model of physics. This is actually a good (and funny -- if you get physics humor) description of what the field of particle physics knows. You can check it out on Discover Magazine.

Recently in San Fransisco they held their 7th anual "Walk against Rape". Which is a day to remember that many people in the LGBT community are raped, even from their loved ones, and may never report it. They had a great turn out and I wish I could have gone!

The fantastic blog, 13.7 has another great article which sparks a great conversation. Can hackability propel us into the future we all dream of? What is meant by that is, hackability -- the ever involvement of finding shortcuts or more efficent alternatives, can we use it forever? Can it be a tool that we lean on, instead of rarely leverage? Or, will we need to develop new techniques that are future-adaptable?

Have a great week!

Religion: a Coping Mechanism for Reality

[Ed: This post is incorrectly attributed, and was written by contributing officer and Director of Outreach, Kate Heetland.]

The last unit in my philosophy class has been centered on the film ‘Examined Life’, a series of interviews with modern-day philosophers. A few of them mentioned religion in passing, but one caught my attention. Slavoj Zizek made some interesting remarks about the meaning of life, and how religious thought attempts to answer it.

First, Zizek brings up reactions to disasters:

Like AIDS: it was a trauma, and conservatives came and said it is a punishment for our sinful ways of life…it is better when you are in the middle of a catastrophe to feel that God punished you than to feel it just happened.

So religion does have more pull than providing comfort in these situations; it also provides excuses and an ‘easy fix’. Sure, abstaining from sexual activity will slow the spread of AIDS, but it is impractical, unrealistic, and ineffective. The problem with approaching catastrophes with this view is that nothing is accomplished. Preaching won’t fix anything, but education and condoms will. This is an excellent point that people need to react realistically to disaster and find solutions instead of just looking for somewhere to place the blame.

Zizek also remarks on the ‘unquestionable authority’ of religion, transitioning to say, “Ecology is starting to function as the ultimate agency of control”.

This is a difficult thing to consider right away and brings up more questions about the place of humankind in relation to the rest of the world, not just other people. However, it is a very relevant topic to think of, especially in relation to science. We cannot get very far with new technologies and research if we do not first discuss what is and is not appropriate to attempt.

Zizek’s point here is that this idealization of ecology creates a roadblock and labels it ‘mistrust of change’.

I think it is something to be aware of. Progression is not just up against religion, but also against this grand idea of nature. We need to remove ourselves from the idea that the balance of nature cannot be disturbed. Zizek points out that we should embrace the lack of balance in the world:

Nature is a series of unimaginable catastrophes. We profit from them…oil reserves under the earth are material remains of unimaginable catastrophes. Nature is crazy in itself…nature is fundamentally imbalanced.

The point that I take from this is that we need to free ourselves from these boundaries and from the fear or a punishment for every action we take. Forget the consequences of small hiccups and mistakes in this case. A benevolent god would not allow disaster and nature will survive – we may even benefit – from these disasters. Furthermore, we can create a ‘meaning of life’ in our presence and purpose, not in the judgmental eye of an invisible, powerful creature.

The ideas of punishment and reward, hell and heaven, provide closure, but they also create an easy out. Believing that someone will be held accountable for their actions in an afterlife is surreal. It is the responsibility of real people to do this now instead of letting things slide to their god.

It sucks to realize that bad things will happen to great people, but I think living in that reality is better than living in a fearful fantasy that has no application in a modern world alive with knowledge and reason.

Drugs and the Meaning of Life

For a while now, several of my friends (drug users and non-drug users alike) have recommended to me that I read the piece by Sam Harris entitled “Drugs and the Meaning of Life.” I finally checked it out, and would like to make a short commentary here.

His main argument is that, in moderation, psychedelic drugs are something everyone should experience. Before reading, I was skeptical of how he would be able to justify this claim, but I think he did so very well in the first few lines:

Everything we do is for the purpose of altering consciousness. We form friendships so that we can feel certain emotions, like love, and avoid others, like loneliness. We eat specific foods to enjoy their fleeting presence on our tongues. We read for the pleasure of thinking another person’s thoughts. Every waking moment—and even in our dreams—we struggle to direct the flow of sensation, emotion, and cognition toward states of consciousness that we value. Drugs are another means toward this end.

After discussing the U.S.’s failed War on Drugs and the illogical nonsense that is our current drug policy, he goes on to explain further why psychedelics should not be demonized, but rather embraced as part of the human experience of consciousness. Another intriguing quotation:

The mere existence of psychedelics would seem to establish the material basis of mental and spiritual life beyond any doubt—for the introduction of these substances into the brain is the obvious cause of any numinous apocalypse that follows. It is possible, however, if not actually plausible, to seize this datum from the other end and argue, and Aldous Huxley did in his classic essay, The Doors of Perception, that the primary function of the brain could be eliminative: its purpose could be to prevent some vast, transpersonal dimension of mind from flooding consciousness, thereby allowing apes like ourselves to make their way in the world without being dazzled at every step by visionary phenomena irrelevant to their survival. Huxley thought that if the brain were a kind of “reducing valve” for “Mind at Large,” this would explain the efficacy of psychedelics: They could simply be a material means of opening the tap.

Towards the end, he discusses the major drawback of psychedelic drug use--bad trips. Still, he asserts that these scary experiences don’t outweigh the argument for trying psychedelics, as the good trips were so significant in themselves and to the way he now thinks about the concept of consciousness.

While I’m not personally going to advocate drug usage, I think that as skeptics, we should be critically examine both society’s current views on the matter, and what Harris has to say in response. Either way, he present an interesting perspective, and I recommend checking out his piece for yourself.

Atheists: A misunderstood minority

[Ed: This post is incorrectly attributed, and was written by contributing officer and Director of Membership, Nate Konrardy.]

“God is dead” is a quotation often misinterpreted, and widely despised, as a statement of atheism by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. Nietzsche was an atheist, but his claim was intended to be a metaphorical one, not a literal one.

Similarly, atheists in general are often misunderstood, labeled as blasphemous baby-eaters (incorrectly, mind you). Atheists are still human beings, and they have reasons for the beliefs they hold. Though most people fervently disagree with the belief structures of atheists, it is important for those individuals to understand where a set of beliefs stops and where another human being begins.

In the American Sociological Review in 2006, the University of Minnesota published results of a nationwide study conducted to more accurately gauge the feelings of Americans toward atheists.

The top three responses to the statement, “This group does not at all agree with my vision of American society,” were:

• Atheist - 39.6 percent,
• Muslim - 26.3 percent,
• Homosexual - 22.6 percent.

The top three responses to the statement, “I would disapprove if my child wanted to marry a member of this group,” were:

• Atheist - 47.6 percent,
• Muslim - 33.5 percent,
• African American - 27.2 percent.

These and further detailed results of “Atheists As ‘Other’: Moral Boundaries and Cultural Membership in American Society” can be found at soc.umn.edu.

It is evident that atheists belong to one of the most socially discriminated against social minority groups in this country; leading me to believe atheists are probably the least understood.

Why? In order to solve a problem, one must find the cause.

I think part of it has to do with the common misconception that atheists will verbally attack individuals who want to have a civil religious discussion. Contrary to popular belief, most atheists are more than willing to sit down and have an intelligent conversation about religion.

But let’s be real: no group of people with the same basic ideology — be it religious, political or otherwise — is going to consist solely of individuals with immaculate tact or impeccable social awareness. You are going to find that every group has a member (or members) whose only intellectual defense is to loudly offend or scare you into submission.

My advice is to refrain from drawing false analogies or hastily generalizing; the inability to articulate rational arguments using one’s indoor voice is rarely a product of one’s religious or political beliefs (see nature vs. nurture).

Atheists seem to rarely be asked why they believe what they do, but are instead asked how they can live believing what they do.
I may be wrong, but the second question seems to be implying one of two things:

1. Atheists have decided to live a life void of morality; or
2. Atheists aren’t afraid of going to hell.

In response to number one, long story short, there exists a philosophical discipline known as ethics. Because it is a discipline, it studies the idea that morality is objective (see Immanuel Kant’s Categorical Imperative).

And the short answer to number two is, to fear something that doesn’t exist is known as an irrational fear. Therefore, no logical reason exists to fear it.

Atheism is a unique social minority in that its members can choose to identify themselves as atheist or not. Unlike gender or sexual orientation, individuals typically achieve membership because they have reasons for believing what they believe and not believing what they don’t believe.

I want to encourage you to talk to someone before you judge them based on their beliefs, or lack thereof. Even if you don’t agree with someone’s beliefs, there’s no reason we shouldn’t attempt to understand.

Links for the Sabbath 4/22

Welcome to this week's Links for the Sabbath! I hope you enjoyed one of the last brunches and Cory's going away party!

There was a kid in Paullina, Iowa who recentlly committed suicide because he was made fun of at school. There's a Facebook Group to show support for him.

In physics there was a recent discovery. It involved being able to separate specific properties from an election, specifically the orientation of spin is being observed as a separate entity, or more correctly as an observable entity.

Lastly, there's a good article on NPR's blog 13.7 about, "When it okay for scientists to just trust each other?" It really is a good read, make sure to check it out!

Links for the Sabbath 4/15

First off, I'd like to congratulate the new officer crew for 2012-2013. This year looks to be a big year that's filled with a lot of events and a lot of challenges. Best of luck to you all and may it be a great year!

Secondly, this weeks Links for the Sabbath is going to be largely about student blog posts from this week. Rebecca Tippens from ISSA wrote a fantactic blog post on someone that she knows recent suicide. (and right now it's exploding on reddit)

The other post is from our friends in Waterloo. It's about a man who is probably having a tough time in life, but his neice (who lives with him) beleives in magic and monsters. Which is not helpful to the mans situation or mental health.

Have a great week!

2012-2013 Leadership Team

I'm thrilled to finally, officially announce the Leadership Team for the 2012-2013 school year.

The first officer is Joe Enabnit who will be taking over as Director of Finance next year. Joe has been involved in UNIFI for several years, serving for a year as the Blog Czar, and then as the Darwin Week chair, where he was the driving force beheind the last Darwin Week, and focused almost entirely on making that event happen throughout the year. Because of his experience I expect him to do great things with the position.

The next officer is Aaron Friel who will be returning this year to take over the newly created Director of Social Media officer position. Friel may have found his niche after leading the charge when we were temporary caretakers of The Friendly Atheist, where he did a phenominal job of soliciting posts and reaching out to students. We're happy to have him filling that role full time for the coming year.

John Chesley will be returning again this year filling the role of Director of Activities. This year he went above and beyond the call of duty on multiple occasions to ensure that things were running smoothly, and has shown that organization and attention to detail are two of his strong points. I'm confident that he will be one of the best Directors of Activities that we've ever had.

Filling the Director of Membership role this year will be Nate Konrardy. Nate is a relatively new face in UNIFI, but he's certainly not new to being a campus leader. He's lead recruitment Sigma Phi Epsilon and was President of the Inter-Fraternity Council. And he has a bold vision for this position. I can't wait to see what he does with it.

Finally, Kate Heetland was an incoming freshman who has been involved throughout the year, and has shown that she can fulfill the role of Director of Outreach. She's the outgoing person that we need to lead our recruitment, and I know that she will do a fantastic job as the face of UNIFI to new members.

Sign up to help with UNIFI's Good Friday Night

Come help UNIFI celebrate Good Friday Night this Friday. We'll be tabling in the Union from 10-2 in support of a sex-positive, responsible outlook, and against dangerous religious supression of contraceptives and other safe sex practices. We'll also be on the Hill at 10:00 PM distributing condoms and information about the Catholic church's views. And of course, we'll be wishing people a Good Friday Night. Sign up below to help out.