My name is Mike Norman. I've just moved to the Big Island of Hawaii (after years of suffering under the--I'm sorry--dismal climate in the Pacific Northwest).
I'm basically here because of Thunderf00t. His video series, "Why do People Laugh at Creationists," in addition to being a wonderful debunking of creationist crap, have a wonderful subtext on the nature and nobility of human inquiry. I don't mean to imply that it was this series that deconverted me, as I've been free of the disease for 16 years now. It's just that Thunderf00t's videos, and his favorites started me on a wonderful tour of the best of YouTube: HairyReasoner, TheoWarner, DasAmericanAtheist (via Theo), ProfMTH, and NonStampCollector, to name a few. The list goes on. My YT name is the same as my forum name, so you can check out my subscriptions if you're curious.
The user's in my subscriptions form what I'd call 'The Thoughtful Core' of YouTube. By this I mean that these players (re?)introduced me to a whole new level of discourse. A few highlights may help to explain what I mean. TF is a scientist. His explanations of the Scientific Method have profound implications for the a/theism debate as a whole. QualiaSoup's calm, relentless, and beautiful videos more directly inform that debate and are a pleasure to watch and watch again. The spareness of HairyReasoner's presentation and his thoughtful arguments--combined with his stereotypical Canadian no-nonsense delivery--make for some of the most surprisingly incisive watching out there. ProfMTH's series on what Christians believe is absolutely devastating, both because of the apparent innocuousness of the questions he asks and the definitively damning conclusions he reaches.
I could go on for pages. Suffice it to say that these guys are why I am here. So, if I seem a little--or a lot--merciless and unforgiving in the threads on this forum (and I will seem so), know that it is because of the understanding of the importance of discourse that has been instilled in me by these YTers. It is absolutely imperative that as many of us as possible do as much as we can to elevate the discourse around these issues, as well as the many other issues that face the societies in which we participate. To do this we have to hold ourselves to the highest standards and do more intellectual work than the forces of intellectual decline. I'll have no truck with broad generalities, useless talk, or poor reasoning from either side of the divide.
Aloha. And look out!
I'm basically here because of Thunderf00t. His video series, "Why do People Laugh at Creationists," in addition to being a wonderful debunking of creationist crap, have a wonderful subtext on the nature and nobility of human inquiry. I don't mean to imply that it was this series that deconverted me, as I've been free of the disease for 16 years now. It's just that Thunderf00t's videos, and his favorites started me on a wonderful tour of the best of YouTube: HairyReasoner, TheoWarner, DasAmericanAtheist (via Theo), ProfMTH, and NonStampCollector, to name a few. The list goes on. My YT name is the same as my forum name, so you can check out my subscriptions if you're curious.
The user's in my subscriptions form what I'd call 'The Thoughtful Core' of YouTube. By this I mean that these players (re?)introduced me to a whole new level of discourse. A few highlights may help to explain what I mean. TF is a scientist. His explanations of the Scientific Method have profound implications for the a/theism debate as a whole. QualiaSoup's calm, relentless, and beautiful videos more directly inform that debate and are a pleasure to watch and watch again. The spareness of HairyReasoner's presentation and his thoughtful arguments--combined with his stereotypical Canadian no-nonsense delivery--make for some of the most surprisingly incisive watching out there. ProfMTH's series on what Christians believe is absolutely devastating, both because of the apparent innocuousness of the questions he asks and the definitively damning conclusions he reaches.
I could go on for pages. Suffice it to say that these guys are why I am here. So, if I seem a little--or a lot--merciless and unforgiving in the threads on this forum (and I will seem so), know that it is because of the understanding of the importance of discourse that has been instilled in me by these YTers. It is absolutely imperative that as many of us as possible do as much as we can to elevate the discourse around these issues, as well as the many other issues that face the societies in which we participate. To do this we have to hold ourselves to the highest standards and do more intellectual work than the forces of intellectual decline. I'll have no truck with broad generalities, useless talk, or poor reasoning from either side of the divide.
Aloha. And look out!