On the Origin of Stupidity...

[Blog of Reason]

Discussion thread for the blog entry "On the Origin of Stupidity..." by AndromedasWake.

Permalink: http://blog.leagueofreason.org.uk/reason/on-the-origin-of-stupidity/

 

[ImprobableJoe]

I believe that Ray Comfort is the actual origin of stupidity. His idiocy is so powerful that it has actually ripped a hole in time and space, and sent IQ-reducing energy backwards in time to the origins of humanity. Those waves of fail changed the brainwaves of those first humans, and infected them with religion, dishonesty, hatred, funny accents, and bad facial hair.

 

[zomgitscriss]

Thanks TK

 

[TheYoungAndRestless]

"Truth is, I thought it mattered. I thought that coffee mattered. But does it bollocks! Not compared to how people matter."

 

[AsheIsTheRaven]

My introduction to the King James Bible is meant to parody this, unfortunately I don't have the funds to mass produce it. Such is the advantage of these idiots

 

[Josan]

He's handing them out at universities, I wonder how people will react.

 

[DeistPaladin]

My introduction to the King James Bible is meant to parody this, unfortunately I don't have the funds to mass produce it. Such is the advantage of these idiots

That's the biggest problem that we have vs. Jesus Inc.

The field of Christian apologetics is so well funded and so they can afford to employ the best sales personel. Debates between apologists and scientists frequently boil down to "knowledgable geek vs. slick salesman". Sadly, when it comes to sales, style often trumps substance.

 

[AsheIsTheRaven]

I often like to think our lack of unity and funding is what makes us strong, but as TheOwnar pointed out, Money is the source of our woes and the solution.

Still lets look at this for what it was. A free book given out on Universities, from which only perhaps 10% of which will actually feign to read even a little of. The same would happen with KJV Bible, so I'll be content for it to be made available on the Internet as Public Domain, to be used as and when it may or may not be needed

 

[AndromedasWake]

I still maintain, as I've posted in several comments on videos before, that Ray and Kirk are unprepared for the opposition they're going to face at academic institutions. They're quite comfortable interviewing the average street-dwelling denizen, or going to schools below the uni level (and we all know the interviews are cut in their favour anyway) but if they're creating a commotion by giving out approximately 2,000 copies at each uni, it's just a matter of time before a well-read student or lecturer/professor stops by. Of course, we don't have the money to compete, but we do have the Internet.

Just by warning each uni to have one or two biologists at the ready, we could significantly undermine all their fundraising and propaganda efforts.

I'm not overly worried about the impact. Certainly not as much as I'm offended by the way they'd re-publish a classic scientific work with their own biased crap all over it. At the end of the day, they haven't come out with anything new scince Expelled, and we all know that was panned by pretty much anyone who wasn't already a fundamentalist. For any positive result, these creationists have to target the churches and censor the critics. Trying to pepper the critics with crummy arguments is going to backfire on them.

 

[Eidolon]

Couldn't this stunt also spell the demise of their ministry? I mean, once people read their preface and see just how full of shit they actually are, couldn't it possibly end them? If all these universities came out and called bullshit on them, it might set a wave into motion, utterly discrediting them once and for all. It may not be such a bad idea after all

 

[ImprobableJoe]

Wow, you made it onto an Internet Celebrity Gossip Website!!!!

http://www.dlisted.com/node/34013

 

[AsheIsTheRaven]

Look at it as a victory

They have not once dented science, and more times than not revealed how little credibility they have left. Really Kirk Cameron is the dingy keeping WOTM afloat. HE still has limited star appeal to many knicker throwing 80's throwbacks.

"Look at me, I'm a movie star and I endorse this"

Without him Ray Comfort is nothing more than a clown, and really Kirk needs him to make him look smart, though it only really shows how even more of an idiot he really is. This is really just the proverbial hissy fit against science as they have nothing else left

 

[borrofburi]

"Truth is, I thought it mattered. I thought that coffee mattered. But does it bollocks! Not compared to how people matter."

What is the origin of that quote? I hear it in my Chumbawamba, but I thought/think that maybe it had an origin somewhere else...

He's handing them out at universities, I wonder how people will react.

Is he just handing them out at the university? When?

 

[AndromedasWake]

Is he just handing them out at the university? When?

November 19th. 100,000 copies at 50 universities. The way it's going however, I wouldn't be surprised if they had more than 100,000 copies by the time that day rolls around.

 

[Fullmetalgeneticist]

(New Poster Here)

The aim of Comfort's intro seems to be not aimed at Science degree students but at the others who may be convinced. Think of it as a publicity stunt (it's working!)/free advert since people on the edge will pick his book up. A lot of people don't really get biology since its unlike other sciences in its "lack of concreteness" since a lot of organisms spend their time screwing around with what we think stuff should be like. It could be aimed at convincing them.

Then again I don't think Ray's smart enough to think his way out of a McDonalds Happy Meal Puzzle let alone this.

 

[ImprobableJoe]

This is actually a really big mistake on Comfort's part, about as big of a mistake as Ben Stein and that goddamned "Expelled" movie. Right now, the only people who know about WOTM are fundie Christians and active Atheists. What's going to happen if/when he reaches a wider audience? What Stein and the Disco Institute found out was that fundies still love them, Atheists still hate them... but mainstream Christians also have little use for them. People who were borderline on the issue saw what they had to offer, saw the criticism coming from mainstream Christians, and their movie turned out to work more against them and for them.

I see the same thing happening to Comfort. Previous to this, the only people who knew who he was were supporters and small Atheist groups. When he hits a wider audience, especially at big universities, he's going to come to the attention of high-caliber historians and theologians, and this could really blow up in his face. :lol:

 

[Netheralian]

I wonder how much this is costing him. (or ultimately how much money he thinks he can make back from potential additional followers).

A guesstimate would have to say that the costs would be running into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Goes to show how many people he has already fleeced... I'm assuming he is hoping it will cause controversy and discussion in wider media so his name gets noticed and ends up with more fundies bankrolling him...

 

[Orkaney]

Wherever they show up, I hope someone will be there with a video camera, batteries and sufficient storage capacity, documenting whatever is said and done.

 

[Pulsar]

Did you know that November 19th is World Toilet Day? Let's celebrate...

 

[DeHerg]

Just by warning each uni to have one or two biologists at the ready, we could significantly undermine all their fundraising and propaganda efforts.

Wherever they show up, I hope someone will be there with a video camera, batteries and sufficient storage capacity, documenting whatever is said and done.

at best, lets combine these two Ideas:
have one or two well prepared(in Creationist Arguments) biologist around and one of our own Guys with a Camera(so He cant just edit it out of his Program and get away with it). Then film how Compforts "Arguments" get smashed and how he gets called on those missing Pages. Then we just put that Tape on Youtube(multiple Times, to circumnavigate Censorship) and have a good laugh how that backfired to Compfort.