Richard Dawkins 1of3: The Poetry of Science

[heroesandcons09]

I am proof that religious people can find reason I grew up catholic and now I'm an Atheist

[Entertainmentwf]

Makes me happy to hear Turing's name in that list off important names. He is one of the greatest mathematicians and the one pioneer computer scientist which changed the world dramatically with his efforts in world war 2 and his great insights in the depths of foundations mathematics and his applications and dreams of the computer.

[ChaosAngel667]

This is epic. (Shred tear)

Thank you so much!

[agnostic1100]

One question to ask is how did atoms and ions evolve? Were they broken at one time, and evolved to work better or correctly? Or were atoms always just working correctly with the valence electrons? That seems as though it is another branch of science that could be opened. Evolution of creatures is interesting, but I'm more interested and concerned with why atoms work, and how long they've worked, and why.

[theinquisitor]

angostic1100, evolution in the darwinian sense requires reproduction. Atoms don't reproduce, so they don't evolve.

But atoms do undergo change. The big bang created a soup of protons and electrons, which formed into hydrogen atoms according to the laws of electromagnetism. Heavier elements are formed in stars by nuclear fusion.

If you're interested in learning about atomic theory, I recommend some lectures by Richard Muller. Search youtube for: physics 10 atoms, and watch the first result.

[agnostic1100]

"The big bang created a soup of protons and electrons, which formed into hydrogen atoms according to the laws of electromagnetism."

I think at this point you should admit that I would not learn anything with regards to the specific questions I asked. That statement you just made teaches man absolutely nothing. It's about a useful as saying that God created Jesus.

[theinquisitor]

agnostic1100, of course my extremely brief summary of the process of atomic formation is not adequate to understand anything. These ideas can't be explained in 500 characters.

That's why I pointed you to an hour long lecture that can give you a BASIC overview of atomic theory. If you really want to understand why atoms work, it will take time and effort. These physics lectures are designed for non-scientists, and contain very little maths. I recommend watching the entire course.

[agnostic1100]

"That's why I pointed you to an hour long lecture that can give you a BASIC overview of atomic theory. If you really want to understand why atoms work, it will take time and effort. These physics lectures are designed for non-scientists, and contain very little maths. I recommend watching the entire course."

If it is recommended for non scientists then why are you recommending it to me? You have no idea who I am. You make speculations that I am some moron who doesn't know how atoms work.

[theinquisitor]

"You make speculations that I am some moron who doesn't know how atoms work"

What's your problem? I said non-scientist, not moron.

I speculated that you don't know how atoms work because you asked about how atoms work. Fuck me for trying to answer your questions.

[Khullah]

i think there is modern research about this. Edward Tryon stated in '73 that the universe is a random quantum fluctuation in a vacuum, wich means that energy variations (such as big bang) randomly creates matter particles, that, as you said, evolve to whatever is more stable (energy wise, quantumly). You can think of it as mathematical models, or just quantum energy patterns in matter. There's still to know more, but quantum physics solved already a lot. Hope I helped. :>)

[slap2tap2]

@agnostic1100 Atoms are formed by bonds and share electrons and eventually they become molecules. Molecules were the first forms of organisms that generated life.

[markpianoman]

Folks, listen to:

Evidence for God from Physics & Astronomy_Lee Strobel

on Youtube!!

[NegativeNick]

It's max winberg!

[markpianoman]

Psalm 8:3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful

of him, the son of man that you care for him? 5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.

John 1:3 - All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

[MettwurstSamurai]

Stuckinyesterday 1:13 - And never dare asking who made him who made everything, for you might end up in a mess and your whole house of cards may collapse. So go and be satisfied and quote the holy bible as evidence for the truth of the holy bible. For that is not nor will it ever be a bullshit circular argument. Amen.

[TheLostRealist1985]

have you any evidence of this lord this God this Intelligent Design?

[markpianoman]

Romans 1:20
For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made so that men are without excuse.

[NegativeNick]

your point being?

[Chumandoo3]

The sound quality sucks balls man.

[Subfightr]

better thasn nothing.

thanks inquisiter!

[whiteliketar]

on and on and one he goes, eloquently discussing the laws of science and mathematics that a creator used to sustain the world and the universe. This man has more degrees than a thermometer and yet is so blind to deny the most plausible explanation of life in all of its forms. Quite sad actually. It really does take more faith to believe his bias than to accept a creator.

[theinquisitor]

There's so much wrong with that, but I want to focus on this "it takes more faith to be an atheist" rhetoric.

What really puzzles me about this is that it's apparently coming from people of faith!

Aren't religious people pro-faith? Why criticise atheists for supposedly using the exact same methods to get to their truth as you do.

Is faith always a poor method to determine truth or only when it leads to conclusions that you don't personally presuppose? Don't you see the hypocricy in this?

[theinquisitor]

Or am I completely misunderstanding your position? Does faith play any role at all in your belief in god, or do you think it's all entirely evidence-based?

If faith plays any role at all, and you consider faith to be a virtue, then you should humbly admire the atheist for supposedly having more faith than you.

It's a stultifying example oblivious self-ownage. You don't even seem to realise that you're only projecting the flaws in your own belief system onto the precise opposite of that system

[markpianoman]

It's all about in what or in whom we place our faith.

The creative hand of God can be seen everywhere you look, but you rather choose to believe that it all...happened by chance...that life developed on it's own.

Some just choose to be "willingly ignorant."

2 Peter 3.

5For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: 6Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished.

[theinquisitor]

mark, just curious. Do you think rainbows and snowflakes are all individually created by a deity, or do you think they form because of natural physical laws?

No-one thinks life "happened by chance". It happened by the OPPOSITE of chance. Predictable physical laws acting on matter, just like the formation of a snowflake or a rainbow.

Do you think that a complex snowflake can just happen by chance? No it had to be the snowflake god, tirelessly designing every individual snowflake right?

[markpianoman]

God wrote the laws which govern every aspect of science and the natural world/universe (gravity, thermal dynamics, etc).

Every snowflake is the result of the laws he created just as the laws governing rainbow. After Noah's flood God gave the rainbow as a sign of his promise that he would never flood the entire earth again. Prior to the flood, people lived to be 100's of years old. The snowflake and the rainbow do not happen by chance but because of laws the creator God put in place.

[markpianoman]

And, by the way, there are no "predictable physical laws acting on matter" which can create/generate life.....even in its simplest of forms.

[theinquisitor]

mark, here's where I don't understand. Why you think the natural formation of life has to contradict this idea of a god? If he can create physical laws that generate structures like snowflakes, why do you reject the idea that these physical laws could generate structures like life? If I showed you the evidence that life arose by natural laws, you could still believe in a god that made those laws, just like he made the laws that make snowflakes. Evolution doesn't contradict this notion of a god.

[markpianoman]

Evolution completely conflicts with the God of the creation and the Bible. The Bible says that God created man and all the "kinds" of animals.

The Bible also said that God breathed into man the breath of life. Mortal life as seen in nature / creation could not have possibly formed on its own....far too complicated....even the simplest life form.

[theinquisitor]

I just don't get how you can look at a universe filled with trillions of galaxies, each filled with billions of stars, and say that it's all about this little rock. Why do you think god created such a vast universe with no life anywhere except here?

Here's the thing, life only had to arise once, in the entire vastness of the universe. One self replicating molecule could have got it started, out of all that vastness. Isn't that enough rolls of the dice for absurdly unlikely things to happen?

[theinquisitor]

Oh and Lee Strobel is a lawyer, not a scientist. A scientist is trained to get at the facts, whatever they are. A lawyer is trained to present a case, whatever the facts may be. A lawyer is a manipulator and a spin doctor by trade. Consider that when you listen to his inexpert propaganda. Out of interest, have you ever actually read a legitimate book about cosmology or evolution?

[markpianoman]

So what you are telling me is that only scientist can speak truth about science??

Did you actually listen to Strobel on youtube?

Probably not because you are not interested in truth, but interested in finding excuses to ignore the truth!

[theinquisitor]

I've heard his arguments. Like the one about his ruler the length of the universe representing the possible range of the constants of nature, and our universe's constants being in a range 1 inch across.

It's bogus. In order to make a probability calculation like that, you need to have a full mathematical understanding of the NATURAL processes that caused those constants to come about. You need to know how universes are formed to know how likely it is that our particular universe would form.

[theinquisitor]

(cont) If the process that created the universe was supernatural, then by definition, you can't develop an empirical, mathematical model about how the process occurred, because the supernatural cannot be measured or tested, and therefore you cannot make any probability calculations. It's either incompetent or dishonest to make an argument that contradicts itself like that.

So, have you ever read a legitimate book about cosmology or evolution? Or are you not interested in finding the truth?

[markpianoman]

You said, "You need to know how universes are formed to know how likely it is that our particular universe would form." Other than knowing that the universe came into existence by the power of God's spoken word, we will never know anything about how it came into existence....it's not observable science! We will only know what God reveals about it in eternity...which is coming quickly by the way -- life is very short.

[theinquisitor]

"we will never know anything about how it came into existence....it's not observable science"

So then how is it reasonable for Strobel to make claims about the probability of the formation of the universe without a deity directing the process if it's impossible to know how a universe is formed? You can't work out probabilities of an inscrutable system. It's a contradiction. His arguments are nonsense.

I'll ask a third time, have you ever read a legitimate book about cosmology or evolution?

[agnostic1100]

"Why do you think god created such a vast universe with no life anywhere except here?"

I thought they found some bacteria or a cell of some type on the Moon?

[mohfoz77]

Professor RICHARD DAWKINS, is an inspiration for all of us.

[whiteliketar]

Ha . just like the God of the bible to let people in their arrogance express their will. Look at the arrogance of this man - thinking that discovering the laws of God gives him a license to dismiss the creator.

[zippydebrain]

==thinking that discovering the laws of God gives him a license to dismiss the creator=

No, it is the complete absence of evidence for GOD that allows him to dismiss GOD. If GOD didn't want to be dismissed en mass he should have left better evidence than several poorly written,ambiguous, self and inter-contradictory book on the subject. A simple public smiting once every 20 years or so would so it.

Discovering 'GOD's laws gives man the arrogance to believe we can discover more..and so we are.

[Idontknowwhat2type]

Whiteliketar

OHHH hr lets us i never knew he was trying to stop us.

If Religious people are the only defense against arrogance then God picked the wrong people or i guess he already knew he did. lol

[markpianoman]

The visible marks of extraordinary wisdom and power appear so plainly in all the works of the creation that a rational creature, who will but seriously reflect on them, cannot miss the discovery of a Deity. --- John Locke

[supaflyjohnson]

markpianoman is a deluded moron -- supaflyjohnson

[markpianoman]

Psalm 14:1
The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.

Romans 1:20
For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

[johntkucz]

wow!! A person so brainwashed they boast their recollection of the very propaganda that brainwashed them!! xD hHAHAH!! fucker. lmao.

[Psalm23YHVH]

dawkins should be stoned or hanged if we lived in the old laws but now he has to swallow his pride and turn to GOD to be save he can shove his ape theory up his ass he is lucky he dosent bump into me as he will be brown bread

[KSIAxeMan24]

How delightfully christian of you, Psalm23YHVH.

[ZZZERO94]

Wow typical of the religious mind to wish such violence! Dawkins simple offers reality on realities own terms. Imaginary friends are for kids!! Grow up!!

[ramette99]

I'm so thankful I wasn't raised with religion shoved down my throat. It means I'm free to appreciate the beauty of the universe and not make nasty threats on behalf of something that isn't real (god).

[theselfishshellfish]

Richard Dawkins is always interesting to me,some find these lectures and talks boring but they will just never know,and i find that sad..ignorence is not bliss if you want to know how everything works..i love anwsers and facts infact i thrive on them and thats probobly one of the reasons why im not religious in any way because religion has been incredibly ignorent twards the real truth.thanks for posting this.

[DrZenith]

Yes, thanks a bunch Inquisitor for these clips; such people as Dawkins, Dennet etc are always worth listening to.Not to mention the late, great,Douglas Adams.

[DelusionOrReality]

Thanks for uploading.

[starvinmarvin90]

Wow. A very enlightening speech. But what most astounded me was the possibility of sending the human genome on a CD in space so that other intelligent life-forms can create a human being... distant but fascinating. This guy really inspired science into me.

[Odonus2]

I wish there was a film where the characters would just talk about this sort of thing. Casually walking through a park and having a talk like this.

[stevekap8]

Whats the background on this vid? What was the forum? I take it is was in 1999.

Thanks for uploading.

[theinquisitor]

I'm not sure since the source website is in German, so I guess it was a venue in Germany. I think the place might be called Muffathalle, according to the link. The conference was called Der Digitale Planet (The Digital Planet).

[kurtilein3]

thanks for uploading!