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Brian Dettmer does art. I saw something like this a few years ago — I guess it must have been his work — and I love it.
Free Will … Maybe – Part 1
February 21, 2012 at 8:33 am 
Hank Fox 
Despite the fact that Daniel Fincke and I once, a long time back, mutually challenged each other to debate it, I’ve been putting off this post, or any post on the subject, for some time. And I’ll tell you why:
Mainly, I’ve just realized, it’s because I’m afraid of it.
For someone like Sam Harris to say explicitly that free will is an illusion, or for Daniel Fincke, whom I respect, to assert the same thing, disturbs me greatly.
Because … no free will? That’s like saying “You’re not real, you’re not there, you’re not YOU.”
On My Slaveholding Ancestors
February 20, 2012 at 2:49 pm Hank Fox 
Regarding ancestral slave owning (which accusation some complete and utter idiot has attempted to smear Richard Dawkins with — and no, I’m not linking to it, because I don’t link to complete and utter idiots):
Just in case the charge is ever leveled at me:
Never Too Late for a Good Review!
February 20, 2012 at 1:06 pm Hank Fox 
Adam Lee of Daylight Atheism reviewed my book!
His review post is from Feb. 1, but I only just found it.
In this book, he definitively puts to rest the oft-heard stereotype that atheism is a worldview solely for egghead ivory-tower intellectuals, not for heartland salt-of-the-earth folks. As he writes in the intro, “I’ve been a ranch hand, mule packer, wilderness guide, carpenter, truck driver, meat cutter, roofer, and a lot of other stuff besides… This is how I see the world.”
[ ... ]
There are sections on the origins of religion, on non-supernatural morality, on the importance of forming true beliefs, on the importance of speaking out, on atheist views of death… and for all the author’s humble origins, it seems suspiciously erudite and clearly argued to me.
The selections were well-chosen, especially in that the author chose to begin and end with his strongest material. The first few introductory essays, in which Fox explains his own life’s journey, tells a wrenching story about the death of his dog, and describes the experience of deconversion – “a moment of brilliant light” – were excellent. And one of the last essays, “The Village”, is an atheist parable that’s one of the best essays in the book, starting slowly but building to unexpected intensity near the end. Check out Hank Fox’s blog; if you like it, you’ll definitely enjoy this book.
Thanks, Adam.
Titty Baby: Gratuitously Insulting Political Poster
February 20, 2012 at 11:14 am Hank Fox Forgive me if you don’t agree with the content or tone of the following. It’s in response to some things on Facebook this morning, a cutting reminder that — to me, at least — there’s a bigger picture in this election cycle.
(Of course, as is usual for me, it’s probably too long to be really effective. So if you hate it, content yourself that it will probably make no noticeable splash in the current political pool.)
Click here: TittyBaby
Okay, So It’s Not Flying Cars …
February 19, 2012 at 12:02 am Hank Fox 
But still.
Google’s self-driving car has been demoed a number of times over the past few years — “Good Morning America” even took it for a spin in 2010. But the pedal’s about to be really put to the metal in Nevada.
Nevada’s Legislative Commission has approved regulations that would allow self-driving vehicles on the state’s roadways.
Sweet, huh? Near as I can tell from the story, it’s a bit of bracing open-mindedness on the part of Nevada state legislators. They’re willing, basically, to serve as the proving grounds for the concept of a self-driving car.
The Hitler of Ice Cream
February 16, 2012 at 8:55 am Hank Fox Camels With Hammers, Booyah!
February 16, 2012 at 8:44 am Hank Fox Stop reading this.
Go read this:
Is It Just A Mystery Whether God Exists?
Daniel Fincke details an argument between a godder and a skeptic.
Robin: Okay, first of all—I don’t claim to know there is a god, I admit I have faith. I am honest about that, unlike you making knowledge claims where you really only have faith too.
Jaime: Hold it—you cannot have this both ways. You worship this god, you live your life around your beliefs about this god and what you think it wants you to do, and you try to get me to believe in and obey this god. You claim all the time to know this god intimately, to have a personal relationship with it, and to know its will. To claim that you don’t act like a person who thinks they know is disingenuous. You’re not living in a humble middle ground like the kind of agnostic who refrains from believing, consistent with their belief they cannot know enough either way to commit to belief or disbelief. You constantly talk and act just as someone would only if they truly thought that they knew there was a god. I mean, how can you say you have a deep and intimate personal relationship with someone one minute and then turn around and the next minute say you’re not claiming to know that person even exists! What kind of an intimate personal relationship is that?
Dang it, I have to meet this guy someday. I’ve never even met an actual philosopher before, but now I want to be one. I want to be him.
For Christian Teens: Getting Beyond the Unthinkable
February 14, 2012 at 10:25 am Hank Fox 
I’m thinking of some tri-fold fliers to be handed out to Christian teens. Here’s a first approximation of one of them. Tell me what you think of it, what you’d add, take away, change.
_______________________________
What If … ?
When you think about it, it’s the nuances that have helped we humans advance. The search for all that stuff obscured by the standard wisdom, the common knowledge, the things every sane person knows.
St. Valentine and Darwin: A Tale of Two Carls
February 13, 2012 at 10:00 pm Hank Fox 
Carl Buell, Carl Zimmer. Do you know the names? Buell is the renowned natural history illustrator, Zimmer is the well-known science writer.
Buell’s name just popped up all over the world in relation to Darwin Day, Zimmer’s makes a splash this week on the cover of Time Magazine.
I hope Darwin enthusiast Colin Purrington will forgive me for quoting pretty much an entire page on his website, but he explains the Buell-Darwin connection so well I just couldn’t do it better:
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