So, over last weekend, I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to #CFICon, a leadership conference from the Center For Inquiry. Now, I have been to quite a few conferences over the last few years, and I have never been disappointed, so I was already pretty hyped. Then I found out it is in New York! I have been to New York before, and I loved it. Because New York is
Amazing, Beautiful, Busy, and a marvel of modern society and life.
Then I was told it is in Buffalo, New York...
I thought, OK, Buffalo, New York:
Then I was told NO! Its BUFFALO!
So I thought:
But really it was more like:
Certainly not bad, just not New York City.
That being said, the conference itself was at:
Center for Inquiry Transnational
Now, I throughly loved this conference, and had lots of fun, and lots of discussions, so expect a surge of blogging ahead!
So, I really want real life to have scientific commentators. By the way, I am totally stealing this idea from Maki Naro at Sci-ənce!
Think about it, It would be SO badass to have scientific commentators. They could do everything from correct people's ignorance to... Well... Correct people's ignorance. I mean, to be fair, that is really all science does, correct people's ignorance. To be fair, Science corrects Mankind's ignorance, but same difference.
Now that I have addressedwhybeingascientistrocks, I shall now explain why being a scientist sucks recently. Now, I have been going through some stressful time recently, and there are 4 things that really keep me going.
1. Friends
(I love these people!)
2. Food
(I am super hungry right now!)
3. Science
(PS I took this Electron Microscope Image of a diatom!)
4.Song
(I <3 Florence and the Machine)
That being said, recently the later 2 of my driving forces have been conflicting, and it is bugging the someone-else's-Hell out of me. For whatever reason, my scumbag brain has been noticing parts of songs that are scientifically inaccurate.
Not the blatantly impossible stuff, like Nicki Minaj's Starships, but the just slightly inaccurate things. For instance, I really love the song shake it out, especially if I am in a sucky mood.
Listen to it now...
I prefer the glee version, only because it is more mellow... Don't hate me for this.
It's a spectacular song, and it brings my crappy mood down to a simmer. But recently, my sciencey brain has been saying no to the lyrics. The song's lyrics go like this
I like to keep my issues strong But it's always darkest before the dawn Shake it out, shake it out...
But my brain says this
I like to keep my issues strong But it's always darkest approximately halfway between dusk and dawn depending on the conditions of the atmosphere as well as the moon and other celestial bodies Shake it out, shake it out...
And it is bugging the shit out of me. My stupid brain is choosing to nitpick on a lyric of a song, and I can't get it to stop....
And that is why, right now, it Sucks to be a scientist. Because science ruins my music!
Science also sucks by creating a low pressure zone, but that is a different topic.
Now, one of the aspects of my persona that I love the most is the fact that I am a scientist. Now, when I say scientist, I mean two things really,
1) That I am constantly using systematic methods to try to gain more knowledge about the natural world and
2) That I have a high amount of knowledge on how the natural world works to be able to apply said knowledge.
Also, I own my own lab coat.
Now, this is one of my favorite traits, because it allows me to see the beauty of our universe. Since the first time I looked through a microscope, I have been in love with biology. And the moment I understood why the white of a yolk solidified, I have been in love with chemistry. For whatever reason, Even though I excel in it I have never really fallen in love with physics...
It might be because physics ruins all of my dreams of being a superhero....
And when I say beauty, I really mean beauty. The first time I looked through an electron microscope, I teared up. When I look through a telescope, I am brought to a state of awe. Just knowing how much I know about the natural world, and knowing that within the human race we will only ever scratch the surface, brings me to as close of a religious experience as I will likely ever be at.
And this feeling can be so.... Powerful... That It keeps me going somedays. That feeling just grows stronger with every iota of knowledge about the working of our universe I gain. I cannot think of anything that I would trade this feeling for.
I am so serious about this feeling that I am not even going to put a funny here. I'm THAT SERIOUS!
Additionally, knowing that I am slowly but surly increasing our knowledge base, and that the further I go the more I will get to contribute is so amazing. The first time I realized that I will live as long as humanity does due to my contributions, I literally had to stop moving for a minute. It was kind of embarrassing because my professor thought I was having a seizure... But still, that feeling was indescribable.
It was somewhere beyond the feeling that these pictures give combined.
So, that is why I have chosen the path that I have. So, even though I work harder, longer, and get paid less than some other professions *Cough* Business majors *Cough*, I have the greatest fringe benefit in the world. The beauty of the natural world... And that is why being a scientist rocks!
Igneous Rocks that is!
Come on, I waited until the end to make this joke, give me credit for that!
In the beginning, there was them and us, well, so I thought. They, the Secular Student Alliance (SSA) and us the Believers but now I have learned that we are all human. I was on my way for some serious prayer that probably consisted of “Please Lord, I need that ‘A’” or “Father, I need a new roommate, this one you sent just isn’t working out.” I was with other students from my university when I noticed a booth that reads “Secular Student Alliance” and noticed other brochures on the booth that read “Atheist.” I couldn’t believe that the school had given them permission to reserve the booth, well; they are Atheist, why do they have that right, it’s scary! I quickly texted my Christian friend to come over so she can meet the unbelievers, the godless people, the Atheists, the Ones that don’t love Him and so we can question them together. We walked up to the booth to ask if they were really Atheist and a man greeted us with a smile, answered my question, “yes.” I was shocked, AN ATHEIST! I chatted for a short time, and then I told him that I had to go and pray for prayer request from my bible study group. Then his Atheist friends caught me before I left and said “Can you pray to God to get me a brand new red car?” That prayer request made me furious, I thought no, I will not ask God to give you a new car, you don’t believe in Him….what was he thinking? (The Atheist guy that asked me to pray for a new car is now my boyfriend).
When I showed up late to the prayer room I told my Pastor about the booth and the Atheists, he suggested we pray for the Atheists first, then for the prayer requests. After we were done praying I thought this prayer was wrong, if someone wants God, they have to open their heart to Him then we can pray for them. That was the last time I prayed for a non-believer, a godless, a Atheist, the Ones that don’t love Him. After that day, I found myself discussing with the SSA about God almost every day, especially with an active member. He was always questioning everything, asking me why I believe this verse when this verse contradicts it….well, I answered it the best way I could.
I was a born again Christian, a strong Believer, I was the Real Christian with one weakness, I did not believe in hell. Along with that weakness other questions lingered in my mind, why did God seem so violent, why is there so much violence in the bible? I then found myself asking the active member, why would God do this? How can he be so violent? I couldn’t ask my Christian friends, they were already worried that I was spending too much time with the Atheists. As time passed, I questioned God and it seemed as He stopped communicating with me, or maybe I didn’t believe in Him anymore. Then again, I became angry with Him because He ignored me, and because he was violent, and a liar, and a cheater, and a deceiver, I’m not talking about Satan, I’m talking about God.
After a few meetings with the SSA, I understood their point of view; I began to questions for myself. Now, I know where I stand, I know who He really is, the main character from a book called The Holy Bible. I began to attend the meetings of the SSA without worrying that God is watching me. I then became friends with the members of the SSA and decided to add the SSA as my Facebook friend, and this all stemmed from the first day at the SSA booth.
So, over the next day, please consider donating money, or at least sharing our blog and hashtag #SSAWeek. For more info please visit http://www.secularstudents.org/ssaweek or to donate Visit here. Thanks for your support, and see you soon!
I always thought "coming out" was something that, as a cisgender straight female, I would never have to go through. But my parents are liberal anyway, so it's not as if it would be a big deal. Being gay isn't, and shouldn't be a big deal...and neither should being an atheist. (In fact, if I could have it my way, being an athiest would be the norm.) But I was raised in a Christian household. Nothing too serious though- we were only slightly more serious than the so-called "Holiday Christians," the ones who really only practice on occasions like Easter and Christmas. I just went along with it all, I prayed sometimes, I was confirmed when I was 14. Not because I was truly faithful, doubtless and pure, but because it was a rite of passage. It was the official thing to do, and I did it.
I took a class in high school called The Bible as Literature - basically a class that analyzed the Bible as if it were any other book. We looked at literary merit, character development, all that fun stuff. And in that secular class, I realized something - I didn't agree with a lot of the Bible. God seemed like an asshole and a hypocrite.
And so I started questioning my faith.
So, over the next day, please consider donating money, or at least sharing our blog and hashtag #SSAWeek. For more info please visit http://www.secularstudents.org/ssaweek or to donate Visit here. Thanks for your support, and see you soon!
So, one of my members posted this to our group wall....
"Of course homeopathy works. That's why we buried Bin Laden at sea... to cure terrorism." -Reddit user 'ImNotJesus'
He rocks. That being said, I have very few more words on homeopathy. Besides the fact that it has been consistently proven ineffective, as well as completely inconsistent with modern science, I have just one thing to say to homeopaths. I am going to state this clearly and simply, and feel free to comment as you wish.
YOU ARE WRONG. HOMEOPATHY DOES NOTHING.
THE FACT THAT YOU ARE USING HOMEOPATHY SADDENS ME.
IF YOU USE HOMEOPATHY ON A CHILD YOU SHOULD BE CHARGED WITH ABUSE.
IF YOU ARE A DOCTOR USING HOMEOPATHY YOU SHOULD BE CHARGED WITH MALPRACTICE AND NEVER BE ALLOWED TO PRACTICE AGAIN.
FEEL FREE TO DO AS YOU WISH, BUT KNOW THAT YOU ARE WRONG, AND HOMEOPATHY IS JUST AS LIKELY TO CURE YOU AS DRINKING WATER IS.
BECAUSE THAT IS ALL HOMEOPATHIC SOLUTIONS ARE. WATER!
Now that I have gotten that clear, lets all enjoy a bit of Tim Minchin!
This is my favorite work by Tim Minchin
So, over the next day, please consider donating money, or at least sharing our blog and hashtag #SSAWeek. For more info please visit http://www.secularstudents.org/ssaweek or to donate Visit here. Thanks for your support, and see you soon!
So, as you most certainly know, I am a scientist. I LOVE science..... If I could marry science, I would. As a result of this adoration/lust for science, when people start dismissing it, I am so enraged, I have a fit of anger that just turns me into a creditable hulk.
True story!
So when someone belittles science and our modern world by saying how science requires faith, or about how it hasn't gotten us anywhere, I crack a little on the inside.... The ability of people to completely dismiss what has given them almost everything good in their life in incredible.
I usually spill of this little rant.
Look around, for just a moment. If you are inside, almost everything you can see was brought to you by science. The carpet on the floor. The paint on the walls. The building itself was designed using scientific knowledge in the form of architecture. Not to mention every piece of cement, metal, PLASTIC! All of these things did not happen because someone prayed. These things did not just magically appear. These wondrous things happen because of science, hard-work, and the HUGE sum of knowledge that we have accumulated since the beginning of mankind. These Modern miracles, like Cellphones, Power-lines, Chemotherapy, Wikipedia, microwave dinners, hot tubs, and even the Laptops/desktop/tablet that you are reading this from, happened because we were not sated with religious dogma. We wanted to make the world a better place, and so we did. We do more in a single day of research than thousands of years of prayer have ever done.
And that usually shuts them up. Whether or not they listen and take any of that to heart is beyond my knowledge, but I can always hope.
The most aggravating thing is when people are thankful of some advances, and completely against others....
The lack of continuity that some people have is simply amazing.... Speaking of lack of continuity, donate to #SSAWeek?
So, over the next day, please consider donating money, or at least sharing our blog and hashtag #SSAWeek. For more info please visit http://www.secularstudents.org/ssaweek or to donate Visit here. Thanks for your support, and see you soon!
Earlier this year, my university Saint Cloud State, was host to the.... Interesting.... Bradlee Dean. Now, for those of you who are lucky enough to have never had to hear of this man, Bradlee Dean is the founder and executive director of the ministry, YOU CAN RUN BUT YOU CANNOT HIDE INTERNATIONAL. Bradlee Dean is best known for evangelizing in public schools. That is right.... in public, tax funded schools, this man would openly preach about god, the bible, and focuses on "ADD and ADHD as diabolical fictions and emphasizes the importance of setting and
adhering to rules and holding children accountable for their mistakes." Additionally, the students are split into groups, where the young girls are given a "Virtue Class" and reminded to not become "leftovers" for their future husband. All of this in PUBLIC schools...
This was the most appropriate Face-Palm I could find
Now, since he has gained some notoriety, he has not been able to continue this violation on church and state, and instead he has spread hate on other mediums. Including these pleasantries that Rachael Maddow called him out on
In case you didn't want to watch, although I would certainty recommend it if you want a laugh, he talks about how there should be more bloodshed of the gays, and about how each gay "molests 117 people"
on average, before they are found out.... He literally said that on his radio show, The Sons Of Liberty.... This means that either
A) Several of my friends are behind on their quota OR
B) He is a hateful idiot
Now, by hateful, I don't mean by my own standards, I mean that he has had his videos taken down by Google, because of hate speech....
A little more recently, he gave a "non-denominational" prayer, where he started off fine, then crashed and burned when he started talking about Jesus... This performance lead several republicans to "personally denounce" him. That along with his views on homosexuality that other republicans stated was similar to that of Nazi Germany. Now, the wonderful College Republican at Saint Cloud State invited him to come and speak. A man who's entire notoriety is due to being a hate-monger...
That being said, when the event came closer, the national republicans warned them to not host this speaker, and that they would supply a different speaker. When the current president, who had only been president a few weeks, declined, the party insisted. They made it clear that they will have trouble finding Republican jobs in the future. Still, the SCSU college republicans held strong, to disastrous complications...
"Sometimes young people need to have better judgement in who they invite
to things under the Republican banner. If you are going to do dumb
things, and not take the advice of the state college Republicans and the
state chairman of the Republican party, it might have some
consequences.....When you've been given good advice from the top of the food chain, sometimes, you've just got to listen," - Pat Shortridge (Party Chair of the MNGOP)
Additionally, the chairman of the Minnesota College Republicans threatened to
disassociate the group from the statewide organization if the speaker performed with the groups blessing.
Now, I understand where the group is coming from, they don't want to be bullied by anyone, even their own higher-ups. And I understand that the current president likely did not plan this event, and is in a very difficult position. That being said, it should be a simple matter. The event should be canceled.... And this is because of one simple fact. We are students. This is a student group, and you rely heavily on the national group's support. I know that if one of my groups had their backing pulled, it would be devastating...
Sadly, the group did, in fact, host the event. In a last minute protest, thrown together on Facebook, there were over 100 students in a peaceful protest on the lawn outside of the event. The event itself only drew in about 50 people, and it seemed from the open mic section immediately after his performance, that the majority of them were only there to voice their disapproval. As a whole, the event was a blunder. The only real effect of the event was the protest, which caused dozens of people to feel support and love. From my own instinct, it was actually beneficial, as the group opposing mine is now significantly worse off.
That being said, I know that as a whole, this event has had irrevocable damage to Saint Cloud State. That is because, the College Republicans kept their word, and have actually removed Saint Cloud from the list of chapters.
Now, I know that I was a bit skeptical when I looked this up, thinking that perhaps they were never on the list.... so I asked the internet, and was given the archive page, where guess what, as of the last saved archive page,
Saint Cloud State is listed.... So, based on all the evidence, the Minnesota College Republicans no longer exist at Saint Cloud State, and as a result, there will be a lot less of necessary debate. Without this debate, people will no longer be fighting as strongly, and this makes me sad. Because now, apparently, my own beliefs have won at SCSU, but have won because there is no opposition. And this makes me terribly sad, because as much as I love winning, I don't like winning by default.
Just so you know, I still love science! (you may have to click this image to see it)
Speaking of things I love..... Have I introduced you to SSAWEEK?
So, over the next day, please consider donating money, or at least sharing our blog and hashtag #SSAWeek. For more info please visit http://www.secularstudents.org/ssaweek or to donate Visit here. Thanks for your support, and see you soon!
So, as many of you may know, or at least after reading a few blog post you may now know, I don't sleep nearly as much as a normal human does. I can survive for weeks on end with 4 hours a night. and I have done this, for weeks on end. Now, I am not happy about getting such little sleep, but I still perform at peak performance.
They took away my axe after my last extreme sleepless week...
Besides caffeine and the insatiable need to get things done, the greatest tool I have to keep awake in these difficult times is music. Now, for those who don't use music as a stimulant, you need a nice strong rhythm and beat to keep you moving. Also, if it inspires a strong rebellious/courage/righteous feeling, its all the better. That is why I was super excited to hear one of Fun.'s new songs One Foot
PLAY THIS... NOW
This is an awesome song, especially if you need to keep a driving beat. It is also kinda a militant atheist song.
I happen to stumble upon a chapel last night.And I can't help but back up when I think of what happens inside.I got friends looked in boxes. And no way to live.But you call it a sin. Isn't up to them.After all, after all I thought we were all your children,But I will die for my own sins thanks a lot.We'll rise up ourselves thanks for nothing at all,so up off the ground up for fathers who are nothing but dust now.
Now, this is certainly not the first atheist song, nor the best, that being said, I have been blogging for many hours, and this song is playing, so I'm going to be talking about it. {By the Way, donate to SSAWEEK}
This brings me to an odd place though. Should there be atheist music. A gut reaction of mine says, why? for those who never took a middle school music class, there are 2 categories in music, sacred and secular. Sacred music being music directly about god, and secular music not being about god. So most music in today's society is secular.... Isn't that enough? Do we need music about atheism?
Also, do we need Justin Bieber? NO!
So, After much thought and introspection, I have realized that we really do. Besides the fact the becoming an atheist can be a very meaningful experience, being an atheist in a very theistic community, like many American atheists, can be a very difficult thing. You can be ostracized, harassed, and even assaulted. And that kind of experience is one of the truest experiences that you can ever have. And it leads to some really awesome music.....
I highly recommend her music, and I really love it. (especially Saved (Acoustic)) Speaking of things I recommend, did you know it's#SSAWeek?
So, over the next day, please consider donating money, or at least sharing our blog and hashtag #SSAWeek. For more info please visit http://www.secularstudents.org/ssaweek or to donate Visit here. Thanks for your support, and see you soon!
