Blog News And The Power of Rational Outreach (And The Place Of Ridicule)

Just a quick announcement that I’m going to be:

1) Upgrading the blog-site and

2) Working on studies for the rest of the week, so expect only a few updates. School starts for me next week too!

Which makes it a little odd that I then go - Vote For Me for the Big Blog Theory!

After all, this is about science blogging, and I’ve mostly done live-science blogging recently, rather than my usual formal science-paper investigations. I actually have a few such posts in the works and will post a short transcript of one of the forthcoming Token Skeptic interviews on Science Communication, but I must focus on my studies (and schoolwork) instead for a little while.

Well, look at it this way: if you vote for me in the Big Blog Theory, you can have some evidence that I’m very good with blogging events I attend -- not only can I live-blog a summary AND do a podcast interview -- but I also do videos too! Here’s an example of one day at the Skeptic Track at Dragon*Con, in Atlanta -- a science and pop-culture convention, one of the biggest in the world.

(Additional bonus if you don’t vote for me -I’ve offered to dye my hair an odd colour if I win, so it’ll be relief if I don’t win. Phew.)

DO check out all the sites that are nominated. There’s the fantastic and brilliantly funny Save your Breath for Running Ponies, the wonderful Homologous Legs and The Skeptics Book of Pooh Pooh and many more. Add them all to your links!

PLEASE ALSO NOTE! The microblogging category has opened -- go check out the entries -- especially:

@lesliecannold

@brainsmatter

Well done to Leslie Cannold (link to her site) and Brains Matter podcast! Vote, vote, vote!

In the meantime -- this is mandatory reading. Michael McRae has been interviewed on the Token Skeptic podcast a few times and now has his own blog. Here’s the start of his essay that you can finish reading over at the Tribal Scientist.

A Ridiculous Essay on Rational Outreach

“I don’t think we should go out of our way to insult Islam because it doesn’t do any good to get your head cut off. But we should always say that I may refrain from publishing a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed, but it’s because I fear you. Don’t for one moment think it’s because I respect you.”

-Richard Dawkins, 2010 Global Atheist Convention in Melbourne.

Fear can be quite an effective motivator when it comes to silencing your critics. Make people ask if the consequences of speaking out are worth the trouble and you’ll find the voices of your opposition will fade from the public stage. But as Dawkins noted, the quiet fear of retribution is not the same as respectful silence.

Perhaps the more aggressive of the Islamic fundamentalists care little for having their position respected by anybody, let alone a kafir like Dawkins; fear-induced submission, regardless of the cost, could be their goal. If it is, they can claim a resounding success.

Those within the ‘rationalist surge’ communities of atheism, feminism and skepticism are currently debating a parallel situation. Phil Plait presented a speech at TAM 8 that spoke against the use of mockery and ridicule when it comes to conversing with believers.

When it comes to communicating on topics relevant to the group’s interests, should we endeavour to curtail our passion-fuelled frustration, or is ridicule and mockery an appropriate response to some ideas? The answer, of course, is complicated and contextual, depending entirely on one’s intentions. [Read on further here]

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