Anyone who is a superfan of Star Trek: The Next Generation would know that before the Federation of Planets initiates first contact with an alien world, the people of that world must first develop the capacity to travel at warp speed. Warp drive is the test that the people of a planet must pass before First Contact can occur. But what if in reality the test is something different? What if the test is that a culture must abandon religion and/or supernatural beliefs?
Category The Future
There was a time when people lived clustered in groups and the various groups had to compete for food, fertile land, and resources. They didn’t have much communication with those from other groups and so it was easy to see other groups as alien. Each group marked their territory and attempted to conquer other territories. Things should be different now.
According to a recent article on NPR’s website, the Russians are threatening to shut down a number of GPS ground stations and stop sharing their RD-180 and NK-33 rockets with the United States. For those who have forgotten, the United States has shut down NASA’s Space Shuttle program and currently relies on Russia for all our space travel needs. This means that hostilities with Russia will leave the United States spaceless.
We have to shift the way we think about the world and our place in it. Instead of thinking in tribalisticly, we need to start to recognize that we are one race. Could you imagine how much progress humanity could make if we stopped fighting over resources and used that money and effort to make the world a better place and to advance human understanding?
The Republicans have caused the sequester, the partial government shutdown, and the threat governmental default. This has not only cut funding to many government programs, but has also left our already struggling economy in near ruins. The Swiss have an interesting economic solution which is worth discussing.
A while ago, I heard about a planned manned mission to Mars… or at least Mars orbit. This is sort of cool, but it’s mostly lame. It’s like climbing the highest mountain and then suddenly stopping right before you reach the peak, turning around, and going home. Without stepping foot on the surface of Mars, the trip is just a waste of time, money, and resources.
Earlier this month, the National Atheism Party held their annual convention and Dusty Smith of the Cult of Dusty YouTube channel gave a great speech. Today, I would like to highlight some of my favorite parts of the speech because I think they are extremely important and every atheist should think about it.
One of the reasons why I fight so hard against the ideas of religion is because I see religion as detrimental to human progress. Religious thinking divides people, focuses people on ancient mythologies, and gets in the way of our global vision.
When I started Dangerous Talk, I wanted it to be a community of people who could explore politically incorrect topics. I wanted it to be a community of geeks who weren’t afraid to dare to be different. I wanted it to be a community of Dangerous Talkers. Over the years, I have gotten away from that and I want to move it back in that direction.
I grew up in a pretty sheltered environment and I think that has a lot to do with why I am so outspoken about my lack of belief in deities and my support for skepticism and science. I had never met anyone who valued religion over science until I went to college.