The Enemies Of Reason (Dawkins new TV 2 part series)
Offline Dawkins new TV 2 parts series on Pseudo-science and the paranormal "The Enemies Of Reason starts on Channel 4 on August 13"
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article2198063.ece
From Channel 4 UK website.
Slaves to Superstition
Richard Dawkins tackles the epidemic of irrational, superstitious thinking which is blotting the light of logic and evidence. After garnering tips on psychics' entirely earthly trade secrets from the illusionist Derren Brown, Richard attends a seance and confronts the medium. Time and again, the interviewees appeal to personal revelation or second-hand anecdote to justify their belief.
Channel 4 Enemies of Reason mini-site: http://www.channel4.com/culture/microsites/E/enemies_of_reason/
I will be recording this digitally, and will probably show it on stickam and my Youtube account http://uk.youtube.com/Klarkster
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I personally think this is quite entertaining for those who are sceptical, (it had Darren Brown in there too, which is a plus), nothing quite new if you have looked around sceptic material before, but then again I don't think it's about preaching to the choir, more along the lines of putting it in front of the masses for them to digest, it also touched on the wikipedian nature of the internet, which was at least something different in my opinion. There is nothing-quite like Ted Haggard so far, but the man who dismissed the idea of a scientific test on astrology because it was "mischief" was amusing. (Some degree of pwnage)
The torrent for part 1 is not here:
http://www.demonoid.com/files/details/1298414/3100888/
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I'll get back to you when I think of something worthwhile to say.
HealingBlight, yes I thought it was pretty good too. Wasn't quite as confrontational as Root of all evil, but it had it's moments !
Here's an update on torrent availibility.
Public trackers:
http://thepiratebay.org/tor/3772567/Richard_Dawkins_-_The_Enemies_Of_Reason_-_Part1_-_Slaves_to_Supe
(500mb version)
Private trackers: faster download but needs registration, (ratio driven sites):
http://beta.uknova.com/wsgi/torrent/view/47830
(700mb version)
http://www.demonoid.com/files/details/1299059/7737192/
(424mb version)
http://www.demonoid.com/files/details/1298414/3438752/
(700mb version)
Here's Richard talking about the show a few days before it aired.
Myspace Music page
Dawkins made a good, if not depressing point, religion is never going away. He didn't actually say that but inferred it from the segment concerning conditioning and B.F. Skinner's pigeon tests. People developed gambling superstitions just as pigeons developed superstitions about acquiring food pellets that dropped at random.
The creationists probably won't like this but it's an example of order coming from chaos. Superstition is the result of chaos, an order developed to deal with disorder. We can see this on a grander scale. When Katrina hit the coast of the United States the hatemongering religious crowd blamed it on the homosexuals. If we just participated in the superstition of hate and eliminated the world of homosexuals then we'd be able to control hurricaines. Just like if we wore a lucky baseball cap then our chances of winning the lottery will increase.
Google video version:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8669488783707640763
Check out this ‘review’ of the show (which quickly turn into a sermon on why science is arrogant):
”Arrogance, dogma and why science - not faith - is the new enemy of reason”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/columnists/columnists.html?in_article_id=473347&in_page_id=1772&in_author_id=256
(This article is quite good for Daily Mail standards)
And this made me smile:
”The medium who found Dawkins’s father on the far side
When Dawkins consulted a medium who has appeared on daytime television and charges £50 for instant phone readings she said she could hear or see his father “on the other side”.
He did his best not to look surprised as she continued: “I’m aware of your father stood right behind you. “On a spiritual level he wasn’t the most openest man with his thoughts and his feelings. Ummm, I kind of want to say that I do love you and I do care – but that wouldn’t have been his character.” (Or that of many middle-class father figures of his generation, a sceptic might have said.)
But Dawkins let her continue. “I’m aware that you don’t have you dad’s photograph out” – it was true, he didn’t – “so I’m a little bit concerned why. So I’m going to ask you: why don’t you have it out?” Dawkins had a bombshell ready: “Well, he might be aware that I don’t have it out because he comes to the house about once a week.” “Oh, he’s still here,” she said, adding after a few seconds: “I don’t feel it’s working.”
“Is that because you thought my father is dead and discovered that he’s still alive?”
“No, nothing to do with that. I don’t know.”
She commented later: “As a clairvoyant you’re only as good as the client.” “
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article2198063.ece
FUCKING OWNED!
"It is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring" -- Carl Sagan