Atheism and autism: Controversial new study points to a link between the two | Mail Online
Not sure what to make of this other than I think it reinforces that we are using a flawed model for thinking about and categorizing ASD.
What do you think?
I put this in DIR because I'd like to hear...
Just a reminder not to honor the source of a pronouncement over what your own heart and mind tell you. Smart and powerful people make huge mistakes, too.
From Oliver Wendell Holmes in Buck v. Bell, justifying a eugenics statute that required forced sterilization of "mentally retarded" people...
What does it mean to "believe in God"? Is there a meaningful difference between "belief in God" and "belief in belief in God"?
Which one do you think most people these days are talking about when they say "I believe in God"?
This thread is for anyone who is curious about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD or just "autism"), has questions or just wants to talk about autism in a sober, reasonable manner. Feel free to ask your questions about Autism here, and me or one of several other members who are intimately familiar...
Here's a timeline of events so you can watch it unfold.
At 8:25 am, Aukland time, Abdul Alhazred's great grandson, Dickie Alhazred, will open the final page of the Necronomicon right after finishing a double tall mocha breve at a Peoria, Illinois Starbucks. He usually orders a "skinny" latte...
Ever wonder what it would look like if Sergio Leone had made an animated version of Chinatown with talking animals, and directed the whole thing while high on peyote?
Wonder no more . . . go see Rango. Though it has a few flaws, it's that rare family movie that has something for the kids and...
There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal...
Post your faves . . . here's one I stumbled across for the first time today.
It's for the Nightbreed Wolf T-Shirt.
J. Peterman has nothing on this guy.
Which is the worst translation of the Bible into English? Give an example or two of why you think it's bad.
For my money, it's "The Message."
For example, Revelation 2:4-5 is translated in that version as:
ESV has:
NKJV:
And here's a rundown of the Greek text:
Revelation 2 (Blue Letter...
At Alex G.'s suggestion, we are going to discuss whether non-human animals have rights.
To begin with, I want to start by seeing if we can agree to some definitions of the key terms in the issue.
"Non-human animals" I'll take to mean all of those things classified as living organisms in...
Ancient Hebrew has no verb tenses. Not past, not present and not future. Instead, it uses perfective and imperfective aspect. English and Ancient Greek, on the other hand, do not have imperfective aspect. Meaning that Ancient Hebrew written in the imperfective aspect has to be translated...
If "sin" is defined as "separation from God," then "God" only exists by virtue of sin. Without separation from God, there is no separate being apart from God to say "that's God and this is me". Put another way, there is no ego or "I am" to behold that separation - which is a necessary...
Things are adjudged "true" by their ability to reliably accomplish one or more purposes for the person doing the discerning. Religion and philosophy are no exception, it seems.
To paraphrase Joseph Campbell, religions serve four essential purposes:
(1) Psychological: Easing existential...
"Nothing exists except through language." Hans-Georg Gadamer
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him...
This is a discussion Robert and I have been thinking about starting for a while to examine the interchange of ideas between pioneering quantum physicist and philosopher David Bohm and the spiritualist, mystic and philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti. The two engaged in a series of fascinating...
Nihilism gets a bad rap. Perhaps this is because there are two sorts of activities that bear that label, one of which is engaged in by philosophical nihilists and the other the product of a lost soul. I wonder if a meaningful distinction can be made between an "active" nihilism" and a...