Sci Fi Sci

I’ve come up with an interesting idea for a science series, which is part Sci fi and part factual.

What if you could have Doctor Who (An expert on time) host a show about fossils, travelling back in time, in his TARDIS, to explain how things looked thousands of years ago, giving an insight into the natural history of Earth?

Or Jean-Luc Picard hosting a show about the local planets, from the Enterprise itself?

Now we’ve had actors providing their voice for these sorts of shows before, but never in character. This would not be a voice over job for the actor, but a chance for the viewer to accompany the character on a ride through time and space, and learning about real science along the way.

This would be how “Sci Fi Sci” would work.

Obviously this would require film and TV companies getting together and giving their OK , I’m thinking about rights issues, but if done well, it could be quite an exciting, and entertaining documentary series.

“Sci Fi Sci” (c) Wolfie Rankin 2012 – All Rights Reserved

Wolfie!

Thought about Science and Religion.

I have been wondering what makes a person religious, and push science away, when they could be a perfectly rational person.

And yes, there are various emotional reasons, but…

This occurred to me while I was cooking this evening.

If I want to be religious, and feel included with others (feeling included is a big thing with people) then all I really have to do is walk down the street and walk into a church… it’s not going to cost anything, or much, usually. and it’s fairly hands-on, fairly quickly.

Whereas, I’m not sure where I’d start If I had no internet access… The Library? A Museum? That’d be OK, but how do I become “enabled” within the science community, Meaning meeting people, doing stuff, I don’t really know.

I’d like to see a Church of Science started, where people could just get up one morning and walk down the street and mix with real scientists, ask and discuss the big questions… one on one… much like you’d do with a Priest.

And be given guidance, so that a person could be shown the way, so they could find answers to questions, or even more questions.

Maybe we’ve locked science up too much? could that be it?

Wolfie!

ENOUGH !

We are living in 2012, and who is holding us back from the future?

Right wing religious buffoons.

 

We can’t have freedom to love who we want,

We can’t have stem cells which may fix a plethora of disease

Scientists are apparently stupid

and Climate Change isn’t happening

 

I had cancer in 2005, and I know very well where I’d be if I’d had a horde of priests and nuns praying that I’d get better, instead of the medical science and skill which did in fact make me better.

 

I refuse to give the religious one moment of my time, I have put a sign on my letterbox which reads “No Religious Propaganda” did they ignore it? Of course! Because I’m so in need of the word of God or something.

 

I tear it up and put it straight in the bin.

 

I have fought and argued with you dinosaurs over and over, and all you do is quote passages from your pathetic book.

 

Well no more, 

You’re a Christian?

Fuck off.

 

Wolfie!

It’s a Miracle.

Sick to death of people using the word “Miracle” in NEWS stories.

Can’t Doctors, or Scientists or Rescue crews get their well deserved credit, instead of some invisible pretend deity?

 

Eight spiders a year

Every so often I come across this “Fact” about people eating at least eight spiders a year on average, and people will recite it without thinking.

I imagine a scientist in a white lab coat, standing beside a persons bed, clipboard ready, watching someone as they sleep, every night for a whole year.

“Oops, there goes another one” *writes it down*

It is of course more likely that you will eat bits of insects which have been milled into bread or your cereal… or parts of bees which are often found in honey which has been taken directly from the hive.

And yes I have woken up with a strand of web across my face now and then.

But seriously, who came up with “eight spiders a year”?

Bullshit.

Hate Science?

Hate science, and deny everything scientific?

Ok, Do this for me.

Switch off the computer you’re using, if you hate science, you shouldn’t be using a machine made by scientists, Then go into your lounge-room and get rid of your television, your DVD player, and your game consoles… all of which were developed from scientific ideas.

Don’t forget your mobile phone, mp3 player, radio and even the phone wired to your wall… you won’t want any of these.

Then go to your cupboard and throw away all your canned food, yes, your beer too, your instant coffee and whatever else you may find in there.

Then throw out your microwave and your fridge, both function on disgusting scientific principles, so you won’t be wanting those.

Then disconnect yourself from the power grid because, oh yes, more of that awful science.

Then leave your house because, oh no… the wood and the paint and oh dear, geeze that science stuff is everywhere isn’t it?

Get into your car… oh wait… sorry… um, put your shoes…. oh wait… remove all your clothing and walk to a cave and just try to survive there… I’m afraid you won’t be seeing a doctor anymore either, as medicine is completely science based.

No, you can’t take matches for a fire, sorry.

Now tell me…

Would you tell your doctor he’s lying after finding a tumour in your body with a CT scanner?

Would you expect  milk to go off after a day in your fridge because refrigeration is clearly a lie?

You know full well that all of the above works, so how can you deny science and embrace religion…

and somehow manage to feel that climate change is a lie?

Religion Vs Science (Science Wins)

Via @LoveGod50: Why do people trust scientists? They have been wrong about evolution and global warming. Atheism is a pathetic cult.

Oh Yeah, Science… That evil thing which gave you Electricity, The Phone Service, Computers, Satellites, The Internet… Oh wait.

Wolfie!

Future Magic

I have been told by relatives that even if you don’t believe in God, that religion won’t hurt you. But I refuse to believe that.

Religion pulls us back, restrains us from developing, from becoming what we could be, it takes people and creates a bonsai version of us, rather than allowing us to become massive trees.

It takes lives and allows us to wallow in faith, rather than fact, to follow whilst wearing blindfolds, rather than allowing us to think… faith is right, thinking is wrong.

It holds back Stem Cell Research, which could have allowed us to have cures for Parkinsons disease, or to have allowed people to abandon their wheelchairs and stand proud once more.

Religious people can feel that there’s no greenhouse effect, and the scientists are telling lies, and if you put faith in God then all will be well.

It causes people to be discriminated against… My Mother used to tell me that when She was a child, Protestant kids would make up nasty rhymes about Catholic kids and vice-versa, and of course you couldn’t marry a person of another faith. This is Melbourne, Australia in the 1940′s.

Right now it’s more obvious with Gay couples, It’s likely that most of the people against Gay marriage, are religious and feel that because they believe in a fantasy, that they are somehow better than anyone else.

Religion is also likely to be the cause of many wars over the years, So sad to think so many died because of made up stories.

Religion does hurt, it’s extremely damaging.

Even to myself it bought fear and guilt that a young person can do without, even though I wasn’t religious, it was embedded in the family like a virus, but I feel that I have finally been cured of the disease.

I have been wondering, What if at some point there’s a split between two groups… those who ruthlessly continue to be religious, and those who step into the future?

We have religious schools teaching that God made everything, and we have Science based schools teaching the truth.

Eventually we could have a situation where those coming from a Science based education get into jobs revolving around technology, while the religious begin to slip backwards.

And what if, The technology produced by people of science becomes too difficult for people of faith to use, and then someone begins to think that we’ve tried to make technology simple for them to use, at our cost, and they still can’t use it… so lets just give up.

So the next religious generation come along who don’t use technology, and begin to view those who deal with science as Wizards who perform magic, who speak into talking boxes and perform “miraculous” cures?

No I don’t think We’ll divide into H.G Wells Morlocks and Eloi, I think people will see reason and religion will simply die out, which it needs to do.

We need everything to begin falling into place now, with reason and understanding, not to be tied down by dogma, for the sake of ourselves and for the planet.

Wolfies Theory

Whenever I’ve been in a car, or even out walking, Sometimes I’ve seen something on the road or footpath which at first appears to be a bird, but as I get closer, find that it’s simply an old magazine or plastic bag.

While walking Katie (my Dog) home from the park, I saw something ahead of us which looked like a very plump fowl of some sort, possibly a pheasant, as there was a bit of red on what seemed to be it’s “chest” area, while the “wing” which flapped in the breeze was grey.

Up close it turned out to be an empty good-os box (dry dog food) in a grey plastic shopping bag.

Almost every time I see something like this, my mind tells me it’s a dead bird.

And I have a theory about this.

I know the brain has to make sense of what the eyes are seeing, and it’s likely that
our brains are keyed into looking for things which help us stay alive, or breed.
and so I reckon this bird thing is the old brain going “AHA! Free Tucker, I’ll have that!”

I’ve noticed that dogs also take a keen interest in the distant object, and will almost always pull me towards the thing, and then give it a good sniff, before deciding it’s not as edible as they first thought and carry on.

Perhaps now we wouldn’t think of eating a dead bird that we found on the road, but I feel that survival instinct is still there, just below the surface.

Wolfie!

Weather or not

So climate change might be happening, and perhaps there’s something we can do about it, but some people don’t want any part of it and deny the lot, which strikes me as odd… what’s the worst that can happen?

I’m seeing it like this.

Say that you live out in the bush somewhere, and there’s a road leading down to your house from the top of a hill, and you’re inside, reading the paper at your kitchen table, when suddenly the kid from the next property, darts into your house, screaming for you to get out, because there’s a logging truck which seems to have lost control, hurtling towards your home.

You have two choices.

Grab something precious, and get out quick, or tell the kid he’s an idiot and just sit there.

If the truck is really coming, then you’ve been warned and you’ll survive, even if your house doesn’t, and the kid is a hero, all good.

If there’s no truck, you can give the kid a kick up the bum for crying wolf *cough*, and go back to reading the paper, although with a slightly bruised ego.

Now by my calculations, that works out as 100% possibility of survival.

If you remained inside the house and there was no out of control truck hurtling towards your home with a full load of dead trees, then you were right, the kid was an idiot and you’re fine.

But if there was a truck, you’ve found yourself in heaven for grumpy humans who won’t listen to a warning when they’re given one. *twists your ear*

A quick calculation says that being a denier gives you a 50% chance of survival.

Listening to the climate change scientists isn’t going to matter much, yeah ok, you may have to pay a bit more in tax… but you can’t spend money if the planet goes down the gurgler, make sense?

Wolfie!