Without any commentary, I’d like to submit this for your consideration:

Here is an article about the same research.

Here’s another article.

I’ve had good teachers and I’ve had bad teachers. Today, I’m not going to talk about bad teachers. I’m going to talk about two different kinds of good teachers.

I’ve had teachers who are really amazing and capturing the imaginations of the students, and who are really good at presenting the subject material in a compelling way. At the end of the class, the students (myself included) will say, “Wow! Dr. So-and-So is a fantastic teacher! He’s amazing! I’d recommend him to anyone.”

I’ve had other teachers who are also really amazing and capturing the imaginations of the students, and who are really good at presenting the subject material in a compelling way. At the end of the class, the students (myself included) will say, “Wow! I never knew entomology is so fascinating! I’m going to have to spend more time reading about it.” Continue reading →

I haven’t posted for a while. And I might not post again for another week or so. Why? Because Nathan Richardson and I are in the middle of rebuilding www.ldsphilosopher.com. From scratch. It will be a brand new site, like a phoenix from the ashes. It will be far, far better than the previous site was. It will have new content at least twice a week. It will have resources you’ve never even dreamed of. You’ll be addicted to it. It will be awesome.

Anyways, it has kept us busy for the past week or so, and will continue keeping us busy for another week or so.

Just want to whet your appetite. =) More updates upcoming!

One of my favorite movies is Contact, based on a novel written by Carl Sagan. One reason I like it is that it makes such important statements about how we come to know things. (Spoiler alert: Those who haven’t seen the movie and would not like the plot spoiled for them should not read this post.)

Skepticism

The movie is about a woman named Eleanor Arroway (Ellie) who is an astronomer working for the SETI program (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence). She scans the stars using radio telescopes, looking for radio signals from other planets that may be communications from intelligent life outside the solar system. Ellie is an atheist (or at best, an agnostic); she does not find any compelling evidence to believe in God. She refuses to believe in anything unless she is shown public, replicable, and verifiable evidence. She does not feel that there is enough evidence to warrant belief in a Supreme Being. Continue reading →