Richard Dawkins Forum

[The Curious Squid]

[charlou]

I'm grateful to RD for his books, for sharing his social insights (the god delusion) and his scientific knowledge (I've read the selfish gene, unweaving the rainbow, and parts of his other work). I'd place him with David Attenborough as an influence in my confidence in thinking for myself. I certainly bear no animosity towards him as a person just like the rest of us. In fact I like him and applaud his legacy, promoting both science and reason over the years he's been doing so. Thank fuck for courageous voices in a crazy world.

[lordpasternack]

Other than the fact that the promotion of reason and science has mostly morphed into the promotion of just atheism and secularism - I'd agree with much of what you say, Charlou. I bear no animosity for Richard. I do, however, bear a fair amount of exasperation for him at times. Well, it's quite a strong love-exasperation attraction, really…

[Santa_Claus]

I think me and Richard are in different parts of the Atheist spectrum.

Unless he does a lot more wanking on buses than generally known..............

[Hermit]

Other than the fact that the promotion of reason and science has mostly morphed into the promotion of just atheism and secularism...

Fact? My foot. It morphed from "...a community, and that is a valuable part of it. Many of our forum threads have an atmosphere of friends going out for a drink and chatting. I think that is valuable, and I don't think we should insist on sticking to serious topics. That would be a good way to stifle the sense of community..." to "As for the knighthood, how could I turn down what Sir David (and Sir Salman) saw fit to accept?" It's about him now. (And) restecp!

[lordpasternack]

Nah, Santa - I expect he does a lot more wanking in taxis and chauffeur-driven vehicles than buses.

[lordpasternack]

Other than the fact that the promotion of reason and science has mostly morphed into the promotion of just atheism and secularism...

Fact? My foot. It morphed from "...a community, and that is a valuable part of it. Many of our forum threads have an atmosphere of friends going out for a drink and chatting. I think that is valuable, and I don't think we should insist on sticking to serious topics. That would be a good way to stifle the sense of community..." to "As for the knighthood, how could I turn down what Sir David (and Sir Salman) saw fit to accept?" It's about him now. (And) restecp!

I think you make more of his missive about knighthood than he would have intended. I think he knows he's not getting one, at the end of the day - just for being so vocally anti-religious. You'd be right in inferring a dose of narcissism in Richard - let's not deny that - but it's still tempered by other admirable parts of his demeanor.

I admit even I was a little bent out of shape by that comment. After the fact, I felt like putting to him how he could accept what Michael Faraday and Francis Crick saw fit to refuse… and there's the rub in letting others think vicariously for you, instead of applying thought and making up your own fucking mind - based on what you think and understand, and how neat or otherwise it might be to get another shiny-shiny…

But I'm more annoyed that he seems to be closer to marketing and PR people than scientists and proper rationalists right now. And the marketing people haven't done a jot of market research, and the PR people don't seem very aware of the public they're supposed to be relating to - and they have their heads so far up their arses that they're more concerned with the vex issue of posting witty cartoons and a little ill-humour in the tone of comments, than they are with the issue of actually making the site about REASON AND SCIENCE.

It's not so much head prefects with swagger sticks now, as it is petty, priggish and mildly paranoid mother-knows-best control freaks.

[Svartalf]

Well, if he knows he's not getting one, he should not have even spoken about accepting one if offered. It made it look like the egotistical prick he is.

[klr]

Well, if he knows he's not getting one, he should not have even spoken about accepting one if offered. It made it look like the egotistical prick he is.

No, he's got a right to point out how distorted the honours system is, with so many people being knighted (or whatever) for doing very little or nothing at all of note, while others far more more deserving get overlooked.

[Hermit]

Well, if he knows he's not getting one, he should not have even spoken about accepting one if offered. It made it look like the egotistical prick he is.

He was begging. Couldn't help himself. A string of a dozen or so of doctorates honoris causa and similar baubles just aren't enough.

...he's got a right to point out how distorted the honours system is, with so many people being knighted (or whatever) for doing very little or nothing at all of note, while others far more more deserving get overlooked.

If that is what he was doing, he might have said something like "As for the knighthood, how could I accept what the Queen saw fit to bestow upon so many for doing very little or nothing at all of note?"

[Svartalf]

Nothing to tell about the highest honors going to undeserving nobodies and corrupt shits.

But saying that you could not refuse what (supposedly) lesser men have accepted is hardly a way to reflect on that sorry state of thing.

[klr]

Well, if he knows he's not getting one, he should not have even spoken about accepting one if offered. It made it look like the egotistical prick he is.

He was begging. Couldn't help himself. A string of a dozen or so of doctorates honoris causa and similar baubles just aren't enough.

...he's got a right to point out how distorted the honours system is, with so many people being knighted (or whatever) for doing very little or nothing at all of note, while others far more more deserving get overlooked.

If that is what he was doing, he might have said something like "As for the knighthood, how could I accept what the Queen saw fit to bestow upon so many for doing very little or nothing at all of note?"

Now, that wouldn't be very polite at all, would it?

Anyway, the Queen doesn't really decide who gets honoured, does she?

Nothing to tell about the highest honors going to undeserving nobodies and corrupt shits.

But saying that you could not refuse what (supposedly) lesser men have accepted is hardly a way to reflect on that sorry state of thing.

Was he actually implying that Attenborough and Rushdie are lass deserving than he? I don't recall that at all. Whatever you might think about him, it's not his style.

Frankly, I'm finding some of this Dawkins-bashing to be a bit distasteful. Which is ironic given what he's being accused of here.

[PsychoSerenity]

Personally I'm quite happy that the forum went kaput - I mean obviously it was terrible for the community and everything - but if it hadn't, I wouldn't have found this place.

[Thinking Aloud]

Personally I'm quite happy that the forum went kaput - I mean obviously it was terrible for the community and everything - but if it hadn't, I wouldn't have found this place.

But we might have found you.

Bwah ha ha ha ha ha ha Bwah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha hah a AH HA HA HAHA HA HAH A HA HAH A BWAH HAHAHAHAHAHA MUH HAHA HA HA HA HA HA HAH AA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!!!!!!!!!

[Geoff]

Personally I'm quite happy that the forum went kaput - I mean obviously it was terrible for the community and everything - but if it hadn't, I wouldn't have found this place.

But we might have found you.

But if RDF hadn't imploded, TAF, and subsequently this place, wouldn't have needed to exist.