Richard Dawkins slaps creationists into the primordial soup

Times Online ^ | July 19, 2008 | Kate Muir

[Soliton]

Richard Dawkins is that rare specimen, a public intellectual, a knight of the mind who goes into battle against the ignorance and foolhardiness of the populace. Unlike the French, who worship their public intellectuals, giving them pet names such as les intellos, and airing them regularly on serious television and in print, the British like to shove academics into a musty corner, or laugh at them. This was not always the case: the Victorians, with their public lectures and royal societies, gloried in debate and celebrated the thrills of fresh knowledge. The nearest we get to this now is celebrating the thrill of Germaine Greer walking out of Celebrity Big Brother.

[Soliton]

Rick is a bad boy.

[pnh102]

Does this mean we have to apologize to Prof. Dawkins for not paying attention to him for the past few months?

[Lakeshark]

Nothing better than a fawning leftist journalist demonstrating how to put lipstick on a pig........

[Soliton]

Does this mean we have to apologize to Prof. Dawkins for not paying attention to him for the past few months?

What you mean "we" Kimosabe? I pay attention!

[Soliton]

Nothing better than a fawning leftist journalist demonstrating how to put lipstick on a pig........

Lipstick on pig=good comment

How is he a leftist?

[Lakeshark]

Not meaning to question your attentiveness, but the journalist might not be male.......

[LiberConservative]

Who is Richard Dawkins?

[Soliton]

Not meaning to question your attentiveness, but the journalist might not be male.......

You were right to question my attentiveness. I thought you were referring to Master Dawkins who is of course not a journalist at all. Thanks for the correction.

[windsorknot]

Who is Richard Dawkins?

God is asking the same question.

[muawiyah]

Dawkins is an attention queen ~ you know that, so don't pretend.

For a variety of pathological reasons there are those folks in this world who like to harrass others who've done nothing to them and mean them no harm.

I'm guessing that Dawkins preliminary problem is a narrow urethra, followed by a pilonidal cyst, compounded with Peronie's syndrome, and spastic colitis.

Makes him want to get even with others!

No doubt he could get some relief with more workouts and strict observace of the correct diet.

[Soliton]

“Who is Richard Dawkins?”

He is Barack Obama’s older, whiter half brother.

Biography

His father (Barack Sr.) moved to Kenya from England during the Second World War to join the Allied Forces

Richard Dawkins was born in Nairobi in 1941

His family returned to England in 1949

Studied at Oxford University and graduated in 1962

Remained at Oxford to work for his doctorate with ethologist Niko Tinbergen

Assistant Professor of Zoology at the University of California at Berkeley 1967-1969

Lecturer in Zoology at Oxford University and a Fellow of New College from 1970

Published his first book, The Selfish Gene in 1976
Holder of the newly endowed Charles Simonyi Chair of Public Understanding of Science 1995

Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1997
Richard Dawkins is married to actress and artist Lalla (of Dr. Who fame) Ward. She has illustrated two of his books, River out of Eden, and Climbing Mount Improbable.

[Hoplite]

No Coelacanth Bisque for you!

[Bishop_Malachi]

For final proof that Dawkins, rather than God, is everywhere, you need only to have seen the most recent series of Doctor Who, in which Dawkins played a cameo as himself.

________________________________________________________

I used to watch the old Doctor Who episodes when I was a kid, but I would never make the mistake of thinking it was “mainstream”. This poor author must live a very sheltered life if he thinks Doctor Who informs the worldview of even a slim majority of sentient creatures on this planet.

[LoneRangerMassachusetts]

For final proof that Dawkins, rather than God, is everywhere, you need only to have seen the most recent series of Doctor Who...

OK, I read the first page of the article. It's a bunch of tripe promoting Dawkins. The article leads off Dawkins put Creationists in their place [with his views as an athiest]. After the first page I see I'm wasting my time with the article.

I don't care how much you lick Dawkins boots, you are not going to be able to prove the non existence or something you can't prove that exists. I thought I'd give the article a chance but it's pure promotion by sycophants. I regret falling in the trap of expecting more.

[grey_whiskers]

He looks as arrogant as he sounds.

If he came across differently (think Feynman or Kip Thorne) he'd get more headway.

Cheers!

[Soliton]

I don't care how much you lick Dawkins boots,

Ich bin nicht ein bootlichter!

[Soliton]

If he came across differently (think Feynman or Kip Thorne) he'd get more headway.

Actually, in person he seems rather shyish and retiring. I think you are right, however, in that he and PZ Meyers hurt themselves and there message through their lack of diplomacy.

Pip pip and cheerio!

[Old North State]

I don't know of anybody who goes out of their way to insult Dawkins or cast aspersion on his work, yet he incessantly seeks out others to mock and belittle.
Why? If he really had such unshakable faith in his ideas wouldn't he calm down a bit and let others have their say?
Why are leftist invariable predisposed to silence others? We see it here, in the global warming debate and in the attempts to silence talk radio, it's always the same. They never want to expose their beliefs to the marketplace of ideas, they always want to be the only voice heard.

[LoneRangerMassachusetts]

Ich bin nicht ein bootlichter!

Also, Kiss seinem Esel!

[Soliton]

I see you are Greek hoplite?

Are you wearing your protection (hoplon)?

[Soliton]

Also, Kiss seinem Esel!

Ich trinka lemonada gern! Spiels du foosball?

[Secret Agent Man]

You’re mixing your metaphors when you say ‘attention queen’.

It is either ‘attention whore’ or ‘drama queen’.

Unless now we have a new combining of the two, but I think that ‘attention whore queen’ or drama queen whore’ would be more accurate.

Not ripping ya, just havin fun.... :)

[ShihanRob]

Who is Richard Dawkins?

Isn't he the guy who used to host Family Feud?

[muawiyah]

It’s an apt mixed metaphor.

[YHAOS]

El Primo puff job.

[georgiagirl_pam]

Richard Dawkins is the “Famous” Evolutionist that loves to call Creationist Christians bad names. He is also the same “Famous” Evolutionist that Ben Stein questioned at the end of his movie.
Dawkins actually said that he didn't know how to explain how something came from nothing. He then went on to say that he believed that it was entirely possible that life began on another planet, evolving by Darwinian processess, and then it was seeded here on Earth by intelligent beings.
Huh?

[Hoplite]

Turned in my panoply back to the supply room and armory in '93, and eating at a Gyro house is probably about as close as I'll ever get to Greece.

But I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night!

[LoneRangerMassachusetts]

Ich trinka lemonada gern! Spiels du foosball?

Whose balls you trick?

[Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus]

How's he going to do that when he can't even build a credible simulation model for genetic drift based on actual biological principles on his own website? The guy's a joke, and not even a very good scientist.

[Nick5]

Say what you will, that’s an impressive resume.

[aruanan]

Richard Dawkins is that rare specimen, a public intellectual, a knight of the mind who goes into battle against the ignorance and foolhardiness of the populace.

Written by a true sycophant, though she got the specimen part right.

[Soliton]

Just because the groupy is dumb doesn’t make the rock star stupid.

[GulfBreeze]

Man what a sop... Could she have gushed any worse. This is truly a lesson in unprofessional sycophancy.

[Soliton]

You are wrong as is your want. Sleep tight this full moon my little cleric bashing friend.

I know that science is a stranger to your “intellectual” pursuits and your cut-n-paste antics make your mother proud.

Dawkins maybe an a**hole, but he is a brilliant a**hole who created a whole new field of study.

Sleep quietly little friend. Good night!

[GulfBreeze]

You really are.

[Soliton]

Man what a sop... Could she have gushed any worse. This is truly a lesson in unprofessional sycophancy

Too true. I have read and read Dawkins' work. He is brilliant, but this article is an embarrassment.

[Ethan Clive Osgoode]

Who is Richard Dawkins?

He's a guy who supports the desecration of what Catholics hold to be sacred:

PLEASE WRITE IN SUPPORT OF PZ MYERS.
By Richard Dawkins

Readers of yesterday's thread "It's a Goddamned Cracker" will be aware of somebody called Bill Donohue, whose grasp of reality is so poor that he can't tell the difference between a wafer and Jesus. The shrieking hysteria of Donohue and other Roman Catholics over the temporary removal of a communion wafer from a church service epitomises all that is ridiculous in the religious mind.

Today's development is that Donohue is now inciting a witch-hunt against PZ, and is trying to whip up Roman Catholics to write to the President of the University of Minnesota, urging him to sack PZ. We need a massive counter flood of letters in support of PZ Myers. Please write, bearing in mind PZ's two requests:-

1. Please use your own name, not a pseudonym 2. Please take care to write in a good, literate, adult style, in order to increase the contrast between the letters of support and the incoherent, juvenile flaming that will doubtless characterise the letters from the Catholics.

For details of the address to write to, see Pharyngula, here (or PZ's post below) http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/07/fight_back_against_bill_donohu.php

Please rally round and show support for PZ, in the face of this hysterical latter-day Grand Inquisitor.

Thank you

Richard

By the way, Julian Huxley (founder of Unesco, president of the Eugenics Society, raving atheist, etc.) was a friend of the Dawkins family. Huxley was Konrad Lorenz's mentor -- Lorenz was the colleague of the guy under which Dawkins got his Ph.D. Worst of all, Richard is not his first name. His first name is Clinton.

[Soliton]

Say what you will, that’s an impressive resume.

I suspect him of being proto-autistic. He has a brilliant mind but an insensitivity to human emotion.

[Soliton]

You really are.

I am that I am

[GulfBreeze]

This Dawkins guy is real juvenile! He laces his own post with heavy doses of insults while urging his lackeys and sycophants to write in an adult style. What a joke. Who would take this guy seriously?

[aruanan]

Just because the groupy is dumb doesn’t make the rock star stupid.

No, but in this case the rock star is dyspeptic, intellectually dishonest, pandering, question-begging, and out of his depth in theology and philosophy of religion, sadly so, given his current position. But then many people have been hired (or elected) to fill positions for which they are incompetent.

[Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus]

Typical Soliton response - makes noise while completely ducking the issue....

[Nick5]

It’s all presentation. A role he plays. He’s smart, and he believes what he’s saying, and the public personna is what sells his books. Which are astonishingly well written, and entertaining, whether you believe in them or not. It may be science and polemic, but he tells a damn good yarn.

[tang-soo]

Isn't this him?


Too bad he gave up comedy and started all this controversial stuff. I really liked his character on Hogan's Heros and I just love to watch his reruns of Family Feud. I have 5 seasons on DVD. I just love to put my feet up and drink my tea while watching my Richard - all day long I do.

[Soliton]

It’s all presentation. A role he plays. He’s smart, and he believes what he’s saying, and the public personna is what sells his books. Which are astonishingly well written, and entertaining, whether you believe in them or not. It may be science and polemic, but he tells a damn good yarn.

His science is great. Shame he lets PR get in the way.

[CharlesWayneCT]

Wasn’t he the guy from “Family Feud”? “And the Survey Says......”

:-)

[LiteKeeper]

read later

[Slings and Arrows]

I think the gang from South Park nailed Dawkins: “It’s not enough to be an atheist - you also have to be a d*** about it!”

[caveat emptor]

I don't know of anybody who goes out of their way to insult Dawkins or cast aspersion on his work, yet he incessantly seeks out others to mock and belittle.

There's a hilarious video spoofing Dawkins here, which Dawkins apparently didn't understand, as discussed here (and in case you can't watch videos).

As to the motives for his attacks, I suspect he's on the same mission as these guys

[Soliton]

His atheism hurts his science