Atheist Enough

It's a fun phrase, and I want to explore what it means. It's easy to be "atheist", isn't it? You just reject the notion of any supernatural deity. Problem solved. And I'm happy that more and more people are becoming this variety of atheist.

I suspect the desire to make atheism mean a bit more is probably related to the desire of having a religion in the first place, but unlike other theist traits it's not simple to get rid of. I'd argue it's part of human nature to group things and then desire to be with certain groups. So when I say "You aren't atheist enough!", I mean you're not atheist-enough for my standards of atheism, which are high enough to only fit a certain proportion of atheists. I've added more detail to the label "atheist", because that's one thing I don't mind being associated as. It's not enough to just say "Yeah, I don't believe in the Christian God or any god/gods you care to name."

So what's this extra meaning? Well, to be atheist enough, you first have to reject all notions of supernatural or non-explainable. My own journey to atheism serves as an example, but it happens to many others as well. I started off rejecting Mormonism, my faith, not outright but as something to be identified with. I picked up Taoist beliefs, and sort of believed in some mystical Way that permeates all. I called myself an Agnostic Taoist Mormon. (And I learned of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, and changed that to be Spagnostic instead of Agnostic. I never believed in Him, but it's still a great religion. :)

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Carnations

A Ukrainian woman places carnations onto the shields of anti-riot policemen standing outside the presidential office in Kiev, November 24, 2004. Ukraine's authorities raised the stakes in a face-off with their liberal opposition on Wednesday as they prepared to announce results of a disputed election that are likely to infuriate thousands of protesters in the streets. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko

This woman expresses the meaning of non-violence and compassion toward the "enemy". Carnations usually symbolize love (and I somehow doubt she's loving them for the fact that they will beat opposition). The expression "love your enemies" fits here. Another important note on strategy is to remind your opponents to love.

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Idiot Smackdown!

As a followup to Yay Free Traffic, I've decided to actually go through the negative posts about me on the Objectivist forum and rip them to shreds. I'm not going to be so kind as to link back to them, though, but the url is: forum.objectivismonline.net/index.php?showtopic=18153

Let's get ready to rumble! (Not that I care if any of them read this; I happen to have just finished my major finals so I have some free time and need amusement.) I'll start with Amaroq / Steve's post, in pieces:

If you've talked to me for any significant amount of time, you probably know that I have a roommate who used to be a fledgling Objectivist, who has become vehemently anti-Objectivist, and even anti-philosophy in his quest to obliterate Objectivism.

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Having One Tool

"When the only tool you have is a hammer, it is tempting to treat everything as if it were a nail."
--Abraham Maslow

The Law of the Instrument, known about for years and years and continuously recognized as a Bad Thing.

It's even an anti-pattern in software! This is why a good programmer will not just learn multiple languages, but also multiple paradigms. Knowing C++ and then switching to Java isn't much of a paradigm shift at all, let alone a language shift. Switching to a dialect of Lisp, however, would be a rewarding experience because it's vastly different. Different syntax, different paradigm, different typing. I'm on this path, but I don't think I've gone far enough. But my experiences with Python, Scheme, PHP, Java, C/C++ (which I know decently), and a little Perl, Ruby, and Assembly have all taught me very useful things. Even though my main programming language is Python, with all my web stuff being in PHP, ideas and patterns from other languages have influenced my coding in my primary ones for the better. Even if you don't use Scheme daily, just learning it will give you great insights.

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Yay Free Traffic

So I refreshed my stats the other night after getting a stream of comments.



Hmm, I wonder where that surge of traffic came from?

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I am so smart! I am so smart!

S-M-R-T! I mean S-M-A-R-T!

I miss watching Simpsons.

Anyway, this post is kind of self-depreciating (which is not the same as self-deprecating, oh my Luna, programmers get it straight already!). Because in reality, I'm really not all that smart and I freely admit that.

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The Hacker Manifesto

From here:


Another one got caught today, it's all over the papers. "Teenager Arrested in Computer Crime Scandal", "Hacker Arrested after Bank Tampering"...

Damn kids. They're all alike.

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