Probabilities and false positives

In response to my post on random drug testing in Florida, commenter Scott mentioned the danger of false positives and said that a second test in his case cleared him of having taken drugs. My advice to anyone is that whenever you take a high-stakes test for anything that has a small incidence in the general population (drugs, diseases, whatever) and it comes out positive, always consider asking for a second test.

Here’s why. [Read more…]

An old Earth, population bottlenecks, and Adam and Eve

It is always interesting to see religious people trying to find ways to reconcile modern science with their religious texts. For people who have a literal interpretation of the Bible, the task is much harder, with the Genesis story being a nightmare. This is not because the Genesis story is particularly crazier than the other miraculous stories in the Bible but because it is the most familiar and you cannot easily finesse it away. Everyone knows the general outlines of it, even if they are [Read more…]

Using drug tests to humiliate people

Aasif Mandvi from The Daily Show goes to Florida to investigate their policy of forcing people to take drug tests in order to get welfare benefits. It is quite extraordinary the lengths these people will go to make people who are down on their luck feel like scum.

To get suggestions on how to view clips on The Daily Show and The Colbert Report outside the US, please see this earlier post. This clip appeared on February 2, 2012.

How rich people can pay little or no taxes

Most of us think that people who have made a ton of money by various means then simply invest it and live off the resulting income. But what form does this investment income take? If you are an average person, you tend to think of investment income as the interest on certificates of deposit or savings and money market accounts, which are taxed at the same rate as ordinary income. More sophisticated investors get their investment income in the form of [Read more…]

Atheists seek recognition in the US military

Sgt. Justin Griffith is trying to get the US Army to provide to atheists the same kinds of support and services that they provide to religious groups. He is organizing on March 31, 2012 Rock Beyond Belief, that is advertised as “a day-long event on the military base Fort Bragg, North Carolina, complete with children’s activities, rock concerts and [Read more…]

Religious people are happier only in religious countries

Religious people like to claim that belief in god makes people happier and that this alone makes religion a good thing, worth preserving. There are many ways to respond to this, one of which is to echo George Bernard Shaw when he said “The fact that a believer is happier than a sceptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality.”

But is it in fact true that believers are happier than unbelievers? Via Greta Christina, I read this report of a study that [Read more…]

Atheism at the Super Bowl

I hear via Pharyngula that those provocateurs at American Atheists are going to fly an airplane banner over the stadium where the Super Bowl in being played on Sunday. It will fly from 9:30-11:30 am local time and will say “Football beats church anytime – atheists.org.”

What were they thinking? Don’t they realize that children may be among the tailgaters and see that message and be irredeemably harmed? Oh, these godless people can be so cruel.

I wonder if any of the interminable pre-game shows will broadcast the banner. If they do, you can cue the outrage from Fox News.

“The War on Terrorism, Civil Liberties, and the Constitution”

The organization Young Americans for Liberty, in association with The Future of Freedom Foundation is organizing an interesting ‘college tour’ on the above topic covering “habeas corpus, the PATRIOT Act, extraordinary rendition, torture, regime change, and a general discussion about how the war on terrorism has infringed upon the rights of U.S. citizens in the name of making us safe.”

The four events are free and will be streamed live on [Read more…]