A recent Office for National Statistics (ONS) publication formalises and quantifies what are, to most of us, a couple of readily observable facts. The first is that women are now having fewer children. In England and Wales, those born in 1975 had on average 1.92 children, while their mothers’ generation (assumed to be born in …
Several weeks ago, an individual parked his car at a grocery store that served a predominantly African American neighbourhood and began shooting. Using a civilian version of an infantryman’s weapon he targeted his victims based on race going so far as to refrain from killing one individual because he was white. The massacre occurred 2.8 …
Critical thinking requires us to hold an individual responsibility for evaluating information for its scientific rigor. Accepting something as fact just because someone in a position of authority says it is true is considered a logical fallacy, but it isn’t wise to always disregard the word of those with a demonstrated depth of knowledge in …
Polymath inventor Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) is celebrated every 10th July with World Tesla Day. He’s rightly held in high regard for his numerous inventions, most notably his key role in the development of alternating current, the system that powers electricity grids around the world to this day. The Serbian-American engineer was also a pioneer in many …
Nikola Tesla and the cult of the mysterious genius,Mark Horne,The Skeptic Read More »
The latest from Cagle Cartoons. Feeling Safe 101 by Dave Whamond, Canada, PoliticalCartoons.com The post The Comics Section: Protecting Institutions appeared first on TheHumanist.com. The latest from Cagle Cartoons. Feeling Safe 101 by Dave Whamond, Canada, PoliticalCartoons.com The post The Comics Section: Protecting Institutions appeared first on TheHumanist.com.
A few years ago, The Daily Mail boldly asked “Could arsenic be a miracle cure for cancer? Scientists say it had astonishing results when added to a leukemia drug”. It’s worth pointing out that even in the subheading bullet points the Mail Online immediately downplayed their excitement a little, de-escalating from arsenic being a potential “miracle …
There’s a line close to the end of the film Arrival where the lead character, a linguist played by actress Amy Adams, says, “Despite knowing the journey and where it leads, I embrace it, and I welcome every moment of it.” To me this short sentence fulfills to its core the essence of the humanistic …
“Is It All Worth It?” A Humanist Question,Peter Bjork,TheHumanist.com Read More »
There’s just a little more than one week left until the 81st Annual Conference of the American Humanist Association (AHA). The Conference—with a theme of Unity. Community. Opportunity—will be entirely virtual again this year, so you can join us from your very own home, or even set up a watch party with your friends, family, …
Register Now for Unity. Community. Opportunity.,Peter Bjork,TheHumanist.com Read More »
There is a long tradition of using darkness and light as metaphors for states of ignorance and knowledge. Carl Sagan famously subtitled his treatise on science “The Demon Haunted World… Science as a candle in the dark”. It is a skeptic’s cliché that ghost hunters do their best work in the dark. They assemble high …
As I was writing these words, the Supreme Court was poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that established a right to abortion. By the time you read this, it may have already happened. It’s estimated that at least half of the states will put significant restrictions on abortion or attempt to …
