Which came first... the Chicken or the Egg?

Which came first.. the chicken or the egg?

Seriously, how is this even a problem? Any 7-year-old can tell you that eggs existed hundreds of millions of years before chickens, so the trivial answer is "the egg came first".

To look at it another way... All chickens come from eggs, but not all eggs come from chickens. So we can therefore imagine a sequence in which a non-chicken lays an egg, and that egg gives rise to a chicken. The alternative (a non-egg gives rise to a chicken) simply does not fit with our experience of  eggs. Or chickens. Or the world.

So, to summarise. THE EGG CAME FIRST.
Thank you.

Plausible Deniability - another long lost letter to the editor

I have no idea exactly what caused me to write this letter, possibly my first, back in 2001...

"Plausible Deniability". That's the secret. It takes fine political judgement to encourage all of the electorate's ingrained racist attitudes, while still being able to claim that your policies and rhetoric are not racist.

John Howard has near-perfect political judgement. Without plausible deniability, people would not feel at liberty to vote for him. Australians would not vote for a politician who was openly racist. The trick is to walk like a racist, but talk like a patriot.

After all, when he pokes out his trembling bottom lip like that, how could any right-thinking Australian doubt his sincerity? John loves humanity, John's heart goes out to the suffering, but John can't allow his love to interfere with his duty.

By hammering that image of himself, John allows Australians to vote for him. After all, you have to leave an escape route for people's consciences.

Lee Borkman
13 November 2001

My perfect Twitter client

I don't want much in a Twitter client. Here it is:

• One tap/click to move from viewing my mentions to viewing my favourite list.
• Highlighting when there are new items from a list, new mentions, new direct messages, etc
  
• Accurate conversation view
• Auto-completion of usernames and hashtags
• "Post using this hashtag" function
• URL shortening.
• Easy image attachment.

On the iPhone, the free Echofon app handles all of this easily and without fuss. I keep trying alternative clients, but I always come back.

Unfortunately, and incomprehensibly, the same Echofon app, running on the big-screen iPad, makes life HARDER by insisting on TWO clicks to go from mentions to your favourite list. Fail.

On the Mac, I do use Echofon, but it doesn't have auto-completion, and it doesn't have "post with this tag". It does the rest so simply, that I stick with it.

On Windows, I'm all at sea... using Seesmic Web

Anyone have any recommendations for Mac, Windows and iPad that would satisfy this simple man?

Thanks,
Lee.

My Twitter Disconnection Game - a transcript

This is the transcript of my "tweets" in my first attempt at "the Disconnection Game", in which all conversation is unaddressed, leaving the readers to make their own connections and conversations. The transcript is in reverse order, wit the first tweets at the bottom:

I have to stop now. My deoderant can't cope.

57 minutes ago

You don't think. Therefore I am a solipsist.

58 minutes ago

Actually, this way of talking is ideal for Tweetdeck, because it really doesn't do connected conversations very well.

59 minutes ago

The medium IS the message, damn it! There is nothing to prove, except proof itself.

59 minutes ago

Who else would I be talking to? I'm just messing with the medium. Gotta keep myself amused somehow.

1 hour ago

If I'm not following you, that's almost certainly an oversight. Please let me know, and all shall be made right.

1 hour ago

Let's hope it's diamond smuggling, and not something more... naughty.

1 hour ago

I think I'm crashing... The office is not a creative environment.

1 hour ago

I like the new avi, Regina. Are we ever going to see more than your shoulder?

1 hour ago

Dip, sauce... they're all condiments!

1 hour ago

I'm not sure I want to be more grounded. I spend too much time grounded. Serious soul.

1 hour ago

Yum!

1 hour ago

I hope it wasn't MY banjo.

1 hour ago

I can flirt with the world like this, and nobody needs to be offended by my clumsiness.

1 hour ago

Is that you in your avi? Very lovely.

1 hour ago

I'm happy with both of those words, but I might be running out of steam. You would not believe how difficult this is.

1 hour ago

She's fibbing. It's none of my doing.

1 hour ago

I'm trying to have fun, believe me. Float with me?

1 hour ago

Are they broken yet? What would happen if I did break the twitters? WOuld you guys be angry?

1 hour ago

Blame Carly Simon. I think she's at the heart of this silliness.

1 hour ago

Sorry, that's my fault.

1 hour ago

It's certainly not practical, but quite invigorating. Tightrope-style.

1 hour ago

My body is floating in space.

1 hour ago

I prefer the rhythm method.

1 hour ago

Exactly. You should try it. because I don;t think I can keep it up much longer.

1 hour ago

Really? He actually said that? What a creep!

1 hour ago

Twitter is one huge Rorschach. I can assemble entire conversations out of dribs and drabs of monologue.

1 hour ago

Whedony, you say? I'll take that as a big compliment! It's kind of scaray, kind of liberaty.

1 hour ago

Oh, I wouldn't say that! But... well... thank you very much!

1 hour ago

This is tweeting on the edge. My heart rate is zooming.

1 hour ago

You are all of that and more.

1 hour ago

Possibly.

1 hour ago

Thank you. You too!

1 hour ago

No, not you. You. Sorry for the confusion. ... So... what have you been up to?

1 hour ago

My theory is that Twitter conversations will be more exciting if we all leave out the @s. Seems to be working.

1 hour ago

Yes, you.

1 hour ago

That last tweet of yours... I assume it was meant for me. Thanks!

1 hour ago

Science and religion... are they compatible?

Some friends of mine in the wonderful Twittersphere were, this morning, agreeing that religion and science are fundamentally incompatible, but I was not so sure. It's obvious that religion and science sit uneasily side-by-side, but are they truly incompatible? What does this actually mean anyway?

First, let's be clear what we are discussing. By "religion", do we mean some specific religion or religions; or religion itself, the idea that there are powers beyond the physical, measurable world? Do we mean the overarching religious "world-view", whereby the non-physical realm is the ultimate explanation for the physical? Or if we are considering specific religions, then which religions?; and are we thinking of canonical scripture, or lay conceptions, or sophisticated theological theory?

As for "science", that could refer to the scientific enterprise, the scientific method, or merely the current (and contingent) body of scientific theory. It might mean the strictly meta-scientific philosophy known as Occam's Razor. Or it might mean some notional scientific "world-view", whereby everything important is presumed to be observable and measurable, and anything which is not is therefore irrelevant or even non-existent.

Surely, given all these possibilities, the bald claim "religion and science are incompatible" is imprecise at best, and simplistic at worst.

If we are talking about the religious world-view and the scientific world-view, then I would have to agree that these are incompatible. These cannot be reconciled, but that is the nature of world-views - they are all-encompassing, and there is no room for more than one. You subscribe to one or the other, or neither.

And then, if we are talking about the literal reality of the Christian Creation story on one hand, and the most recent scientific cosmological theories on the other, then those too are obviously incompatible.

It can also be argued that a belief in an interventionist god would be incompatible the scientific enterprise, as science is predicated on the assumption that the physical universe follows rules, whereas an interventionist god implies that the rules can be broken ad hoc. I have sympathy for this position, but note that the degree to which science would be undermined is proportional to the frequency with which gods intervene.

But if we are talking about the more general religious belief that the universe is the creation of a god or gods, then this position clearly does not conflict with any scientific theory, and can never conflict with any observation that can be made in the physical world. Gods are outside the physical realm and are thus outside the conceivable knowledge of science. If one wishes to dismiss gods on the basis that they are non-scientific, then that dismissal is philosophical, rather than scientific.

In the end, I contend that science and religion are fundamentally "non-overlapping". Science has no purview over the non-physical universe. Religion is sometimes said to have gross effects in the physical world, and when it does, it finds itself in conflict with science. But a minimal religion, in which gods create the universe, and then largely stand aloof, does not have to overlap with the domain of science. This is, indeed, the position towards which religion is largely being forced to retreat by the successes of science. And yet religion will only ever need to retreat so far, and never further, because science has no sway in the non-physical universe.

So... religion and science.... are they compatible? I don't want to be evasive, but the answer depends entirely on what, precisely, is meant by the question. And that is really the best I can do.

A Christmas love letter to Twitter

I first ventured into the Twitter realm just a few short weeks ago, and I am so glad I did. What a wonderful place it is, and all born of the simplest of ideas. Thousands, millions of fragments of monologue floating about, some unnoticed, others bumping into each other by chance, perhaps coalescing into conversation. Strange forces of attraction draw us together, forming order from the chaos. Solar systems and galaxies of friendship swirl about, and the universe takes on shape, giving us location within it.

I find myself flying in a figure-of-eight orbit about two distinct communities, with nothing in common except, perhaps, me. And everyone else, no doubt, inhabits their own unique set of systems. For Twitter, unlike the real world, is built on true interest and attraction. Acquaintance is not forced upon us by banal geography, and small talk is rare. The result is real conversation, full of play or seriousness, sometimes silly, sometimes profound.

I love it.

I have met some wonderful people in my brief time here, and I look forward to meeting many more. Those special few, I hope you know who you are... you have made my life a little brighter, a little richer.

Anyway, it is very late on Christmas Eve. I'm generally tired and emotional, and I have fatherly duties waiting on me. I apologise for the purple prose, but I just wanted to tell you how beautiful I find all of this, and how strange that it should grow from such a simple, technological seed.

I wish you all love and joy, this Christmas and beyond, and I hope to speak with you very soon.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all... goodnight!

Lee Borkman

@ohpointybird

A reading and listening list for believers and unbelievers

I've been talking with friends on Twitter lately, where one of the hot topics is always religion. Some of the conversation gets pretty heated and, although I try to avoid that, people obviously have very strong feelings on the subject, but I try to remember that "Your virtue is not measured by what you believe, but by what you do."

Every now and then, someone mentions some book, article or podcast that they feel illuminates the playing field, so I propose to keep a consolidated list of these here, for the use of anyone interested.

I invite you all to add reading/listening/viewing suggestions in the comments below, and I will continue to integrate all of these into this list.

Let me get things started:

• C.S Lewis' Narnia series (esp The Magician's Nephew; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; The Last Battle). Much-loved children's fantasy, re-telling the great Christian story.
• Ted Dekker's Circle Trilogy (Black; Red; White). A recent "young persons' fantasy" also re-imagining the Christian tale.
• Hoftstadter and Dennett (eds), The Mind's I. A wonderful collection of philosophical essays and allegories on the subject of self and soul. An excellent and non-intimidating introduction to the philosophy of mind, and cognitive science.
• The radio show and podcast This American Life, episode 290: "Godless America" A wonderful episode of a wonderful series.
• White Wine In The Sun, a cheeky but lovely description of secular Christmas in Australia. Written by Tim Minchin, sung by Kate Miller-Heidke.
• The Worthing Saga by Orson Scott Card, a very famous, and Mormon, science fiction writer. A sci-fi examination of god and suffering.
• Hell is the Absence of God, a short story by Ted Chiang.
• Monty Python's The Meaning Of Life, a film of sketches with a theme.
• Monty Python's The Life Of Brian, classic film about Jesus Christ's neighbour. Touhces on religion.
• Ian McEwan’s novel Enduring Love, about a man of Science; a rational thinker, perhaps to the point of naivety and even ultimately to his own detriment.
• Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy. A guided tour through hell, limbo and heaven, in wondrous poetry.
• John Milton's Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained, poetic retelling of the great Christian story.
• Roger Penrose' the Emperor's New Mind.
• Bill Bryson's A Brief History Of Nearly Everything.
• Steven Pinker's How the Mind Works.
• The Nature of Personal Reality, Jane Roberts
• John Gribbin's In Search of Schrodinger's Cat
• A User's Guide To the Universe by Dave Goldberg and Jeff Blomquist
• The End of Time by Julian Barbour
• Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin
• The Universe In A Nutshell by Stephen Hawking
• Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. The anti-Narnia?
• Kanye West's song Jesus Walks.
• God Actually by Roy Williams. A pro-faith book that raised some eyebrows among the believers too.
• Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. The great children's author is also the best known Christian "apologist".
• Faith of Millions: the credentials of the Catholic religion by John A. O'Brien.
• The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning. Former Catholic priest retells the gospel.
• John Irving's A Prayer For Own Meany. Irving's greatest novel, a brilliant read, with faith as its central theme. And armadillos.
• The Sins of Scripture: Exposing the Bible's Texts of Hate to Reveal the God of Love by Bishop John Shelby Spong. The title says it all.
• John Lennon's song God, which is about his loss of faith and his discovery of hope. A mild, non-confrontational, personal tale, that causes surprising levels of heat in the Twitterverse.
• John Safran suggests Picture Stories From The Bible. Thanks, John.
• Ben Pobjie's wonderful article Atheist Myths Debunked.

So, there... that's my starting list. I hope to get recommendations for Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, etc, but I also want to see the faith side putting its very best foot forward.

Please add your (polite) suggestions in the blog comments

Thank you very much,

Lee.

http://twitter.com/#!/leeborkman