Assorted Items
Carnival of the Godless
Carnival of the Godless XVIII is up on St. Nate’s Blog. Go check it out.
Despite what it says there, I will be hosting COTG XIX on July 31, not August 7. That’s next Sunday. There are usually two weeks between carnivals, but I only have one week to get submissions, so please send me some samples of your best godless blogging. Submissions can be emailed to me at iam@evangelicalatheist.com. In addition to writing “COTG Submission” in the subject of the email, please include the following information:
For more information on the Carnival of the Godless, visit the COTG homepage.
Richard Swinburne
Two freedom fighters have stepped forward in response to my mathematical fatwa on Richard Swinburne with proofs of his nonexistence that were sufficiently confusing. They follow.
Seth’s Proof:
Assuming:
•”I think, therefore I am,” so I exist
•Everything I see/hear/taste/touch/smell is all programmed into my imagination by the Matrix
•I read (see) your blog on the Internet, thus you are a figment of my imagination
•I first heard of Richard Swinburne from your blog, and your blog doesn’t exist
Consequently:
Richard Swinburne does not exist.
This can also be expressed as the formula X+Y?Z+Q
If:
X=My imagination
Y=You (a figment of my imagination)
Z=Dr. Swinburne (a figment of your [a figment of my] imagination)
Q=What the hell am I talking about?
Waiting for Godnot’s Proof:
The volume of the observable universe: 3e85 cm3
The volume of Dr. Swinburne (idealized to a 6-foot tall 2-foot wide bologna) is about 5.338e5 cm3 .
Therefore, even if I’m off by a few orders of magnitude on the Doctor’s volume, the ratio of Dr.Swinburne volume to visible universe volume is around 1:5.62e79.
This is also the approximate probablility that any given cubic centimeter of the universe is occupied by a cubic centimeter of Dr.Swinburne.
Those are pretty long odds. In fact, a given cm3 of space is much more likely to contain nothing at all than a cm3 of Dr. Swinburne, so it’s quite possible he doesn’t exist at all.
~I AM~
July 25th, 2005 at at 1:20 pm
Maybe I just suck at Roman Numerals, but I cant figure out what IXX means?
IX = 9 and X = 10. So is IXX 90? Im not sure… At first I thought it was 19 but then I realized that 19 is XIX so now Im all confused.
July 25th, 2005 at at 1:29 pm
You don’t suck at Roman numerals. I’m just a big idiot. XIX is what I meant, and I’ve corrected it. Thank you. I think 90 would be XC.
July 25th, 2005 at at 8:27 pm
So, youre trying to tell me that youre NOT perfect!?!?!
p.s. If X is 10 and C is 100, wouldnt the C go before the X for 90, as in CX?
July 25th, 2005 at at 8:32 pm
You’re an atheist. You know there’s no such thing as perfect. I come pretty damn close, though.
CX is 110. Putting the X first means subtraction.
July 25th, 2005 at at 8:57 pm
I like the Carnival of the Godless series. Is there one site where you can find all of the previous CotG shows? An archive section or something?
July 25th, 2005 at at 9:01 pm
I answered my own question within the first 5 seconds of reading the newest installment. This was a smart idea. It helps keep everyone current and on the same page. It also helps the atheist community grow.
July 28th, 2005 at at 7:52 pm
I guess it’s not a blog writer, but I’d like to nominate that Guardian piece done by Polly Toynbee that you had on your blog a little while ago. It seemed like a significant public statement about religion from an atheist perspective. We need more people saying stuff like that in public.