I adored that Dick to the Dock video, and so did most of my (atheist) friends. Some atheists can see the funny side. I think even PZ Myers can see the funny side. But Dickie D himself? Well, like many tw-bit demagogues I think he does have a screw loose... but he also labors under the disability of having a huge broomhandle shoved up his arse, and being of an Oxbridgean nature is presumably unhip to the hop, or whatever. But what they did to poor Eugenie Scott. Oh, my.
I think you're right, Ernest, that Dickie's problem is terminal unhipness. Not sure about PZ Myers getting it, though. He strikes me as one of those scientists who may know his field but doesn't really know how to think and doesn't have a gracious bone in his body. Dawkins also has trouble thinking philosophically - actually, he doesn't know how to - but I suspect he does have manners.
The only time I met Dawkins he seemed very polite and rather shy. I think he's somewhat unworldly and might actually be surprised at the reactions people have to what he says. And no, he can't think straight, for even one as philosophically unlearned as I practically trip up over the simple category errors in The Dog Illusion. But try and point these out to PZ and his gauleiters and you just get invective or a lot of half-baked logic-chopping.
I adored that Dick to the Dock video, and so did most of my (atheist) friends. Some atheists can see the funny side. I think even PZ Myers can see the funny side. But Dickie D himself? Well, like many tw-bit demagogues I think he does have a screw loose... but he also labors under the disability of having a huge broomhandle shoved up his arse, and being of an Oxbridgean nature is presumably unhip to the hop, or whatever. But what they did to poor Eugenie Scott. Oh, my.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right, Ernest, that Dickie's problem is terminal unhipness. Not sure about PZ Myers getting it, though. He strikes me as one of those scientists who may know his field but doesn't really know how to think and doesn't have a gracious bone in his body. Dawkins also has trouble thinking philosophically - actually, he doesn't know how to - but I suspect he does have manners.
ReplyDeleteThe only time I met Dawkins he seemed very polite and rather shy. I think he's somewhat unworldly and might actually be surprised at the reactions people have to what he says. And no, he can't think straight, for even one as philosophically unlearned as I practically trip up over the simple category errors in The Dog Illusion. But try and point these out to PZ and his gauleiters and you just get invective or a lot of half-baked logic-chopping.
ReplyDelete