Temple Grandin

Watched some moving video about Temple Grandin tonight with my autistic son. Actually, he technically falls short of officially being labeled autistic, but obviously has many of the difficulties, symptoms and characteristics. He's 9, but understands that he has what he refers to as "a little bit of autism." I'll tell you something. Sitting him down and explaining what autism is and how it affects him has been an incredible step forward for him and for his happiness. He knew he was different, but didn't know how. Now he understands why he needs an aid in class, why the fire alarm scares him in ways that clearly don't matter to the other kids, and why he has a hard time expressing himself.

Now with Temple Grandin, he also realizes that he could very well end up very successful and happy in life, if only he works for it.

Carl, I hardly knew ya.

Reposted from The Road, which had reposted from Pharyngula. Great video. True brilliance never goes out of style.

The Devil Potato

I took this picture in a friend's garden last night during a barbecue/pool party. It's a simple red potato popping out of the ground, ready to be harvested. We nicknamed it "The Devil Potato," though we should have probably called it "The Jesus Potato" and auctioned it off on eBay. Pretty freaky, huh?

The truth is, I'm the only one who noticed that it looks just like a face halfway out of the ground when you look at it from a very specific angle. The covering of the other face "half" with soil only adds to the illusion, and our minds fill in the blanks reinforcing the face image. When I took the picture with my iPhone and showed it to some friends, they were floored and didn't believe it wasn't photoshopped. I took them to the potato still in the ground and pretty soon the entire gathering of friends were crouded in the garden staring at this spud.

Next time you see a picture of the devil, or Jesus, or The Virgin Mary, or Elvis that was taken in a cloud of smoke just remember this little potato. Our minds can play some pretty cool tricks on us.

Arguing with Creationists

For anyone who has never engaged in this sport I highly recommend it, but only for the mental workout and exercise in self restraint that you must endure. You are not going to change the mind of a creationist overnight. Perhaps you'll plant a tiny bug in his/her ear (figuratively speaking). Perhaps you'll simply chuckle at the responses you receive. My personal favorites are along the lines of "All science has conclusively proven that The Bible is 100% accurate, yet you atheists refuse to accept God so you make up this evolution garbage as a way to avoid accountability."

I really don't have any solid advice for you if you decide to engage in a debate with a creationist, but I'll share my own humble view. Put the onus on them. Every time they make a broadly sweeping comment, ask them to back it up with science. When they claim that it's a matter of faith, force them to admit that they have no physical proof (which they shouldn't have a problem doing). Since there are a myriad of scientific proofs for evolution, pick about 3 or 4 and lay them out in exceptional detail and ask the person to explain it away. My experience is that they will undoubtedly make up an explanation on the spot. Call them out on it and ask how they could argue when they don't know the specifics of that case study. If they say "I don't have a good answer as I don't know the specifics," give credit where it's due. That's a fair comeback and it shows a hint of rationality. Then direct them toward the resources and issue a friendly challenge to examine the studies.

When someone is arguing from passion and not facts, they will often make factual claims with no actual truth to them. If you call them out on each and every one of those, they will have no choice but to recognize what they are doing. It's a small step, but it's a step in the right direction. Don't point out the error in their arguments. Let them figure it out on their own.

The Amazing Kreskin?

I had been told that Kreskin was an "old school" mentalist who walked the line between being an entertainer and claiming true psychic powers. I never knew the answer and I hadn't really thought of the guy in many years. I don't know why, but I thought of him again recently and looked up some of his videos on YouTube. I was depressed to find that he has actually pretty solidly gone over to the dark side by claiming real psychic ability.

A friend of mine has done quite well for himself financially. He is also a huge baseball fan and attended the Yankees Camp a few years back (which you need to be pretty well off to attend). Some old timers from the Yankees come play with the attendees and show them proper technique, etc. It's a week long adult camp full of baseball and meeting the guys you watched when you were a kid. His reaction to meeting his childhood hero? Depression. The guy was "as dumb as a hat full of screwdrivers."

Another friend works in the Professional Wrestling business. He has similarly met all the guys he watched as we grew up. Some are cool and level headed. Some are miserable, sad caricatures that were used as the model for Mickey Rourke's character in "The Wrestler." He was depressed to see this.

As I watched Kreskin in the old video clips, my heart sank. The tricks were obvious and almost amateurish to anyone who has studied mentalism a bit. I'm nowhere near good enough to do shows like he did (does), but I can see what he's doing and how he does it. I was depressed, but for different reasons than my friends.

Kreskin was never a hero or idol of mine. He was just a guy who I found entertaining. I enjoyed wondering about whether or not he was truly psychic. Now as I watch, I shake my head and wonder how anybody can be fooled. If you want to know how this trick below is done. just write me an email. Trust me though. You'll be disappointed.

SCIENCE

I must confess that I got this from my friend Jay Novella over at The Skeptics Guide. The title "SCIENCE" is similarly borrowed. I couldn't have summed it up better. Thanks Jay.

Test Post via iPhone.

Just curious to see if I can post an entry with my iPhone. Of you're reading this, you should be able to deduce whether or not it worked