Breaking The Spell

I just finished Daniel Dennett's Breaking The Spell, which perfectly complements Dawkin's The God Delusion. Dennett takes a calmer, more scientific approach to undermining religion, and I felt like he made a lot of important distinctions that Dawkins neglected. Dennett, for example, drew distinctions between different forms of religions, even suggesting organized religion is a qualitatively different beast than animistic proto-religions.

There are a lot of things that built upon my own worldview, and I'd like to cover them later. Including...

-The various forms of religion, from vague spirituality to highly structured ritual

-The examination of religions as evolved cultural practices

-The idea that religious notions play a positive role in people's lives (regardless of their truth)

-Dennett's notion of shining the light on all children in all cultures

An Incomplete Critic of Dawkins' The God Delusion

Just as any sound scientist declares the potential shortcomings in a research paper, a critic ought to admit their bias. I am an atheist. I would describe my atheism as nearly mirroring that of Dawkins, and his book didn’t cause my sense of nonreligion to wax or wane. That said, The God Delusion did call my atheism into a much needed self scrutiny. Dawkins’ inherently provocative and declarative style of writing lulls the reader into analysis and, likely, a sense of re-affirmation. In the right context, it can draw atheism out of it’s occasional and incorrect stance as unquestioned belief, and rightly seat it alongside scientific theory. In Dawkins’ mind, a belief in nonbelief must be questioned - and ultimately chosen.

One of the foremost facts that shapes Dawkins’ position is his stance as a philosopher discussing religion as a science. And I should mention that I have some apprehension about this. Perhaps as a sign of my generation, I often have trouble finding philosophy to be relevant to our increasingly science-driven lives. Philosophy, like religion, is increasingly relegated to the dregs of academia. With the exception of ethics (which I consider a subcategory of sociology and human evolution) philosophy is quickly losing it’s toehold in our everyday lives. I think that authors like Dawkins and Dennet are trying admirably to reestablish philosophy as relevant in our daily existence. And while this is laudable, I can see Dawkins occasionally falter with his presentation of scientific data. On an equally curious note, his offerings of anecdotes and hypotheticals are frequently on par with actual research. As someone purporting science to be the ultimate and best source of information, he deviates frequently from a scientific stance. To quote Dennet:

People who want to study religion usually have an ax to grind. They either want to defend their favorite religion from its critics or want to demonstrate the irrationality and futility of religion, and this tends to infect their methods with bias.

Breaking The Spell Daniel Dennet (Pg. 32)

With his alternations between self aggrandizing name-dropping and reviling descriptions of religion, the author ostensibly falls frustratingly into the category of the latter. His voice often fails to convey maturity, despite my personal desire to find otherwise.

Another position that Dawkins takes for granted is the assumption that, after the presentation of his argument and the relevant facts, the educated reader has no choice but to agree that religion equates with falsehood, and that a nonsupernatural existence is the only option. The sway of organized religion may be waning, but I sincerely doubt our ability to feel and act on spiritual feelings is. This is not the official religion abhorred by Dawkins, but it is an offshoot of it we cannot afford to ignore. It is a way of living that many of my equally educated peers seek solace in. It speaks volumes about the role religion and our sense of the supernatural plays. The unspoken assumption that a belief in the supernatural is no longer necessary or beneficial to our lives should be questioned. I believe it plays an unavoidable role much like war, alcohol or our infatuation with salty foods.

As my own addition, I’d like to posit that the major religions of today are a byproduct of our natural tendency to anthropomorphize our surroundings. As neurally plastic children, information has been historically disseminated through learned adults. Our human minds are wired strongly to listen to our elders - to learn their messages directly through oration, and indirectly through praise and punishment. Our survival as children, and as a species, has depended upon this vital transfer of information. Show me a child that does not have vivid memories of parental praise or punishment, and I will show you a sociopath. I suspect that although we must all grow into adulthood, this instinct does not fully leave us, but instead delves into abstraction. It consequently shapes our views of the impartial universe which we inhabit. The God of Judaism, Islam and Christianity provide the direct transmission of a societal code through their holy books, and construct a reality in which good and bad deeds are accordingly punished in an abstract afterlife. We find signs of meaning in unfortunate or auspicious events. We are wired to.

Proust Was a Neuroscientist

Lehrer stumbles eloquently through eight different artists of their time, from writers to chefs to yet more writers. The common theme of authors as truth-seekers makes itself apparent from page one. His chapters ostensibly follow as such; a step into the history and -isms of a particular artist's time, followed by the artists radical departure from contemporary truths into the realm of now-proven Science. And oh, if only this were the case. While Lehrer does an adequate job of rehashing scientific history and it's errors, he does little to establish each artist as precipitating the discoveries of modern science. Sure, Stein's illogical poems coincide with the later knowledge of deep language structure, but did that give her an advanced knowledge of syntax? (nevermind that this is linguistics, not neuroscience) Did Escoffier's love of hearty soup stock mean he understood our collective love of MSG? Did Cezanne's abstraction suggest our top-down visual processing? The answer to all of these questions is probably not. Without strong evidence for any chapter, Lehrer's theories are at best poetic conjecture.

In short, this is not neuroscience. In an ardent, perhaps belligerant attempt to find the glorious fusion between Art and Science, Lehrer has found nothing. But if you're looking for baseless whimsy from the mind of a literary failed lab tech, this book is for you.

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Oh Feist, you are the best thing to happen to Sesame Street. And that takes some doing.

Note: why does the video not fit all the way in this layout? I don't remember enough HTML to fiddle with this shit. Grumble grumble.

A Momentous Occasion for America

Try as I might to remain neutral, moderate and bias-free I inevitably veer towards the political left. Which is why it is no surprise that the results of yesterday's election have left me ecstatic, proud and hopeful. I am truly lucky to be alive for this historic event, to see how it's effects will sweep across American mindset as well as those abroad. I am proud that when my step-mother tells her nephew, who is of similar African descent, that he can truly be whatever he wishes when he grows up she can fully mean it. I am hopeful about the American people's ability to see past race and stigma towards the more qualified candidate. I am ecstatic to play a role in reinvigorating this country's dignity, whatever that might entail.


I don't expect Obama's presidency to revolutionize America, or even cause any radical changes. I think even Obama himself conceded that the changes he wished to see possible were not workable within his short term. I expect that, to conquer fears of from the ill-founded right, he will build his team with moderates and moderately-leaning democrats; with people who have worked in the government for a long time. I'm not thinking bold and fast. Many steps will have to be taken the right the many wrongs this country has committed.

Perhaps most importantly this is the first step. A step that in future years will seem comparatively small. This is a step towards tolerance, wisdom and rational thinking.

Building an Edible Lexicon

I thought it might be a good idea to work with a base of ten relatively simple meals that rely on ingredients I usually have on hand. I came up with the idea right after graduation, got into a sluggish slump and promptly forgot all of my short term goals. Then I realized that, without really trying, I've already established five.

1. Lemon Yogurt Popsicles:
Recipe from Health Magazine. You can take a lot of liberties with which types of berries and yogurt you use; the possibilities are endless and delicious. These should be eaten within a about a month and a half before the yogurt goes a little strange from freezing.

2. Whole Roasted Chicken:
I tend to only look up the cook time/temp. for a whole chicken of comparable size. First I make small slits in the skin and pack garlic, pepper, salt, rosemary and (old, dried) basil. Then I coat the outside in cooking grade olive oil, lemon juice and more salt & pepper. I then add my own stuffing and surround the base with halved potatoes, apples and oranges. Fruit might sound like a strange combination, sure, but it's nothing but delicious. Any extra stuffing can be added to the base, too.

Stuffing: I've been told that cooking stuffing inside of a chicken is potentially an e. coli hazard...but somehow that's never stopped me. It's so freakin' tasty! To make the stuffing, take toast or old, stale bread and cover it lightly in olive oil, salt, pepper and whatever herbs you have leftover. Cooking it inside the chicken will revive any dryness it has beforehand. Delicious! I usually make extra, just because.

3. Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup:
I love the idea of "using the whole buffalo." And this soup does exactly that by turning the roasted chicken leftovers into a delicious, homemade meal. After seperating the bones you would usually throw away (preferably with some meat on them) and putting some meat scraps aside, fill a crock pot with water and the leftover juices that collected in the bottom of the pan. When brought to a boil, add the bones and let them simmer for an hour or so. Then put it in the fridge, let it cool and remove the fat that congeals on the top. Then simmer it again and add a pinch of salt, a few pinches of sugar, basil, rosemary - and finally, pre-cooked noodles. I don't have a recipe, so this requires a lot of trial and error taste testing. Eat quickly! This won't save for more than a few days, tops. Tastes good with chopped up carrot bits, too.

4. Spicy Halibut With Beans & Rice:
Tilapia, beans and rice provide a very affordable and balanced meal. The recipe is from McCormicks but I'm too lazy to type it verbatim. In essence, cook rice and beans by their package directions - or better yet, a rice & beans combination. Then fry tilapia in cajun spice (or light pepper, as a substitute) and serve over rice, with pepperjack or colby jack melted on top. The rice, cheese and tilapia complement eachother and the cheese covers up any bad/cheap/freezer-burned taste the tilapia might have.

5. Tomato-Garlic Pasta Sauce:
Recipe from the New York Times. Like the lemon yogurt popsicles, you can substitute a variety of ingredients. I've found that you can easily use cheap Parmesan and basil/pesto sauce while still retaining the general flavor. I usually use spinach and roma tomatoes, as those are the cheaper options. This is an easy, fast meal that utilizes ingredients I tend to have at hand. The only drawback is that it should be eaten within the day because the olive oil and vinager tend to wilt the lettuce and tomatoes.

5 1/2. Garlic Herb Spread:
More of a side dish than a meal, this provides a tasty backup for almost any entree. Combine one tub of butter or butter substitute with freshly diced garlic, parsley, shredded basil and rosemary to taste. Spread on bread cold, heat to melt. This easily revives stale, old bread! This is an easy go-to if you make a tub or two of it at a time. Yum yum!

In the future I'm hoping to experiment with more other affordable staples like eggs and potatoes. I'd also like to utilize my crock pot more. But overall I think this is a solid base to work with.

Hello World!

All of this recent downtime has allowed me time to re-cultivate my sense of optimism. And given the rarity of this occurrence it only makes sense that I take the this time to outline the major goals and themes of my life. Eventually, hopefully, this exercise in structured thinking will allow me to make headway on my goals and understand the themes. Blogs are pretty self indulgent, but I think I'm once again at ease with that.

The three themes I'm most fixated on right now are food, finances and fitness. Granted the first two are salient themes in just about everyone's life... First, food! Food production first piqued my interest when I started getting into the 'green living' movement a couple years ago. Now it's extended into the realms of production (mass and personal), politics, preparation, consumption and all of the quirky social rituals in between. I started growing a few herbs and veggies in containers on my deck...so far my efforts have been met with mixed success. The potatoes, mint rosemary and garlic thrive without effort but I'm already on my third basil plant. It seems like my beloved basil just isn't meant to be. I'm giving up on lettuce; it isn't holding my interest. In the future I'd like to look into getting my avocado plant to germinate and trying to grow loofah again. And one day I'll get the basil thing down.

I'm in the process of digesting (!) a lot of mixed information about food production and politics. Admittedly, I'm heavily informed by Michael Pollan, but I'm looking to vary my resources. Finally, I have a lot to learn as far as preparation goes. Left to my own devices I eat mostly peanut butter n' jelly sandwiches. I think my previous, more communal living situations fostered a greater enjoyment in cooking. Cooking for one is anything but inspirational.

Onto fitness! Despite how I'm might appear, I've never been an athletic person. But I think this could change over time. My initial idea was to have a gym membership, but finances aren't very permitting at the moment... I'm looking to increase my strength, stamina and flexibility over time, especially in the arena of running. While not exactly a sport, I'd love to take a stab at rock climbing in the near future, too.

And finally finances...the least familiar of the three. My new job is offering a 401k plan and stock options. I'm thankful to have these options available to me and I need to make use of them wisely. I bought a book on the subject and I guess I'll go from there...