ARRRGGGG! Just got off the phone with my fundie mother

[Beearewhyain]

Without going into much detail let me just say we got off on "faith healing", evolution, gay marriage, and the complete denial of the scientific method. How do these people feed themselves? I mean, how can you live in that much denial? Don't get me wrong, she is my mother and I love her but it is so damn frustrating.

Well I sent her this link to forward on to anyone who thinks they can meet the challenge. I am sure if it didn't work it will be some "lack of faith" issue. :eyes:

So somebody give me some science or reasonable observation or something so I can get my sanity back. Doesn't matter what.

[Lars39]

1. Here ya go....

http://www.sciam.com/

[Beearewhyain]

3. MMMMMM...rich, buttery, Sci Am

[Book Lover]

2. 2 + 2 = 4

The earth revolves around the sun in a regular elliptical orbit.

We can predict with accuracy the position of the sun and moon and stars in our sky.

We humans have used our engineering, scientific and political skills to send a machine to Mars, and we can communicate with that machine.

The advance of conservation technology can save books that have been burnt and flooded, and allows us to see what was written, then scraped off, on parchment hundreds of years old.

That's all just off the top of my head. Does that help?

[Dookus]

4. Sorry

but it seems no amount of evidence or reason will sway such people. They honestly think they're gonna go to hell if they don't accept such claptrap.

[Az]

5. PI = 3.0

1Kings 7:23 And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.

Do the math.

[Fenris]

6. I am currently running a program that can show the night sky

On any place on the globe and at any time in history. Without the help of God.

[Bertha Venation]

9. Really?! Can you tell me

Where Orion and the Pleiades were above Santa Monica, CA, on the night of February 22, 1963?? (my birthplace & birthdate)

Pretty please? What a cool program!

[Fenris]

15. Being as close together as Orion and the Pleiades are

The answer is yes. I used 9 PM as a specific time. They would have been to the SW.

[Fenris]

18. I should add that they would be relatively close to the horizon

Their relative zenith would have been reached between 7 and 8 PM. And it was a low zenith.

[Bertha Venation]

21. sigh

Then in my mind, I can stand on the beach at night in the town where I grew up, Huntington Beach, and know exactly where they were. I know exactly how to position myself laying on the sand to get the best view.

Wonderful. Thank you!

[Fenris]

22. My pleasure!

[Beearewhyain]

17. What program?

I have one that came with my telescope but would like to know if there are better ones out there.

[Fenris]

20. Voyager III

What are you running? SkyChart?

[Beearewhyain]

25. "The Sky, student edition" from Orion

It is not that bad for my purposes as the light pollution where I am is fairly bad, but I love running through "time" to see what the sky will be like on any given night.

[Az]

7. A complete world view

Developed over a lifetime. It works. It gets them through life. Unless what you have to tell them is more important to them than that it will not penetrate their mind.

[Bertha Venation]

8. Here's another link to send to your fundie mother.

Kissing Hank's Ass

[Beearewhyain]

11. *right click...add to favorites*

:D

[Bertha Venation]

14. ya liked that, did ya?!

:7

[Az]

10. 'Weed From Hell' Found In Texas

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/07/040708004649.htm

An infestation of tropical soda apple, a thorny plant on the federal noxious weed list, has been verified on a private ranch here. Called alternately the "plant from hell" and "Sodom's apples" in Florida, the thorny weed can quickly take over pastures, first displacing the grass, then the cattle, said Dr. Mary Ketchersid, Texas Cooperative Extension pesticide safety specialist.

Ketchersid said she doesn't want to sound like an alarmist, but the weed has caused economic disaster for agricultural producers in other states.

"I think we need to be scared. People need to be watching for it," she said.

Dr. Larry Redmon, Extension forage specialist based in East Texas, agrees.

[Az]

12. Hubble Studies Generations Of Star Formation In Neighbouring Galaxy

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/07/040702093247.htm

Our neighbourhood galaxy the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) lies in the Constellation of Dorado and is sprinkled with a number of regions harbouring recent and ongoing star formation. One of these star-forming regions, N11B, is shown in this Hubble image. It is a subregion within a larger area of star formation called N11. N11 is the second largest star-forming region in LMC. It is only surpassed in the size and activity by 'the king of stellar nurseries', 30 Doradus, located at the opposite side of LMC.

[Az]

13. Nanomaterial Yields Cool Results

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/07/040705082413.htm

A pinch of iron dramatically boosts the cooling performance of a material considered key to the development of magnetic refrigerators, report researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the June 24 issue of the journal Nature. The achievement might move the promising technology closer to market, opening the way to substantial energy and cost savings for homes and businesses.

[Az]

16. Spacecraft Fleet Tracks Blast Wave Through Solar System

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/07/040709082235.htm

A fleet of spacecraft dispersed throughout the solar system gave the best picture to date of the effects of blast waves from solar storms as they propagate through the solar system. The "Halloween" solar storms in October-November 2003 were the most powerful ever measured. The storms' effects on Earth were severe enough to cause the rerouting of aircraft, affect satellite operations, and precipitate a power failure in Malmoe, Sweden. Long-distance radio communications were disrupted because of the effects on the ionosphere, and northern lights (aurora borealis) were seen as far south as Florida.

No NASA satellites near Earth were severely damaged by the storms. The International Space Station astronauts curtailed some of their activities and took shelter in the Russian-supplied Service Module several times during the storm. Because this kind of event will have significant implications for radiation protection requirements for explorers who venture outside the Earth's protective magnetosphere (magnetic field), scientists have been working for years to develop the capability to predict when these massive storms will erupt.

[Beearewhyain]

23. AZ

:yourock:

Lots of lovely science! YUM.

[Hoping4Change]

19. Has your Mom latched on to fundamentalist beliefs to cope with

the anxiety of a rapidly changing world? Does your Mom understand that she and other Christian fundies are in the same corner as Osama and his cohorts?

My view is that god implanted a brain in each living being, had he wanted he could have implanted his word in DNA but he didn't. The human brain is designed to explore, question and come to terms with the world. If your Mom doesn't value the scientific method she should decline any medical help whatsoever. Heart transplants, surgical methods, cancer cures etc. aren't found in holy books, they are the result of scientific inquiry. Nor should she drive a car or fly or travel by train or bike for that matter as they are the result of scientific inquiry. Nor should she use electricity or any modern appliance.

[SonofMass]

24. You have half of your mother's genes.

:evilgrin:

[Beearewhyain]

26. Nice try but...I am adopted,

which at times like these make me think I may have dodged a bullet. :)