Richard Dawkins romps through Toronto

Everyone’s favourite atheist has a new book out this fall: The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution

From an excerpt on Wikipedia:

This book is my personal summary of the evidence that the ‘theory’ of evolution is actually a fact - as incontrovertible a fact as any in science.
—Richard Dawkins, The Greatest Show on Earth, p. vii

Heavy.

As part of the literary-industrial complex’s promotion efforts, he made a whirlwind voyage through Toronto’s media scene last week. Hamutal Dotan and I decided to join in the fun and cover the Indigo-organized book reading for Torontoist.

Full house at Isabel Bader. Apparently lots of people like this guy. So for everyone who had to fork over $10 (or $100 in the case of this desperate soul) to see Dawkins, was it worth it?

Only if you enjoy listening to celebrities read. Don’t get me wrong — Richard Dawkins has a beautiful voice and an even more beautiful writing style.

But about the only thing that I learned that I couldn’t have got from his book is the fact that his wife knows how to paint neckties. He was wearing one that featured various icons of evolution and apparently it’s one of his most cherished possessions.

Other than that, it was the usual Creationist-bashing that anyone who follows the evolution “debate” is familiar with.

The Canadian twist, of course, was the abundance of self-congratulatory clapping to indicate how much saner we are than those crazy Americans. From Hamutal’s piece:

In a textbook case of preaching to the choir, Dawkins gleefully skewered the 44% of Americans who believe that “God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years or so,” and his listeners laughed right along with him.

If Dawkins really wants to reach this group, is such a sarcastic, aggressive tone the most effective?

Again, from Hamutal’s piece

The very last question of the evening dealt with a recent attempt to repackage atheists under the more positive-sounding name “Brights.” Dawkins, a supporter of this movement, told the audience that the term never took off because it implied that non-believers were smarter than believers. “So?” he asked rhetorically, with an arched eyebrow and a knowing smile.

But at least he wasn’t as offensive as another angry atheist I’ve covered before.

After the highly-regulated Q&A, it was off to the assembly-line style book signing. Streams of people were hustled past the sales table and given a brief moment with Dawkins to get their books signed — “No greetings! Just signatures” — and perhaps squeeze in a few moments of chit chat. Like most celebrities, Dawkins is a master at extricating himself from demanding questions (the swarms of Indigo staffers also helped on this front).

All in all, not the most memorable event. But hey, at least I wasn’t the victim of a theft like I was the last time I covered something with Hamutal.

If you want to see pictures of someone who managed to score closer seats, Michael Willems has also has some shots on his blog.

Outline of Newsweek’s ‘Secrets of the 2008 Campaign’ report

If I had to give a single example of why traditional journalism won’t (shouldn’t?) disappear, I’d point to the series of articles that Newsweek just released about the 2008 presidential campaign. Entitled “Secrets of the 2008 Campaign,” the 7 chapter (!) report is based on extensive reporting which they had to promise not to release until after the election.

The amount of new information is staggering and it answers scores of the questions that bloggers could only speculate about before. In a lot of ways, it’s made me feel like all the pre-election rumour blog surfing was a total waste of time.

I’ve been raving about this piece like a lunatic to everyone I know and to make sure that everyone reads it, I put together this handy dandy outline (The bullets correspond to a page in each chapter).

Chapter 1 - Obama: How He Did it

• Obama getting the attention of Democrats. Ethel Kennedy: “torch is being passed to you” but some fear and reluctance from family
• Obama’s self awareness: “There’s a certain ambivalence in my character that I like about myself… It’s not necessarily useful in a presidential campaign.” Campaign team comes together and set the ethos: “No-Drama Obama”. Obama decides (forced?) to go to the grassroots
• Obama gets “high and mighty”, learns from his mistake and get “Fired up! Ready to go!”
• Hillary squanders ‘05-‘06, questions why she wants to run, and gets tangled up with their first Bill controversy
• Clintons blow through cash, tries to work with a “team of rivals”, and get their first shock when they get their “asses kicked” in Iowa. “What!” exclaimed [Bill] Clinton, who then called out in a loud voice, “Hillary!”
• pandemonium in campaign, Hillary tears up

Chapter 2 - McCain: Back From the Dead

• In 2000, McCain loved the Straight Talk Express, joking with reporters, and his Luke Skywalker role. In 2006 as the front-runner, he reluctantly found himself in the middle of a slick campaign, albeit one which struggled to raise money. Feeling that the campaign was “sinking.”
• McCain loved sparring with journalists but was “at heart a loner”, “Senator Hothead”, and “McNasty” who ducked out of key leadership decisions in his campaign.
• Against advisers, McCain is still optimistic on Iraq. Campaign invigorated by a nothing-to-lose attitude, gang of pirates mentality and wins New Hampshire and South Carolina
• Deals with the NYT piece about McCain’s relationship with a lobbyist and the campaign learns that the “liberal press would always turn on you”

Chapter 3 - The Long Siege

• Bill Clinton’s righteous indignation and worry that his wife was blowing her chance; gets everyone in South Caroline riled up because of a comment about Jesse Jackson. Caroline Kennedy endorses Obama and someone realizes “Oh, my God, we’re done.”
• Hillary gets fatter, Obama gets skinnier and Michelle makes a careless mistake about finally feeling proud of her country
• Chaos and incompetence inside the Hillary campaign, struggling with messaging, and brief success with the 3 a.m. ad.
• Obama worries about Pastor Wright, drops the ball by not researching his sermons, and single-handily pulls himself out of the situation with a moving speech on race.
• Clinton dream dying but finally finds her voice. Stalemate between the campaigns
• Obama makes a lame Star Trek joke, Obama finally wins nomination but skips celebratory beer to prepare for a morning talk

Chapter 4 - Going Into Battle

• McCain’s speaking style frustrates aides; jokes constantly and seems to be “amused by the haphazardness of his own organization”. Salter and Schmidt becoming drinking buddies and work themselves up over Obama.
• Schmidt takes over from Rick Davis. McCain sorely disappointed by Obama’s unwillingness to engage in a series of townhall meetings. Aides force him to avoid dealing with the press from now on.
• Schmidt crafts the celebrity attack ad on Obama. McCain feels that Obama “lacks guts” and personally offended by Obama’s political maneuvering earlier in the Senate
• Hillary’s team awkwardly folded into Obama’s and the campaign becomes nervous because of the impact of the celebrity ad.
• McCain’s persuaded to go all negative while avoiding the race issue. Obama’s team taps into online social networks, gather phone numbers, and crash Red Cross’s site.

Chapter 5 - Center Stage

• Obama’s computer systems get hacked, campaign feels like Obama’s been knocked “off stride” and nervous that the Clintons might try to steal the spotlight at the convention. Team searches for a running mate and says Obama: “I’m leaning toward Biden”
• Obama gathers opinions about this choice, Clintons give great speeches but then the Palin pick gets announced. Biden: “Who’s Palin?” McCain wanted his “brother” Lieberman but would have trouble with the base about his pro-life stance so McCain impulsively gambles on Palin, gives her a five minute phone call.
• McCain’s team charmed by her, gets picked in highly secretive process, and gets presented internally; some did not even know who she was
• Palin announced and campaign picks up some steam
• Obama camp nervous; “People went a little Kerry and Dukakis there for a couple of days” but bloggers quickly digs dirt on Palin. Then a gift: AIG burns up, McCain says “economy strong”; Obama pounces, McCain fumbles
• McCain tries to get involved in bailout bill but “Washington didn’t want him.”

Chapter 6 - The Great Debates

• Obama realizes “McCain had stepped on a banana peel”, preps for debates as if it were a bar exam.
• McCain doesn’t look at Obama during the first debate (“Because you told me not to! McCain retorted”), and coaches worry about what appears to be his disdain for Obama
• McCain sees Biden on Youtube: “He looks like an angry old senator!” and staffers hope he picks up on the irony before the next debate. Campaign goes all negative and not everyone happy about this
• Palin overhandled, made to feel uptight, and then rebels. Crowds get vicious about Obama and McCain reels about how things are going.
• McCain’s team meet and decide not to tell McCain how bad things actually are; McCain makes sure not to play the race card but everyone worried about how supporters are changing.
• McCain tries to land a knockout with “Joe the Plumber” but it’s sloppily executed and no background checking done

Chapter 7 - The Final Days

• Obama’s team worries about how to handle Jay-Z and registers hundreds of thousands of new voters
• Refuse to give out “walk around money”, instead opting for get out the vote drives
• Obama’s campaign organization has thousands of volunteers who are empowered, responsible and putting in long hours. Axelrod and Obama communication ascends to telepathy.
• Gloom in the McCain camp, reluctance to share bad news with him but paradoxically “The crazier things get, the calmer he becomes”
• McCain has a poorly run ground campaign with lots of mistargetted effort. “Unit cohesion” crumbling and “Wasilla Hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast,
• On election day, Obama’s emergency handling team “had the feel of a corporate office on a slow Tuesday”; McCain still cheery, running a last townhall: “best event in New Hampshire, probably ever.”
• Palin gearing up for 2012, not cooperating with campaign, asking to speak at McCain’s concession speech. Obama wins and “as even-tempered as ever.”

PZ Myers preaches to the choir

PZ Myers, a “godless liberal” and one of the Internet’s most popular bloggers was in Toronto on Halloween to talk about “Science Education: caught in the middle of the war between science and religion.”

Speaking to a friendly crowd

For the most part, the talk consisted of PZ rehashing his blog material to a crowd that seemed to be on the same page. Granted, this took place in Toronto — not exactly a hotbed of religious fundamentalism.

I got to cover the event for the Varsity:

For a personality that evokes such strong reactions on the Internet, Myers’ talk was a rather staid affair. A solitary moment of discord arose when a cry of “we’re here to hear PZ” rang out from an audience member frustrated by the stream of enthusiastic questions that had brought Myers’s talk to a near standstill.

A few angry picketers or at least a tough question or two would have made the evening feel less like a sermon to the congregation.

That isn’t to say it was boring — far from it. Lots of profanity was dropped:

“Religion ought to be like masturbation. It feels good, lots of people do it, yet we all agree public exhibitions are inappropriate.”

The next night, I had a chance to talk to PZ after a dinner with him and some people affiliated with the group that hosted the event, the Centre for Inquiry (thanks Justin). Unfortunately the recording got nuked but it was still an interesting chat.

Fundamentalist Bating

PZ Myers has made a name for himself for not mincing words about his feelings about religion and what he sees as its negative impact on science, politics, and culture.

He’s been on the internet for ages. At first it was TalkOrigins, an early platform for the evolution-vs-creation wars. He moved on to blogging and apparently gets more than 75,000 visitors a day on Pharyngula. Though often billed as a science blog, the content these days is typically about politics, religion or the latest crazy Creationist exploits.

Two big controversies have put him on the Internet map.

Earlier this year, he was expelled from Expelled (simultaneously the best and worst PR move of the year), Ben Stein’s documentary that claims Intelligent Design is being persecuted by mainstream science. Myers was interviewed for it under false pretenses. Later, he signed up to see an early screening but was kicked out. Ironically, fellow atheist Richard Dawkins was allowed to stay in. It was all chronicled in real time.

Here he is showing us a clip from the documentary (his interview is on the screen):

And then there was the communion incident.

Someone smuggled him a consecrated wafer. He pierced “the body of Christ” with a rusty nail, unceremoniously dumped it in the garbage, and posted a picture to his blog. The response was incredible (including the adding of armed guards at local Catholic services).

Again from the article:

He received 18,000 outraged emails—before he stopped counting. So strong was the reaction that his university had a dedicated staff member to deal with outraged Catholics calling for his dismissal.

But when some went as far as to call his act worse than the Holocaust, it underscored to him that “religious beliefs are not only silly but deplorable.”

Unfortunately, I had 600 words so I didn’t have the space to talk about some of the other stuff he brought up in the talk.

For instance, he spent a lot of time on the characters on the Creationist side, particularly those who’ve used brief stints in academia to claim the status of being real scientists. One respondent in the Q&A session went as far as proposing that graduates in the science take a loyalty oath to evolution. Thankfully, PZ rejected this idea.

Does his style achieve anything?

It’s not controversial to say that people PZ Myers infuriate fundamentalists and religious conservatives. In turn, this reinforces their idea that they’re a persecuted minority which is itself a galvanizing idea.

But PZ knows this. They’re not the real target.

From my conclusion:

As Myers sees it, “[fundamentalists] don’t listen to you anyways.” The important thing is to dislodge the complacency of non-believers and force society to “recognize that atheists are willing to fight back.”

And this is what I’m not sure about.

Don’t the majority of non-fundamentalists just see his kind of behaviour as obnoxious, divisive, and marginal? This is certainly what I hear from people I’ve talked to about him. Thoughts?

Following the numbers

From the NYT (of course), a brutal examination of a “disability epidemic” in a railroad system:

“Virtually every career employee — as many as 97 percent in one recent year — applies for and gets disability payments soon after retirement, a computer analysis of federal records by The New York Times has found. Since 2000, those records show, about a quarter of a billion dollars in federal disability money has gone to former L.I.R.R. employees, including about 2,000 who retired during that time.

The L.I.R.R.’s disability rate suggests it is one of the nation’s most dangerous places to work. Yet in four of the last five years, the railroad has won national awards for improving worker safety. “

The legwork that went into this piece is impressive, from number crunching to pouring over obscure rules, to performing dozens of interviews. It’s a perfect example of the type of journalism that bloggers have a hard time replicating (but counterexamples are welcome).

Now if only newspaper could figure out how to make money off stuff like this in our modern age…

• Link: A Disability Epidemic Among a Railroad’s Retirees