Climbing Magazine

My housemate Sarah is on the cover of the May issue of Climbing Magazine!

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iPhone application for kids

On a different topic than usual: my fellow philosopher and friend Chad Mohler has created his first iPhone app, ABC Match, to help youngsters learn the alphabet. If you have an iPhone or iPod Touch, you can download it for free at the App Store!

UPDATE: Chad has a new application for kids, 123 Match!

 

Atheist Americans

I haven’t yet posted anything about politics on this blog, but I can’t resist pointing out this line from Obama’s acceptance speech:

We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers.

Contrast that with what George H.W. Bush offensively said in 1987:

No, I don’t know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.

 

On a perhaps related point, there’s been a rather striking decline in the number of Americans who say they believe in God — from 90% to 80%, in just the past five years. I wonder if this is because 10% of Americans really stopped believing in God in the past five years, or because there’s been more discussion as of late of the atheism/theism controversy, and hence it’s become more culturally acceptable to declare oneself a non-believer. And if it’s the latter, what fraction of the 80% of ostensible theists in the 2008 poll are still falsely declaring that they believe in God, just because that’s the culturally expected thing to say?

 

 

 

Spring travels

I’m thinking about going to the Pacific APA in Vancouver April 8-12, and then going skiing at Whistler. If you’re going to be there, and you’d like to hang out, let me know.

I’ll also be in London April 28-30, participating in a workshop on the scientific realism/anti-realism debate at the LSE. 

I don’t have any plans yet for spring break, March 21-29…

 

The Eastern APA

Articles like this one, about job-hunting experiences at the recent meeting of the Eastern division of the American Philosophical Association, remind me how fortunate I am to have a stable job.

 

Friends with blogs

On a different topic than usual, here are the blogs of some friends of mine.

Jeff Miller has lots of insightful thoughts about politics, among other matters. 

Jessica Wittmer participated as a delegate for Obama in the DNC Convention. 

Brian Kierland is running for President.

The Beautiful Kind blogs about sex. (Not safe for work.) 

The Beautiful Kind blogs about her cute kid. (Safe for work.)