TreesNightly

I watched Interstellar last night and I have mixed feelings about it. Basic spoilers implied ahead. From a science standpoint, Interstellar educates the audience about how relativity works (although inconsistently) in regards to time dilation and how it is related to gravity. On the flip side, the movie also propagates the myth that black holes transport people places rather than kill them. I don�t care if movies educate, but I don�t want them to pass on wrong information as if it is correct. Science fiction is at it�s best when it takes unknowns and fills them with what could be true, not when it takes things we know are wrong and misleads audiences. The movie also implies that the emotion of love transcends the mind, a theme many religious types and romanticizers would like about the film. Love as a motivator for the characters involved would be enough to keep the story together, using it as an attribute of the universe makes the movie feel more fantasy than sci-fi. They might as wel...

A Christian apologist asks �what is the difference (according to your view of reality) between humans and other animals? And a follow up question, are you vegan?� I know where this question comes from. Christians, and many other religious types, view humanity as categorically different from animals and assumes anyone who accepts evolution thinks they are on par with wildlife. Well, yes and no. I don�t believe man holds a special place in any mystical or supernatural way, nor do we have a unique link to the transcendent. Modern humans share a common ancestor with all animals, but that doesn�t mean we aren�t unique in several important ways. Humans have a far greater potential for intelligence, reason, and self-awareness than animals. It�s hard to tell how far ahead of the second smartest animals we are in these regards, but it�s clear to me that we are far ahead. The apologist's question came up on a post about morality, so I will address the follow-up question in that context. I am...