Friday 12 August 2011

D12 - No magic number!

Discovered yesterday that a friend of mine who has a permanent look of exhaustion about her, doesn’t actually fast, but she always proceeds on making sure I know she is tired from the “fasting” or that she is on her period (permanent one it seems).

A colleague, who seems to be the “serious” type, looks pale and tired, also has one eyebrow higher than the other so he looks permanently puzzled, I often find him smoking at the front of the building, and I assumed he had his period too, but never had the time or the inclination to ponder the biological ramifications.

I guess there are a lot of preachers and judgmental people out there, so people from certain faiths find themselves always trying to lie or hide certain truths like not fasting Ramadan, not believing in God or being a Darwinian for fear of upsetting people or being chased with torches!

I am mostly upset about the fact they would make that effort with me, knowing full well, I couldn’t care less; I am not the one to talk really! But I do believe that Darwin was high on prozak when he came up with his therory, but if Charlie was right, we will probably find out in a few million years.

Saha Ftourkoum*
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* To the person who keeps searching: Translate Saha Ftourkoum into English, in Algerian, it means Bonne Appétit to all,
Saha Ftourek = subject is singular (male + female)
Saha Ftourkoum = Plural

29 comments:

  1. now's a good time to get some new friends, some real ones :P

    btw, my secret admirer's back. s(h)e can't get enough of me it seems lol.

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  2. Yeah I am working on it Daode!
    At least you have an admirer ;)

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  3. you've got plenty too, as you knows, from around the world ;)

    so menu for tonight beside the now obligatory & customary green salad?

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  4. Yeah suppose I do!

    Menu: Pizza (home made) and salad :)

    You? Algerian meal tonight?

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  5. DZ..Liked your pictures of your permanently exhausted and permanently puzzled colleagues.

    Thoughts on Darwin... if ever you talk to someone who feels conflicted between Darwinian science and their beliefs, ask their hypothetical preference for a medical treatment. Say for example, that they had tuberculosis or cancer. Would they prefer to have treatment derived from Darwinian science or a more 'traditional' treatment?
    Not necessary to wait a million years to know whether CD was right or not. :-)

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  6. formosa: sure I would go for a the scientifically proven and tested treatment, but it doesn't make Darwin right! I cannot believe we evolved from the ape, though I believe in science that can be proved.

    Darwin's theory of evolution remains a theory to me.

    Care to explain what formosa means? please? :)

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  7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formosa_Island

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  8. Ahhhh it's an river island (not the shop)

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  9. DZ: really? Hmm. But you,d admit it is a very useful when it comes to fixing up a disease?
    Any issues with a flat earth? :-)

    The full name is Formosa Leeme.
    Some years back, at uni, I wrote some absurdist poetry. I needed an absurd pseudonym. Sort came out after drinking a cup of tea at a girlfriends who was into exotic tea.

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  10. Science is yes but not Darwin's theory. I have a coupls of issues with a flat earth yes come to think of it ;)

    Poetry you say? hmmmm Formosa Leeme? do you wear glasses? :)

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  11. Have you read it though? - Origin of the Species? Besides actually being the basis for a great deal of modern medicine (a good indication that the theory not only works but is good science) and the bio-sciences, it is actually a fascinating read.

    The poetry never got published, thankfully. The glasses question... you're thinking Alan Ginsburg perhaps? But yes, I need glasses to drive and sunglasses aid my efforts to look cool. The poetry was written and read without glasses.

    (Yes, Formosa is the name of the island on which the country Taiwan was established.)

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  12. No never read it, only what I remember from my school days, I remember I must have been 11 or 12 when we were taught the Theory of Evolution and I remember being very confused as I didn't understand it was A THEORY and was contradicting the religious education, very confusing for children!
    I must dig it out and read it.

    Yes Allen Ginsburg familiar with his HOWL poem. Sunglasses have that magical power of making anybody look cool, what a great invention!

    I am enjoying your blog formosa, so far an enthralling read.

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  13. Yep and it was good :) .

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  14. Damn it, what am I reading ?

    You're talking like an american evangelical christian, or that stupid turkish guy Haroun Yahya.

    First, Darwin theory is far more than just a theory, it's a solid paradigm in biology ! It has nothing to do with beliefs...


    Second, for the sake of god, we are not descending from apes, we simply have a common origin. You only have a problem with that if you absolutly want to have a litteral reading of the holy books, which is less and less a good idea !

    The christian contradiction has been introduced (or at least mainly promoted) by Haroun Yahya, I suppose because he wanted to have the american evangelical style to be rich and famous !

    Don't mix everything up please !

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  15. People are allowed to have their opinions and why is it you seem pissed off because of what you’re reading?? Calm down!

    I am like that stupid Haroun?? Am I? geee thanks.

    I am not torn between being a creationist vs. evolutionist, for me it’s a question of origin, of how did we get here, were we created or did we evolve randomly? And sorry to say this but it wouldn’t be called a “theory” if it was as solid as you say it is. And you calling it a paradigm, that’s just another fancy word for theory,
    Whether we like to admit it or not, those who subscribe to the theory of evolution do so by faith, because believing in evolution, like believing in creation, requires acceptance of a certain presuppositional dogma and requires placing one’s faith in a story about the unrepeatable past

    To be honest, I have never read anything on evolution since I was 12, so I am not going to comment further, but as I said to Formosa I was going to take a look at it.

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  16. spontaneous reaction: post a short sarcastic comment

    as time goes by and on 2nd thought, delete said comment and do some research to reply with a longer more-effective semi-defensive semi-offensive come-back.

    couple that with a sarcastic comment to honour that first indignancy-fuelled first reaction

    ah job well done ;) .

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  17. Daode: don't you have something better to do lol

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  18. so spot on then? :P

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  19. The terrible consequence of not putting smileys : people think you are pissed off !!!

    I wasn't pissed off, I was trying to be authoritative, and leave no room for arguing (because such room doesn't exist) !

    Opinions can't beat facts, and paradigms are paradigms because in the end, they proved to be consistent with many facts. Paradigm is a strong word, and you can't just mess with it because you have a hard time believing it. Science isn't about blind faith. If a so-called theory is not consistent with facts, it is thrown away. Scientists don't wake up in the morning and wonder which theory there are going to use that day.

    Many non-scientist and pseudo-scientists (those guy who shout everywhere that they have reinvented science in one night) use the word theory in a loose sense. A theory is a theory, and we can't switch as we want, and take the one that suits us the best.

    It doesn't work like that. To deserve the title of theory, it must first describe known phenomena. Then it has to make new predictions etc.

    I'm not sure this helps a lot, but at least, I hope you will sense that subtleties exists and you can't just get happy with a naive opinion.

    You tell me that you are not "torn between a creationist vs evolutionist", but the problem is that this debate, which has nothing to do with Islam, is getting slowly introduced in our countries because of that stupid guy. And I see more and more people getting away from science because of what they think their religion says, forgetting all our scientific legacy. Historically, science in Islam is way more different than science in Christianity. We shouldn't fall on that trap because some guy try to play on the feelings of some uneducated people just to be rich and famous. This is really dangerous !

    And by the way, creationism is not a theory, it has nothing to do with facts, it can't be confronted to any sort of experiment. It is by definition not refutable !!! You can read the wikipedia entry if you are interested : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falsifiability

    I even found this very interesting article thanks to my great friend google :
    http://www.talkorigins.org/origins/postmonth/nov96.html

    And yeah I'm too lazy to read what I wrote and insert smileys here and there, please feel free to add them in your mind ;)

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  20. hi still me !

    About the theory stuff : I found this on wikipedia :
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creation%E2%80%93evolution_controversy#Theory_vs._fact

    "The argument that evolution is a theory, not a fact, has often been made against the exclusive teaching of evolution.[65] The argument is related to a common misconception about the technical meaning of "theory" that is used by scientists. In common usage, "theory" often refers to conjectures, hypotheses, and unproven assumptions. However, in science, "theory" usually means "a plausible or scientifically acceptable general principle or body of principles offered to explain phenomena.""

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  21. Authoritative? lol I like your style!

    Don't worry about the emoticons, I sense the tone now, it is different from your previous indignant comment.

    Thanks for the links; am reading through them, I will come back! This is not over by a long shot Grindaizer!

    To be continued…

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  22. he's a proper scientist ... it's gonna be hard i'll be right behind you for support ;)

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  23. Daode: you are the devil!
    It won't be hard, I am willing to listen since he seems to know more on the subject, but I have my opinions and reservations...do I ever!

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  24. @DZ-Chick I cannot believe some adults will actually dissimulate their non-fasting, it's really absurd.

    Ultimately the practicing of a religion is private, between individuals and God, surely one's lack of practice is nobody else's business.

    Well during Ramadan I look as fresh as ever as I don't fast.
    I have absolutely no shame in my game ;-)

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  25. It's been almost four years, since your last comment. Has your opinion towards Darwinism changed in any way? Or do you still think he was, as you called it, 'High on Prozac'..?

    Happy last-week-of-Ramadan!

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  26. Hi Hannah you have not commented for 4 years, I have written lots of posts just refresh your browser or go to the main page of the blog :)

    Saha Eidek

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  27. Hi Saha, thanks for your reply!
    Yes, I realize that this is an old post, and I have indeed read your blog and your recent entries!
    What I meant was, that you hadn't written any more entries on this particular subject, or posted any follow-up comments to this post. So I was wondering whether or not your thoughts regarding Darwin et al. had changed, through the years!

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