Tony Hatfield's Retired Ramblings

Is Dr Pangloss really dead?

François-Marie Arouet-Voltaire Voltaire wrote this letter shortly after the Lisbon earthquake. This “Act of God” killed an estimated 70,000 out of a population of 185,000, many of whom were attending the mass. It occurred on All Saints Day 1755. Les... Read more →

Blair, the Observer and another deception

I've just finished reading Nick Davies' ' Flat Earth News'. Ian Hislop called the book 'A must read for anyone worried about journalism-which, on this analysis, should be everyone'. Perhaps this is an example of what Hislop means. The second... Read more →

More Sam Harris Wisdom

'Either the Bible is just an ordinary book, written by mortals, or it isn't. Either Christ was divine, or he was not. If the Bible is an ordinary book, and Christ an ordinary man, the basic doctrine of Christianity is... Read more →

Just One God Further

'Consider: every devout Muslim has the same reason for being a Muslim than you have for being a Christian. And yet you do not find their reasons compelling. The Koran repeatedly declares that it is the perfect word of the... Read more →

Lock Katrine

On our visit to Scotland, Loch Katrine became a favourite. It's the Lake in Sir Walter Scott's Lady of the Lake. The weather wasn't great. This, believe it or not, is a colour photograph. 12th August 2010. I've just found... Read more →

Thought for the Day-13th November 2009

'Apart from logical cogency, there is to me something a little odd about the ethical valuations of those who think that an omnipotent, omniscient, and benevolent Deity, after preparing the ground by many millions of years of lifeless nebulae, would... Read more →

Two Brains- David Willetts and Dinosaurs

David Willetts is the Tory spokesman on Innovation, Universities and Skills. His nickname is "Two Brains" for his formidable intellect. It's not often known that some species of dinosaur also had two brains. Apart from that in its skull, a... Read more →

Creationists and Plate Tectonics

This morning "In our Time" Melvyn Bragg and his guests discussed the geological formation of Britain. You can download the podcast from this link. They inevitably touched on plate tectonics As I was listening to it, I wondered just what... Read more →

Obama's beliefs- the Audacity of Reason?

Most of us are looking forward to a new era when Barack Obama takes his oath of office on Tuesday next week. Obama claims to be a deeply religious man, though one of his mentors appears to have rather unusual... Read more →

Cosmic Gall

This morning, the why is irrelevant, I picked from my bookshelf a rather yellowing copy of The Faber Book of Science, Edited by John Carey. It is a wonderfully entertaining and educational anthology of scientific writing. The poem below was... Read more →