In which Kevin Rudd proves he is *also* a moron

For those who aren’t in this country, Kevin Rudd is Australia’s Prime Minister.

Unfortunately, work has gotten in the way of me writing too much about this right now, but it caught my eye while I was browsing the news. Kevin Rudd has come out as saying he believes there is an intelligent cause for the existence of the universe (ok, not just any old intelligence, but the Anglican god himself).

Kevin Rudd, so far, has been a more progressive Prime Minister than our previous one (John Howard), what with the Apology to the Stolen Generations and ratifying Kyoto and all, but he hasn’t had much time to show us all if he’s actually much the same as ol’ Johnny. I don’t have a problem if my Prime Minister considers himself religious. I really really don’t. As long as his religion doesn’t influence policy. How long before his conscience demands that Intelligent Garbage be taught in science classes as an alternative to evolution? Some may scoff and say that would never happen in Oz, but this statement from Ruddy scares me a little:

If you were simply reducing that to mathematically probabilities I’ve got to say it [creation of the universe] probably wouldn’t have happened.

So I think there is an intelligent mind at work.

Oh, right! He used the phrase ‘mathematical probabilities’, so he must know what he’s talking about.

This makes me angry. More later, as I have some deadlines to meet!

Ed Robertson, the plane crash and those weird coincidences

First, for those after news about the small plane crash (as in ’small plane’, not ’small crash’) involving Ed Robertson from the Barenaked Ladies, pick your news outlet of choice:

The Star
CANOE.ca – CNews
The Globe and Mail
and a fairly in-depth one from the Belleville Intelligencer.

I’m sure more news will trickle in as Canada heads towards daylight, so do a Google search if you need more updated info, ’cos I’ll probably be asleep here in Oz

In a nutshell, all reports say Ed and the three other people on the plane are just fine, which is great, great news.

Now, to why I’m blogging this: Ed Robertson is one of those precious rational, science-loving folks in a position of immense influence. I don’t know if his views on gods and science are precisely what Barenaked Ladies fans get from his music and his persona, but he has those views out there, he’s a self-professed ’science geek’, and that is always something to be appreciated.

I guess I’m an agnostic. I suppose it’s possible there’s a God, but I can’t imagine he’s paying any attention to us anymore. Anyone that powerful would have moved on to other things a long time ago. I think we’re on our own, so we need to take care of each other.

Now if only someone could convince him to pose for the Skepdude calendar (c’mon, I’m only human).

There is a second reason I’m blogging this: a weird coincidence nearly made my head explode when I saw the news story about the plane crash.

I’ve been on a bit of a Barenaked Ladies kick recently, since I’ve been listening to (and loving) their new kids’ album Snacktime. I downloaded some of the old Barenaked Ladies podcasts (Live from the studio! Freakin’ out! for those in the know), and today I was listening to them while doing some monotonous tasks at work. I wouldn’t be able to tell you which particular episode I was listening to, but there was Ed Robertson’s voice, telling of how he has never had any major incidents in his airplane flying career (yep, he’s a pilot). Just as I was listening to this, a Google Alert appeared in my inbox: Barenaked Ladies’ Ed Robertson survives plane crash. It was simultaneous. And y’know, I never, EVER, exaggerate.

I had to stop for a moment and wonder if I had inadvertently played a trick on myself, without my self catching on.  

Because I’m a skeptical shrew, I’ve concluded, reasonably I think, that all this is a coincidence. But I’m sure that lady I heard mouthing off on the bus this morning about how psychics are not charlatans would tell me I’m preventing myself from achieving true knowledge by denying my spiritual side, and that I actually knew Ed in a previous life – maybe when I was a Viking chief, as I was once told by a ‘past life reader’ (but that’s another story for another day), or perhaps I was the tree that was cut down to make one of his guitars or something.

Or maybe I actually knew the plane in a previous life.

Anyway, just wanted to marvel at the coincidence for a moment, and to reiterate that I hope everyone on that plane, and indeed everyone in blogland, is doing well.

National Science Week and Michael Shermer in Oz

UPDATE 11/08/08: So, being the well-connected woman of the world that I am (ahem), I spoke with a couple of the South Australian Science Week Commitee folks at a science expo-type event yesterday. I was told that they were given a choice of hosting either Michael Shermer or Luke Hunter (Executive Director of the Panthera Foundation) during Science Week. They went with Luke Hunter – not that I have a problem with that, as he seems to be a very cool guy. But I’m still sad that Shermie won’t be visiting the ’city of *retch* churches’. It also looks like Sydney and Melbourne get to have both speakers, while the rest of us miss out. Right then, where are all those folks who are always trying to convince me Adelaide ISN’T a backwater?

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National Science Week hits Australia from 16 – 24 August 2008.

And… Michael Shermer will be lecturing around the country as part of this event! (Yay!)

But… at the moment, Adelaide is not listed on his itinerary (Boo!)

So… I wrote to the organisers to ask nicely, please, why is this the case? and am waiting for a reply (c’mon, c’monnnn)

Can I count on the rest of you Adelaideans to back me up on this?

Jeff Medkeff, The Blue Collar Scientist, 1968 – 2008

I never met the man in person, but through his Blue Collar Scientist blog, Jeff Medkeff did so much to inspire so many, including me. He wrote with deep love of science, with a talent for making himself understood so you would sit back and say, “ohkaayy, now it makes sense”, and with pointed wit.

I didn’t really know the man so all I can do is talk about my experience of him: he was the first person to link to my blog (to a post I did about his naming of some asteroids he discovered), and also gave me the opportunity to contribute a post to his blog, which I will forever be holding up as a triumph. I’m sad that I’ll never get to know more of him than that.

Jeff has left a legacy in the skies, not just with the asteroids he discovered and the one named for him, but also because he was a passionate astronomer, and it will be difficult to look at the stars without thinking of him.

This is very much our loss.