Seems like a good time to remind everyone of one of the best headlines of the last decade: "British scientists don't like Richard Dawkins, finds study that didn't even ask questions about Richard Dawkins" - ThreadSky

fionaswriting.bsky.social • 341 days ago

Seems like a good time to remind everyone of one of the best headlines of the last decade:

"British scientists don't like Richard Dawkins, finds study that didn't even ask questions about Richard Dawkins"

Comments

paulwoodcraft.bsky.social•340 days ago

Richard Dawkins reads his hate mail.
https://youtu.be/kmAvM-gLDbA?si=01JH5sQc4TkTLTWD

whoniversal.bsky.social•341 days ago

Good biologist but does not know nearly enough about theology, history, philosophy, etc, to have waded into the religion thing. And I say that as an atheist (albeit one who is very aware that I'm culturally basically a Christian)

whensmthcries.bsky.social•341 days ago

Also the dude has an ego the size of fuckin Alaska and decided he'd make it everyone else's problem

whoniversal.bsky.social•341 days ago

To be fair, if I was a sanctimonious nerd who had somehow convinced Lalla Ward to marry me, I would have an enormous ego too

drpaddysmith.bsky.social•341 days ago

Username checks out, as I believe the kids say

streetcat-stan.bsky.social•340 days ago

Also he's a mega misogynist so there's that

whoniversal.bsky.social•340 days ago

I wasn't aware of that to be honest

everickert.bsky.social•341 days ago

Oh no did he do a thing

everickert.bsky.social•340 days ago

To those replying, I know all about Dawkins. I just meant did he do a thing TODAY.

everickert.bsky.social•340 days ago

Just wondering why he was suddenly the MC. (I know now.)

whensmthcries.bsky.social•341 days ago

On the one hand, yeah, but on the other hand, he's kinda always been a completely insufferable jackass to actually try and talk to in any meaningful way. He tends to be loud-mouthed, thin-skinned, egotistical, and obsessive about needing to prove he's smarter than you

crucialwax.com•340 days ago

And don’t forget media attention seeking ho.

turbofalcon.bsky.social•340 days ago

if reddit was a person.

heskynn.bsky.social•341 days ago

I don't think he ever Stopped doing a thing unfortunately.

duaadiddy.bsky.social•341 days ago

Yes

daiwolf.bsky.social•341 days ago

many many horrid things

sensualkazoo.bsky.social•340 days ago

All 4 horsemen have been pretty horrible people. They rejected Christianity and found new reasons to be horrible reactionary shit bags. Dennent seems to be the most normal or at least he is quieter but it took minimal googling to find him talking about how sensible a book by helen Joyce was.

richterscale.bsky.social•341 days ago

No, nothing's changed. He's still the same horrid person he's always been.

raymondgibson.bsky.social•341 days ago

#SurprisinglyNotTheOnion

rwruedii.bsky.social•341 days ago

I could swear The Onion's headline style is based on The Independent.

the17thqueen.bsky.social•341 days ago

I’m still proud of being blocked by him on The Other Place 💅

peter-donnelly.bsky.social•335 days ago

Oh yeah me too

Years and years ago

Ditto Sam Harris

gammarae.design•341 days ago

Bless

fluffycryptidbskys.bsky.social•341 days ago

I enjoy the idea that bunch of scientist in the middle of the study was like hey fuck Richard Sawkins btw.

spottyserval.furry.energy•340 days ago

He's such an L

captainsidecar.bsky.social•341 days ago

Richard Dawkins is an excellent example of the type of person who doesn't realise that being right about certain things does not give you carte blanche to be a complete and utter dick about it.

matwinser.bsky.social•341 days ago

Exactly this. He reminds me so much of some of the teachers I had a boarding school. So high on their own farts (in Latin or Greek) that they despised everyone.

vegetablegremlin.bsky.social•341 days ago

"not the onion" is a pretty hacky reply i know this and yet

tentcityhall.bsky.social•341 days ago

Little Dicky Dawkins came to my school in like 2002 to dunk on 18-year-olds like a real mensch.

valoisdubins.bsky.social•341 days ago

Earning reputations for rigorous skepticism by dunking on *creationists* and the like was such a scam in the 2000s.

“Do you believe in ghosts”
“No”
“Well done here is a Nobel Prize for braininess”

madamkim.bsky.social•341 days ago

He's a fundamentalist but from the other side

valoisdubins.bsky.social•340 days ago

It’s not even that. Christopher Hitchens was a passionate atheist but had interesting things to say about the topic. Dawkins’ approach was devoid of humanity and empathy.

I’d also very very unfavourably compare Dawkins’ to Carl Sagan’s grasp of humanity.

madamkim.bsky.social•340 days ago

Those are very good points! I stand corrected.

scooterbones.bsky.social•341 days ago

And he was widely revered. Still remember how bizarrely dignified his appearance on South Park was. Dumb sadistic British people really had hold on the psyche in the 90s

cat-appreciator.bsky.social•341 days ago

Sad to say but they still do today (source: I am trans)

tentcityhall.bsky.social•341 days ago

Hollywood did us all a huge disservice by spending decades driving home the braindead notion that a British accent was a reliable shorthand for thoughtfulness.

runawaycornpop.bsky.social•340 days ago

Not just "British accent" even, he specifically sounds very similar to David Attenborough.

Who actually is quite thoughtful...

paintsplastic.bsky.social•340 days ago

It also convinced the world that there is such a thing as being "British". This is a downright lie.

You can be English, Welsh, Northern-Irish (sorry Ireland), Scottish, or Scouse, those are your options.

egall.bsky.social•340 days ago

People will often (rightfully) point out all the ways in which "Love Actually" is problematic, but I will say that one thing it had going for it was its whole sendup of the whole "Americans going wild for British accents" thing in one of its subplots

andrewj27.bsky.social•341 days ago

and on the other hand Brits were often baddies / Nazis...

scooterbones.bsky.social•341 days ago

I think a lot of that came out of the fact that among the few nice things about British culture is that they hung on to a more humane and professional treatment for their performing arts. At least stories I've heard about British actors being less the starved psychos Americans make ours into

jolemon.bsky.social•340 days ago

Big overlap between phobes, and 'sceptics' who are way too pleased with themselves for not believing in astrology

valoisdubins.bsky.social•340 days ago

“Elevatorgate” (and gamergate for some) was very revealing: it required a lot of them to challenge their own prejudices and beliefs. The sort of thing they were supposed to be good at.

And a lot of them flunked that test big time.

valoisdubins.bsky.social•341 days ago

The only silver lining is that he’s now got a track record of sexism and Islamophobia and thus alienated half his original fanbase.

scooterbones.bsky.social•341 days ago

Individuals fall, but we get the same asshole archetype every few years. A Stephen Pinker comes to mind

bobas.online•341 days ago

Here come the test results: “You are a horrible person”. That’s what it says, “a horrible person”. We weren’t even testing for that.

ericthechiper.bsky.social•341 days ago

This is the type of shit that running The Onion out of business.
This could straight up be one of their headlines.
https://bsky.app/profile/ericthechiper.bsky.social/post/3kl3rauqmoz2a

brattybekka.bsky.social•340 days ago

"Well done. Here are the test results: You are a horrible person. I'm serious, that's what it says: A horrible person. We weren't even testing for that."

mxwoermsin.gothgeek.org•341 days ago

awkwardleftycj.bsky.social•341 days ago

I continue to be a theist to spite Richard Dawkins.

rwruedii.bsky.social•341 days ago

Really spite him by being a Humanist-Deist.

adw.bsky.social•341 days ago

Best reason, really

azubir.bsky.social•340 days ago

I remember reading "The God Delusion" as a Gold-Star atheist and wondering why I was reading something so obvious and intellectually uninteresting. It's not often that I'm sitting in the choir and being preached to, but when I finished that book, I got up, and walked straight into the delusion.

azubir.bsky.social•340 days ago

I wasn't interested in engaging with dogmatic traditions, though, so I played around in the realm of the occult and kabbalah, always looking for something that would help me understand the root of the delusion.

It turns out there is a root of Western Civilization, and it brings the Eschaton.

azubir.bsky.social•340 days ago

Yes, there is a delusion. All of you who were indoctrinated into Western Civilization have taken on its venom that deludes you all into eschewing Epistemic Standards in favor of the unrighteous stability their error offers.

This is the Eschaton that destroys the delusion of Western Civilization.

cat-appreciator.bsky.social•341 days ago

Huh. My semi-serious worship of The Giant Sky Cat Who Loves Me, Whose Belly Is The Blue Sky, would annoy both Dawkins and NDGT. Praise be!

cattz.bsky.social•339 days ago

I can happily get behind your believes.

cat-appreciator.bsky.social•339 days ago

I came up with Him while going through a major Vitamin D deficiency. Whenever a cloud would cover the sun my mood would drop, whenever the sky was blue my mood would improve. Such are the conditions that inspire theology! I am sure He loves you also.

fionaswriting.bsky.social•341 days ago

*independent, sorry:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/richard-dawkins-atheism-criticism-atheist-study-rice-university-science-scientists-a7389396.html

iwasid.bsky.social•341 days ago

Don't like him either, but rather suspect for different reasons, given:

"The study was funded by the Templeton Foundation, which has traditionally opposed Dawkins' work"

ijmorley.bsky.social•341 days ago

Rule-bound dundridges.

stepback.nebula.tv•340 days ago

russburlingame.bsky.social•341 days ago

Amazing. I love this.

drpam.bsky.social•338 days ago

He’s a good biologist presumably, but inserts himself into complex psychological debate without even realising he’s doing so. I studied his work as an undergrad in bio-psych, but avoid reading his stuff now because it annoys me so much.

sazeracla.bsky.social•341 days ago

I’m 100% atheist and there was that time I decided to read Dawkins’ book The God Delusion then put it down after three chapters thinking, “This guy’s just an asshole.”

angrysunbird.bsky.social•341 days ago

He used to be such a lucid writer too. As a student in biology I admired his writing in books like the selfish gene.

soyweiser.bsky.social•340 days ago

I read the book pretty recently, so prob already got all the good bits via cultural osmosis, but I thought the selfish gene was pretty meh. I esp didn't like the trick he did with the word altruism, defining it away which just complicates talking to people who run the standard definition.

soyweiser.bsky.social•340 days ago

I noticed a lot of rightwing libertarians do the same, run with non-standard definitions as assumptions and then when others don't agree with these and come to different conclusions they consider them illogical. It always feels like a a very weak argument. (I'm not immune of course).

angrysunbird.bsky.social•340 days ago

I could go back and reread it after 25 years or more, but at this point I’d rather go back and read my Steven Jay Gould collection to be honest. Or read more modern books like Quammen’s Tangled Tree

soyweiser.bsky.social•340 days ago

A better use of your time, if only for the fact you want to read that.

scooterbones.bsky.social•341 days ago

I liked it too until I read a non-strawmanned version of group/hierarchical selection and realized what a crock the arg was

stoffia.bsky.social•341 days ago

The selfish gene theory is infalsifiable and has no empirical proof to it. Evolution theories based on archeological findings tend to prefer punctuated equilibrium to Dawkin's rationalist school of thoughts.

queerbluesky.bsky.social•335 days ago

js0.bsky.social•341 days ago

I really liked his first few books, but at a certain point he stopped talking about evolution and turned into a crank.

drpaddysmith.bsky.social•341 days ago

Not the first eminent scientist to publicly and embarrassingly assume they're a universal expert (*cough* Penrose) but perhaps the finest science writer to do so.

I wish we could treat the pre- and post-God Delusion Dawkinses as different people.

rwruedii.bsky.social•341 days ago

Well if the question asked who they disliked then it would easily find the answer.

aletheion.bsky.social•341 days ago

Hmmmm is there any excerpts? :3

4u5t0.bsky.social•341 days ago

My I don't like Richard Dawkins t-shirt is answering a lot of questions that nobody asked.

seanstanden.bsky.social•340 days ago

Bible-bashing and "atheism"-bashing arent too far removed from each other.

deliciouslegacy.bsky.social•341 days ago

Ahahahahahaah

tiny.toydragon.xyz•341 days ago

Reminds me of
GLaDOS: "Well done. Here are the test results: You are a horrible person. I'm serious, that's what it says: A horrible person. We weren't even testing for that."

cassiegretch.bsky.social•341 days ago

Good. After the guy jumped on the washed Bri'ish celebri'y innit bandwagon of shitting on trans people he deserves to be broadly disliked

fionaswriting.bsky.social•341 days ago

I mean this was from 2016, he was already a joke before he turned on trans people. His misogyny, ableism and racism boxes were all well-ticked by that point.

cassiegretch.bsky.social•341 days ago

Oh... I half read the image lol. I mostly know him from his recent transphobesona of the last few years

natanael.bsky.social•340 days ago

This is one of the punchlines in the Portal game. The robot GLaDOS says this;

'"Well done. Here are the test results: You are a horrible person. I'm serious, that's what it says: A horrible person. We weren't even testing for that."'

One of the best lines due to how unexpected the delivery is.

sydmj.bsky.social•341 days ago

TBF, atheists don’t like him either

ryanmcgreal.bsky.social•341 days ago

For me, this Gizmodo article from 2017 in the wake of the exploding Galaxy Note 7 debacle still holds up as one of the best headlines of all time.

spaeschke.bsky.social•341 days ago

He reminds me of my uncle whose entire Facebook feed is militant atheist screeds. It’s exhausting, outputting, and makes me think that he ponders religion far more than most fundies do.

jjofbc.bsky.social•341 days ago

Pure classic

thedaddyotaku.bsky.social•340 days ago

LOL WTF?

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