Nice work, xkcd:
(Translation for the blind)
Claims of supernatural powers:
Confirmed by experiment — 0
Refuted by experiment — all the rest
James Randi would be proud.
Keep up the good work.
Sphere: Related ContentAs interesting as the book Atheists: A Groundbreaking Study of America’s Nonbelievers is, I think I take issue with its groundbreakingness.
It suffers from what appears to be very common when studying atheists – the study considers only absolute non-believers (°Faith=zero). This seems to compromise their study in a number of ways relating to sample size and reasonable cross-section of the population (bias). I give them credit for trying, but I wonder if it’s possible to do even better… via the Internet. Their study was entire on paper, mailed to atheist organizations. Now that fact alone seems to seriously narrow the sample. My lack of belief is at a place where I would be perfectly happy and enjoy myself in a room full of atheists, but the likelihood of me joining a club that meets face-to-face to chat about is pretty much nil. (By the way, why do the ffrf and other organizations have to come off so weird? Where are the mainstream non-believers?)
So, the question that floats through my head is, How many people kinda like me are out there? I wouldn’t presume to be a silent majority, but I think the numbers are probably much higher than estimated even in the US.
Life without Faith points out a more encouraging result from the UK Times Online. Has anyone seen a really strong survey or methodology for finding out the true faith makeup of the US population? Every study I have seen is seriously flawed in some way.
Sphere: Related ContentWouldn’t you know it, a few days after I ponder my Beliefometer, the Wall Street Journal publishes a commentary by Arthur C. Brooks that points out a common polling instrument called a Feeling Thermometer.
As we are dragged through another election season, it is worth critically reviewing these stereotypes. Do the data support the claim that conservatives are haters, while liberals are tolerant of others? A handy way to answer this question is with what political analysts call “feeling thermometers,” in which people are asked on a survey to rate others on a scale of 0-100. A zero is complete hatred, while 100 means adoration. In general, when presented with people or groups about which they have neutral feelings, respondents give temperatures of about 70. Forty is a cold temperature, and 20 is absolutely freezing.
Pretty interesting, but I’m not sure that’s entirely true. If the mean response for neutral feelings is 70, what does that mean for these public figures?
I know it’s not quite the same thing, but the way they totally ripped off my scaling is uncanny. Furthermore, what if I am neither liberal nor conservative… what then polling people?
Sphere: Related ContentI’m going to kick this off with some statistics… Interesting that secularism ranks third among the world’s ideologies (click the image to zoom in).
Source: Data from http://www.adherents.com; chart created here...
Christianity: 2.1 billion Islam: 1.5 billion Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist: 1.1 billion Hinduism: 900 million Chinese traditional religion: 394 million Buddhism: 376 million primal-indigenous: 300 million African Traditional & Diasporic: 100 million Sikhism: 23 million Juche: 19 million Spiritism: 15 million Judaism: 14 million Baha'i: 7 million Jainism: 4.2 million Shinto: 4 million Cao Dai: 4 million Zoroastrianism: 2.6 million Tenrikyo: 2 million Neo-Paganism: 1 million Unitarian-Universalism: 800 thousand Rastafarianism: 600 thousand Scientology: 500 thousandSphere: Related Content
