Chapter 7, “Venus and Dr. Velikovsky” (p. 148), St. Anselm argued that since we can imagine a perfect being, he must exist—because he would not be perfect without the added perfection of existence. The methods and ethos of science and religion are profoundly different. 58-59). Universities in Africa should produce scholars who will define the current situation in Africa, define it to others and together help bring out solutions to make Africa a better place to live in. Below is an excerpt to that effect; “These days we are all familiar with the fact that global political leaders meet throughout the year at gatherings such as the UN General Assembly, G7, G20, BRICS, World Bank, IMF, and African Union Summits. Imagine we could accelerate continuously at 1 g — what we're comfortable with on good old. People from all nations came here to live to trade to learn, on a given day these harbours were thronged with merchants and scholars and tourists, it's probably here that the word Cosmopolitan realised its true meaning of a citizen not just of a nation but of the Cosmos, to be a citizen of the Cosmos. We invest far-off places with a certain romance. You know about the concern that chlorofluorocarbons are depleting the ozone layer; and that carbon dioxide and methane and other greenhouse gases are producing global warming, a steady trend amidst fluctuations produced by volcanic eruptions and other sources. Infrastructural development and to some extent economic wellbeing has been somewhat maintained which has seen his country become part of nations considered as economic giants that are on the rise or better still are economic forces to reckon with now (BRICS). All we are told is some cut off the benefits and salaries of these ministers is what they are sacrificing; should we clap for them for this? Additionally, people coming from affected countries must be banned for the time being until appropriate measures are put in place and all our hospitals and clinics are well resourced. Japan is a country on the continent of Asia. Chapter 2, “Genes and Brains” (p. 31). Chapter 9, “Science Fiction—A Personal View” (p. 166). If out of over forty entries into the country, we have only four boarders doing screening for the virus, then what would be of the thousands of the hospitals in the country? When enough fiction is written and enough scientific hypotheses are proposed, sooner or later there will be accidental concordances. The laws of physics suffice, without supernatural intervention. This first encounter turned out to be peaceful. Ironically, a less deadly epidemic compared to the former, Cholera, is on the rise in this same country and hundreds of lives have been lost already. We make our world significant by the courage of our questions and by the depth of our answers. One of the criteria for national leadership should therefore be a talent for understanding, encouraging, and making constructive use of vigorous criticism. For instance, Arthur Jensen, who is a psychologist and belongs to the northern project, brought out a study that said that Africans are genetically inferior. We can also have foreign companies come and produce the things that no indigene has attempted producing or has the capacity to produce. These thoughts comfort me and lift me up out of my heartache. Although initially, the fight for Pan-Africanism began with only men such as Kwame Nkrumah, Marcus Garvey, and William E. Burghardt Du Bois, there are some women who have contributed to Pan Africanism such as Yaa Asantewaa, Queen Nzinga, and Asma Maflous who is the new Pan-African Revolutionary leader of the African renaissance. Leaders only emerge from the people, and as such the quality of the people you have will determine the quality of the leaders that emerge. They also frequently ask me if I think I will see him again. by the Ionian philosopher Heraclitus as “nightwalkers, magicians, priests of Bacchus, priestesses of the wine-vat, mystery-mongers.” But science is more intricate and subtle, reveals a much richer universe, and powerfully evokes our sense of wonder. Though the outbreak of Cholera is confined to the capital, anybody who knows the dealings of our leaders can tell you there is not much difference in their competence. And the fact that some of that science fiction was not of the highest quality is irrelevant. It’s hard to understand how “conservatives” could oppose safeguarding the environment—that all of us including conservatives and their children—depend on for our very lives. On the other hand, mere critical thinking, without creative and intuitive insights, without the search for new patterns, is sterile and doomed. Anything you don’t understand, Mr. Rankin, you attribute to God. Worse of it all is for a board of over 20 members to have just 2 representatives from the student body of over 30 thousand population. Ten-year-olds do not read the scientific literature. We make decisions based on what we think is right or wrong. Conflicts arising as a result of lack of understanding of a court ruling, the piling of debt on individual countries as a result of corruption and greed by some of the few elites who cannot be held accountable because of clauses they put in contracts that are hard to understand by the majority uneducated who in most cases don’t even know or care about what is going on are just a few of the worst case scenarios. But it is by far the best tool we have, self-correcting, ongoing, applicable to everything. The fact that religions can be so shamelessly dishonest, so contemptuous of the intelligence of their adherents, and still flourish does not speak very well for the tough-mindedness of the believers. Chapter 12, “Escape from Ambush” (p. 131). There is no other species on the Earth that does science. Courage is regarded as an admirable personal trait, providing benefits for … The idea of science as a method rather than as a body of knowledge is not widely appreciated outside of science, or indeed in some corridors inside of science. Christian courage is the willingness to say and do the right thing regardless of the earthly cost, because God promises to help you and save you on account of Christ. The chance of finding out something really interesting—except about human nature—seems small, and the amount of time required seems large. Either they make no contentions which are subject to disproof or they quickly redesign doctrine after disproof. If we long for our planet to be important, there is something we can do about it. “ We make our world significant by the courage of our questions and by the depth of our answers. It's hard to talk about the, Chapter 1, “Billions and Billions” (p. 10; ellipsis represents elision of half a page), Chapter 1, “Billions and Billions” (p. 10). Likewise in neurophysiology: Tentatively, the mind seems to be the expression of the hundred trillion neural connections in the brain, plus a few simple chemicals. Whether we believe in God depends very much on what we mean by God. Many harebrained interpretations were also widely available, especially in weekly newspapers. Global business leaders also have their own gatherings such as the World Economic Forum in Switzerland and Africa. A demon had been exorcised. The enterprise of knowledge is consistent surely with science; it should be with religion, and it is essential for the welfare of the human species. We are now able, intentionally or inadvertently, to alter the global environment. The APRM is a self-monitoring instrument voluntarily acceded to by member states of the African Union. People are rarely grateful for a demonstration of their credulity. Carl faced his death with unflagging courage and never sought refuge in illusions. There is no question that religions have historically played the role of making people contented with their lot. We can learn from the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and also offer a helping hand to one another as followers to build our local communities. That’s what their beliefs come down to. In other words, African countries have never been challenged as they are now (Mazuri, 1977: Alli, 2005; Asobia, 2005 and Shivji, 2005). At the heart of science is an essential balance between two seemingly contradictory attitudes - an openness to new ideas, no matter how bizarre or counterintuitive, and the most ruthlessly skeptical scrutiny of all ideas, old and new. "That which can be destroyed by the truth, should be." If we crave some cosmic purpose, then let us find ourselves a worthy goal. You can’t all be correct. The price we pay for the anticipation of our future is anxiety about it. We need heroes first and foremost because our heroes help define the limits of our aspirations. For all its material advantages, the sedentary life has left us edgy, unfulfilled. We have heard the rationales offered by the nuclear superpowers. Clubs, organizations, activities? However, time and priority are great inputs to be appraised in the implementation of these projects. 12 : The Fine Art of Baloney Detection, p. 221. The proponents of such borderline beliefs, when criticized, often point to, Chapter 5, “Night Walkers and Mystery Mongers: Sense and Nonsense at the End of Science” (p. 75). From the Bible to fairy tales; ancient myths to Hollywood movies, our culture is … Chapter 10, “The Sun’s Family” (p. 183). Same apply to our security personnel at the boarders of the country. Indeed the battle continues. The doctrine in question is this: that it is undesirable to believe a proposition when there is no ground whatever for supposing it true. Proponents of doctrinal religions—ones in which a particular body of belief is prized and infidels scorned—will be threatened by the courageous pursuit of knowledge. "Courage is when you are brave about something you … It sort of it's better to be stupid and alive, than smart and dead. I see the relative absence of these things and the distortions of scientific thinking often encountered in science fiction as terrible wasted opportunities. Ch. Both borderline science and many religions are motivated in part by a serious concern about the nature of the universe and our role in it, and for this reason merit our consideration and regard. The meaning of Pan-Africanism tends to be elusive; however, most scholars and activists concede that Pan-Africanism encapsulates the conscious attempts of blacks, “at home and abroad,” to forge a united front aimed at combatting the dehumanizing effect of slavery, racism, colonialism, and oppression of various sorts against all people of African descent. We make our world significant by the courage of our questions and by the depth of our answers. To take a cue from the Holy Bible, a model to look at would be when the people of Israel were in bondage and it was time for them to be freed, they were not let go until their masters were plagued with a plague that really caused them pain. I have...a terrible need...shall I say the word?...of. By the time such meetings take place the Civil Society representatives have been working for sometimes months or even years to ensure they get these issues on the agenda. If I write the insight down or tell it to someone, then I can remember it with no assistance the following morning; but if I merely say to myself that I must make an effort to remember, I never do. This planet is run by crazy people. Why is “energy independence” mentioned so often as a justification for environmentally risky nuclear power plants or offshore drilling—but so rarely to justify insulation, efficient cars, or wind and solar energy? Religions ought to be subject to at least the same degree of skepticism as, for example, contentions about UFO visitations or Velikovskian catastrophism. “The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate for the stormy present” was, The integrity of the experimenters in the face of this unexpected finding is breathtaking. Chapter 14, “The Common Enemy” (p. 158). 242-243). Few of us spend much time wondering why nature is the way it is, where the cosmos came from, or whether it was always there, if time will one day flow backwards or whether there are ultimate limits to what humans can know. We are set irrevocably, I believe, on a path that will take us to the stars—unless in some monstrous capitulation to stupidity and greed, we destroy ourselves first. A clear prediction in an area undergoing vigorous study permits doctrines to be subject to disproof. Why is it the richest continent with every kind of resource and yet the poorest by every standard? And as we get older, we hear of the mesmerizing accomplishments of courageous people who fight in wars, spur massive social change, and save lives. But it by no means follows that religion should be immune from testing, from critical scrutiny, from skepticism. Exploration is in our nature. The education and progress of the people therefore becomes the No. Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known. Both Barnum and H. L. Mencken are said to have made the depressing observation that no one ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the American public. For a long time the human instinct to understand was thwarted by facile religious explanations. Chapter 23, “A Sunday Sermon” (p. 335). He’s not good at design, he’s not good at execution. It’s hard to kill a creature once it lets you see its consciousness. There is no question that religion provides a solace and support, a bulwark in time of emotional need, and can serve extremely useful social roles. He is also a writer and in reading some of his most recent articles on Facebook themed African Lioness Roar, which is meant to recognize extraordinary women entrepreneurs coming out of Africa and celebrate them to inspire others all over the continent. Having noted that majority of the followers are misguided and ill-informed, it suffices that education is the only means to cure the continent of bad leadership and followership. It takes courage because others are watching. Case in point is when doctor’s working in public hospitals go on strike, politicians and the well to do in society can afford private hospitals, but the poor citizen lose their precious ones because they can’t afford the private hospitals. Chapter 18, “The Twentieth Century” (pp. The most significant aspect of the DNA story is that the fundamental processes of life now seem fully understandable in terms of physics and chemistry. It is striking how little skeptical discussion of religion there is in the nation that Tom Paine, the author of. There is no guarantee that the universe will conform to our predispositions. We knew we were beneficiaries of chance. Being afraid of quantification is tantamount to disenfranchising yourself, giving up on one of the most potent prospects for understanding and changing the world. 190-191). The steps in a reasoned argument must be set out for all to see. I don’t find anything wrong with having foreigners come to invest in the country, but they should be regulated such that, our local manufacturers can compete comparatively. Countless citizens will line up to vote for a leader not because they are informed about economic issues and well abreast with the policies presented by the leader but because they can associate with the leader in terms of ethnicity, have enjoyed some sort of favor from the leader or persons related to him, or even in some extreme cases because the leader is handsome/beautiful. How is it that hardly any major religion has looked at science and concluded, "This is better than we thought! Howbeit, the impact of a successful demonstration can only be measured in the aftermath, taking into cognizance the number of policies and measures taken by government to address issues raised by the demonstrators and how effective those policies proved in curbing the issues in question. Aristotle called courage the first virtue, because it makes all of the other virtues possible. For all I know we may be visited by a different extraterrestrial civilization every second Tuesday, but there's no support for this appealing idea. There are those who will still argue against this though, considering the recent uproar and wave of Xenophobia that characterized the country. Also, the lost in productivity which some economists estimated to be worth millions of Ghana cedi raises the argument as to whether the demonstration was justified or not.Though arguments for and against the act of demonstration come with their respective merits, I personally hold the view that it is better for the start in making our grievances known to the government. If we really are in deficit in a particular sector or production, we can have one or two trusted foreign companies come and support in meeting the needs of that sector or production. On the other hand, I was grieved because these are men and women already gainfully employed, hence, sending a second indication that it is those who are not employed and are actually facing challenges that fail to turn up to make their voices heard, when in fact they are facing the worse hardships than the former. Those who possessed poorly programmed brains eventually did not live long enough to reproduce.