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the top 10 least religious countries

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 19:02:47 GMT

clipped by: syncopath
clipper's remarks: The survey concluded that "high levels of organic atheism are strongly correlated with high levels of societal health, such as low homicide rates, low poverty rates, low infant mortality rates, and low illiteracy rates, as well as high levels of educational attainment, per capita income, and gender equality.

In some societies, particularly Europe, atheism is growing. However, throughout much of the world -- particularly nations with high birth rates -- atheism is barely discernable."

Clip Source: www.jacksonvilleconfidential.com

there are actually huge masses of people who do not believe in "God". Here a list of the Top Ten

1. Sweden (up to 85% non-believer, atheist, agnostic)
2. Vietnam
3. Denmark
4. Norway
5. Japan
6. Czech Republic
7. Finland
8. France
9. South Korea
10. Estonia (up to 49% non-believer, atheist, agnostic)

Clip Source: www.gadling.com

When you travel to Europe, don't be surprised to find that many Europeans don't believe in God. I have even witnessed some alcohol-infused conversations between Americans and Europeans that almost ended in fistfights over His/Her existence. When you travel to the following countries, you might want to pick a less controversial topic of conversation ... umm, maybe George W?

The one that surprised me was Israel, ranking 19th, with up to 37% claiming to be non-believer, atheist, agnostic. Compare that with the United States, ranking 44th, with 3-9% non-believers, atheists, agnostics. (I think I have met them all on the streets of New York City, too.)

Houses with a view

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 14:26:57 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: phottle.com

Alternative Motivational Posters

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 01:51:36 GMT

clipped by: bignosemousie
clipper's remarks: shine, integrity, patience, courage.

Many more at the source. Nice work and affordable.

Clip Source: www.rightbrainterrain.com

Tags: shine, integrity, patience, courage, art

Are animals stuck in time?

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 08:48:37 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: physorg.com

Dog owners, who have noticed that their four-legged friend seem equally delighted to see them after five minutes away as five hours, may wonder if animals can tell when time passes. Newly published research from The University of Western Ontario in London, Canada may bring us closer to answering that very question.

The results of the research, entitled “Episodic-Like Memory in Rats: Is it Based on When or How Long Ago,” appear in the current issue of the journal Science, which was released today.

William Roberts and his colleagues in Western’s Psychology Department found that rats are able to keep track of how much time has passed since they discovered a piece of cheese, be it a little or a lot, but they don’t actually form memories of when the discovery occurred. That is, the rats can’t place the memories in time.

Only the cue of "how long ago food was encountered" was used successfully by the rats.

Tags: memory, time, animals

Orion Nebula - another fantastic picture

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 18:44:51 GMT

clipped by: skwirlinator

Clip Source: antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov

Clip Source: www.coolscifi.com

Explanation: This tantalizing array of nebulae and stars can be found about 2 degrees south of the famous star-forming Orion Nebula. The region abounds with energetic young stars producing jets and outflows that push through the surrounding material at speeds of hundreds of kilometers per second. The interaction creates luminous shock waves known as Herbig-Haro (HH) objects. For example, the graceful, flowing arc just right of center is cataloged as HH 222, also called the Waterfall Nebula. Seen below the Waterfall, HH 401 has a distinctive cone shape. The bright bluish nebula below and left of center is NGC 1999, a dusty cloud reflecting light from an embedded variable star. The entire cosmic vista spans over 30 light-years, near the edge of the Orion molecular cloud complex some 1,500 light-years distant.

Tags: space, orion, nebula, pic, background, coolscifi

World-class articles from intellectual and influential journals around the world

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 01:50:21 GMT

clipped by: skwirlinator
clipper's remarks: Wow, This page is huge!

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

World-class articles from intellectual and influential journals around the world. Browse the day's selections. Like The Week for eggheads.

Clip Source: www.aldaily.com

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Articles of Note

The poor suffer, of course. But why do some poor people act to ensure their continued indigence? Charles Karelis wonders... more»

Just before it was to open with an exhibit of Titian, Botticelli, and Caravaggio, a major New York gallery has been shut by a judge... more» ... more»

Dear Readers...

Along with many friends, I’ve felt frustrated in recent years trying to reconcile wildly opposed claims about global warming. In order to advance better understanding, Doug Campbell and I have created a new website. If global warming issues interest you, we invite you to visit
Climate Debate Daily.

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Tags: world-class, articles, intellectual, influential, journals, world

He Could Not Forgive, Simply Because He Forgot

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 22:25:38 GMT

clipped by: Sheroug

Clip Source: www.alionline.net

he could not forgive, simply because he - forgot

To be unable to take his enemies, his misfortunes, and even his misdeeds seriously for long - that is the sign of strong, rounded natures with a superabundance of a power which is flexible, formative, healing and can make one forget (a good example from the modern world is Mirabeau, who had no recall of the insults and slights directed at him and who could not forgive, simply because he - forgot.) A man like this shakes from him, with one shrug, many worms which would have burrowed into another man; actual 'love for your enemies' is also possible here and here alone - assuming it is possible at all on earth.

--Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morality

Tags: nietzsche, forgivness

Make ur own ceiling cat!

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 20:59:37 GMT

clipped by: bignosemousie
clipper's remarks: Hahahahahahaha. So great, I can't stop thinking of ways to use this.

Clip Source: tubbypaws.blogspot.com

He is watching you right now so please make
this model^-^ You can tape it to your ceiling,
his rightful place. Print and cut out the pattern
and stick it together, this one it quite easy to
make I think though I cried a little designing
it. lolcats are nice. meow^-^
Click on the image to make it bigger...

Tags: ceiling cat, lol, humor, craft

Ancient Chinese Bells

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 05:32:15 GMT

clipped by: Rustee
clipper's remarks:

The importance of that discovery grows when we realize that it took the West a thousand years to develop the cathedral bell, and we didn't have it until the middle ages. Bells are very hard to make, yet China had these remarkably sophisticated Zhong bells during the Golden Age of Athens. The bells produce a rich tone, they take far less bronze to get it than a cathedral bell, and then they deliver two sounds for the cost of one.

It's easy to look right at something that's very sophisticated without seeing the sophistication. It took us eighty years to catch on to these remarkable, but unassuming, bells. The best inventions are like that. In the best inventions, elegance masquerades as simplicity.

Clip Source: www.uh.edu

Just after the turn of this century, archaeologists started finding curious sets of bronze bells in tombs throughout China. They range from 2000 to 3600 years old, and they have an odd shape.

They're called Zhong bells. Thousands of these bells had been unearthed by the late 1970s, and their strange secret still hadn't yet come to light.

The secret was actually seen and missed in 1957 when the National Music Research Institute in China played a set of these bells in concert.

The E-bell was missing in one octave. But then a player found he could get that sound by striking the C-bell on its side.

But twenty years later, Chinese musicologists, examining a set of these bells, discovered that every bell in the set had the same property -- it had two tones, either a third or a minor third apart. Then they found that many of these bells even had marks on the side to show players where to strike the bells to get the two tones. Each bell was, in fact, meant to be two bells in one.

Clip Source: www.uh.edu

Tags: music, history, china

The Rorschach Test

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 11:38:28 GMT

clipped by: Aribeth
clipper's remarks: and the Presidential Rorschach Test...

Clip Source: www.uihealthcare.com

The Rorschach Test

Hermann Rorschach (1884-1922) was a Swiss Psychiatrist who is best known for devising the inkblot test that bears his name. He studied art as a secondary-school student earning the nickname Kleck, meaning "inkblot," because of his interest in sketching. Rorschach considered following his father in an art career, but was drawn to psychiatry, taking a deep interest in the then new field of psychoanalysis.

By 1918 he had started to experiment with the interpretation of inkblots by showing 15 accidental inkblots to patients and asking them, "What might this be?" The Rorschach test is based on the human tendency to project interpretations and feelings onto ambiguous stimuli. Rorschach held that a person's perceptual responses to inkblots could serve as clues to basic personality tendencies.

ignored at first

never experienced its success

died

before he could properly test and evaluate his invention

Artwork based on Rorschach inkblots and Jung mandala

Clip Source: www.thenation.com

Tags: personality tests, psychology, psychiatry