Criticizing Postmodernism
Be warned. This post uses the coarse "BS" word but it is only in quoting. Sorry.
I saw this review for a book by Harry G. Frankfurt (a Princeton philosophy professor emeritus). This is from the Amazon.com's own summary of a book titled On Bullshit:

Bulls**tting, as he notes, is not exactly lying, and bulls**t remains bulls**t whether it's true or false. The difference lies in the bulls**tter's complete disregard for whether what he's saying corresponds to facts in the physical world: he "does not reject the authority of the truth, as the liar does, and oppose himself to it. He pays no attention to it at all. By virtue of this, bullsh*t is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are."
...
...he points to one source of bulls**t's unprecedented expansion in recent years, the postmodern skepticism of objective truth in favor of sincerity, or as he defines it, staying true to subjective experience. But what makes us think that anything in our nature is more stable or inherent than what lies outside it? Thus, Frankfurt concludes, with an observation as tiny and perfect as the rest of this exquisite book, "sincerity itself is bulls**t."

A viable criticism on postmodernism: nonsense out of complete disregard for objective truth. (I added the astericks in the quote)

Faith in Science
I was discussing current discoveries in science with a fellow researcher from a different lab, discoveries including the cloning of a dog and the cloning of a human embryo. I mentioned that there are efforts now to create a bacteria ... well, not necessarily from scratch but assemble all of it's DNA and insert it into a cell.
He said in wonder, "Science is amazing. Soon scientists will be able to create life."
Our biology textbooks says it is a law that every cell comes from a cell. So I responded, "I don't think it's that easy to create life. There are so many complex mechanisms of the cell already in motion and are continually in motion, that to just assemble the parts will not necessarily give us life."
He glared at me, offended, silent and then rebuking, "Take off your lab coat! You call yourself a scientist. There nothing magical or mystical about life."

Where did that outburst come from?

I overheard later that he went to a conference bashing intelligent design and touting the primordial soup of evolution. Perhaps he was fired up and took it out on me.

Anyways, I was amazed at how blind he was to his blatant faith in science. He didn't offer a reason for his belief, only insult.

This again demonstrates the false dichotomy created by Emmanuel Kant: Science and Reason on one side and Religion and Faith on the other and how they are mutual exclusive (nary the 'tween shall meet). In addition Science & Reason trumps the other and so it is allowed public but Religion & Faith must be private.

[ Science + Reason ][ Religion + Faith ]

The ramifications of this wrong dichotomy are profound and far reaching. It has so ingrained itself into our minds the world over. Reality is, people live and operate by faith all the time. Most of our actions are not governed by reason. Science is no different, it involves a great amount of faith. Likewise religion* involves much rational thought. And both sides have had its share bogus superstions. (Heh, bogus superstition is redundant, no?)

[*rational thought is at least found in the Christianity laid out by the Bible]

The Loneliness of Humanity - 2
What if this is your only life in a linear timeline of this finite and unique universe? Then there are no second chances or speculation of "what if" as time pushes indomitably forward and forward until our deaths or the universe ends. [And why leave life to speculation when you are certain of your one life, your one direction in time (older), and this world?]

Two questions arise: 1. How are you living this life? AND 2. Why?

And so we are led to our yearning for significance. The Christian apologist William Lane Craig once said that apart from God there is "no meaning, purpose, and value." These cannot truly exist without God because then the only reality is randomness and chance.

And here is the limitation of science. Science ultimately is an effort to make sense of our observations. It has its place and use* but it cannot assign significance...the WHY. (*use: basically to improve quality of life... but to what end?)

The Loneliness of Humanity - 1
Many religious, science fiction authors, and scientists ponder the existence of multiple universes, multiple timelines, and multiple lifetimes mainly, they say, because of the fascination with the possibilities. "Multiple" is also substituted with "parallel," as in [parallel universes/ timelines/ lifetimes]. I'm increasingly convinced that the perseveration on these concepts is actually and untimately a rally against the finiteness of humankind and it's loneliness.

Douglas Adams, the famous sci-fi/comedy author (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy), wrote of a "torture" device consisting soley of a display of the entire universe and a "You Are Here" arrow pointing to an infinitesimal speck. The torture consisted of one's realization of his/her absolute smallness, insignificance, and loneliness in the universe and this realization driving them insane.

Current temp.: -1°F
Current windchill: -21°F

The U.S. military is prohibiting their own chaplains from using the name of Jesus in prayer outside a church.

Movies to see: King Kong. It has rave reviews... THE epic movie of this year. It was made to be seen on the big screen. Yes, I'm affected by the hype. But Peter Jackson had a great run at Lord of the Rings, wouldn't you say?

But first I'll see Chronicles of Narnia. Special effects courtesy of Peter Jackson's WETA Workshop.

Addendum: Narnia costumes & weapons courtesy of WETA. Special effects courtesy of George Lucas's Industrial Light & Magic.

There is no honor in a name that you do not live up to.