Tim wrote: "Well, as we know I'm not a Christian, and if I were one to
overgeneralize, that comment would might lead me to suspect
that being Christian can be a serious impediment to one's
ability to appreciate science. But as Ernst Mayr notes, this
is a chauvinism not uncommonly found in physicists (religious
and otherwise), so one's religion can't necessarily be blamed."
At the NTSE conference in Austin, Stephen Schafersman made that very
claim, both in his paper (which was still available at Rob Koon's web
site last time I looked) and in private conversation. He even said he
would not engage a Christian plumber if another option were available
because, he said, the Christian plumber would necessarily have to
consider the supernatural as a possible cause of the toilet backing up
and that, alone, would make him less efficient a worker and an inferior
plumber.
Stephen and I had two or three very gentlemanly conversations on this
during the conference and I subsequently mentioned the topic in my NTSE
review for the ARN journal a year later. Copy on my web site somewhere.
Burgy (John Burgeson)
www.burgy.50megs.com
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