RSA Daily

For atheists, rationalists and secular humanists in Australia

Friday, June 2, 2023

Good morning ,

Some mornings, the pickings are slim but this morning, an extraordinarily rich set of stories for you to dip into over the weekend. 

For Australians, the Ben Roberts-Smith judgement is a source of both shame and pride. Shame, that our most highly decorated soldier has been found to be a war criminal and a bully; pride, that our court system has proven to be a bulwark against the forces of power and privilege.

And if you haven't yet done so, acquaint yourself with Sarah Haider. In her exchange with Ayaan Hirsi Ali on the woke challenge to liberalism, in my view she wins the debate. And, given Ayaan's formidale intellect, that's no small feat.

Lead stories

Sarah Haider is an ex-Msulim of Pakistani origin, now living in the US. Ayaan Hirsi Ali is also an ex-Muslim, of Somali origin, also now living in the US. This article is the third of an exchange of 5 letters between these two extraordinarily intelligent women and I encourage you to read them all. But this one in particular is a clear and compelling analysis of the scourge of woke-ism and the precarity of liberalism: "Liberalism might ultimately be good, but it doesn't feel good."

Richard Dawkins at his intelligent, provocative best. Instead of an essay, he poses 20 questions, such as: 

• What the hell is postmodernism? Have you ever met a self-styled postmodernist who could give you a coherent answer? Discuss.
• What is a woman? Discuss.
• Genetics today is a branch of information technology. Genetics in Darwin’s time was a branch of cookery. Discuss.

Your task: choose 3 questions you would like RSA members to discuss.

Investigative reporter Nick McKenzie summarises the explosive outcome of the Ben Roberts-Smith defamation case. "Much of the time we thought we were going to lose .. not because we were wrong .. we knew Ben Roberts-Smith was what we said he was .. but because he had money and power and influence and was prepared to lie and abuse the court process and exploit pockets of the media .. to play dirty pool. He was prepared to do anything to win."

For a bit of light relief: How do insurance companies know when an event is 'an act of God'? The brilliance of Ricky Gervais (with thanks to Darrell).

Other stories of interest

‘Life or death’: Tina Turner spoke of ‘fatal’ mistake in haunting last interview

She chose to reject Western medicine and replace her prescribed medication for high blood pressure with homeopathy and failed to let her doctors know. "Rarely in my life had I been so wrong."

Three lessons from Aristotle on friendship - Rationale Magazine

Friendship, like fitness, must be maintained by activity (despite modern inventions like social media).

No, AI probably won't kill us all - and there's more to this fear campaign than meets the eye

Follow the money. "While regulation is appropriate in some circumstances, regulations that are rushed through will favour incumbents and suffocate small, free and open-source competition."

A Compact Fusion Reactor Barely 3 Feet Across Has Hit a Huge Milestone

But don't get too excited yet.

Got a comment on any of these stories? 

Write to me at president@rationalist.com.au

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