There are lots of things to write about today, but I want to continue with my summary of the remarkable TED2006 conference. Maybe later today I'll be able to take a minute to comment on the Core77 Design 2.0 Conference I attended yesterday.
Anyway, back to TED. Session 5, "Memes," was kicked off by an ill-advised three minute ad hominem attack on Dick Chaney by TEDster Jackie Leo. I'm far from being a Chaney fan, but this bit was almost enough to engender sympathy.
Michael Shermer, publisher of Skeptic magazine, was the first scheduled speaker. Shermer good-naturedly described Skeptic as the "Ralph Nader of bad idea" and began by demonstrating a "marijuana dousing rod" purchased by a West Virginia school district for $900 in an attempt to detect pot in student lockers. Skeptic tested the device and, according to Shermer, found that, indeed, it would detect weed, "if you opened enough student lockers"! Shermer's talk centered around the ultimate weapon in detecting bunk: likelihood. Since Occam started shaving, many of us have believed that the likeliest answer is probably the correct one. If it walks like a duck and quacks, etc. Genuine skeptics try to maintain a balance between data and theory, never letting one get too far out in front of the other. Theories, after all, are "loaded with cognitive biases," and data is often affected by the brain's powerful pattern seeking mechanisms. Shermer humorously demonstrated the latter by playing Led Zeppelin's, "Stairway To Heaven" backwards, first without, and then with, content-prompting. The results were amazingly demonstrative: we all clearly heard every Satanic reference in reverse after being primed. Big idea: we are as vulnerable to the power of magic and snake oil as our pre-historic ancestors.
The musical group, Stew, followed. These were very entertaining musicians who sang some witty and engaging songs, including, "Black Men Ski," "Big City People," "Gay Ken," and "Rehab."
Pastor Rick Warren was next. Warren is the author of the blockbuster best seller "The Purpose Driven Life" (over 30 million copies sold since 2002 and still selling 1 million copies per month). I am not a religious person. But Warren began his talk by making a simple statement that I could easily resonate with: we all are faced with the challenge of three levels of living: survival, success and significance. Miss any of those, and you've not lived a full life. Significance is grounded in our personal worldview, which many of us never clearly identify. Warren simply recounted his, ("I don't have enough confidence to be an atheist") and connected it to the book. Imagine being a pastor and suddenly becoming as wealthy as a 30+ million copy-and-counting best seller makes you. What do you do? Warren told us what he did. First, he and his wife decided "not to use the money on ourselves." Second, "stop taking a salary." Third, "pay back 25 years of salary, 'cause I didn't want anybody thinking I'd done any of what I've done for money." Fourth, "establish a foundation to fight poverty and HIV/AIDS." And fifth, "begin reverse tithing, that is, giving 90% of what we earn to the church and keeping 10%, instead of the other way around." He did this, he said, to break the grip of materialism, that equates, "doing good and feeling good with looking good and having goods." Even more important than the money, Warren said, was having to decide, "what should I do with all this attention?" Great question. To answer, he went to Psalm 72, Solomon's prayer for power and influence. The purpose of influence, Warren said, is to speak up for those who have no influence, and to do so, as Moses did, by using the things you are given; "what's in your hand." Warren ended by asking us, "what are you doing with what you've been given?" In my way of thinking, you don't have to be a religious person to let the power of that question touch you. Big idea: my life is about the ongoing discovery of its meaning.
Who better to follow Rick Warren than Dan Dennett, the author of a new book entitled, "Breaking The Spell: Religion As A Natural Phenomenon"? His premise: religion is based in biology, naturally selected over millennia. Today's religions are, "brilliantly designed" to create followers. His proposal: educate all children in public and private schools on the factual elements of all world religions, to create an informed citizenry. In regard to intelligent design, Dennett quoted Orgel's Second Rule, "evolution is cleverer than you are." Up to this point, Dennett had us all. He then, however, began a detailed review of Rick Warren's book, including quotes he disputed and chose to refute. He said he'd chosen to do this as a matter of authenticity, feeling that he could not ignore the things in Warren's book with which he disagreed. Even though I personally agreed with most of Dennett's points in this area, I found myself a little uncomfortable with his choice of methods. After all, Warren hadn't reviewed his book, and by the time Dennett was finished, Warren had left the conference to be with his dying father-in-law. That being said, Dennett's a clear thinker whose ideas present a significant challenge to creationists everywhere. Big idea: Warren's claim to the contrary notwithstanding, it is possible to have meaning in my life without believing in God.
Overall, a stellar session.
Tags: TED2006 Michael Shermer Stew Rick Warren Daniel Dennett
I think about this everyday - why religion seems to get in the way of morality (for me) vs how it seems to be a marker of that for those who 'believe'. And when a friend commented the other night at dinner about my being a "survivor", I knew she meant well but my whole point in making a radical change in my life was to reach significance ... on my terms, not the organization's.
I've been carrying around "The End of Faith" and think it's time I actually read it!
The "discussion" sounds riveting & such an environment is the only way some of us will sample Warren. Perhaps, in the end, Bush has made a contribution to the national debate by making religion such an issue. THose of us who don't question other's rights to their 'faith' maybe need to take another look at how this infringes on human rights while representing theirs. The historic arrogance in the mission to 'convert' others bleeds through the pages of history. Sometimes I wonder if it's just more passive aggressive behavior.
Posted by: Connie Sartain | March 02, 2006 at 11:18 AM
Harris's book is one of the most disturbing I've read for a long time. I actually had to put it down for long periods and then pick it up again. Significance without organized religion is a difficult concept for many to imagine. It's too threatening and unsettling to the established order.
Posted by: Tom | March 02, 2006 at 10:58 PM