I, Professor Ceiling Cat Emeritus, am back briefly; I was busy all day yesterday at Dalhousie University, talking to W. Ford Doolittle and his group, which was great fun. We had a lovely lunch at a Turkish restaurant (lamb kabobs with yogurt, rice, and salad), more talk, and then I met with a group of biologists and philosopher to discuss (or, rather, answer questions) about Faith Versus Fact.  The questions were good, though one person was upset that I neglected the concept of a deistic god, one who could motivate good actions. I did mention that in the book: it’s just not worth discussing the implications of a being a being for which no evidence is conceivable and which doesn’t interact with the world. When I analogized such a being with “garden fairies”—an undetectable Ground of Gardens without which no flowers could grow—I was criticized for comparing a deistic God with fairies. But really, worshiping a deistic god is in principle no different from worshiping a garden fairy! Further, I noted, why would one be motivated to do good by the supposed existence of a being about whom you have no evidence and know nothing? What if such a god was not good, but malicious? How would you know? People who would do good in service of a deistic god would undoubtedly do good without any religious belief. They would just be good people.

Another historian accused me of “tub thumping”, with the implication that I should just shut up about my objections to religion because it’s unseeemly, or off-putting. I responded by saying that atheist “tub-thumping” is nowhere near as pervasive or annoying as the tub-thumping of religionists (viz., all Republican candidates, many preachers). And why should we mute our disagreement with the harmful beliefs of religion? Such criticisms are what people raise when they have no substantive counteragruments to your claims. After all, nobody is accused of “tub-thumping” when they criticize the ideology or platform of the Republican party. Once again, religion is a special kind of belief that is deemed off limits to criticism. I do appreciate this kind of pushback, as “preaching to the choir” isn’t always what I want to do, and criticism sharpens the mind.

We then repaired to a French bistro for dinner, where I had cassoulet with sausage and duck confit. Tonight at 7 p.m. I’ll be speaking at the Halifax Public Library. 

On this day in history, the Battle of the Alamo began in Texas in 1836, the Tootsie Roll was invented in 1896; and, in 1945, the famous photograph of 5 Marines raising the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima was taken. Notable births on this day included W. E. B. Dubois in 1868, and conservative atheist S. E. Cupp in 1969. Deaths on this day included John Quincy Adams in 1848, Nellie Melba (namesake of Peach Melba) in 1931, Stan Laurel in 1965, and James Herriot in 1999. Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili is happy as a clam with all the attention she’s getting from visitor Sarah (you CANNOT visit Dobrzyn without giving due attention to the Furry Princess of Poland):

Hili: Fascinating. Do you know yet who the murderer is?

Sarah: This is not a murder mystery.

Hili: So what is it about?

In Polish:

Hili: Fascynujące. Czy już wiesz kto zabił?
Sarah: To nie jest kryminał.
Hili: To o czym to jest?

As lagniappe, here’s the adorable Gus playing peekaboo with staff Taskin:

A tw**t sent by reader John Williamson:

When a pet cat died in Ancient Egypt, all the inhabitants of the house would shave off their eyebrows as a sign of deep mourning.

— Quite Interesting (@qikipedia) February 23, 2016

And reader Diane G. contributed a website and a video of a baby red fox growing up (note how they begin with dark color). Here are the first 35 days of its life: