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Kevin Myers says nice things about Richard Dawkins

Galvasean · 2011-06-09 20:42:22

Quite the turnaround from Mr. Myers. I think a lot of people don't know about the real Richard Dawkins, but rather the weird caricature that's doing the rounds. Full piece: http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/kevin-myers/kevin-myers-myth-of-dawkins-as-an-intolerant-atheist-crusader-is-just-that-myth-2669926.html

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09-06-2011 9:42pm

#1
Galvasean

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Quite the turnaround from Mr. Myers.
I think a lot of people don't know about the real Richard Dawkins, but rather the weird caricature that's doing the rounds.

I had the recent pleasure of conducting a public interview with Richard at Listowel. In person, he is diffident and slightly boffinish: in public, he is a vigorous but usually polite proponent of his views. Both versions are confirmation of the real and non-memetic version of Richard Dawkins, the amiable owner of a brilliant and enquiring mind, who is neither intolerant nor bigoted.

The popular meme of Dawkins The Bigot is the creation of the Christian Creationist Right, who loathe him for the power of his advocacy of the idea that Darwinian natural selection is the sole creator of our living world.

Full piece:
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/kevin-myers/kevin-myers-myth-of-dawkins-as-an-intolerant-atheist-crusader-is-just-that-myth-2669926.html

Tagged:

richard dawkins

kevin myers

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#2 09-06-2011 10:00pm
sink

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Galvasean wrote: »

Quite the turnaround from Mr. Myers.
I think a lot of people don't know about the real Richard Dawkins, but rather the weird caricature that's doing the rounds.

Full piece:
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/kevin-myers/kevin-myers-myth-of-dawkins-as-an-intolerant-atheist-crusader-is-just-that-myth-2669926.html

Quiet a turnaround for Mr Myers, it wasn't so long ago that he was berating 'evolutionism' as a religious cult with Dawkins as it's pope. Glad to see he is open to reason, his original opinion was obviously based on ignorance.

http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/kevin-myers/kevin-myers-evolutionism-is-just-another-belief-system-but-one-that-depends-on-a-great-deal-of-science-2337780.html

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#3 09-06-2011 10:06pm
Galvasean

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He pretty much said so in his latest article.
Dawkins should have tea with his biggest critics. show them how nice he is.

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#4 09-06-2011 10:07pm
The Mad Hatter

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sink wrote: »

Quiet a turnaround for Mr Myers, it wasn't so long ago that he was berating 'evolutionism' as a religious cult with Dawkins as it's pope. Glad to see he is open to reason, his original opinion was obviously based on ignorance.

http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/kevin-myers/kevin-myers-evolutionism-is-just-another-belief-system-but-one-that-depends-on-a-great-deal-of-science-2337780.html

Myers isn't open to reason, he's open to spouting whatever opinion he thinks will sell more papers.

(I did love the letter to the Times after he left, though - "Madam, Now that Kevin Myers has left the Irish Times for the Irish Independent, the quality of both papers will rise.")

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#5 09-06-2011 10:10pm
GLaDOS

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He only said it because it'll piss other people off, Myers is second only to Eamon Dunphy at real life trolling

Cake, and grief counseling, will be available at the conclusion of the test

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#6 09-06-2011 10:14pm
BrianOFlanagan

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ScienceNerd wrote: »

He only said it because it'll piss other people off, Myers is second only to Eamon Dunphy at real life trolling

lol and yet so right! I get about two lines into whatever Myers is banging on about and have to stop. His use of english is so medieval that I have no idea what point he's trying to make. Anyway fair play to him for realising the error of his ways!

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#7 09-06-2011 10:39pm
robindch

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The Mad Hatter wrote: »

(I did love the letter to the Times after he left, though - "Madam, Now that Kevin Myers has left the Irish Times for the Irish Independent, the quality of both papers will rise.")

The letter-writer missed the other half of that (old) gag. Should have written:

In a Perfect World wrote:

Madam, With Mr Myers departing from the Irish Times to the Independent, I trust that the average age of your staff will decrease as much as the average quality of output will rise.

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#8 10-06-2011 12:00am
pH

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sink wrote: »

Quiet a turnaround for Mr Myers, it wasn't so long ago that he was berating 'evolutionism' as a religious cult with Dawkins as it's pope. Glad to see he is open to reason, his original opinion was obviously based on ignorance.

http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/kevin-myers/kevin-myers-evolutionism-is-just-another-belief-system-but-one-that-depends-on-a-great-deal-of-science-2337780.html

Or indeed a little before that when he got a copy of Harum Yahya's "Atlas of Creation".

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055063938

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#9 10-06-2011 12:03am
Paparazzo

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Couldn't believe it when I read it. But as said above, he's a troll. Probably realized he's get at more people for taking Dawkins stance than his old one.

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#10 10-06-2011 12:03am
Galvasean

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pH wrote: »

Or indeed a little before that when he got a copy of Harum Yahya's "Atlas of Creation".

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055063938

Aw bless, back when Dades was called The Atheist and I had galvatron as my avatar / sig combo...

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#11 10-06-2011 12:12am
opinion guy

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ScienceNerd wrote: »

He only said it because it'll piss other people off, Myers is second only to Eamon Dunphy at real life trolling

Oh come on they both pale in comparison to Michael O Leary, the real-life arch-troll

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#12 10-06-2011 2:58am
jank

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Galvasean wrote: »

Quite the turnaround from Mr. Myers.
I think a lot of people don't know about the real Richard Dawkins, but rather the weird caricature that's doing the rounds.

Full piece:
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/kevin-myers/kevin-myers-myth-of-dawkins-as-an-intolerant-atheist-crusader-is-just-that-myth-2669926.html

In my opinion if Myers isnt giving out about you then its a bad thing!

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#13 10-06-2011 6:40am
opinion guy

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I wonder if Myers change of heart has anything to do with Dawkins latest venture:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13659394

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#14 10-06-2011 6:56am
doomed

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opinion guy wrote: »

I wonder if Myers change of heart has anything to do with Dawkins latest venture:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13659394

Doubt it. Sounds like a great college with serious heavyweight academics. Mayber KM is putting in for the parking concession?

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#15 10-06-2011 7:47am
Beruthiel

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Hell has frozen over?!

I didn't get the memo.

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#16 10-06-2011 10:48am
ghostchant

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opinion guy wrote: »

I wonder if Myers change of heart has anything to do with Dawkins latest venture:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13659394

Wow. When they say 'gifted' undergraduates, do they mean ones that were 'gifted' the riches to afford it? Seems like overkill to get eminent scientists such as Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss to teach presumably qualitative aspects of their fields of expertise in a 'science literacy' course. If you're going to get them involved and pay them handsomely, you may as well set up an actual science curriculum.

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#17 10-06-2011 10:50am
Zombrex

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Kevin Myers discovers that "in person" Richard Dawkins isn't the stereotype people like Myers said he was. Shocking. :pac:

Reason #63432543 Myers is an idiot.

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#18 10-06-2011 12:50pm
sensibleken

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I refuse to discuss that troll myers in any serious format. I will therefore reduce myself to basee insults

Myers can only attain an erection if watching videos of car crashes while having his testicles crushed by Declan ganley

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#19 10-06-2011 2:13pm
Bottle_of_Smoke

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All that happened was Myers left his computer logged on and Ian O'Doherty fraped him.

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#20 10-06-2011 3:52pm
mikhail

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Bottle_of_Smoke wrote: »

All that happened was Myers left his computer logged on and Ian O'Doherty fraped him.

I kind of doubt IOD has the writing skill to imitate Myers. Amusing scenario all the same.

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#21 10-06-2011 4:09pm
Galvasean

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IOD gave himself away when 'Myers' said, "Evolution is one of dem ooman rites innit?"

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#22 11-06-2011 2:52pm
goose2005

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Galvasean wrote: »

IOD gave himself away when 'Myers' said, "Evolution is one of dem ooman rites innit?"

I think that the reject Myers articles get rejigged into IOD - just like low-quality carlsberg is sold as "Tuborg."

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#23 11-06-2011 9:29pm
Duffy the Vampire Slayer

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Ian O'Doherty is the worst of the lot in that paper. I know exactly whats in store every time I read that section- a piece about some instance of 'political correctness gone mad' a piece about some ridiculous health and safety lawsuit, and a piece about some annoying "celebrity" whom Ian criticizes yet fails to realize that he is promoting them by doing so.

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#24 15-06-2011 9:50pm
aridion

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goose2005 wrote: »

I think that the reject Myers articles get rejigged into IOD - just like low-quality carlsberg is sold as "Tuborg."

Funny you say that. In Denmark where both are made Carlsberg is seen as the lower in quality.

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#25 15-06-2011 9:57pm
The Mad Hatter

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aridion wrote: »

Funny you say that. In Denmark where both are made Carlsberg is seen as the lower in quality.

They're both fairly dismal beers, to be fair.

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#26 15-06-2011 10:11pm
Galvasean

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Hve you noticed the Indo have replaced IOD with some young fella who has the same writing style and choice of topics, what's up with that?

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#27 15-06-2011 10:15pm
Paparazzo

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Galvasean wrote: »

Hve you noticed the Indo have replaced IOD with some young fella who has the same writing style and choice of topics, what's up with that?

Yeah, noticed that today. Was disappointed, I actually like Ian O'Doherty.

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#28 15-06-2011 10:16pm
The Mad Hatter

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Galvasean wrote: »

Hve you noticed the Indo have replaced IOD with some young fella who has the same writing style and choice of topics, what's up with that?

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#29 15-06-2011 11:14pm
recedite

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Galvasean wrote: »

Full piece:
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/kevin-myers/kevin-myers-myth-of-dawkins-as-an-intolerant-atheist-crusader-is-just-that-myth-2669926.html

I'm guessing Myers decided to actually have a read of one of the books before meeting Dawkins, and found it quite plausible.

Though he didn't fully understand Dawkins;

Moronic Myers wrote:

Moreover, he (Dawkins)accepts that the division of species, when emerging species with the same ancestors and inhabiting the same ecological space can no longer successfully mate, has no adequate explanation within existing theories.

I'm pretty sure Dawkins had something about cichlid fish populations, and tropical birds, whereby different groups developed because of a random preference for different coloured mates.

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#30 16-06-2011 5:57pm
Duffy the Vampire Slayer

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Galvasean wrote: »

Hve you noticed the Indo have replaced IOD with some young fella who has the same writing style and choice of topics, what's up with that?

O'Dohertys on leave, and somebody has to make up the smug bastard quota.

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#31 20-06-2011 8:50pm
J C

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Galvasean wrote: »

Quite the turnaround from Mr. Myers.
I think a lot of people don't know about the real Richard Dawkins, but rather the weird caricature that's doing the rounds.

Full piece:
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/kevin-myers/kevin-myers-myth-of-dawkins-as-an-intolerant-atheist-crusader-is-just-that-myth-2669926.html

I too have the height of respect for Prof Dawkins as a person and an academic.

I disagree with some of his ideas ... but I have also found much of his writing to be very insightful indeed.

Just because Creation Scientists believe that 'big picture' evolution never happened, doesn't mean that they can't be good friends with Evolutionists and acknowledge their academic excellence.

Evolution and Creation are the two great scientific 'memes' on the origins question.

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