Bird’s Eye: Like many of us, I often think my own views are completely rational and logical, while those whose views differ are either irrational or mendacious. That’s why I like the Sam Harris piece, which does exactly as he intends, and makes me confront how much that view of own values is untrue. The logical fallacies poster is a delight, as well. And the Guardian reminds us that while logic may not lead to all the answers, it’s better than the alternative.

* I Prefer My Opinion cartoon (Thanks Robbie!)

* The Fireplace Delusion  Sam Harris

I recently stumbled upon an example of secular intransigence that may give readers a sense of how religious people feel when their beliefs are criticized. It’s not a perfect analogy, as you will see, but the rigorous research I’ve conducted at dinner parties suggests that it is worth thinking about. We can call the phenomenon “the fireplace delusion.”

On a cold night, most people consider a well-tended fire to be one of the more wholesome pleasures that humanity has produced. A fire, burning safely within the confines of a fireplace or a woodstove, is a visible and tangible source of comfort to us. We love everything about it: the warmth, the beauty of its flames, and—unless one is allergic to smoke—the smell that it imparts to the surrounding air.

I am sorry to say that if you feel this way about a wood fire, you are not only wrong but dangerously misguided. I mean to seriously convince you of this—so you can consider it in part a public service announcement—but please keep in mind that I am drawing an analogy. I want you to be sensitive to how you feel, and to notice the resistance you begin to muster as you consider what I have to say. 

* Thou Shalt Not Commit Logical Fallacies   poster (click to enbigify)

This infographic poster can be printed out at various sizes for hanging in your favourite place. Make yourself, your class, your friends or your kids smarter by hanging it somewhere your face is near.

* Attacks Paid For By Big Business Are ‘Driving Science Into A Dark Era’ Guardian

Most scientists, on achieving high office, keep their public remarks to the bland and reassuring. Last week Nina Fedoroff, the president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science broke ranks in a spectacular manner. She confessed that she was now “scared to death” by the anti-science movement that was spreading, uncontrolled, across the US and the rest of the western world.

“We are sliding back into a dark era,” she said. “And there seems little we can do about it. I am profoundly depressed at just how difficult it has become merely to get a realistic conversation started on issues such as climate change or genetically modified organisms.”