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Ricky
SFN Die Hard
USA
4907 Posts |
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woolytoad
Skeptic Friend
313 Posts |
 Posted - 02/28/2005 : 15:05:20 [Permalink]
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I think Micheal Shermer said something about it in his Scientific American column. But you'll have to dig through your local library as they don't archive it on the website. Perhaps if you had a paid subscription.
One of the points he mentioned though, was that they wanted a sort of non-confrontational, positive name, without the stereotype attached to "skeptic". How they landed on Bright, I don't know. |
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Siberia
SFN Addict
Brazil
2322 Posts |
Posted - 02/28/2005 : 15:09:43 [Permalink]
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| Because it reminds little children of Rainbow Brite and her magical, stuck-up rainbow pony... |
"Why are you afraid of something you're not even sure exists?"
- The Kovenant, Via Negativa
"People who don't like their beliefs being laughed at shouldn't have such funny beliefs."
-- unknown
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26022 Posts |
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Ricky
SFN Die Hard
USA
4907 Posts |
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woolytoad
Skeptic Friend
313 Posts |
Posted - 02/28/2005 : 20:36:14 [Permalink]
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| well you know what they say, " Image is everything. " Bright does sound much better than skeptic which conjures up the image of old grumpy men who dismiss everything. |
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Starman
SFN Regular
Sweden
1613 Posts |
Posted - 03/01/2005 : 02:39:02 [Permalink]
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Hmmmm...
When someone calls them self "Bright" the image I get is that of a self absorbed know it all who think he/she is smarter than everybody else...
I'll rather be the grumpy old man dismissing the name Bright and everything else...
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beskeptigal
SFN Die Hard
USA
3834 Posts |
Posted - 03/01/2005 : 03:29:47 [Permalink]
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I've been a bright for a long time. Once you sign up, nothing else happens. You can promote it to others but no one asks for funds or volunteer work or anything unless you initiate it.
Some people have objected to the anti-religion aspect of it but I don't see that as the focus. The idea is to promote common sense and scientific principles as the best way to interact with the world. Since I do that anyway, I thought it worthwhile to add my name to the movement.
http://www.the-brights.net/ |
| Edited by - beskeptigal on 03/01/2005 03:33:21 |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 03/01/2005 : 03:39:49 [Permalink]
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I too, am a Bright, although I agree that the name reads as a bit fatuous. But I figger that if it's good enough for Dawkins, it's probably too good for me. So naturally, I joined. 
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist! 
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Ricky
SFN Die Hard
USA
4907 Posts |
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Gorgo
SFN Die Hard
USA
5310 Posts |
Posted - 03/01/2005 : 10:47:42 [Permalink]
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| They seem to be atheists, but say that they are not atheists. If you are free from a supernatural world view, are you not an atheist? |
I know the rent is in arrears
The dog has not been fed in years
It's even worse than it appears
But it's alright-
Jerry Garcia
Robert Hunter
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beskeptigal
SFN Die Hard
USA
3834 Posts |
Posted - 03/01/2005 : 14:15:08 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by Gorgo
They seem to be atheists, but say that they are not atheists. If you are free from a supernatural world view, are you not an atheist?
Well I am so there is no conflict. I can't speak for anyone else. |
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ljbrs
SFN Regular
USA
842 Posts |
Posted - 03/03/2005 : 18:48:44 [Permalink]
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I usually do not waste my time thinking about religion. I do not adopt designations such as "bright" because, sooner or later, "bright" will become synonymous with "nasty" in the eyes of the religious/converted. I steer clear of religious people most of the time and, as long as they are not proselytizing me, I refrain from proselytizing them.
ljbrs |
"Innumerable suns exist; innumerable earths revolve about these suns in a manner similar to the way the seven planets revolve around our sun. Living beings inhabit these worlds."
Giordano Bruno
(Burned at the stake by the Roman Catholic Church Inquisition in 1600) |
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Ricky
SFN Die Hard
USA
4907 Posts |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 03/04/2005 : 13:33:36 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by ljbrs
I usually do not waste my time thinking about religion. I do not adopt designations such as "bright" because, sooner or later, "bright" will become synonymous with "nasty" in the eyes of the religious/converted. I steer clear of religious people most of the time and, as long as they are not proselytizing me, I refrain from proselytizing them.
ljbrs
I agree. I don't preach either. But if being a Bright pisses off the religious fundementalists, of all stripes, I will happily bear the title. They piss me off often anough, and turn about's fair trade.
I don't mind being thought of as 'nasty' and don't much care who thinks it.
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
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Gorgo
SFN Die Hard
USA
5310 Posts |
Posted - 03/04/2005 : 13:40:22 [Permalink]
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| I think superstition and quackery go hand in hand, and are dangerous. Mixing those with government, as in the legalization of homeopathy and the narrowing of the separation of church and state are more dangerous. I spend time thinking about these things. That's why I call myself an atheist and a skeptic. I'm not sure why adding another term to confuse people makes things better. |
I know the rent is in arrears
The dog has not been fed in years
It's even worse than it appears
But it's alright-
Jerry Garcia
Robert Hunter
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