Author Archives: mhick255

A New Chapter for the New Year

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Whew – this is big. I am beginning a new full time position tomorrow with an incredible organization, the Scripps National Spelling Bee. While I am (with many tears) ending my term as Associate Director for the Emerging Scholars Network, InterVarsity has asked me to continue blogging for the Emerging Scholars Blog. I’ve written a very nice letter about my change, so you can read the whole thing right here.

Can Religion Be Reproduced?

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I saw this quote from famed magician/atheist/television personality Penn Jillette‘s new book on kottke.org:

There is no god and that’s the simple truth. If every trace of any single religion died out and nothing were passed on, it would never be created exactly that way again. There might be some other nonsense in its place, but not that exact nonsense. If all of science were wiped out, it would still be true and someone would find a way to figure it all out again.

Now, this might be true or it might not be true – it’s a thought experiment with no way of verification. It’s an assertion, not an argument. Thus, from the very beginning, the appeal to empiricism is weakened.

But this claim – “it would never be created exactly that way again” – is true of anything rooted in the passage of time: history, art, literature, even the progress of science itself. Continue reading →

How to Ban Someone from Your Facebook Page

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This morning, I discovered that a rather inappropriate Facebook Page had “Liked” the Emerging Scholars Network Facebook Page and was starting to “Like” posts. I figure it was only a matter of time before they started making comments or adding Wall comments to draw attention to themselves. I was able to ban them permanently from our Page, but it wasn’t an obvious process, so I thought it might be helpful to others to post instructions. Step-by-step instruction (with pictures!) follow below.  Continue reading →

How many signs does that guy have?

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Yesterday, the driver next to me at a light honked his horn, then held up a sign telling me about a problem with my minivan that I need to get fixed ASAP. (“Expired car tags,” if you’re wondering.)

My two immediate thoughts:

  1. Wow! What a helpful guy! Thank you!
  2. Wait a sec – who just carries around a sign like that? Are expired car tags a cause near to his heart? Does he have a whole stack of signs for various problems? “Your left turn signal is out.” “Front passenger-side tire is low on air.” “Blue smoke coming out of your exhaust.” “Bumper falling off.”
How many signs does that guy have?