The Deity in the Data

"Patients who knowingly received prayers developed more post-surgery complications than did patients who unknowingly received prayers—and patients who were prayed for did no better than patients who weren't prayed for. In fact, patients who received prayers without their knowledge ended up with more major complications than did patients who received no prayers at all."

I like the exhaustive list of possibilities:

"11. God ignores you if you're wicked. Responding to the findings, a Baptist pastor cites James 5:16: "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." No righteousness, no effect.

12. God helps those who help themselves. "Many if not most of the wonderful hospitals in this country were built through the intercessory prayers of religious communities of various denominations," a member of the study team observed during the teleconference. "Theirs was the prayer of action instead of word." Deeds, not pleas, save lives.

16. God hates being told what to do. Several clerics argue that the kind of intercessory prayer used in the study is "manipulative … of divine action" and sinfully treats God "as our instrument." The editorial accompanying the study, noting that patients who were prayed for "had worse absolute rates of complications" than those who weren't, asks "whether it was the intercessory prayer per se that may be unsafe." Is the prayer study, like so much in the Bible, a sign of God's wrath? "Researchers must be vigilant in asking the question of whether a well-intentioned, loving, heartfelt healing prayer might inadvertently harm or kill vulnerable patients," the editorial concludes.

17. God is malevolent. Patients who received prayers were marginally more likely to develop complications (52.5 to 50.9 percent) and substantially more likely to develop major complications (18.0 to 13.4 percent) than patients who received none. You can't blame the major-complication gap on psychology, since both groups were told that they might or might not be prayed for. In the teleconference, one of the study's authors tried to explain the gap away—"We don't feel confident statistically that that difference is at the level of significance barely that it's actually perhaps real"—whatever that means. But another called it a "possible hotspot," and the editorial warns that in clinical research, "assumptions of Divine benevolence … could only be considered scientifically naïve," since "in the history of medicine there has never been a healing remedy that was actually effective without having potential side effects or toxicities.""


"The beauty of religious mania is that it has the power to explain everything. Once God (or Satan) is accepted as the first cause of everything which happens in the mortal world, nothing is left to chance... logic can be happily tossed out the window." - Stephen King

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Exercise Minotaur - A Journal (Part 1) - "Places I would like to return to Greece to visit one day: Marathon, Plataea, Delos, Corinth, Chaeronea/Chaironeia (the stone lion!), Mount Olympus (if only to eat ambrosia, drink nectar and thus become immortal), Thessalonica, Knossus, Rhodes, Sparta, Thera"
I doubt 2 1/2 days in Athens will be enough for all of these. Ah well.

SCUM Manifesto - Valerie Solanas - "The sick, irrational men, those who attempt to defend themselves against their disgustingness, when they see SCUM barrelling down on them, will cling in terror to Big Mama with her Big Bouncy Boobies, but Boobies won't protect them against SCUM; Big Mama will be clinging to Big Daddy, who will be in the corner shitting in his forceful, dynamic pants. Men who are rational, however, won't kick or struggle or raise a distressing fuss, but will just sit back, relax, enjoy the show and ride the waves to their demise."

Lucky Man Marries Thai Twins! - "After Mr Wichai (Tao), aged 24, from Samut Songkram province, who earns his living by dealing in old goods, got married to gorgeous twins Ms Sirintara and Ms Thipawan 22, he vouched his sincerest ‘equal love’ for both of them!"

Man builds own 'Noah's Ark' - "Mr Huibers, who believes in the literal truth of the Bible, plans to set sail from his home in Schagen, 45km north of Amsterdam, in September, stopping off at towns on the Dutch canal system."
He should try taking in 7 of every clean animal and 2 of every unclean one and I'll stand by the canal's side and watch his Ark sink.

Riaskoff Concert Management presenteert: serie Meesterpianisten - I tried getting tickets for Brendel and Pletnev, but they were sold out - probably months in advance. Ah well. Master Pianists command Master Ticker Prices.

tinfoil.com - Early Recorded Sounds and Wax Cylinders - "Explore early sound recording methods, two-minute wax cylinder records and antique phonographs; see plenty of rare vintage photos; and enjoy listening to early recorded sounds taken directly from the original wax cylinders."
Some interesting bits: a vocal violin imitation performed by the famous opera singer and vaudeville star Edith Helena, Ingersoll at the Tomb of Napoleon, The Captain's Song from H.M.S. Pinafore

Pet food is healthier than fast food - "Meaty Chunks with added marrow bone anyone? You pet food could be healthier than a lot of fast food according to NWQ ATUDY. Tins of cat and dog food are not only good for their health but yours as well, as they contain less fat, salt and sugar levels than fast food."