#32 Movie Review: The Ledge (2011)

Last night we rented “The Ledge”, a Matthew Chapman movie, from iTunes for $6.99.  We rented it on our Apple TV 2, in HD, and streamed it on our TV.  The movie premiered online as a streaming option on May 26.  Weeks later it opened in a few theaters nationwide and is currently playing in a handful of venues.  I’m not sure why the decision was made to open like that and I think it may have done the movie some harm.  The only reason I knew about it was because of the tireless promotion by the movie’s writer and director, Matthew Chapman (great-great-grandson of Charles Darwin, yes, that Darwin).  I heard Chapman discussing it on several podcasts including Skepticality, The Humanist Hour, and Point of Inquiry.

Here is a short synopsis of the plot from IMDB:

“A thriller in which a battle of philosophies between a fundamentalist Christian and an atheist escalates into a lethal battle of wills.  Ultimately, as a test of faith, or lack of it, the believer forces the non-believer onto the ledge of a tall building.  He then has one hour to make a choice between his own life and someone else’s.  Without faith in an afterlife, will he be capable of such a sacrifice?”

I was prepared for a movie laden with dialogue and heavy, philosophical, monologues and I was not disappointed.  That’s not to say the movie dragged on as some of that type tend to do.  The conversations and thoughts of the lead characters were thought provoking and well written.  Of course I identified with the atheist character, Gavin, played by Charlie Hunnam, and I felt that his passion and level of knowledge about the bible were a accurate portrayal of the modern, educated, atheist.  I wouldn’t, however, characterize his behavior with Shana, played by Liv Tyler, as that of a typical atheist.  The atheists I know are moral, kind, and intelligent people and his actions were immoral and dishonest.  It makes a good movie, though.

The fundamentalist Christian antagonist (or protagonist, depending upon your point of view), Joe, played by Patrick Wilson, did a great job of portraying people of that sort.  He showed how people of serious faith will do anything in support of their god’s mission and vision.  At one point he said that he had no fear regarding the consequences of his actions because God was on his side.  That is a scary thought and the central one of the film.  In the end, Gavin has to decide whether he has the ability to die for his beliefs, or lack there of, to save another.

Since the central plot of the movie is very specific it is hard to discuss it without giving much away.  I will say that the movie is worth watching and that you won’t be disappointed.  The movie should appeal to the fundamentalist and atheist alike since both characters where written very well and honestly.  Chapman, an atheist, did not write the fundamentalist as something that they are not.  He was truthful and accurate.

You can rent the movie on iTunes or from Sundance.

Would you sacrifice your own life, knowing that there is no afterlife, for someone else?  I’m not sure I can even make that decision without being presented with the situation directly.  When religious people sacrifice their lives for their beliefs is it really that much of a sacrifice?  In their own eyes, are they giving up that much?  What is a few decades on this planet when you can have an eternity (ETERNITY!! FOREVER!!) in absolute paradise?  If I thought for a second that god and heaven were real I would be searching for reason to blow myself up so I could get on with the rest of my eternal existence.  Why not?  What do you have to lose?  Oh right, it might all be a fairy tale.  That must be why most people balk at the whole martyr thing.

Anyway, enjoy the movie!

Written in Sparks, NV.

#31 A Day of Archaeology in Northern Nevada: Seismic Monitoring

(My second post for the Day of Archaeology event.  Here is the link.)

So, I spent the “Day of Archaeology” monitoring a seismic crew as they worked a few thousand acres [removed].  This was actually on July 26th since I didn’t work on the 29th.  I’ll start by describing, as best I can, what seismic is.

Typical Vibrator TruckThe seismic crew consists of about twenty ground workers, a few truck drivers, a recorder, and a geologist.  The ground people lay out cable that stretches from north to south across the project area, a distance of up to five kilometers.  The truck drivers drive east/west across the project area and vibrate the ground in prescribed intervals.  The vibrations cause shockwaves that penetrate the ground hundreds of meters deep which then bounce back to the geophones that are running north/south.  We are told that the goal is to determine the geological structures that exist beneath the ground so the mine can decide whether they want to excavate that area or use it for waste rock.  I spoke to someone this weekend that works in the business and he says they are looking for oil and that eastern Nevada is sitting on a huge, very deep, oil field.  I’m not too sure about that.

As monitors, we were assigned with the care and protection of the cultural resources across the project area.  The survey was recently completed and the report has not yet been approved by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) or the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO).  Since the sites remain unevaluated, none of them are cleared for construction.  As a consequence, no vehicle traffic whatsoever was allowed across the sites and all foot traffic had to be observed by an archaeologist.  We watched for disturbance of artifacts and features by foot traffic and by the electrical cords that the crews were laying out.  We also watched to make sure that the seismic crew didn’t disturb any artifacts.  People like projectile points (arrowheads) and usually don’t see anything wrong with putting them in their pockets.

Nevada high desert near Barrel Springs, Nevada. (c) 2008 Chris WebsterA lot of monitoring involves a lot of sitting around for hours waiting for something to happen and then working furiously for a little while.  This was no different.  When you are monitoring you are on the schedule and time frame of the construction crew you are working with.  That’s why we were putting in about 13 hours a day.  When you are sitting you tend to feel like you should be doing something.  I usually read or listen to podcasts.  For the seismic monitoring I couldn’t even be away from my truck for very long.  A call could come over the radio at any time and you have to be where you are supposed to be as quick a you can.

While monitoring, you have to get over the “high and mighty” feeling that some people tend to get.  You are typically working with people that, at most, graduated high school and went right into the construction field.  They usually see us as highly paid scientists.  It’s likely that they are getting paid more than you are!  They just don’t know it.  When I’m conversing with construction workers I certainly don’t try to minimize my field or the education requirements but I don’t try to make it sound like more than it is either.  No one responds well to that.

I wish I had something more exciting to talk about for the Day of Archaeology event but the reality of cultural resource management (CRM) archaeology is that many of your days will be like this.  Sometimes you go weeks or months without finding an artifact.  You may go an entire season without finding a feature.  This work needs to be done, however.  A project area that doesn’t turn up any artifacts or other interesting finds still tells us valuable information.

Written in Monroe, Washington.

From the Dictionary of Archaeology, Peguin Reference, 2004, an entry chosen using a random number generator Pg 520, entry 6:

Yombon a complex of open sites in West New Britain, where Christina Pavlides excavated a sequence in which cultural material alternates with tephra layers from Mount Witori.  The area was first occupied about 35,000 bp.  This is the oldest evidence in the world of tropical rainforest occupation.  Artifacts from Pleistocene layers are made only of local chert and the sequence documents changing patterns of exploitation of this material.  Obsidian from Talasea and Mopir appears in the mid Holocene.

#30 Day of Archaeology, Part 1: The Road to Nevada Archaeology

(The following is my first post for the Day of Archaeology Event for July 29, 2011.  Here is the link)

This is my first post for the Day of Archaeology event.  I’d like to begin by thanking the organizers, advisors, and sponsors for conceiving of and making this event happen.  It’s important that we discuss archaeology across the world and get our work out to a broad audience.  All most people know about archaeology is what they see on the Discovery Channel or from Indiana Jones.

The road I took to get to a career in archaeology involved several u-turns and a few speed bumps.  Here is a quick history.  When I was a kid I wanted to be an astronaut, an airline pilot, or an archaeologist.  Since my family didn't have the money for me to realize any of those goals I did what I thought was the next best thing and joined the Navy right out of high school.  I spent the next four and a half years working on EA-6B Prowlers as an aviation electronics technician.  During that time I went on a cruise on the USS Enterprise for six months in the Mediterranean and in the Persian Gulf.  We saw some great cities with great archaeology and history.  At this time, archaeology was something you saw on TV and included crusty old PhDs working in universities.  I never considered it as a career.

Near the end of my time in the Navy a random phone call landed me in commercial flight training at the Spartan School of Aeronautics in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  While there I received my private pilot's license and finished the training for a few other licenses.  After a year and a half I transferred to the University of North Dakota to continue my flight training at the nations largest and most advanced collegiate flight training school.  UND Aerospace has an amazing program with state of the art aircraft and flight simulators.  It was a great experience.

While I was taking aviation classes I filled up my general education requirements with anthropology classes.  I still loved the science of archaeology, in particular paleoanthropology, but still didn't see it as a career option.  I'm not sure why.  I think it was still just one of those fantasy fields that you never think you are capable of performing.  

After a couple of years I started to lose my desire to fly commercially.  I just didn't think I would get any satisfaction from shuttling people around the country for the rest of my life.  Sure the pay is good but there are a lot of things you can do that involve less stress if all you want is money.  I need a job that makes me feel good at the end of the day and that I look forward to going to everyday.  Since I still didn't see archaeology as an option, even though I had taken most of the classes offered, I spent the next couple of years taking photography and math classes just for fun.  I know, I like math.  I'm probably the only CRM archaeologist that has used SOHCAHTOA to determine the exact angle for a transect.

During my penultimate year in college my professor, Dr. Melinda Leach, told me that I could graduate in one year with a degree in anthropology.  I just had to take all of the upper level classes and that would be it.  With no other direction I decided to go for it.  I had to take 18 credits during the fall and 15 credits during the spring and write, I think, five or six research papers during the year but in the end I graduated.  After graduation I went back to Seattle and worked with my brother's father in law's home remodeling company.  I hated it.

In the fall I went back to North Dakota to help with the big event that the department had planned the previous year.  We had Jane Goodall coming to speak to a packed house.  One day, while sitting in the student lounge, a former student, and friend, came up to me and said hi.  He was visiting because hurricane Katrina had destroyed his apartment in New Orleans and his company laid everyone off for a little while.  He asked what I was doing.  At the time I was getting ready to go on an Earthwatch expedition to dig in Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania.  After that I had no plans.  He asked if I had checked Shovelbums.  Shovel what?

I educated myself on shovelbums.org, prepared my CV, and started on a job in Minnesota a week after I returned from Africa.  That was in October of 2005 and I've been in CRM ever since.  I've worked at all times of the year, on all phases of field archaeology and in 13 states.

In August of 2009 I began a one year MS program at the University of Georgia.  The program was intense but I received my Master of Science in Archaeological Recourse Management in July of 2010.  I'm currently working in the Great Basin of Nevada and love every minute of it!

So, I guess that wasn't too brief.  My fiancé will tell you that brevity is not a trait that I possess.  Hopefully someone will get out of this that it's never too late and you are never too old to get into the dynamic field of anthropology.   There are many paths that you can take to get to anthropology and there are just as many that you can take along your career.

My Chief in the Navy once told me how he decides whether a job or a position is right for him.  He said to look around at the people that have been doing your job and are at the ends of their careers.  Are they happy?  Are they doing what you would want to do?  My favorite thing about archaeology is that you can't really tell what the future will bring.  You could be running a company, teaching at a university, or hosting your own show on the Discovery Channel, if they ever get back to science and history shows and away from reality shows.  The possibilities are nearly endless.

In my next post I'll talk about the project I'm on right now and the wonders of monitoring.

Written northeast of Winnemucca, NV

From the Dictionary of Archaeology, Peguin Reference, 2004, an entry chosen using a random number generator Pg 227, entry 2:

Issyk Mound a so-called 'royal' KURGAN of the SCYTHIAN period, which was constructed in the 4th-3rd centuries BC by one of the SAKA tribes.  The site is 50 km (31 miles) east of Almaty, in Kazakhstan.  It was excavated in 1969-70 by K. Akishev.  The kurgan was 6 m (20 ft) high and 60 m (66 yds) in diameter.  When the mound was removed, two graves appeared: the central one had been completely ravaged in ancient times, but the lateral one (to the south) had remained intact.  The lateral grave's chamber [measurments ommited] was constructed of logs.  In the southern and western parts of the chamber were found thirty-one ceramic, wooden, bronze and silver vessels, while the northern part contained the remains of a deceased nobleman, seventeen-eighteen years old, lying on his back on a board floor with his head to the west.  The discoveries also included more than 4,000 golden plaques that decorated his costume, footwear and a tall conical head-dress.  Many of the adornments are executed in the scythean-siberian animal style.  Because of these incredibly rich adornments, the grave's occupant was dubbed the 'Golden Man' by archaeologists.  There was also iron weaponry (an acinaces and a sword inlaid with gold-plating) and a bronze mirror lying by the man's belt.

#29 Secular Sundays: Rest Your Body, Not Your Mind

In a previous posting I mentioned the idea of having a secular community-building event on Sundays. This is in response to hearing numerous interviews with notable atheists and skeptics, including Matthew Chapman (the great great grandson of Charles Darwin), that mention the need for community building activities that do not involve church. If you used to be religious, did you ever go to church just because everyone else was and you wanted to be a part of something? I used to be with someone that went to church because that is what her family did. Afterwards we would all go to lunch or have a big meal at home. It was considered family time. This is a concept that I totally understand which is why we need a secular option.

In the beginning, I envision a simple meet up at a coffee shop or park. A coffee shop works well, especially on a sunday morning (11ish). Maybe it could be near a park or play area for those with children. The meet up could involve a book club discussion, discussion about the week's events, or a speaker could enlighten the crowd about a certain topic in science and/or skepticism. It would be similar to many meet ups happening all over the country. The only real difference is that it happens during church. Give people a choice.

As the event progresses and gains traction within the community we could do some bigger things. Maybe we could host a monthly science fair with booths and activities for kids. Any activity that includes families, fun, and education would be great. I think the event should shy away from having alcohol present. We have plenty of secular events where people can drink, such as Skeptics in the Pub and most freethinker meet-ups, so we need a church-like option for those that are looking to substitute there weekly knee-bending with something else.

For this to work it needs to be advertised and talked about. The first rule about Secular Sundays is...no I won't go there...Anyway, we need to get the word out. It's pretty easy to find a new church when you come to a new town. They spend all those donation dollars building monstrous buildings that can be seen for miles. It will be a while before we have that kind of money.

Or will it? Why can't we get tax free land and tax free property? Should we sink to the level of "religious organization" just to get the beneficial tax status? On the one hand I say yes, exploit that rule and go with it. On the other hand I think the tax free status of religious organizations should be done away with. It's un-American not to be taxed! Just kidding, sort of.

So, who's with me on this? Is football stopping everyone from meeting up on Sundays or do atheists really enjoy sleeping in? I think we can do this and I think we need to do this. The people of our towns need another option and no one else is going to give it to them.

Let's have a discussion...

Written northeast of Winnemucca, NV in the high desert.

#28 Skeptical Believers: Are you just going for the cookies?

Every time I'm around a group of freethinkers or outright atheists the majority opinion is that people of all types are free to attend. That means atheists, agnostics, believers, you name it. I don't disagree with that part. If all we do is get together with like minded people and preach the gospel of atheism and science then we aren't really doing much for the community as a whole. However, there is something to be said about educating ourselves internally so we can be better advocates for reason and rationalism.

The more easy going and friendly part of the atheism/skeptical movement feel that it's OK that there are people out there that believe in a higher power of some type but that also identify as skeptics. Personally, I think the two are mutually exclusive. If you apply rational arguments to the god hypothesis then the entire argument breaks down before your eyes. Calling yourself a skeptic means that you apply rational thinking to ideas and concepts that are presented to you. I try to do this to every aspect of my life. At work some people know this type of thinking through the axiom, "Work smarter, not harder". This is a simple phrase that allows you to stop what you are doing, apply some critical thinking skills to a problem, and continue on in a more efficient manner. In other words, thinking skeptically.

So, why do otherwise rational people still hang on to archaic beliefs? I think it's because they feel a sense of community when they go to church. I'd be surprised if any of the believer-skeptics out there are going to those mega churches or to the really fundamentalist churches. They are likely going to small community churches where a few songs are sung, the preacher tells a story, and they all go socialize over coffee and cookies. As skeptics, we can, and do, provide this service to the community. There are local skeptics and freethinkers groups, Skeptics in the Pub meet ups, and local skeptical events such as celebrating Darwin's birthday. I have an idea for another community event that should take place on Sundays so we can provide an outlet for families that don't what to go to church but still want to do something constructive with that time. I'm devoting my next post to that idea.

So, if you are a believer that identifies as a skeptic, I ask you to step back and look at your position with the critical thinking skills that the community is trying to teach you. Does your belief really make sense? Or, are you just going to church for the friendship and heart warming stories? It's difficult to see the cherry-picking that the church does to keep people there when they cloak the scary bits of the bible in flowery "Jesus loves you" stories. Don't forget that the bible also condones stoning your children, beating your wife, and killing your enemies. Next time you are at church, look around. Are people really paying attention or are they checking their phones and watches and scolding their children? Are they just sitting there because they, and you, are just waiting for the cookies?

I welcome comments.

Written in the high desert northeast of Winnemucca, NV.

#27 A Question for Dawkins: Is God Necessary?

I just returned from The Amazing Meeting 9 in Las Vegas, NV where Richard Dawkins gave a talk centered around his upcoming children's book, “The Magic of Reality”.  Dawkins discussed his book chapter by chapter with an emphasis on Chapter 9 which dealt with life elsewhere in the universe.

To discuss whether life could exist elsewhere, Dawkins discussed life on this planet.  He  listed the ways that life is unique and the ways that it isn’t.  He also discussed the things that seem to be inevitable when life does spring up somewhere.  I’m not going to go into any of that out of respect for the unpublished book, however, I do have a question that I was not able to ask during the lecture.

Is a belief in a higher power inevitable when intelligent life evolves somewhere?  Do you, Richard Dawkins, believe whether it is more likely or less likely that life will evolve a necessity for a belief in a higher power at some point in their development?

I’m wondering what would have happened if the large civilizations that rose up 4-6 kya  would have progressed in the science and philosophy fields sooner and more rapidly, would belief have been stomped out and not been so ubiquitous?  What if the Romans had promoted a scientific society and had forced atheism on the lands that they conquered?  Would it have been enough?  Are we (intelligent life) destined to believe in a higher power?  Will we ever be without some form of religion?

I’m assuming Richard Dawkins will never actually see this.  For the five of you that are reading this, what do you think?

Written at Walden's Coffeehouse, Reno, Nevada.  Home of Reno’s “Science Cafe” lecture series.

#26 TAM9: Placebo Medicine

This was a panel discussion moderated by Dr. Steven Novella discussing the Placebo effect and what it means. Mark Crislip began by defining it in basic terms as, "bullshit". Nice.

The discussion is based around the idea that alternative medicine has pretty much agreed that the placebo effect is real and that they are now trying to get the placebo effect from their treatments because it is still beneficial to the patients.

Mark Crislip: If CAM is equal to a placebo and placebo is equal to nothing then CAM is equal to nothing. It was brought up that there is a placebo effect in Parkinson's. Not everyone agrees. Steve Novella is commenting on how the brain can be a tool for pain management. You can convince the brain of different things that are akin to a placebo which might lend some validity to it. There is, however, no direct way to measure pain in response to placebo.

On the big screens are a couple slides from this weeks New England Journal of Medicine relating the effectiveness of Albuterol in treating asthma. They compared the results between Albuterol, a placebo, sham acupuncture, and a non-intervention control. The results showed that Albuterol greatly improved lung function while the other three had no effect. However, in the patient's reported results the placebo and the acupuncture appeared to have a nearly equal effect as the drug. The panelists are discussing how this is being reported in the media. They are saying that the placebo has a positive effect when the physical results show that the effect is really all in the patient's head. So, the acupuncture and the placebo made the patients feel better mentally but they still had reduced lung function. Wow.

The panel is disagreeing as to wether the placebo effect belongs on medicine. Crislip is not buying it. He is constantly saying that he doesn't want to use the placebo effect because he feels that it is essentially lying to the patient. The others seem to disagree. Unfortunately, I think the placebo effect would, and does, work in a lot of the people in this country. Personally, I would rather have the truth and the real medicine. If I can't be cured, tell me. I'll start working on those things I need to do before I die. Steve is saying that there is a gray area where you use certain treatments that may or may not work but you do it to placate the patient.

Don't placate me or lie to me! I want the truth! Doctor: You can't handle the truth!

Live blogging from TAM9, Las Vegas, NV.