"This above all: to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man." -Polonius, Hamlet
"False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil." -Socrates
I'm using this website to deposit various essays and other writings I've created. Enjoy!
- Lord of the Rings Magic: A survey of various instances of magic in J.R.R. Tolkien's work The Lord of the Rings.
- Logical Fallacies: A list of informal fallacies.
- Philosophy of Analyzing Magic: A short discussion and defense of a naturalistic approach to analyzing fictional magic.
- The Gospel of Jake99: Probably the most spectacular troll on the Stardestroyer.net bulletin boards since Stewart at SDI, this is a compilation of his writings.
- Intelligent Design and Appeals to Ignorance: While the philosophical problems with intelligent design have been addressed extraordinarily well elsewhere, there is one little detail with respect to appeals to ignorance I've addressed in a short essay here.
- Alexander Pope and God: A discussion of some wild claims Pope makes in one of his poems.
- The Scientific Method: An introduction to and discussion of the scientific method.
- The Meaning of Life: Precisely what the title says: a discussion of what the meaning of life could be if you attack the problem rationally.
- My Political Platform: No, I'm not running for office, but if you're curious to see what I tend to think politically, then click here.
- The Genesis Hypothesis: Is the Genesis account of creation scientific? This essay examines it in some depth, and comments upon the creationist mindset regarding Genesis.
- You Don't Really Know Anything: Too many people believe that they're qualified to comment on whether or not the scientific community's consensus is correct or incorrect. Think that you have the knowledge to refute a given field of science or mathematics? Read this.
- The Kingdom of God and Love: Should Christianity spread through force of law? Can God's Kingdom (whether or not you actually believe in it) be realized through shouting from the rooftops, through accosting people on the street? Not at all, and read this to find out why. [Note: work in progress. Last updated 2007/2/1]
- The ICS Fact Page: An introduction to and explanation of the Star Wars: Incredible Cross Sections books.
- The Idolatry of Answers in Genesis: I contend that the creationist group Answers in Genesis is committing idolatry. Disagree? Hear me out first.
- Malthus Was Right: Thomas Malthus, a 19th century thinker who inspired Darwin, claimed that because populations increase geometrically and food increases linearly, organisms will have to eventually starve to death and struggle to survive. Disagree? Hear me out.
- Creationists' Guide to Evolution: A short guide to introduce creationists to the real theory of evolution, to help them to understand what it's really all about. If you're a creationist, come on in!