Benches & bike racks, Southbank, Melbourne
Pedestrian bridge across the Yarra, Melbourne
Walking to the convention along the Yarra
Reflections of the Polly Woodside. (Just in front of the convention centre)
I went this last weekend to the Global Atheists Convention in Melbourne. I had thought it would be a case of preaching to the converted and that it would be boring, but it seemed a good excuse to see Melbourne again and to see my friend, Eve.
In the event, we found ourselves attending the entire shebang, and while much of the argument reiterated stuff I knew, much didn't, or it elaborated on themes in less well known (to me) areas. In any case, it was liberating to hear others say what I have now for a long time believed, that the Christian (Judaic/Muslim) God and the various attendant beliefs are incompatible with science....
The standout speaker for me was Dan Dennett (philosophy, Tufts University), but others were not far behind (Sam Harries, Richard Dawkins, Eugenie Scott,Dan Barker, A.C.Grayling... and the list is invidious).
It was an amazingly good venue, with morning/afternoon teas and lunches provided easily for 4000 people in the short time allowed for these things, and the degree of mingling forced by the numbers of people doing to these things was most enjoyable.
Us
If you have read this far, please check out this haiku,
hexapod haiku (winner under 13)
2 comments:
Wow what a huge convention. I bet I would have enjoyed some of the talks too even if, like you, it would be a bit of preaching to the converted!
I like your photo of the reflection of the ships mast too.
Hi Sarah, What was interesting was that it was not preaching to the converted.. quite. I had come to atheism via Bertrand Russell and through Hume. It was immensely interesting listening to those who had come via science and particularly via evolution and cosmology and not in the least, because they argued that it is impossible to believe in (the Christian) god if one takes aboard the science of evolution. And, of course, they are right... M
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