Pranav Merchant's Blog (4)

Wherever I turn, the popular media, scientists and even fellow philosophers are telling me that I’m a machine or a beast. My ethics can be illuminated by the behavior of termites. My brain is a sloppy computer with a flicker of consciousness and the illusion of free will. I’m anything but human.

While it would take more time and space than I have here to refute these views, I’d like to suggest why I stubbornly continue to believe that I’m a human being — something more than other…

http://www.odditycentral.com/pics/bovine-boarding-at-pakistans-traditional-bull-races.html#more-30362

If you think surfing and snowboarding are extreme sports, then you’ve probably never seen what happens in Pakistan, during traditional bovine races. It involves bulls, a board and dirt.

Tens of thousands of people gather whenever there is…

Thought this might be interesting: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/26/science/in-african-pottery-evidence-of-ancient-dairy-farmers.html?src=recg

An ex-vegan has created a website called Let Them Eat Meat, where he writes about veganism, poking holes in vegan logic, theory, philosophy.

The blog's author does a cogent, serious, fair, and thorough job exploring veganism (though at times he does not restrain himself from having some fun at veganism's expense, but this doesn't take away from the actual discussion), and as an ex-vegan he knows arguments in favor of veganism very well.  Any vegan proponent who supports open…