Faith versus Evidence

I was at a brunch over the Christmas break, and commented to a group of friends that "I don't believe any of you are religious".

Without exception, they all said they were atheist or agnostic, and so I asked a follow-up question.

"So who believes that there is some entity somewhere that has direct influence over your day to day life"?

I got a completely confounding reply - universally. They all said "yes".

Having been what I am for a long time now, I knew to end the questioning right there and to get back to drinking champagne.

I've come to refine my "atheism" over time to have a broader definition (for me) than it once did. I don't even like the term any more - it seems so incendiary.

I now like to think is that I'm a "evidence based" person. If whatever you think has no evidence to back it up, no testable theory as to how it works, and no ability to predict future outcomes,  then it's simply a belief. And I'll dismiss it outright.

A belief in a God is no different than a belief in the tooth fairy. Or Santa Claus. Or Bigfoot.

On the other hand, a prediction that the sun will rise tomorrow, that Vancouver will get rain, and that vaccinations prevent horrible disease, is based on science - evidence, testable theory, prediction.

I don't have "faith" that a chair will hold me up while sitting. I have "evidence" that it will - based on repeated, tested, predictable, experience.

Our entire lives are based on the evidence model. It enables us to do what we do. Fly in airplanes. Drive cars.  Make cellular phone calls. Have an MRI. Cook food.

Everything we do is based on science, but most of us set all this reason aside in the belief in the supernatural.

What's up with that?

PS: I use the term "evidence" in place of the word "science" mostly because I get the same "rolling of the eyes" whenever I say I believe in science. Quite sad, actually.

PPS: There is a fantastic letter that Richard Dawkins wrote to his ten year old daughter here. It's a very short, very well thought out, essay. Read it regardless of what you believe.

2015 - A Year of Living Optionally

New Year Resolutions are generally broken within a few days. When I'd go biking or running on the dike near our house, I'd see lots of people out in their brand new gear - lycra this, spandex that, and dual suspension ultra light whatevers. Santa was good.

I'd see them for a few days, and then never again.

I hope I can be different.

At first, I thought about a year of living without buying anything (except, of course, consumables like food and gas). I think that would be pretty hard.

But what about every time you asked yourself the question "do I really need this?", you answered "no".

So that's the basis of my resolution for 2015.

I'm not going to buy anything optional.

That means no computers. No smartphones. No subscriptions or downloads. No shoes. No clothes. No nothing. (I'll try not to cheat and have Laura buy whatever I want.)

I hope I'll still be married in 2016.

Addendum: January 4, 2015

Well that didn't go so well. We were at another dinner party last night and I was lambasted, ridiculed, ostracised, and generally made fun of for my outrageous resolution. It appears my intent wasn't clear, and all kinds of "purchases" came up that I should disqualify myself from - movies, wine, chocolate, coffee, you name it. Bruce said it would be his mission in 2015 to make me buy something I don't need at Walmart (hence doubling my failure).

Since the first rule when you find yourself in a hole is to stop digging ... I choose to stop digging. Consider my resolution null and void, and I'll go along and do what I intended anyway - doubters be damned.

I'm glad I could add something to the conversation for the first few days of 2015.

The Sony Hack Was An Inside Job

The tech community is pretty unanimous in its informed conclusion: the recent Sony hack and release of confidential information was likely an "inside job", and has nothing to do with North Korea.

Instead of ranting about this, it's better to point you to an expert on the topic, Marc Rogers, who does a good job explaining this conclusion.

Have a quick glance at Marcs Security Ramblings to see what he thinks.

My concern is the rhetoric from the USA - blaming North Korea for the subterfuge.

An outright escalation of an already tense relationship.

12/22/2014: Addendum
Why I Still Don't Think It's Likely That North Korea Hacked Sony
A Lot Of Smart People Think North Korea Didn't Hack Sony

Fauxtribution

The Sony Hack: Attribution Problems, and the Connection to Domestic Surveillance

12/30/2014: Addendum

Sony hack: sacked employees could be to blame, researchers claim
Is Kim Jong Un Innocent?

Oh Canada

Laura was born in San Francisco. Her mom (Cathy) was born in Edmonton, but lived in the USA for many years. The two of them moved back to Vancouver in 1972, and Cathy married Walter. Laura's been here ever since.

When we married in 1982, my career trajectory was either working for a Canadian multinational (Northern Telecom) or a US-based one (Hewlett-Packard). Our thinking over the majority of our life together was that it would be good for Laura to hang on to her US Citizenship. We've had several opportunities over the years to move to the USA, and Laura being American would simplify everything.

All that changed in the last five years. I left Agilent (which was a spin-off from HP) and I had a stroke - both in 2009. US health insurance costs alone would make it impossible to consider a move south.

All this came to a head when we learned that the USA is now aggressively pursuing citizens worldwide to tax any income they may have. Normally, this wouldn't mean much more than Laura filing a US tax return, but we now have things like TFSAs which have no corollary in the States. Our joint savings and home could be taxable as well.

Eighteen months ago, Laura started the arduous process to get her Canadian Citizenship (she would decide on giving up her US passport once everything was said and done). We just learned that December 12, 2014 will be the day she officially becomes a Canadian.

This leads me to think of all the bounty we have that we tend to take for granted, and the things that differentiate us from our neighbours to the south:

• We have a peaceful society. We worry about crime, but we don't live in fear of it (or fear the police either).
• We are a wealthy country. There is a safety net for everyone. If I had my stroke in the USA, we'd be broke.
• Things work. We complain about the small stuff, but most of the big stuff works.
• Talking about the big stuff: Inasmuch as we may not like our Government, it works. So does our power grid. So do our roads. Our water is clean and plentiful.
• Everyone around the world loves us. All you have to do is go abroad to appreciate this.

I know there are hundreds of reasons to love Canada, and these are only a few of them. There may be one reason that surpasses all the rest.

It's home.