The Fireplace Delusion

Doubtdispelled · #1 by **Doubtdispelled** » Feb 03, 2012 2:07 pm

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2 ... elief.html

:shock:

Is burning wood really that bad? Is Sam exaggerating to make a point?

What form of heating does not produce any potentially harmful by-products? Is there one?

So many questions. :ask:

campermon · #2 by **campermon** » Feb 03, 2012 4:29 pm

He's just a humbug...

*preparing to chop some logs for this evening*

NuclMan · #3 by **NuclMan** » Feb 04, 2012 4:59 am

, microwaved of course

Doubtdispelled · #4 by **Doubtdispelled** » Feb 04, 2012 10:18 am

NuclMan wrote::popcorn: , microwaved of course

And the electricity required to power the microwave was produced by..........?

:naughty:

CookieJon · #5 by **CookieJon** » Feb 04, 2012 10:26 am

Terrible analogy (unless I"m missing something). Apart from lumping all religions in together, one can enjoy a fire's "warmth, the beauty of its flames, and—unless one is allergic to smoke—the smell that it imparts to the surrounding air" while still consciously acknowledging that it's unhealthy for other reasons, just as one might enjoy a cigarette knowing full-well it's practically suicidal.

A better analogy would be to ask someone to enjoy the warmth, beautiful flames and smell of a fire that isn't actually there. That's how deluded believers in the false religions are.

What am I missing?

LucidFlight · #6 by **LucidFlight** » Feb 04, 2012 10:38 am

Doubtdispelled wrote:
NuclMan wrote::popcorn: , microwaved of course

And the electricity required to power the microwave was produced by..........?

The universe? :ask:

NilsGLindgren · #7 by **NilsGLindgren** » Feb 04, 2012 10:59 am

The first thing to do, from my viewpoint, is checking the PubMed, the directory of medical, peer-reviewed articles and publications.
Using "wood smoke" as search term, I found 699 hits.
Consider this, e g:
Exposure to biomass smoke as a cause for airway disease in women and children.
I have not checked through all 699 articles, of course, but, those I found so far bears up Sam Harris.

Doubtdispelled · #8 by **Doubtdispelled** » Feb 04, 2012 11:31 am

LucidFlight wrote:
Doubtdispelled wrote:
NuclMan wrote::popcorn: , microwaved of course

And the electricity required to power the microwave was produced by..........?

The universe?

Well yes, and no. Stuff has to be burned to generate it, see?

LucidFlight · #9 by **LucidFlight** » Feb 04, 2012 11:41 am

Oh! Yes, I see. :dopey:

NilsGLindgren · **#10** by **NilsGLindgren** » Feb 04, 2012 1:14 pm

In Sweden, electricity tends to come either from a nuclear reactor, or a dammed river somewhere up North. This time of the year, the dams don't yield so much, the water being frozen, and we import coal power from Denmark and Germany.

NuclMan · **#11** by **NuclMan** » Feb 04, 2012 3:11 pm

Doubtdispelled wrote:
NuclMan wrote::popcorn: , microwaved of course

And the electricity required to power the microwave was produced by..........?

Fission?

Agrippina · **#12** by **Agrippina** » Feb 04, 2012 3:32 pm

So when I get silly comments about this on FB, what's the answer?

NilsGLindgren · **#13** by **NilsGLindgren** » Feb 04, 2012 3:33 pm

Agrippina wrote:So when I get silly comments about this on FB, what's the answer?

42?

Sorry, didn't get the question.

Agrippina · **#14** by **Agrippina** » Feb 04, 2012 4:24 pm

Funny man. Someone on FB is going to say something about how atheists overreact to everything and now they're picking on the harmless fire in the grate.

DaveD · **#15** by **DaveD** » Feb 04, 2012 4:58 pm

You could mention London's Great Smog of 1952. It was more coal than wood that was being burned, but I think the point stands nevertheless.

NilsGLindgren · **#16** by **NilsGLindgren** » Feb 04, 2012 6:10 pm

Agrippina wrote:Funny man. Someone on FB is going to say something about how atheists overreact to everything and now they're picking on the harmless fire in the grate.

Well, i posted a link to an abstract from a review published the last months which backs Harris up. I skimmed 20 abstracts on PubMed after searching with "wood smoke", and if they did not back hm up it was because they dealt with something else.

amkerman · **#17** by **amkerman** » Feb 04, 2012 6:25 pm

I liked this article. It's true so far as it speaks to fire, and also religion. It fails, however, as all atheists arguments do, in my opinion, to speak to God's existence.

Doubtdispelled · **#18** by **Doubtdispelled** » Feb 04, 2012 6:42 pm

NilsGLindgren wrote:
Agrippina wrote:Funny man. Someone on FB is going to say something about how atheists overreact to everything and now they're picking on the harmless fire in the grate.

Well, i posted a link to an abstract from a review published the last months which backs Harris up. I skimmed 20 abstracts on PubMed after searching with "wood smoke", and if they did not back hm up it was because they dealt with something else.

I missed that, Nils. It looks as though they are talking about exposure when there is inadequate ventilation.

NuclMan wrote:Fission?

Bless you!

Agrippina · **#19** by **Agrippina** » Feb 04, 2012 6:51 pm

In our winters, people who live in poorly ventilated shacks make fires to keep warm and leave them burning when they go to sleep. There are stories about whole families dying yet they don't learn not to do it. One of the things SAs do is to make a fire in a drum outside, it was quite a familiar site in the days when people stood selling newspapers on the street corners. Doesn't happen anymore.
Poor newspaper sellers would be robbed blind.