The website of John C. Snider
[Originally posted on November 9, 2007 at AmericanFreethought.com.] Whether we like it or not, the Evolution/Creation Wars will be with us for a while. The forces of Creationism are as determined as ever to challenge Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, especially as it is currently taught in public schools and universities. The Creationists’ latest ploy is ”Intelligent Design,” …
[Originally posted in July 2006 at SciFiDimensions.com; re-posted on October 16, 2007 at AmericanFreethought.com. This documentary subsequently won an Academy Award; Al Gore won a Nobel Prize for his work in raising awareness about global warming. I should also point out that when I wrote this review, my views were much more Libertarian and my …
[Originally posted in February 2007 at SciFiDimensions.com; re-posted on September 25, 2007 at AmericanFreethought.com.] It’s hard to believe, 82 years after the infamous Scopes Monkey Trial, that there are still Americans who really do believe that the earth is 6,600 years old (give or take a century) and that Darwin’s Theory of Evolution is just …
[Originally posted in March 2004 at SciFiDimensions.com; re-posted on September 24, 2007 as the first entry at AmericanFreethought.com.] What is “human nature”? How much of what we do is really “free will,” and how much of it is driven by deep genetic programming laid down even before there was such a thing as a human …
[This interview was conducted via email in May 2005 and published in a local (metro Atlanta) freethought newsletter. Sam Harris earned his PhD in cognitive neuroscience, has authored several bestselling books, and currently hosts the popular podcast Making Sense. –JCS 12/24/2021] Sam Harris is a Stanford-based philosopher, doctoral candidate in neuroscience, and author of The End …
[This interview was conducted via email in April 2005 and published in a local (metro Atlanta) freethought newsletter. Dr. Branden died in 2014. –JCS 12/24/2021] Nathaniel Branden is a psychotherapist and a pioneering expert in the psychology of self-esteem. He’s also one of the founders of Objectivism, the philosophy originated by the late novelist Ayn Rand …
Will space exploration forever remain the sole domain of the handful of government space agencies? For decades we’ve taken for granted that the moon, Mars—everything outside the Earth—belongs to nobody and that only big government programs are capable of tackling the colossal challenges posed by launching expensive space probes. Not for long. SpaceDev, the California-based …
[Originally posted in March and April 2000 at SciFiDimensions.com. Dr. Bova died in November 2020. For more about Ben Bova and his lifetime of work, visit BenBova.com] Ben Bova is a busy man. He’s has been a journalist, a teacher, a marketeer, an editor, and, oh yeah…a writer. Having spent many successful award-winning years as …
[Originally posted in March 2000 at SciFiDimensions.com.] Greg Bear is a bit of a prodigy in the science fiction world. He published his first story when he was sixteen, and by the time he was a grown-up he was getting published regularly. He’s had a long succession of immensely popular books that aren’t afraid to …