Hokum-Balderdash Assay

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The Incredible Likeness of Beings is a new article on religious simulacra and the phenomenon of pareidolia

The wise man proportions his belief to the evidence

—David Hume

William James used to preach the "will to believe." For my part, I should wish to preach the "will to doubt."... What is wanted is not the will to believe, but the wish to find out, which is the exact opposite.

—Bertrand Russell, Skeptical Essays (1928)

One thing I have learned in a long life: that all our science, measured against reality, is primitive and childlike—and yet it is the most precious thing we have.

—Albert Einstein

[T]he hallmark of scientific behavior is a certain scepticism even towards one's most cherished theories. Blind commitment to a theory is not an intellectual virtue: it is an intellectual crime.

—Imre Lakatos

A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties and needs; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death.

—Albert Einstein

Selling eternal life is an unbeatable business, with no customers ever asking for their money back after the goods are not delivered.

—Victor J. Stenger