Guy P. Harrison
I have a deep passion for science, history, anthropology, and nature. My mission is to inform and inspire as many people as I can about the workings and content of our world and universe. Reality is infinitely beautiful and endlessly fascinating. It's tragic that some people never quite glimpse the wonder of it all. Please don't be one of those people. I want you to be fully alive and awake as a human being.
Science is a body of knowledge and a practical tool available for everyone everywhere. Professional historians, anthropologists, and archaeologists tell the human story--your story. Listen to them. You live in exciting times because so much remains to be discovered and understood. In a sense, your home is an alien world filled with mystery and surprises. Learn, explore, dream. The more we know, the more we can imagine. The more we can imagine, the more we can do.
I am a positive and constructive skeptic. Think of me as a human who warns humans about being human. I use my imperfect brain to talk and write about the human brain's imperfections. I try to overcome my irrational beliefs and subconscious miscues so that I may better teach others about the problems of irrational belief and subconscious miscues.
I believe that our world could be much better - and a lot less crazy - if more people simply understood how science works and appreciated the protective value of scientific thinking in everyday life.
I've held numerous positions in the news industry, including editorial writer, world news editor, sports editor, photographer, page designer, and columnist. I've traveled extensively, having visited 30 countries on six continents. I have also had some very rewarding jobs teaching history and science to bright kids. My degree is in history and anthropology (University of South Florida). I've won some nice international awards for my writing and photography, including the WHO (World Health Organization) Award for Health Reporting and the Commonwealth Media Award for Excellence in Journalism.
What I am most proud of in relation to my work is that my writing has touched and helped many people. I consistently receive messages from around the world and it's always rewarding to learn that my words have inspired one more person to think in new and better ways.
When I'm not staring at a blank computer screen hoping my subconscious will deliver the next word, I'm likely running, hiking, reading, or teaching critical life lessons to my children via repeated viewings of Star Trek. When normal people are consumed with thoughts of politics, economics, or the Kardashians, there's a good chance I'll be daydreaming about time travel, the Singularity, ancient Greece, microbial life, the possibility of extraterrestrial life, World War II, robots, interstellar space travel, viruses, Homo erectus, the Apollo Moon landings . . .
“It fascinates me that believers have made faith in a god's existence into an admired and respected concept. Some people brag endlessly about their great faith in a god, never once considering that giving up on their mind's ability to weigh evidence and analyze arguments may not be such a good thing. I cannot imagine how it can ever be right to default to faith when considering an unusual claim.”
“Why do many believers insist on repeatedly pointing to the crimes of 20th century dictators who led officially atheistic societies as some sort of evidence of their god's existence? It makes no sense.If the rivers of blood on Stalin's hands and Mao's hands, for example, are supposed to prove there is a god, then what do the oceans of blood on the hands of several thousand years' worth of religious kings, queens, presidents, popes, priests, generals, Crusadersm jihadists and tribal chiefs prove? It's not, of course, but if bodycount is somehow the measure of a god's likelihood of existence, then believers lose.It is clear that humans are quite capable of killing with or without images of gods bouncing around in their heads. If anything, however, history suggests that the concept of gods makes the idea of massacring your fellow man (and women and children, too, of course) a lot easier to act upon.”
“...atheism is not a conscious act of turning away from all gods. It is simply the final destination for those who think. ...you will be pleased to discover that the sky does not fall down on your head. ... if you still want to pray, you can (the success rate of your prayers is unlikely to change).”