The meaning of Apple's '647 patent

On December 19th the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) issued its final determination on Apple's claims against HTC of Taiwan, finding that HTC violated Section 337 of the Tariff Act by selling Android phones containing a technology that infringed a patent held by Apple. Section 337 enables the ITC to block importation into the US of foreign products that unfairly compete with domestic

Moving to FTB!

Today I am freezing my Blogger account and moving my blog to Freethought Blogs, a prominent all-atheist venture. This move will help me earn an income doing what I do, and give my work a higher profile so it will do more good. To make my life manageable I won't be posting here anymore, nor accepting any new comments on posts archived here, but I will keep this account open in order to keep its

On exa, zetta, and beyond

Anyone who lives in metric system countries knows what "kilo" means. A kilogram is 1000 grams, a kilometer is 1000 meters. Of course frequencies are measured in kiloHertz and in the computer world we have kilobits and kilobytes (although we are never quite sure if that is 1000 or 1024!).Most people even know that "mega" means a million. Power stations output megawatts of electricity, FM radios

My new CTO job

As you all probably know, I have changed job titles.I am now RAD's Chief Technology Officer instead of (or perhaps in addition to?) Chief Scientist.Our previous CTO, Prof. Daniel Kofman, is still in touch with the company. However, he is a bit busy since in addition to his position as Professor at Telecom ParisTech (formerly ENST), he has been appointed by France's Minister of Research and

MPLS-TP update

At the MPLS Working Group meeting this week it was announced that the core set of MPLS-TP RFCs have been finished.Indeed, we now have (I hope that I haven't missed too many):•RFC 5586 MPLS Generic Associated Channel (G-ACh and GAL)•RFC 5654 Requirements of an MPLS Transport Profile•RFC 5718 An In-Band Data Communication Network for MPLS-TP•RFC 5860 Requirements for OAM in MPLS Transport Networks•

The notorious IP checksum algorithm

I have been asked several times to explain the checksum calculation used in the IP suite (IPv4, TCP and UDP all utilize the same checksum algorithm).RFC 791, which defines IPv4, gives the checksum algorithm as follows :The checksum field is the 16 bit one's complement of the one'scomplement sum of all 16 bit words in the header. For purposes ofcomputing the checksum, the value of the checksum

Goal Theory Update

Here is the latest update on my moral theory work, for those keen on following it in-depth. This post is deliberately long, so those not so keen can skip this one. It assembles notes I've been sitting on for a while for lack of time to get them up.



On my last trip to St. Louis I debated a fellow atheist on my own goal theory of moral values vs. the desire utilitarianism of Alonzo Fyfe. That

Back to Amazon

Just FYI to all my fans and friends and others curious to know: California blinked and acquiesced in letting Amazon pay no sales tax in the state. So just as I said I would back in July, I've gone back to the Amazon Storefront and links, because Amazon is thousands of times superior to Barnes & Noble in quality, service, and functionality.

In Sacramento Today!

I'm off to sell and sign my books at the Sacramento Freethought Day festival today (click link for details). I'll be hanging out at a table with David Fitzgerald. Come say hi! Buy a book! Support a starving philosopher-historian!
 

The Dying Messiah

As a bonus for those who funded my research on or are anticipating the publication of my two volumes on the historicity of Jesus, I have decided to summarize one of the many things I have discovered and will include in that work, making it public early, particularly as it seems important to recent scholarly debate (in a sense making this a sequel to my earlier Ignatian Vexation). Indeed, I have

Network Coding

In conventional communications networks the active network elements (e.g., Ethernet switches or IP routers) are store-and-forward devices. They perform no nontrivial computation. It turns out that in certain cases it is possible to optimize network operation (to conserve some network resource or to improve some network performance measure) by embedding more intelligence in the network elements.In

December Course

This December, due to popular demand, I will be repeating the September online course I am wrapping up this week at CFI's online campus, teaching once again their one-month intro course The Real Origins of Christianity. Anyone can attend and receive a certificate of completion (though only students at UB receive college credit). It is all online and all flextime (you can work at any time of day

Appearing in Tallahassee

I will be speaking at the Center for Inquiry conference on "Science for Everyone" next month in Tallahassee, Florida, along with several other great speakers. Reception is Friday evening, 14 October (2011), 7:30-9:30pm, and the conference itself is Saturday, 15 October, from 8:30am to 5pm. Registration is $50 ($35 for students with a valid student ID), and a lunch is included. The event is at the

Atheists in Foxholes

As a veteran I was asked to join the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers and I agreed wholeheartedly. This is an excellent outfit that anyone who is a nonbeliever and a veteran or in service should join, so the MAAF can have numbers to cite and a network of resources and eyes-on-the-ground to tap. They represent you, and your fellow godless servicemen and women, and with an

The PW Associated Channel

In the beginning of the development of pseudowire technology, it was obvious to many of us that PWs would require some sort of OAM support. As always with OAM the question was how to make OAM packets fate-share with user data packets. The original RAD proposition was to define a special "OAM PW" that would be placed alongside the monitored PWs. In the MPLS case this meant a special PW label for

Appearing in Fargo

I'm now confirmed as one of the featured speakers at the Fargo, North Dakota "Project 42 Conference" (click that link for all conceivable details), sponsored by the Red River Freethinkers, this September 23-25, with a Friday movie event, a Saturday series of talks (followed by a local debate and meetup that night), and a Sunday panel and activist seminar. I'll be joined by PZ Myers, Robert Price,

Skepticon IV

For all you Midwes- tern godless out there, Skepticon IV is just months away. PZ and I are grandfathered in, so we'll definitely be speaking, along with many other awesome folk. Once again this irreverent ride is brought to you by the MSU Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, and as always, in Springfield, Missouri.

The venue this time will be the Gillioz Theatre. Officially from Friday to Sun

September Course

This September (in just a few weeks) I will be visiting lecturer at CFI's online campus, teaching their one-month intro course The Real Origins of Christianity alongside Dr. John Shook (we co-taught the last course, on naturalism). Anyone can attend and receive a certificate of completion (though only students at UB receive college credit). It is all online and all flextime (you can work at any

The End of Christianity

The End of Christianity (the long awaited sequel to The Christian Delusion) is now available in bookstores (and I'm assured will soon be available in kindle and other digital formats). Delusion was an awesome book. End is even better. Indeed, I think the two volumes together amount to a decisive refutation of Christianity. A bona fide litmus test. No rational person can read both volumes and not

Atheist Film Festival

I'll be appearing at this year's Atheist Film Festival at the Roxy in San Francisco, California, to give a Q&A for the audience after the showing of the film Agora. The festival starts on Sunday, August 21 (2011) at 10am. There will be two screens with different things running concurrently. For more details (including directions, tickets, etc.) see the SF Atheist Film Festival website.

If you

Amazon Dumps Us

Now that California has signed into law a tax reform that counts internet business associations as establishing legal "nexus" for state taxes to apply, Amazon has dumped all of its California internet sales associates. That means I can no longer earn a commission on referring you to Amazon to buy my books, or other books that I think are worth reading (which I had been doing in my Richard Carrier

Calling All Physicists

Over the years I have been mulling a problem in metaphysics: the ontological mysteries of Quantum Mechanics. I have been developing a theory in this regard (see, for example, The Ontology of Time and my unresolved alternatives in Sense and Goodness without God, pp. 98-99, III.4.1), and now, informed by some recent discoveries and publications in the sciences (and finally a stronger understanding

New Podcast & Vids

I recently did an interview for the Think Atheist podcast, which is now available. We discuss historical method generally, how historians work and what makes their work logically valid, including discussion of Bayes' Theorem and the philosophy of history, and the completion schedule of my four books currently in progress (one of which is completed and now under contract at a publisher and in the

Pauline Interpolations

In the New Testament, at least two passages have been interpolated into the letters of Paul: 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16 and 1 Corinthians 14:34-35. Today I'll present the evidence for this conclusion that most experts have long known about, but most laymen never hear.

For those not savvy to the study of ancient manuscripts (called textual criticism), an "interpolation" is a word or passage that

Sources of the Jesus Tradition

Several months ago the papers of the 2008 Amherst conference finally appeared in print. Sort of. I have a lot of problems with this, and the following is a review of the successes and failures of the new book Sources of the Jesus Tradition: Separating History from Myth (Prometheus Books 2010).

I've been working on this review for a long time, but too many other matters kept taking precedence (

"Seamless MPLS" and Denial of Service

A Denial of Service (DoS) attack is an attack that attempts to render a service temporarily unavailable to legitimate users of the service. DoS attacks are carried out by attackers disrupting the function of any link in the service supply chain. In the context of services provided over telecommunications networks, DoS attacks can be directed at a web or mail server, routers, or at any necessary

Mark 16:9-20

A good long while ago I completed a contract job to produce a thoroughly researched and argued case against the authenticity of the verses in Mark 16:9-20, which the mainstream consensus has long since rejected as an interpolation but fundamentalists keep trying to rescue. The final product has now finally been published at Errancy Wiki (which years ago also published a concise summary of my case

Lead Tablets of Jesus!

Many are asking about the mysterious new lead tablets (the Jordan Lead Codices) "suddenly" uncovered that supposedly are going to change the world, proving all sorts of weird things about the first generation of Christianity. I hear according to Glenn Beck, they are the mysterious coded books referred to in the book of Revelation! Holy Sheit!
Not. All the media stories misquote people, and then

Appearing in St. Louis

I'll be in St. Louis, Missouri the first week of May on a whirlwind tour of four events on three days. I'll be selling and signing my books at all three venues. And all do ask for small donations.
(1) First is a debate in the Responsible Public Debate series held by the Ethical Society of St. Louis (which I hear is the largest ethical society in the nation) on Tuesday, May 3, from 7pm to 9pm.

Is Obama a War Criminal?

I'd like to post today some (hopefully) educational and philosophical thoughts on a major current event of considerable importance, on which every American should be well informed.
There has been much said of late (by both liberals and conservatives, even on the usually well-informed Daily Show) to the effect that Obama is a war criminal, because his aerial assault on Libya was unconstitutional

Appearing in Orange County

A day after my Riverside appearance I'll also be speaking to the Orange County Backyard Skeptics in Villa Park, California (at 7pm, Thursday, April 14). To attend (and get the venue address--it's held literally in a member's private but lovely backyard) you must be a member of their meetup group (which you can join here), or personally invited by a member. Suggested donation is $5 (or $10 if

Appearing in Wichita

That's right, I'll be speaking on Rapture Day! What's that, you ask? Here's the official announcement, from the event organizers (the Air Capital Skeptics and the Secular Student Alliance):
Rapture Day is going to be a day of great speakers giving presentations with a focus on religion and how it relates to various doomsday claims. The event will be held at the Wichita State University CAC

Why I Am Not a Christian

A donor who wishes to remain anonymous has commissioned on my behalf a print publication of a slightly updated version of my 2006 essay "Why I Am Not a Christian." All proceeds will go to me. He just wanted it to exist so he could hand it out to door knocking evangelists, and make other handy uses of it in his own atheist evangelism. At the donor's request (and generous payment) I made several

Moral Ontology

Ontology is the study of “being,” i.e. what it means for something to “be” or “exist.” I have discussed on other occasions the ontology of time and the ontology of logic and mathematics (among other things, in numerous places). A couple weeks ago for a Christian youth group (Stand to Reason) I was asked to discuss the ontology of moral facts, expanding on questions that remained after last year.

Appearing in Riverside

I will be speaking in Riverside, California on Wednesday, April 13 (2011), for the Inland Empire Atheists, Agnostics & Skeptics, from 7pm to 9pm (doors open at 6pm), at the Universalist Unitarian Church on 3657 Lemon Street (see the meetup page for the event). Admission is $5 (but free to students and the unemployed). I will be selling and signing my books afterward.
 
Topic: Defending Naturalism

San Francisco in March

I will be appearing in San Francisco next month, on Saturday 26 March (2011), for the San Francisco Atheists, at their usual venue (Schroeder's Restaurant, on 240 Front St., San Francisco, CA 94111), from 4:30-7pm. I'll be selling and signing books as usual.
Description: "From Robots to the Moon: Amazing Science and Technology of the Ancient World" : Dr. Richard Carrier, a specialist in ancient

March Course

This March (March 1 to 31) I will be visiting lecturer at CFI's online campus, co-teaching their one-month introductory course in the philosophy of naturalism, this year taught by Dr. John Shook (author of The God Debates) and myself. Anyone can attend and receive a certificate of completion (though only students at UB receive college credit). It is all online and all flextime (you can work at

New Vids and Podcast

Besides the major video release I mentioned yesterday, two other known videos of me came out around the same time, plus a new podcast. I'm blogging those three items today.
(1) Back in 2008 the guys of Give a Damn? came to my home and interviewed me for their film (which I've seen, and it's pretty awesome, hopefully it is near to a general release). I didn't make the final cut, so Rob Lehr, the

Skepticon III Video

Video of my presentation at Skepticon III last year is now available. I like this one. This is my best and most entertaining talk yet. Informative and fun. I definitely recommend it. To watch it on YouTube click here. Filmed and edited by Rob Lehr of Hambone Productions, I recall there was a loss of data at the event but he restored it best he could (so you'll see a fade at one point), and I'm

Appearing in Greensboro

I will be appearing in Greensboro, North Carolina, in a few weeks, for the University of North Carolina at Greensboro Atheists, Agnostics and Skeptics, on Wednesday, March 2 (2011), at 7pm (until 9pm). My talk will be "Are Science & Religion Compatible? Looking at Ancient Creation Science vs. Modern," an updated version of the talk I gave in absentia at Indianapolis for Darwin Day 2008 (see those

Debating J.P. Holding

You heard that right. On Saturday, 9 April 2011, at 5pm, I will be debating my "nemesis" J.P. Holding on the textual reliability of the New Testament ("Do We Have What They Had?"). It is being sponsored by the Christian congregation of Pastor Cameron English and will be held at the Amador Christian Center (see their events page; right now it's a little ways down the page). For directions and more

Abortion Redux

Recently Vincent Torley (of Uncommon Descent: Serving the Intelligent Design Community) asked the 25 Most Influential Living Atheists what their underlying views were on the issue of abortion and human rights. As I unexpectedly made that list, I received his questionnaire. It was well-formulated and honest (he allows for qualifications, for instance). I found it well worthy of an answer. He

MPLS is not a "successful" protocol

RFC 5218 defines what the Internet Architecture Board considers to be a "successful" protocol. A "successful" protocol is one that meets its original goals and is widely deployed, such as DNS, BGP, SMTP, and SIP. A "wildly successful" protocol far exceeds its original goals in terms of purpose and scale. Examples of the latter are IPv4, ARP, and HTTP. A protocol may be considered successful even

Factual Politics (3)

(This is Part II of III of the conclusion to a crazy debate on political philosophy. For the back-story to what follows, jump back to Factual Politics to start the whole thread. Or click here to read Part I)
  3. The Need of Facts and Logic
Social Security
Benjamin said... See what I had to say about the inevitability of government debt and the driving force behind it. And [when it comes

Factual Politics (4)

(This is Part III of III of the conclusion to a crazy debate on political philosophy. For the back-story to what follows, jump back to Factual Politics to start the whole thread. Or click here to jump back to Part II)



6. The Social Contract:
You're Either In or Out

Benjamin said... SOCIAL CONTRACT THEORY IS MYSTICISM

No it's not. It's scientific fact, fully established by game theory

Factual Politics (1)

After posting on my blog a long while ago on the question Does Free Will Matter? a bizarre anarchist going by the local moniker Benjamin replied in elaborate length denouncing the very concept of all government whatever, insisting that if we got rid of it (all of it), everyone would live happily ever after in perfect harmony. Absurd. But nevertheless. He was insistent. Delusionally, he

Factual Politics (2)

(This is Part I of III of the conclusion to a crazy debate on political philosophy. For the back-story to what follows, jump back to Factual Politics)


 1. Being Logically Challenged
What Is Politics?

Benjamin said... Politics is force.
Politics is the regulation of force. Absent government, force is unregulated, and anyone can kill or rob or hurt or intimidate anyone they please.

CSA Interview

Luke Muehlhauser of Common Sense Atheism interviewed me at the CSH Conference for his podcast, on historical method and the historical Jesus. I discuss my upcoming books and their content and progress. We also digress on other topics like education, the McGrews' use of Bayes' Theorem on the resurrection, and Bayes' Theorem's application to the fine tuning argument. The audio is now available to