Origin of Religions

Wishlist

1. Illustrations:
   • I envision a set of illustrations which unify the chapters
   • The illustrations are basically the traditional evolutionary tree such as is seen in biology textbooks – each chapter would open with a similar illustration, but different things would be arrayed on the tree. Examples:
     • the felid branch of the tree for “What is a cat?”
     • branch of the evolutionary tree populated with early hominids (Australopithecus, homo erectus,Homo neanderthalensis etc.) and homo sapiens for “What are we?”
     • same stylized evolutionary tree with various breeds of domesticated dogs for “What is a dog?”
     • Taxonomy of malicious software for “Other replicators”
     • evolution of warships for “Evolution in review”
     • same style evolutionary tree populated with various religious symbols for “What is religion?”
   • ideally created using Adobe® Illustrator® or other vector graphics program – so that versions might be quickly adapted for web or print media.
2. Tools:
   • Several programs could be very useful.
     • Chief among these would be an interactive program which demonstrated how a more successful allele dominates a gene pool after a certain number of iterations of “natural selection”.
       • The user should be able to adjust a variable representing the reproductive advantage.
       • The program would initially display an array of similar icons – with one different icon to represent a new allele which offers some reproductive advantage.
       • The user should be able to control the rate at which the generations are iterated – with each iteration applying a reproduce function followed by a cull function which would then reduce the array down to its original size based on the “success” variable.
       • the program should include an algorithm to re-introduce the allele in the event that the “cull” function eliminated it – this would be analogous to a genetic variation arising again in the real world.
     • Another useful program would allow a user to explore the time required to “paint” the sky with a hypothetical laser beam. This is highly relevant to the content of chapter 12
       • the user should be able to select input power based on units equal to an estimate of mankind’s current collective total generating capacity
       • other interactive inputs should allow the user to adjust watts per square meter at the source, loiter time, number of times to repaint a particular section of sky, etc. Some of the inputs would ideally be linked. For example, adjusting the cross-sectional area of the beam with a fixed amount of input power would affect the watts per square meter of the hypothetical beam.
       • The program should incorporate and display key thresholds such as the minimum watts per square meter which might be detected by the unaided eye, the minimum watts per square meter which might be detected by modern equipment, etc.
       • the final result should be a figure representing the time required to “paint” the entire sky.
     • Ideally each program would be available in two forms – one suitable for use online in a web browser and one as a stand-alone executable suitable for distribution with a book.
3. Publicity:
   • Click the facebook “like” button on the main page of this website.
   • Links from established websites would be useful, as well as blog posts and tweets!
   • Print and distribute materials designed to get key ideas from origin-of-religions.org in the public eye. I have two pdf documents prepared for this purpose. religions_card and religion_poisons_card are intended for printing on 8.5 x 11 card stock. I print on both sides and then cut the card stock in half. If you are careful in orienting the paper for the second trip through the printer then the front and back of each half of the card will have different messages. If you find that Adobe Reader is causing a problem by printing with wide margins then I’ll be happy to share the original Microsoft Word .doc file on request.
   • Could leverage essays like the incendiary “Origin of Homosexuality” which asserts that homosexuality is a direct and predictable consequence of religion
   • Another supporting essay presents evidence of “closet atheism” – particularly among politicians.
4. Editorial and writing:
   • I have a full-time job which is unrelated to this endeavor, so help with examples of the evolution of religion would speed up the process - particularly those with credible sources which might be cited.
   • constructive critique