Preface:
I go to Baylor University, where a large majority of the students are evangelical conservative baptists. In other words they are primarily made up of racists, homophobes, and advocates of non-science (or some combination thereof)

So today I'm sitting in the chemistry class, before class has started and just waiting, working on my computer. There are a couple of other students in the room. One of them starts talking with me about the lecture we attended last night, featuring Nobel Prize winning chemist Sir Harlod Kroto. This lecture was one of the most meaningful and exciting events I've ever attended and I think Professor Kroto is awesome. He lectured on the nature of scientific thought, the direction our society is headed, and what it means to understand and practice "science".

So this kid says to me, "Yeah that guy was an atheist bastard." He is referencing the fact that Dr. Kroto spoke out against religion's deliterious affect on rational thought. Dr. Kroto spoke of the many individuals burned at the stake by the catholic church as punishment for owning and reading books. He talked about the philosopher Espinoza who was banished from his homeland by the Jewish religious establishment for writing a book about the parts of the old testament that are not logical. He talked about how all of the scientific progress we enjoy is based on the principle of "doubt" instead of "belief".

So this kid says that Professor Kroto was an atheist bastard. I just say, totally straight faced. "Well, I loved it. I'm an atheist bastard too." He turned around and hasn't said a word since.

I'm glad Baylor invites honorable people like Harold Kroto to speak. Maybe it will help shed some light on the sad intellectual state of many of its students.