"The film includes interviews with celebrities and other influential people who support the work of these controversial speakers, including:

Ricky Gervais
Woody Allen
Cameron Diaz
Stephen Hawking
Sarah Silverman
Bill Pullman
Werner Herzog
Tim Minchin
Eddie Izzard
Ian McEwan
Adam Savage
Ayaan Hirsi-Ali
Penn Jillette
Sam Harris
Dan Dennett
James Randi
Cormac McCarthy
Paul Provenza
James Morrison
Michael Shermer
David Silverman
...and more.

www.unbelieversmovie.com"

A piece on him that I found to be of interest:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/01/07/130107fa_fact_green

I particularly like the Penn Jillette story at the start of that article.

Epistemological issues seem so central to everything. Within the libertarian devotion to reason that Chomsky has praised, two camps seem to be at odds with one another, in a kind of in-house brawl.
One camp holds the empiricist skeptics who also happen to favor scientific materialism (like Penn Jillette and James Randi and some others you may not have heard about, or maybe you have) and the other camp holds the natural law axiomatic-deductive philosophers who don't outright dismiss homeopathic medicine, for example, and who question flouride in the water.
We can broadly see at least seven different positions. One writer I enjoyed a bit in college, Robert Anton Wilson, seems to have accepted empiricism in conjunction with intuitive-mysticism as valid sources of knowledge but not axiomatic-deductive reasoning. He wrote a short piece on his opposition to natural law in "Natural Law and Don't Put a Rubber on Your Willy." I don't think he developed his opposition thoroughly. He devoted more to his writing to oppose scientism (like double-bind dogmatic empiricism) with a whole book, "The New Inquisition."
Another position is that of Ayn Rand and her Objectivist followers who accepted neither intuitive-mystical knowledge nor much empiricism, but only (or mostly) axiomatic-deductive reasoning.
In my opinion, a stronger view accepts all three and tests theories against all three.

Jillette illustrates how there's an effort to change the definition of the word atheism to encompass basically anyone who isn't religious, which I really don't agree with.

definitions matter, but then again, language is fluid.

It is curious where Penn Jillette draws the line on protecting people's rights. On one hand, he will protect the minority-of-one in the case of a nativity scene on public property... but on the other, he will not protect the minority who is looking for a morning-after pill in an area that is so religious that pharmacists will not carry or sell it. (or the nurse from a Catholic hospital having abortion coverage)

Surely the minority's right is to be protected as well? It's unfortunate that both of these men haven't figured out that most civil rights wedge-issues come from an argument of X's rights are more important than Y's.

that blackboard is pathetically hilarious!

because yes, it's possible to diagram the complexities of the human condition as it pertains to politics and governance so simply.

And even if it were possible. Glen Beck is the one that's got it figured out? yeah right.

He, and to a lesser degree, Jillette are both pretending they're these deep intellectuals, when reality they're both just personalities performing mutual masturbation of their egos.

I'm tired of these people constantly treating the gov't as the enemy.

Government is......YOU.

Gov't is a reflection of the people it governs. So if gov't does poorly, that means we as a people did poorly. People of all political leanings work in gov't Doesn't matter if the Legislature/Executive/Judicial lean left or right, the vast bulk of the gov't and it's functions are made up of people just like you and me.

so if you don't like it, it's your duty to vote or to run for office. stop being an armchair politician and participate. It's easy to sit from afar and point fingers. It's hard to actually be involved.

This idea that each person is a nation unto itself is absurd. It's ego run amok. You don't know everything, you can't do everything. We are better together than we are apart.

I'm also fed up with how people like to put the Constitution on this pedestal as this divine document. Yes, it's a very good document. It serves a very useful purpose. But it is not this infallible, divine creation some people seem to think it is. If it was so great, we wouldn't need Amendments.

The history of human governance can be summed up in one sentence: "Well, we thought it was a good idea at the time." Guess what, in the future, someone is going to come up with a better idea, and further down the road, someone's going to come up with something better than that...and so on and so on. Each future generation is going to look back at us us and say "what the hell were you idiots thinking?!" Just like we look at our previous generations and say the same thing.

I love that first Penn Jillette story.

Penn Jillette: Don't Leave Atheists Out on Christmas has been added as a related post - related requested by PlayhousePals on that post.

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>> ^Yogi:

Yeah I don't think it matters. Magic is for entertainment, camera tricks are entertainment. I think making a distinction matters but not really to the laymen.


It matters to me, and I'm a complete layman when it comes to magic. I felt so cheated by Copperfield when I found out how he did his big tricks that I've never watched any of his performances since. It takes no skill to cheat...and -skill- is what makes magic entertaining.

And in spite of my feelings on his personal beliefs, Penn Jillette has incredible skills and is a great entertainer.

Your video, Penn Jillette: Camera Tricks Are Not Magic, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

>> ^Sagemind:

Hmm, you do know that show is scripted right? He doesn't write that stuff, the show has writers, he just acts it out - As well as being a brilliantly minded magician, he's an actor.
>> ^Stormsinger:
I think it was the episode of Bullshit when he displayed his complete "I got mine, fuck the rest of you." attitude...


If it were presented as a work of fiction, rather than a work of fiction-busting, you might have more of a chance of changing my mind. And just like the case of Ron Paul and his newsletter, when it has his name and endorsement on it, he's responsible for the content, no matter who actually writes it.

Hmm, you do know that show is scripted right? He doesn't write that stuff, the show has writers, he just acts it out - As well as being a brilliantly minded magician, he's an actor.

>> ^Stormsinger:

I think it was the episode of Bullshit when he displayed his complete "I got mine, fuck the rest of you." attitude...

>> ^Stormsinger:

Finally, something I can agree with him about.
He's still an utter asshole, though.


Actually, I've always liked the guy; I think he comes out with some great ideas as well as amazing tricks. In what way is he an asshole? I'm genuinely curious.

Thanks a bunch
I haven't been posting much in a while so I'm starting to post again - I got a new computer at home (a mac-for my art) and so no more Diablo - it's for the best - Diablo has been my crutch for several years now - Cold Turky and back to sifting
In reply to this comment by Boise_Lib:
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