Some of this presentation was funny. Other parts she definitely misrepresents religion, experience with God, and Mormonism. That wasn’t funny. As if what this world needs is more misunderstanding instead of more understanding. For example, I was surprised when everyone laughed about the idea of an ancient transoceanic voyage. Why would the TED audience laugh at this? Are they that unaware of sea voyages that populated the islands of the world such as Madagascar (perhaps as early as 350 BCE by people from Borneo more than 4000 miles away) and south pacific islands to say nothing of potential evidence of ancient sea faring across the pacific to the Americas? And, apparently they think it is ok to laugh at religion. Sure, I love a good laugh (most especially about myself). But not out of ignorance or bias. What is laughable is the ignorance and biases she and the audience expressed. When religion is set up as a strawman by scientists or those who claim to be educated, diverse, and open-minded it degrades both religion and the those who claim to embrace the values of liberal education. The same holds true of those who espouse religion but denigrate science or the values of liberal education. Why not accept goodness, beauty and truth wherever it is found instead of clinging to a few favorites while denigrating everyone and everything else?
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