trentmkelly/rationalwiki huggingface dataset:
Fanaticism

{{politics}}{{cquote|Fanaticism consists in redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim.|||George Santayana<ref>''The Life of Reason'' (1905-1906), Vol. I, Reason in Common Sense</ref>}}
'''Fanaticism''' is defined as a life-consuming obsession to some idea or cause. Fanaticism with respect to social ideals is roughly a synonym for [[extremism]], although "fanatic" originally referred to extreme [[religious]] devotion,<ref>[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=fanatic&allowed_in_frame=0 Etymonline - origin of "fanatic"]</ref> and the term still sees more application to religious extremists. "Fan", the shortened form (as in "sports fan" or "fandom"), originates from "fanaticism", although fans of something don't necessarily display uncritical, excessive enthusiasm towards that thing.<ref>Thorne, Scott and Bruner, Gordon C. (2006). [http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/13522750610640558 "An exploratory investigation of the characteristics of consumer fanaticism".] ''Qualitative Market Research: an International Journal''. 9(1): 51–72.</ref>

The concept of the fanatic is similar to that of the [[crank]], though they are not identical. The difference is that the subject of the fanatic's devotion may be mainstream even if the devotion itself is not, whilst a crank is devoted to strange or odd ideas; hence, one speaks of a ''fanatical'' [[Christianity|Christian]] or [[Islam|Muslim]], but a ''crank'' adherent to [[New Age]] ideas.

Fanatics' adherence to mainstream ideas makes them much more capable of doing damage, as they have ready access to, and influence over, a large body of non-fanatics who agree with their ideas. Notable examples are the [[Religious Right]] in the United States and Muslim fanatics such as [[Osama bin Laden]] inducing Muslims to go on suicide-bombing missions.

In the language of the Third Reich, "fanatical" was given positive connotations and was the adjective attached to the ideal Nazi devotee.<ref>{{wpl|Victor Klemperer}} (1947). [https://books.google.com/books/about/Language_of_the_Third_Reich.html?id=kwsleqxx_SMC "The Language of the Third Reich: A Philologist's Notebook"]: The word 'fanatical' was, throughout the entire era of the Third Reich, an inordinately complimentary epithet. It represents the inflation of the terms 'courageous', 'devoted', and 'persistent'; to be more precise, it is a gloriously eloquent fusion of all of these virtues."</ref>

==See also==
* [[Crank]]
* [[Fundamentalism]]
* [[Nazi Germany]]
* [[Zeal of the convert]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{stub|politics}}
[[Category:Political terms]]

Categories: Political terms
Fark

{{hatnote|Not to be confused with {{wpl|FARC}}}}
{{internet}}
'''Fark''' is a news aggregator site run by Drew Curtis of Lexington, [[Kentucky]]. As one of the most popular site of its type on the [[Internet|World Wide Web]], Fark has become a significant news source for many Web readers, as well as a major discussion site for issues both serious ([[politics]], [[pornography]]) and frivolous. Regular posters cover the entire political spectrum, from [[libertarianism|libertarian]] to statist, from [[liberalism|liberal]] to [[conservatism|conservative]], from [[fundamentalism|fundamentalist]] to apathetic [[atheism|atheist]], and the Fark admins are notorious for posting articles with a decided political slant (either far right or far left) to stir up trouble (and sometimes debate).

Fark is also noted for the pithy comments attached to each news item, and it has an entire category for [[Florida]] news.

Curtis himself has been somewhat cagey about his political leanings (generally thought to be centrist-conservative), but has published a book, ''It's Not News, It's FARK'',<ref>Curtis, Drew, ''It's Not News, it's Fark: How the Mass Media Tries To Pass Off Crap As News.'' Penguin Group (USA), 2007, ISBN 978-1592402915.</ref> a scathing and well-received attack on the superficiality of modern news media. 

Fark is also well-known for its Farkisms, in-jokes that have become an integral part of the community culture, many of them later becoming Internet [[meme]]s.

==External links==
*[http://www.fark.com Fark]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Media]]

Categories: Internet, Media
Farouk El-Baz

[[File:Farouk EL-Baz.jpg|thumb|left|165px|El-Baz in 2020]]{{Geology|1}}
'''Farouk El-Baz''' (1938- ) is an [[Egypt]]-born American geologist and selenologist, and former science adviser to Egypt's President Anwar Sadat. He was secretary of the landing site selection committee for [[NASA]]'s Apollo Program. He was also one of several selenologists who trained the Apollo astronauts, teaching them to be productive and efficient during their limited time on the lunar surface. He is now Research Professor and Director of the Center for Remote Sensing at Boston University.

==Apollo landing sites==
El-Baz's contributions to the Apollo program have been used as "evidence" by various [[crank]]s who think that [[NASA]] is involved in all kinds of nefarious stuff with mythological connections. According to them, El-Baz picked the landing sites and also the dates and times of the landings to conform to a ritual dedicated to worship of Isis, Osiris and Horus. While it may be almost true that he picked the sites, selection of dates and times was subject to technical considerations that had nothing to do with El-Baz's field of expertise.<ref group="note">The main considerations were sun angle and the favorable orientation of the three large 80-ft radio dishes spaced out around the Earth.</ref>

Claims about El-Baz were featured in ''[[Ancient Aliens]]'' Season 4, Episode 5 - "The NASA Connection".<ref group="note">The relevant sequence starts at 05:08.</ref> According to the episode, the lunar landing sites and times were contrived to happen when Sirius, or Regulus, or the belt stars of Orion were at any of five elevations (-33°, -19.5°, 0°, +19.5°, and +33°) over the landing site.

They do not, it seems, ask themselves why only two of the six landing sites conform to this "model,"<ref group="note">Mintaka at 19.5° at the moment of landing of Apollo 12, with the landing occurring six minutes earlier than scheduled. Sirius at -33° at the moment of landing of Apollo 16, after a one-month launch delay and a 6-hour landing delay.</ref> nor how such elevations could have been contrived in light of the fact that even those two landings did not happen at the planned time.

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:El-Baz, Farouk}}
[[Category:Scientists]]
[[Category:Geologists]]
[[Category: Living people]]

Categories: Scientists, Geologists,  Living people
Fasces

[[Image:Fasces.svg|thumb|right|165px|A stylized fasces.]]
[[File:Seal of the National Guard Bureau.png|thumb|right|165px|United States National Guard Bureau insignia with a crossed pair of fasces over an eagle]]
{{hatnote|Not to be confused with [[Shit|Faeces]]. What? It's only one letter apart.}}

The '''''fasces''''' is an ancient [[Rome|Roman]] symbol of judicial power, represented by a bundle of wooden rods tied together with a ribbon (representing unity) that have an axe-blade protruding from them. For the ancient Romans, the ''fasces'' symbolized the power and authority (''imperium'') of the Roman state, including the power to inflict both [[corporal punishment|corporal]] and [[capital punishment]], represented by the rods and axe. High-ranking Roman magistrates were preceded by bailiffs called lictors, who carried the ''fasces'' as symbols of their authority.  

The weapons contained in these ''fasces'' weren't just for show. Once, the consul Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus, the consul left in charge by [[Julius Caesar]] during his campaign against Antony, found the rabble-rouser Marcus Caelius Rufus holding forth in an unauthorized tribunal in the Forum. Publius S. then cracked open a ''fasces'' and extracted the axe, which he used to destroy Marcus C.'s curule chair, emblem of his magistracy.<ref>Cicero, ''Pro Caelio''</ref><ref group=note>Many Shubs and Zuuls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of the Sloar that day, I can tell you.</ref>

It can be found today in many heraldic symbols, including the [[United States]] National Guard insignia, the symbol of the United States Army's Military Police Corps, and the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] seal, and the National Sheriffs' Association.

It was also appropriated by [[Benito Mussolini]] as a symbol for his political ideology of [[fascism]]. Therefore, post-[[World War II]] adoption of the ''fasces'', or similar-looking symbols, has generally occurred among [[neo-Nazi]] groups. So if you find it creepy, you're not alone.

==See also==
*[[Fascism]]
*[[Metapedia]]
*[[Youth for Western Civilization]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{stub|history}}
[[Category:Roman history]]
[[Category:Fascism]]

Categories: Roman history, Fascism
Fast food

[[File:Quick Burger.jpg|right|thumb|170px|To be enjoyed in moderation.]]{{foodnav}}
'''Fast food''' refers to tasty, high in calorie content ready-to-serve food that you get from the stores of Burger King, KFC, [[McDonald's]], [[Chick-fil-A]], [[In-N-Out Burger]] etc. It is popular among busy people. Fast foods are notorious for being rich in [[trans fat|''trans'' fat]] (though some restaurants are beginning to stop using it)<ref name=gosline>Anna Gosline.  "[http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn9318 Why fast foods are bad, even in moderation]."  ''New Scientist''.  2006 June 12.</ref> content and spreading [[obesity]] and type 2 diabetes.<ref name=gosline/> There has also been reported a higher risk in stroke occurrences with regular fast food customers, but this could also be due to other factors, such as lack of exercise.<ref>Ewen Callaway.  "[http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16634-study-links-fast-food-joints-with-stroke-risk.html Study links fast food joints with stroke risk]."  ''New Scientist''.  2009 February 19.</ref>

Of course, it is still possible to ''occasionally'' enjoy fast food and remain quite healthy, as long as you also have healthier options in your regular diet and exercise regularly. Contrary to popular belief, not all people who enjoy fast food are the same. There are those who consume fast food on an almost daily basis, exercise rarely, consume a lot of other junk food, and eat little to no fruit or greens, but there are those who consume fast food in moderate to low quantities (not more than a meal or two per week) and in small proportions. While a lot of obesity can be linked to fast food consumption, having an occasional fast food meal is probably, by itself, not going to make you fat.

== Comparison with "slow food" restaurants ==

While it is true that the menu items at fast food restaurants tend to be very calorie-dense and fattening, the same can be said for many of the menu items found at more upscale restaurants.  The Macaroni and Cheese entree at Red Robin, for example, contains over 40 grams of saturated fat (''double'' the full daily value for someone on a 2000 calorie-a-day diet).  The nutrition info for some of the menu items at the Cheesecake Factory, or Marie Callender's, would put a McDonald's Big Mac to shame.

Thus, the main health criticism of a fast food establishment shouldn't be that they have fattening menu items — as non-fast-food restaurants frequently do also — but that:

# The low cost and high-speed of delivery of their menu items makes access to calorie-rich foods more convenient than it would be at a conventional restaurant.
# The selection of lower-calorie menu items tends to be very limited.

And even "junk food" has its defenders.<ref>[http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/07/how-junk-food-can-end-obesity/309396/ How Junk Food Can End Obesity], ''The Atlantic'', July/August 2013</ref>

==See also==

*[[Fast-food Christianity]]
*[[Subway diet]]
*''[[Super Size Me]]''

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{foodbox}}

[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Restaurants]]

Categories: Food, Restaurants
Faster-than-light travel

{{Physics}}
{{Sources needed}}
'''Faster-than-light travel''' (often abbreviated to '''FTL''') refers to the purported ability or potential to break the universal speed limit of light.

==How fast is it, Doc?==
The maximum [[speed of light]] is exactly '''299,792,458 meters per second''' (this is possible because the meter is actually defined by the speed of light), but is usually approximated at 3×10<sup>8</sup> meters per second. Although this is the speed of unstructured light in a vacuum and the speed of light is affected by the material through which it passes,{{efn|For example, some particles can travel faster than light can in water, which causes the radioactive glow known as {{wpl|Cherenkov radiation||.}}<ref>[https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/cherenkov-radiation-explained Cherenkov Radiation, Explained], ''Office of Nuclear Energy'' 28 July 2023</ref>}} the speed of light in a vacuum is the maximum possible speed.

Some claim that this fundamental constant of the universe can be broken or at least worked around. But the amount of energy it takes to accelerate an object with rest mass rises sharply as ''c'' is approached until a discontinuity is reached. It would require infinite energy to cross the final gap.

==Possibility of travel faster than the speed of light==
Einstein's [[theory of relativity|theory of general relativity]] does not rule out the existence of shortcuts in [[spacetime]] called '''{{wpl|wormholes}}''' which could permit the travel of a ship from one part of the [[galaxy]] to the other, bypassing the intervening interstellar space. An extraordinarily advanced civilization could conceivably construct artificial wormholes connecting a group of [[star]]s like a subway system. [[Carl Sagan]] described such a network in his novel ''Contact''.<ref>Carl Sagan, ''Contact''. Simon and Schuster, 1985, {{isbn|0671434004}}.</ref> However, even using wormholes to bypass the speed of light limit opens up possibilities of making [[time travel|"go back in time machines"]] (unless the [[science fiction]] author is ''very'' careful in restricting how wormholes can be made).

The {{wpl|Alcubierre drive}} is another hypothetical possibility. It requires the existence of negative mass. Even if negative masses exist, it would take as much energy as the sun produces over its entire lifetime just to create an Alcubierre warp field, let alone to make such a field move. However, a means of reducing the mass-energy requirements tremendously was theorized by physicist Harold White in 2012.<ref>Ed Oswald, [https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/136408-nasa-working-on-faster-than-light-travel-says-warp-drives-are-plausible NASA working on faster-than-light space travel, says warp drives are 'plausible']. ''ExtremeTech'', 19 September 2012.</ref>

==See also==
*[[Light speed]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

{{stub|science|Physics}}

[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Protoscience]]
[[Category:Science fiction]]
[[Category:Time]]

Categories: Physics, Protoscience, Science fiction, Time
Fate

{{religion}}
{{cquote|Whatever happens, they say afterwards, it must have been fate. People are always a little confused about this, as they are in the case of [[miracle]]s.||| [[Terry Pratchett]], ''{{wpl|Interesting Times}}''}}

The idea of '''fate''' or '''destiny''' invokes the notion that ''some'' or ''all'' events are preordained by a [[god]], a number of gods, muses, certain humans, or another force. Fate is an interesting [[superstition]] (or perhaps not a superstition) because, like the mere existence of [[supernatural]] beings, it [[falsifiability|can not]] be [[experiment|experimentally]] tested. That is to say anything that ever has happened, is now happening, or ever will happen can be attributed to "fate" with no opportunity to disprove the claim. If there is such thing as fate, then [[free will]] may not exist, or will be severely weakened.

Fate is a common theme in narratives and plots, as it's either a convenient [[escape hatch|get-out clause]] for over-contrived plot-points or because it just makes things more interesting. Sometimes smart entrepreneurs use the mention of "fate" in [[woo]] such as [[fortune-telling]] to catch the imagination of listeners and to continue to talk them out of their [[money]] while the fortune-teller explains how all their [[dream]]s will inevitably come true and love is waiting around the corner, ''et cetera''. This suggests some people supposedly can "read" the preordained future, so long as [[Cold reading|the readings remain sufficiently vague]] such that their claims can't be tested until long after the money is spent.

Religion-wise, peddlers of [[eschatology]] can go all out on the idea of '''doom''' (that which is "deemed" or fated) or destiny. If your name does not appear in the Book of Life... Hell, "Bishop" {{wpl|Brian Tamaki}} has even dubbed his self-created sect the "{{wpl|Destiny Church (New Zealand)|Destiny Church|".}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==See also==

*[[Determinism]]
{{stub|religion}}

[[Category:Religion]]
[[Category:Woo]]

Categories: Religion, Woo
Fazale Rana

{{crenav|1}}
'''Fazale Rana''' {{lived|1963|}} is an [[United States|American]] biochemist and [[Christianity|Christian]] [[old earth creationism|old earth creationist]].

==Creationism==
Rana has a PhD in [[biochemistry]] and has published a book titled, ''The Cell's Design: How Chemistry Reveals the Creator's Artistry '' (2008), advocating [[creationism]] and denying [[evolution]]. He pretends in his book he is a secular [[intelligent design]] advocate however Rana is a devout Christian and [[Biblical]] creationist who is one of the founders of the [[Reasons To Believe]] organisation, a Christian creationist [[think tank]] that promotes Christian [[progressive creationism]].<ref>[http://www.reasons.org/about/who-we-are/fazale-rana Dr. Fazale Rana]</ref><ref>[http://www.wrs.edu/review-of-fazale-rana-the-cells-design/ Review of Fazale Rana, "The Cell’s Design"]</ref>

In fact, Rana's work is characterized by topics and arguments usually associated with [[young earth creationism]]. For instance, Rana has put some effort into trying to explain why [[Problem of evil|harmful bacteria would exist if they were created by a good and benevolent god]]. He argues that they were created to be perfect, but have since evolved their harmful natures, which is strikingly similar, for instance, to articles written by Georgia Purdom for [[Answers Research Journal]]. Indeed, Rana and Reasons To Believe are no fans of [[Intelligent Design]], recognizing at least that their creationism is firmly religiously motivated.<ref>Thus, Reasons To Believe's Hugh Ross agreed with the ruling in the [[Kitzmiller v. Dover]] that Intelligent Design was a religious and not a scientific theory. Panda's Thumb, [http://pandasthumb.org/archives/2005/12/reasons-to-beli.html Post from December 2005].</ref> Instead, Rana and Ross attempted to develop their own "scientifically testable" origins of life hypothesis in their 2004 book "Origins of Life: Biblical and Evolutionary Models Face Off", including the hypothesis "First life was qualitatively different from life that came into existence on creation days three, five, and six." The book was heavily criticized for its twisting of facts, errors of scholarship, [[Logical fallacy|logical fallacies]], and [[quote-mining]].<ref>Gary Hurd (2007), [http://ncse.com/rncse/27/3-4/review-origins-life review Review: Origins of Life], Reports of the National Center for Science Education, Volume: 27, 2007 (3–4), pp. 45–48.</ref>

==Science==
The [[scientific]] community have rejected the claims of Rana as [[pseudoscience]] and have said that he has misrepresented modern cell biology due to his religious agenda.<ref>[http://ncse.com/rncse/29/4/review-cells-design Review: The Cell's Design by Frank Steiner]</ref> 

==See also==
*[[Hugh Ross]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{crebox|1}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rana, Fazale}}

[[Category:Authors]]
[[Category:Chemists]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience promoters]]

Categories: Authors, Chemists, Living people, Pseudoscience promoters
Federalism

{{sources needed}}{{politics}}
'''Federalism''' is the political idea that some internal policy-making powers are better performed at different levels.  This is most expressed in countries like the [[United States]] and [[Germany]], where each state (and often each county or government) is given a lot of lee-way in how to run its own internal affairs, or [[Spain]] where each separate cultural region is given similar power.  The [[United Kingdom]] has seemingly hopped on the federal bandwagon, to some extent, with the creation of separate parliaments for [[Scotland]] and [[Wales]]. In the real world federations tend to appear in countries with a large land mass (Such as Canada or Australia) or a large population (such as Pakistan and Nigeria.)

Within the US, there is a lot of rhetorical support for federalism from all sides of the political spectrum, but actual support for the principle seem to depend on whether one agrees with the national government's stance on a given issue: liberals want federalism on marriage and drug use, conservatives want it on religious indoctrination and abortion laws.  

There are many services and bureaucracies that could only function effectively at the federal level, such as the FAA. Unless you'd like having poorly maintained planes from Texas crashing every week.

==See also==
*[[Federalist Party]]
*[[Posse Comitatus]] -When federalism jumps off the camel's nose.
{{stub|government}}

[[Category:Forms of government]]
[[Category:United States government]]

Categories: Forms of government, United States government
Federalist

{{disambig}}
*[[Federalism]], a mode of government where the federal government shares some power with state governments
*[[Federalist Party]], an early [[US]] political party that promoted federalism
*The [[Federalist Society]], a right-wing organization that promotes [[Originalism]]
*''{{wpl|The Federalist (website)|The Federalist|'',}} a right-wing [[fake news]] [[webshite]]