# Introducing Tim the Taoist Atheist
**URL:** https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/introducing-tim-the-taoist-atheist/11759
**Category:** Conversation
**Tags:** Introduction
**Created:** [September 17, 2020, 4:45pm UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/introducing-tim-the-taoist-atheist/11759 "2020-09-17T16:45:46Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@swamidass](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/swamidass)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2020, 4:45pm UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/introducing-tim-the-taoist-atheist/11759/1 "2020-09-17T16:45:46Z")
Continuing the discussion from [Elaine Ecklund: Do Science and Faith Need Each Other?](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/elaine-ecklund-do-science-and-faith-need-each-other/11752/13):
> [@Elaine Ecklund: Do Science and Faith Need Each Other?](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/elaine-ecklund-do-science-and-faith-need-each-other/11752/13):
>
> I only started calling myself an Atheist at all, because it was easier to simply acquiesce to various conservative Christians hitting me with the label than to assert that I was a Taoist, when in fact I’d long seen Taoism more as a metaphor and a source of wisdom than a supernatural worldview.
It has been great to see you posting more @tim. Welcome to the community. Tell us about yourself?
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### Author:  [@Tim](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/Tim)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2020, 6:21pm UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/introducing-tim-the-taoist-atheist/11759/2 "2020-09-17T18:21:47Z")
> [@swamidass](#):
>
> Tell us about yourself?
Ummm, why?
You do realise that this sort of thread is more likely to make me relurk than to open up? 😉
As I have said before, I “have an academic background in Statistics (as well as Economics, Finance and Philosophy), and a work background in quantitiative[sic] analysis more generally.” The jobs have had fairly generic and meaningless titles, but generally involve things to do with pricing, asset valuation and market power.
I got interested in Creationism during the Kansas Board of Education hearings, and was a regular on the Kansas Citizen for Science board for a short while, followed Kitzmiller v. Dover obsessively, and got involved in editing Wikipedia (the first article I edited was that on David Barton), but gave that up 8 years ago due to the fustration level.
I tend to be somewhat paranoid about my anonymity, having been cyberstalked on occasion.
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### Author:  [@swamidass](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/swamidass)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2020, 6:22pm UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/introducing-tim-the-taoist-atheist/11759/3 "2020-09-17T18:22:20Z")
Just being hospitable. No intent to deanonymize you here.
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### Author:  [@Puck\_Mendelssohn](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/Puck_Mendelssohn)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2020, 12:26pm UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/introducing-tim-the-taoist-atheist/11759/4 "2020-09-18T12:26:25Z")
> [@Tim](#):
>
> I tend to be somewhat paranoid about my anonymity, having been cyberstalked on occasion.
Not fun, that. One fellow over at Amazon threatened to lynch me, but he’ll have to figure out who I am first, and he’s not very bright so I’m still alive!