Yeah, but I'm figuring that for people whose reality is religious, it means something very different.

Exactly.

my reality is very faith-based.

Apparently, this building's heating and cooling systems are also faith-based.

my reality is very faith-based.

My friend's husband is a philosopher and he often says he doesn't believe in the real world.

I think the real world is a useful construct with many interesting features.

my office is FREEZing. I am pretty sure it is warmer outside.

my office is FREEZing. I am pretty sure it is warmer outside.

Mine, too. I understand that the State of TX may let me move to a warmer spot if I have the right vouchers, though.

My company's Web proxies are glacially slooooow today. This ought to lead to my getting more work done, right?

I support boobies.

Silly picture - [link]

I support Teachers! Yay for Teachers. My boys' teachers rock.

From a while back, yes Bobby did have a misadventure with duct tape. He asked his big brother to blindfold him, and of course he agreed.

The term reality-based means that it is consistent with the available evidence. It is consistent with those aspects of the world that we can see or hear or touch or otherwise measure.

Some Buffistas seem inclined to view the evolution debate as a conflict between faith and science. This is not true. If people want to say that their faith is more important to them than the evidence of this world then they will not find scientists inclined to debate them, because their point of view lies outside the domain of science. But the controversy over teaching evolution versus creationism is different. Creationists insist that their view should be taught because it IS consistent with the available evidence of this world. In taking this view they show themselves to be profoundly ignorant and irrational. This is not a matter of faith but of data. We should not pander to this nonsense.