Many of us brights have devoted considerable time and energy at some point in our lives to looking at the arguments for and against the existence of God, and many brights continue to pursue these issues, hacking away vigorously at the arguments of believers as if they were trying to refute a rival scientific theory. But not I.

to defy an enemy; to defy the power of a magistrate; to defy the arguments of an opponent; to defy public opinion

There were things that have been on my back for years, acts that the little bird inside of me called my conscience would never let me forget, and that I wanted to brush under the rug, but the rug never seemed large enough.

MS: There was a lot of snowdropping in those days? / SL: Oh, I've never actually stooped to snowdropping; I used to go into shops. Boosting, man, boosting. But you learn how to survive.