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PZ is all over the place today!

Posted by Coturnix on July 30, 2008
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PZ just had a book review published in Nature:

Science and evolution have an advocate in Kenneth Miller, one of North America’s eminent knights-errant, a scientist who is active in defending evolutionary theory in the conflict between evolution and creationism. He has been at the centre of many recent debates about science education, most prominently testifying against intelligent design creationism in Pennsylvania’s Dover trial, which decided that intelligent design was a religious concept that should not be taught in public schools. He is also a popular speaker, offering the public a grass-roots defence of good science education. Miller’s new book Only a Theory is a tour of creationist misconceptions about evolution, such as the one referred to in the book’s subtitle — a creationist predicted an inevitable victory in the Dover trial because evolution is “only a theory”. The book is also a celebration of the power of evolutionary theory to explain our existence.

Also, as a part of a Forbes Magazine’s special report on commuting, PZ had an article published today – Do Animals Commute?

Whether an animal commutes or not is less a function of the work they must do than of whether they actually have something that might be called a home, a haven, a shelter. We don’t just invest ourselves full-time in the job–if we did, we might as well spare ourselves the commute and live in the office–but instead make the effort to set up a place of our own, a safe spot where we can relax, raise a family, or pursue activities that aren’t directly related to simply feeding ourselves.

And for that, we and other animals will make the sacrifice of sinking time and energy into shuttling between a place of profit and a place of refuge. If you want to know if a particular animal engages in anything like a commute, just ask if it has anything you would call a home.

Lively discussion of commuting, of course, follows in the comments. I wish more people were commenting on animals’ movements, but OK, people like to talk about themselves and other people-worries.

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Comments

  1. #1 PuckishOne
    July 30, 2008

    Coturnix, you seem to have attracted PZed’s fan club as well…maybe it’s time for more cute dog photos as a soothing balm. ;) Keep up the good work – this is one non-scientist who finds great value in the posts here as well as PLoS.

  2. #2 Coturnix
    July 30, 2008

    No, they are coming from FreeRepublic mouthbreathing cesspool. I’ll keep deleting their crap.

    http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2053883/posts

  3. #3 Art
    July 31, 2008

    I watch the squirrels commute between my yard below the bird feeders (both squirrel proofed) the birdbaths and the protective woods 50 yards away. It might be too small to count as a real commute but squirrels are small and they seem to be fairly localized. A good portion of this trip is over open ground and the hawks regularly hazard the route.

    Looks sort of like commuting to me.

  4. #4 Pete Hodge
    July 31, 2008

    IN the item above you comment on Kenneth Millar as being “a popular speaker, offering the public a grass-roots defence of good science education.” I have a feeling that you are not fully aware of the true definition of science. It is a method at arriving at a cnclusion on the basis of experemintation, observation, and repition under laboratory conditions. Evolution fails this criteria in every aspect. Plus one, it is illogical.
    The many ‘prophets’ of Darwinism have a dogmatic anti-religion approach to science. hey have no desire to consider the possibility of alternatives to their desired beliefs.
    I do not accept the ‘Inteligent Design’ arguments, though I firmly believe the universe was created by inteligence (God). Also, a creationist world view actually enhances scientific research. Just consider the many leading scientisits of the past who expanded the horizons of scientific knowledge in every field. Who laid now many of the scientific laws followed today. They believed in God who created everything.

  5. #5 Keanus
    July 31, 2008

    Pete Hodge, you misspeak. ‘Tis you who are unaware “…of the true definition of science.” Science it not confined to the lab and never was. Nor is evolution, being built on evidence and logic, even remotely illogical. Neither science in general, nor evolution in particular, harbor “prophets” or dogma, both depending on beliefs rooted in faith which are antithetical to science. Nor are evolution and science “anti-religion.” Being rooted in natural, observable and quantifiable concepts, they are agnostic with regard to religion. In other words science, including evolution, has nothing to say about religion or belief in in the supernatural.

    You need to return to school to study a bit more science than is evident in your comments. You could also use more than a few lessons in typing, spelling, grammar, and logic.

  6. #6 Coturnix
    July 31, 2008

    Pete first has to learn how links and blockquotes look like, so he can figure out who said what. Then take a trip through TalkOrigins.org. If there is any argument left after that, let’s hear them.