Rockefeller Evolution Lectures Online!

Posted by ERV on May 21, 2008
(5)
More »

With a guest appearance by Eugenie! I didnt know she was there until I clicked on “Feeding and Gloating for More: The Challenge of the New Creationism, Jerry A. Coyne, The University of Chicago” (having a little trouble with a few minutes of that vid, but might just be me).

From RNA to Humans: A Symposium on Evolution

(5)
More »

Comments

  1. #1 Brian Tani
    May 21, 2008

    I don’t know if if the problem is the same, but after Eugenie made her introduction and Coyne starts his presentation I’m getting a superimposed audio stream.

    I’m guessing that’s from later on the presentation and that it somehow got mangled in the streaming or encoding of the movie itself.

    Since no matter how much I clean and restart the stream the same things happens I’m thinking encoding problem, or something’s wrong with my Quicktime Player. :)

    Is that the same error you got abbie?

  2. #2 ERV
    May 21, 2008

    Yup– Their IT has been alerted, and theyre looking into it :) I really want to hear that one clearly!

  3. #3 John Kwok
    May 22, 2008

    I attended both days, and though I found the talks of interest, I found them a bit difficult for someone like myself who wasn’t trained in molecular biology, but rather, organismic biology. My personal favorites were Roger Buick’s and Andy Knoll’s (though for obvious reasons since I was trained in paleobiology in graduate school), and also found especially of interest too Coyne’s. Cavalier-Smith’s, Cavalli-Sforza’s, Pollard’s and Paabo’s. The Thursday sessions were moderated by two professors emeriti from Rockefeller University; Friday’s by AMNH invertebrate paleontologist Niles Eldredge and NCSE Executive Director Eugenie Scott (Genie was there both days, sitting near me – except of course for Thursday night and Friday afternoon – working feverishly on her laptop. I think she was in the midst of either writing new chapters of the second edition or “Evolution vs. Creationism” or writing a speech or both.).

    If the purpose of this symposium was to show to the general public the dynamic vitality of contemporary evolutionary biology, it didn’t succeed, since the talks – except for Coyne’s – were akin to those at AAAS or other scientific society meetings.

    Best regards,

    John

  4. #4 ERV
    May 22, 2008

    WHOOO! Creationism presentation is fixed!

    John, Im not sure who they were targeting the symposium for? What was the make up of the audience? College students? Adults? Ah well, I was planning on ‘translating’ some of the presentations I was interested in, so stick around!

  5. #5 John Kwok
    May 22, 2008

    Abbie,

    Most of those in attendance were either faculty or graduate students at Rockefeller University, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center or Weill Cornell Medical Center (I met someone from there who apparently knew Jonathan Wells in graduate school!). I did notice a couple of journalists present, most notably Susan Mazur, to whom I introduced myself too, and maybe Carl Zimmer too.

    Best,

    John