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One man's struggle against impermanence
John Wilkins is an eternal student, who thinks philosophy of biology is at least as interesting as politics or sport and twice as important. He has a PhD from the University of Melbourne and worked at the University of Queensland, in Australia, before taking up a research fellowship at the University of Sydney. After a varied career, involving factories, gardening, civil service, publishing, graphics, public relations but not, unfortunately for the CV, driving a truck, John finally completed his thesis on species concepts in 2004, which he has worked into two books.
This blog is designed evolved to host any random thoughts that happen to be passing through my forebrain at a given moment. So there will be errors...
I also have an Australia-focussed blog: The Drought Resistant Philosopher
The previous instantiation of this blog is accessible here.
September 29, 2006
Category: Creationism
The Washington Post has an opinion editorial by Paul Hanle, the president of the Biotechnology Institute in Washington. I recently addressed a group of French engineering graduate students who were visiting Washington from the prestigious School of Mines in...
Posted by John S. Wilkins at 10:56 PM • 8 Comments •
September 28, 2006
Category: Administrative
I keep seeing all these carnivals that I don't find myself on. So here's a note for all those hardworking carnival coordinators looking for stuff. If you or a reader thinks something of mine is worthwhile (email me for a...
Posted by John S. Wilkins at 12:32 AM • 10 Comments •
September 27, 2006
Category: Evolution
Tarantulas produce silk from their feet: "Researchers have found for the first time that tarantulas can produce silk from their feet as well as their spinnerets, a discovery with profound implications for why spiders began to spin silk in...
Posted by John S. Wilkins at 10:42 PM • •
Category: Philosophy of Science
A new organisation, SEFORA (Scientists and Engineers for America), has been formed to counter the abuse and supression of science currently popular in American media and politics. They have drafted a "Bill of Rights" for scientists and engineers which includes:...
Posted by John S. Wilkins at 10:13 PM • •
Category: Politics
Just when I am convinced that liberal values are dead and democracy, real democracy, is doomed in the biggest English speaking nation, along comes a major network (NBC) commentary, that puts it all out there, in a manner that Murrow...
Posted by John S. Wilkins at 1:56 AM • 5 Comments •
September 24, 2006
Category: Species and systematics
Razib has a little post on cultural cladism, but I think he gets it quite wrong. He repeats the usual trope canard that culture isn't like biology in terms of its evolution. I think it is exactly like it,...
Posted by John S. Wilkins at 8:22 AM • 24 Comments •
September 23, 2006
Category: Philosophy of Science
New images of the Cydonia "face" show, as expected, that it's just another piece of Areology, not a monument left by aliens....
Posted by John S. Wilkins at 8:49 PM • 13 Comments •
Category: History
Via Shakespeare's Sister, this video shows who the real nerd is......
Posted by John S. Wilkins at 7:24 AM • 2 Comments •
Category: Evolution
We may believe in some doctrine of evolution or some idea of progress and we may use this in our interpretation of the history of centuries; but what our history contributes is not evolution but rather the realization of...
Posted by John S. Wilkins at 2:30 AM • 20 Comments •
September 22, 2006
Category: Politics
'We'll bomb you to Stone Age, US told Pakistan' - World - Times Online. How interesting - one of the more democratic Islamic countries was told by the US deputy secretary of state, Richard Armitage, that the US would "bomb...
Posted by John S. Wilkins at 5:19 AM • 7 Comments •
casaubon's book 02.13.2012
denialism blog 02.13.2012
respectful insolence 02.13.2012
evolutionblog 02.12.2012
starts with a bang! 02.11.2012
