The Loom

I followed the links in Darksyde's DKos Main Page post. It looks like I might have been the first but I will likely NOT be the last.

A couple of questions, please?

1) Are you considering coming to Yearly Kos? I'd like to get a book signed if you do.

2) Darksyde writes of his concern that right-wing political animals have been 'editing' education. Do you agree? Please amplify.

Thanks,

LL

Posted by: LeftyLimblog | February 11, 2006 9:28 AM

I got here by way of daily Kos. Greatly enjoyed the interview.

I was a bit taken aback by Bush's proposal in the State of the Union to increase the number of AP courses in math and science.
The last place I would look for leadership in Science Education is the Bush White House. The proposal itself seems progressive and innocuous. But it had a funny taste. Two days later the NYTimes rain a terrible article praising the AP process.

Turns out, the Times article was a rahash of a press release by College Board, the company that runs the AP exams and gets paid $80 per student.

Could the AP proposal be more Bush sleaze, a way to get money to business friends? It may be worth keeping an eye open and doing some spade work.

The question of whether the 50 year old AP movement has produced results is an interesting one. I spent an evening doing some googling and was not impressed, but the data seem weak. Certainly, no one would seriously argue that the 50 year history of the AP movement has been accompanied by a parallel increase in high school quality and scientific literacy.

I don't think much of the AP system and I think its the wrong way to promote science and science literacy -- but that's another topic.

Posted by: John Kubie | February 11, 2006 12:06 PM

I just wanted to say thank you for your hard work and thoughtful essays. I've really enjoyed reading your blog. What topics would you like to explore more in the future?

Posted by: Luke ~ | February 11, 2006 12:59 PM

Carl,

First, I want to thank you for a terrific blog. I came across it doing some research for a debate on a web forum over creationism vs evolution. I found answers here, but more than that, was inspired all over again by the incredible discoveries in science. Your recent post on the wasp parasitoid was chilling and amazing.

I have one question, that has come up in the debate I'm involved in--

Why does DNA mutate?

My opponent is suggesting the traditional creationist argument that "Mutation is so rare it could only have been done by a Higher Power". I've used logic and common sense to show how even if we don't know why something happens NOW, it's simply something that's worth investigating now and in the future, to learn why.

My opponent suggests that science has absolutely no idea why DNA mutates, that experimentation has been done on it and they still are completely unable to discover why it happens.

I was just curious, what's the current scientific thought on why DNA mutates in the first place? Do we know?

Thanks,
Jeff

Posted by: Jeff Coleman | February 11, 2006 7:17 PM