Pharyngula

Another reason to support full sex education

Category: Weirdness

Because it would end embarrassing mistakes like this one.

A group of teenagers misunderstood a woman's screams during sex and, thinking they were stopping an assault, beat a 25-year-old man in her bedroom, police said.

Multiple tragedies here: not only was an innocent man beat up, but now everyone at school is so going to know those teenagers are like total virgins.

Posted by PZ Myers at 5:09 PM • 41 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Quitter

Category: Politics

That wacky no-nothing up north, Sarah Palin, has quit her job as governor. She doesn't give a good reason why; in an annoyingly chipper speech, she whines about the way she was being scrutinized for ethics violations, and the fact that she was currently an ineffective lame duck governor, and then announces that she's stepping down from office. It makes no sense at all, and it does say something about the weakness of her character.

Brave Dame Sarah ran away.
("No!")
Bravely ran away away.
("I didn't!")
When danger reared it's ugly shead,
She bravely turned her tail and fled.
("no!")
Yes, brave Dame Sarah turned about
("I didn't!")
And gallantly she chickened out.

Bravely taking ("I never did!") to her feet,
She beat a very brave retreat.
("all lies!")
Bravest of the braaaave, Dame Sarah!
("I never!")

Remember this if (when) she runs for president in 2012. Who wants a president who at the first minor crisis turns her office over to the vice president and runs away?

Posted by PZ Myers at 4:21 PM • 108 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

If homeopathy were actually practiced by your doctors…

Category: Humor

Maybe health care would be cheaper.

Posted by PZ Myers at 4:06 PM • 33 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Friday Cephalopod: This is how you suck face

Category: Cephalopods • Organisms

Sepia officinalis

Figure from Cephalopods: A World Guide ^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}, by Mark Norman.

Posted by PZ Myers at 6:00 AM • 47 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Richard Feynman tells it like it is

Category: Godlessness

This is the rational view of the universe. Accept no less.

Posted by PZ Myers at 12:00 AM • 101 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Sewer blobs of North Carolina

Category: Organisms • Weirdness

Everyone is sending me this video of a strange pulsing blob found in a North Carolina sewer inspection. It is officially creepy and disgusting, and someone from the SciFi channel is racing to make creature feature about it right now, I'm sure.

I have no idea what it is, but the explanations that it is a colony of either tubifex worms or bryozoans sounds reasonable. I want to see a sample of that thing put under a microscope.

You are now free to make jokes about <despised NC figure>'s colonoscopy exam in the comments.

The best explanation so far is from Deep Sea News: they're almost certainly tubifex worms, and they have a comparison video to demonstrate it.

Posted by PZ Myers at 10:26 AM • 158 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Oh, dear…I haven't given you a poll to crash in a while

Category: Pointless polls

I hope you're not feeling restive, and struggling to suppress an urge to smash the crockery — but if you are, go smash this poll instead.

Is it Possible to Believe in God and Darwin?

Yes 79%
No 20%
Undecided 1%

Silly poll. Of course it is possible, since people do.

You're in luck — this one actually has two polls.

Evolution, Creationism or Both - Which Do You Believe?

Evolution is a myth 7%
God is a myth 34%
I believe in both 51%
I'm not sure 9%

I have a strange tingling sensation in my forebrain that portends some major changes in both polls.

Posted by PZ Myers at 9:51 AM • 196 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

The sorry state of the public mind

Category: Creationism

The British Council has carried out an international survey on people's opinions about evolution. I cringe at these sorts of things; they so rarely give me an opportunity to put on a big foam rubber hand and chant "WE'RE #1!". There aren't really any surprises here.

The results show that the majority of people polled have heard of Charles Darwin with the highest levels of awareness in Russia (93%), Mexico (91%), Great Britain (91%), and China (90%) whilst less than half of people polled in Egypt (38%) and South Africa (27%) saying they had not heard of him. Overall, the majority (70%) of people surveyed have heard of the British naturalist.

Adults in the United States (84%) showed the highest levels of awareness and understanding of evolution and Darwin's theories followed by Great Britain (80%) saying they had a 'good or some knowledge' of the theory of evolution.

Not so fast there — the Dunning-Kruger effect comes into play here. People in the United States do not have a high level of understanding of evolution, and this survey did not measure actual competence. I've found that the people most likely to declare that they have a thorough knowledge of evolution are the creationists…but that a brief conversation is always sufficient to discover that all they've really got is a confused welter of misinformation.

That's pretty easy to see in this next sad result.

Only Russia (48%), USA (42%), South Africa (41%) and Egypt (25%) remained sceptical about the scientific evidence that exists to support Darwin's theory.

So more than half disbelieve evolution, but more than 80% think they're knowledgeable about it. There's a problem.

We also have a number for the accommodationists: 53% of Americans are.

In all countries polled more people agreed than disagreed that it is possible to believe in a God and hold the view that life evolved on Earth by means of natural selection at the same time, with those in India most likely (85%) to be of this opinion, followed by Mexico (65%), Argentina (63%), South Africa, Great Britain (54%), USA, Russia (53%), Egypt, Spain (45%), and China (39%).

Posted by PZ Myers at 9:06 AM • 91 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Look for me on Al Jazeera next week

Category: Communicating science • Lindau • Personal

I just did an interview about science blogging for An Kathab, "Al Jazeera's weekly high-tech news magazine". Look for it to be broadcast on the 8th, 9th, and 10th of July, and to appear on youtube shortly thereafter.

This is so going to confirm right-wing histrionics, isn't it?

Posted by PZ Myers at 7:31 AM • 51 Comments • 0 TrackBacks