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Eric Michael Johnson has a Bachelors degree in Anthropology and a Masters in Evolutionary Anthropology. He pursued his PhD in Evolutionary Anthropology at Duke before joining the University of British Columbia to complete a doctorate in the History and Philosophy of Science.
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PROFESSIONAL
SEED
Survival of the Kindest
Sept. 24, 2009
The Open Laboratory 2007:
Best Science Writing on Blogs
The Sacrifice of Admetus
Discover
The Laughter Circuit
Vol. 23 No. 5 (May 2002)
Wildlife Conservation
Behind Enemy Lines
(November/December 2005)
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ACADEMIC
Journal of Human Evolution
Sociality, ecology and relative brain size in lemurs.
JHE 2009 56(5):471-478.
American Journal of Physical Anthropology
Career or Family?: Maternal style and status-seeking behavior in captive bonobos (Pan paniscus).
AJPA 2008 135(S46):126
American Journal of Physical Anthropology
Lack of inbreeding avoidance and reduction of alliance formation in matrilineally- housed bonobos (Pan paniscus).
AJPA 2007 132(S44):137
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November 7, 2009
Category: Philosophy of Science • Religion • Science Policy • Wingnuts
His birthday is actually on Monday, but today marks the first annual event initiated by Broward College in Florida. In honor of the event, here is Carl Sagan's final interview prior to his death. Amazing isn't it that the science vs. religion debate hasn't changed much after 15 years. But it must be the atheists that are to blame!
You may be interested in my earlier post discussing Carl Sagan's principled stance on nuclear winter that I wrote to accompany Seed magazine's interview with biologist Paul Ehrlich.
Think big thoughts today and take Sagan's message of skepticism and humble awe of the universe with you.
[Video below the fold.]
Read on »
Posted by Eric Michael Johnson at 2:25 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 6, 2009
Category: Politics • Rant • Religion
The website Atheism Exposed claims that religion is under attack and that an all out counterinsurgency campaign is needed to defend the godly:
Militant atheism should concern all believers. It is a form of fanaticism on a par with extreme religious movements. Like religious extremism it is characterized by intensity and arrogance. Like religious extremism it tears at, and ridicules opposite viewpoints. It is often aggressive, disrespectful, sarcastic, intolerant and, most of all, blasphemous. Its aim to kill faith and hope and to leave as many victims as possible with a psychological vacuum that they will fill with their empty and destructive ideas.
Read on »
Posted by Eric Michael Johnson at 12:45 PM • 9 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Anthropology • Blogging
If you're interested in anthropology on the net (or you write on the topic yourself) you're not going to want to miss this monthly carnival. Go check out this months edition at Anthropology.net. Consider submitting a post to next months carnival by clicking here. Please thank the blog hosts for a terrific edition and feel free to discuss your favorite posts in the comments section there, here, or at The Primate Diaries fan page on Facebook.
Posted by Eric Michael Johnson at 10:34 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 5, 2009
Category: Economics • History • Politics • Religion • Research Blogging
Remember, remember the fifth of November,
The gunpowder treason and plot,
I know of no reason
Why the gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.
On this day, in 1604, Guy Fawkes was arrested in his attempt to overthrow the English monarchy by blowing up the House of Lords and assassinate King James I (who would have been present at the time). Since his arrest Fawkes' crime has been condemned as terrorism motivated by fanatical Catholic outrage against the Protestant regime of James I. However, is the religious angle enough to explain his actions and those of his conspirators? What was at the root of his discontent and is there anything we can learn today from this event, more than four hundred years ago?
Read on »
Posted by Eric Michael Johnson at 2:15 PM • 7 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 4, 2009
Category: Social Media
You heard right. Now for the low, low price of, well, nothing you too can interact with other primates in the human zoo from the comfort of your own computer. Admission is unlimited, so sign up now. Be the first to comment and you can be in charge of where the conversation goes.
Posted by Eric Michael Johnson at 12:00 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Anthropology • Social Media
In the latest TED Talk, anthropologist Stefana Broadbent suggests that the technologies of social media--such as blogs, facebook, and twitter--are actually promoting greater intimacy between people rather than sucking time away from social involvement as is often supposed. In this unnatural environment we've constructed, with regulated time schedules, overseers--er, I mean, bosses--and artificial friendliness mandated as professional behavior, we long to reach out and connect with a community we identify with. In the short talk below, she suggests that this technology allows us to escape, even momentarily, and connect on a human level.
Read on »
Posted by Eric Michael Johnson at 8:00 AM • 9 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 3, 2009
Category: Biology • Education • Gender & Sexuality • Politics • Wingnuts
By now everyone has heard of the high school English honors teacher, Dan DeLong, who was suspended for offering students the Seed magazine article "The Gay Animal Kingdom" by Jonah Lehrer as an optional extra credit assignment.
According to the Alton, IL based Telegraph newspaper, DeLong has now been reinstated at Southwestern High School after several hundred students and parents attended a six-hour long disciplinary hearing:
At Monday night's meeting, more than 200 people lined the stairs, sidewalk and office space at the district's small unit office at 884 Piasa Road in the Macoupin County village of Piasa. Many of DeLong's supporters had handmade posters and banners stating: "Mr. DeLong Inspires Us," and chanting, "Broadening minds is not a crime."
Read on »
Posted by Eric Michael Johnson at 5:30 PM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Foreign Policy • Gender & Sexuality • Politics
Chris Hedges, the American war correspondent who has authored such books as War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning and American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America, has a new article entitled "Opium, Rape and the American Way" published on the website of RAWA (Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan).
The warlords we champion in Afghanistan are as venal, as opposed to the rights of women and basic democratic freedoms, and as heavily involved in opium trafficking as the Taliban. The moral lines we draw between us and our adversaries are fictional. The uplifting narratives used to justify the war in Afghanistan are pathetic attempts to redeem acts of senseless brutality.
Read on »
Posted by Eric Michael Johnson at 8:12 AM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 2, 2009
Category: Race • Religion • Wingnuts
Caught your attention, didn't it? Mine too. This morning I came across Steve Silberman's twitter headline pointing out that when people typed "I Am Extremely" into the Google search bar, one of the top suggestions was "Terrified of Chinese People." Fascinated to see what fools these mortals be, I clicked the link only to discover an article on Christwire that was actually able to claim that they were terrified of a racial group but that this didn't mean they were racist. Confused? You're not alone. Just take a quick look at some of the extremely confused statements that attracted nearly 200,000 searches. It seems we may be in the midst of a new "Yellow Peril" that first gripped the United States in the 1880s (see anti-Chinese propaganda poster from that time to the right).
Read on »
Posted by Eric Michael Johnson at 12:55 PM • 23 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
