thoughts on science, history, and teaching
John M. Lynch is an Honors Faculty Fellow at Barrett the Honors College at Arizona State University. He's also affiliated with ASU's Center for Biology & Society. When he's not an historian of anti-evolutionism, he's an evolutionary morphologist. Much to his surprise, in 2007 he was named the Arizona Professor of the Year. No doubt his students were surprised as well.
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May 31, 2006
Category: Bits and Pieces
Slashdot reports, that the Seattle PI reports, that: Beginning next month [June 7th], Washington residents who play poker or make other types of wagers on the Internet will be committing a Class C felony, equivalent under the law to possessing...
Posted by John Lynch at 7:28 PM • 3 Comments
Category: Mammals
This is a marmot - essentially a giant squirrel - which eats grass, leaves, flowers, fruit, grasshoppers, and bird eggs. Apparently, they are overrunning Prosser (Wa), and people are worried about their pets: "Can you imagine what they'd do to...
Posted by John Lynch at 7:22 PM • 12 Comments
Category: Bits and Pieces
for a law journal article....
Posted by John Lynch at 6:00 PM • 2 Comments
Category: Ask A ScienceBlogger
Here I answered out overlord's question of the week, namely: Since they're funded by taxpayer dollars (through the NIH, NSF, and so on), should scientists have to justify their research agendas to the public, rather than just grant-making bodies? This...
Posted by John Lynch at 4:26 PM • 0 Comments
May 30, 2006
Category: Politics
Don't really know what to make of this. National Review Online has unleashed its "top 50 conservative rock songs of all time" featuring such noted conservative thinkers as The Who, The Beatles, The Sex Pistols, and Blink 182. By the...
Posted by John Lynch at 6:09 PM • 7 Comments
May 29, 2006
Category: Ask A ScienceBlogger
The mothership asks: Since they're funded by taxpayer dollars (through the NIH, NSF, and so on), should scientists have to justify their research agendas to the public, rather than just grant-making bodies? I reply: No. Every two years the NSF...
Posted by John Lynch at 5:39 PM • 3 Comments
May 28, 2006
Category: Blog Memes and Such
What horrible Edward Gorey Death will you die? You will sink in a mire. You like to think you're normal, but deep down you really just want to strip off your clothes and roll around in chicken fat.Take this...
Posted by John Lynch at 11:40 PM • 0 Comments
Category: Politics
Apparently Bill Frist has decided that constitutional ammendments against flag-burning and gay marriage are vital to national well-being. Speaking on Faux News, Frist was asked: HOST: Are gay marriage and flag burning the most important issues the Senate can be...
Posted by John Lynch at 2:50 PM • 9 Comments
Category: Bits and Pieces
Last night I watched Richard Linklater's movie Waking Life (2001). Overall, I wasn't terribly impressed, especially when it featured a chemist (Eamonn F. Healy of St Edwards University) spouting on about evolution. This piece, by Robert Solomon (Philosophy, University of...
Posted by John Lynch at 8:30 AM • 2 Comments
May 27, 2006
Category: Bits and Pieces
PZ and Grrrlscientist are doing it, so why not. If you compare our graphs, you can detect the elements we all share due to Sb's site design. [Websites as Graphics]...
Posted by John Lynch at 3:03 PM • 2 Comments • 1 TrackBacks
May 26, 2006
Category: Bits and Pieces
About twenty-five years ago, I read Gerald Durrell's book My Family and Other Animals (1957), an account of his early life in Corfu. One part made a distinct impression on me - his account of watching geckos on the walls...
Posted by John Lynch at 1:11 PM • 15 Comments
May 25, 2006
Category: Science Education
The Department of Education has issued its National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2005 science assessment noting that "[t]he national results show an increase in the average science score since 1996 at grade 4, no significant change at grade 8,...
Posted by John Lynch at 11:57 AM • 0 Comments
May 23, 2006
Category: Bits and Pieces
In twelve days, I turn 38 - something I'm happy about considering I had a heart attack at the age of thirty two. As of today, my age is apparently equivalent of a dog that is ~5.428 years old and...
Posted by John Lynch at 6:38 PM • 5 Comments
Category: Bits and Pieces
Lloyd Bentsen died today at the age of 85. You will remember that Bentsen, while running as Democratic VP candidate, countered Dan "Potatoe" Quayle's self-comparison to John F. Kennedy with, "Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy....
Posted by John Lynch at 12:19 PM • 1 Comments
May 22, 2006
Category: Evolution
What does Sonic Hedgehog on the left have to do with whale evolution? Nothing. However a soon-to-be-published study will argue that the gene Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) played a part. The abstract reads: Among mammals, modern cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and...
Posted by John Lynch at 6:11 PM • 2 Comments
Category: Bits and Pieces
OK, I'm going to get grouchy here, but ... I don't understand the fuss about Barbaro, the horse that broke a leg at the Preakness on Saturday. His survival chances after surgery are the third story on Yahoo News, and...
Posted by John Lynch at 8:00 AM • 15 Comments
