pharyngula

We become more cosmopolitan day by day. As of tomorrow, our fair city will have its very own Drinking Liberally chapter (it's even on the map!). I can walk to it, instead of driving for three hours. Here's the info: When: Thursday, May 18, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 or whenever. Where: Old #1 in Morris…

Zimmer has a summary of the new analysis of the human and chimpanzee genomes that suggests that human speciation wasn't sudden (no surprise there, I don't think), and that our ancestors dallied with chimpanzee ancestors over a fairly prolonged period. I can't wait to read the creationist response…

You may hear rumors that this is actually a super-secret photo of the real PZ Myers, but you'd be mistaken. You can tell because I wouldn't use that non-Mac laptop, ever.

Readers, if you have received a copy of America, Return to God sent in my name, it's not my doing. Someone is apparently putting my name and email address in the order form as the friendly donor sending that crap out, and I'm now getting outraged email from people who are disgusted with it. It's…

I'm going to link to a post on Uncommon Descent. I try to avoid that, because I think it is a vile harbor of malign idiocy, but Dembski has just put up something that I think is merely sincerely ignorant. That's worth correcting. It also highlights the deficiencies of Dembski's understanding of…

It's true: the Minnesota Senate has passed a modification to an education bill that would prohibit the teaching of intelligent design. 16.12 Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 120B.021, is amended by adding a 16.13 subdivision to read: 16.14 Subd. 2a. Curriculum. Notwithstanding any law to…

Amanda Marcotte on Pandagon discusses Sam Harris on Alternet, and they've both got smart things to say…but you have got to read the comments. Sam Harris says things like this: On the subject of religious belief, we relax standards of reasonableness and evidence that we rely on in every other area…

Whoa, it's been a while since I've said anything about my infatuation with cephalopods (since, like, the last post…). Let's correct that with a nifty paper I found on octopus suckers. Here's a typical view of a tangle of octopus arms, all covered with circular suckers. The octopus can cling to…

Hmmm…this video of an octopus attacking a man looks as phony as the battle between Bela Lugosi and the rubber octopus in Bride of the Monster to me. It makes for an entertaining break in the grading slog I'm in right now, but it would have been much improved if the octopus had won. (via Phil)

Seed has started this thing they're calling "Ask a Science Blogger," in which we're supposed to take provocative questions and answer them here. You know, like those ice-breaking party games, supposed to get the social bonding thing going, foster unity, etc. Only thing is, they don't quite get the…

The cheerleaders are losing their enthusiasm. I don't think we ought to let them off the hook: the policies and plans they went rah-rah over are imploding, and they don't get to foist all the blame on their new scapegoat, Bush. Bush is merely the protruding tip of their inane ideas, and that they'…

Rich Hughes has a prosperous future ahead of him as an Intelligent Design Theorist. (Now with new and improved image!) Who else sees this and shudders with the recollection of their training in FORTRAN?

Someone's got a cephalopod fetish…everyone knows how nerdy that makes you, right?

Watch this video of police action against an anti-war protest in Portland. It clubs you over the head with the Nazi imagery interspersed with video footage taken from police cameras, which is unfortunate and unnecessary overkill: they could have left it out, and you'd still be thinking it. The…

Tristero hits the nail on the head with his post about the possibility of a National Christian party (NaXis)—as much as we liberals would like to see the Republicans self-destruct under the influence of the Religious Right, it does us more harm than good if it further weakens the Rational Right. So…

Just when you think the lunatic Right can't possibly get any more deranged, we've got Minnesota's own Christian Libertarian, Vox Day, to raise the wingnut bar another couple of meters. He doesn't like our president, but not for the reasons I dislike him: it's because George just doesn't realize the…

Our Seed Overlords have submitted yet another question to their blogulous oracle, i.e., us: Will the "human" race be around in 100 years? I don't think it's a particularly good question, I'm afraid. The answer is simply "yes". If the question were about prairie chickens, cheetahs, or chimpanzees,…

Take a look at the guest list at next January's ConFusion—there I am! It's cool that they also mention Chris Clarke's pulpy turn (maybe they should have invited Chris to attend). This is going to be great fun! Not so fun is the way I spent my day: grading. I can at least say that one class is…

You can watch it online.

Sometimes they do tell the truth, but when they do, they just reveal their fallacies. Perhaps the most interesting thing to come from the article was a quote from Ken Ham, the founder of AiG: All scientists start with presuppositions. If you're starting point is 'we can explain the origin of the…

How do we know how old things are? That's a straightforward and very scientific question, and exactly the kind of thing students ought to ask; it's also the kind of question that has been muddled up by lots of bad information (blame the creationists), and can be difficult for a teacher to answer.…

Al Gore is looking awfully good right now. Josh Marshall thinks he has a shot at the presidency; Blog of the Moderate Left has an interesting ranking of potential candidates, and while he puts Gore at #5, he says this: Last time around, I said, "I just don't see Al running, and I really don't see…

The mob, the church, same difference.

Here's a controversial topic to discuss, especially for a science blogger. Science is overrated. This is my contention. Last night in chat I evidently hit a nerve by (perhaps not so) casually suggesting that maybe it's not the end of the world that fewer and fewer American students are going into…

Phillip E. Johnson says, "his intent never was to use public school education as the forum for his ideas [Intelligent Design creationism]." Wesley Elsberry has a flock of quotes direct from Johnson that refute that. If it were someone other than Johnson, I'd say he was just lying…but he's old, he's…

It's appropriate to have a poem about pregnancy today—so go read Adapted, Not Designed. It's lovely, and I think you can tell from the title that there's another reason I like it.

That nice guy Chris Clarke has written a paean to speaking one's mind. It's wonderfully not-nice. My point: it is not civil to discuss things quietly and collegially while people are dying because they can't afford medicine. It is not civil to speak in even, chuckling sardonicism as one beleaguered…

Darksyde takes on the teaching of creationism in Missouri…let's see if readers here are clever enough to see the dishonesty in this quote. [Mike] Riddle had been invited to Potosi High and John A. Evans Middle School by Randy Davis, superintendent of the Potosi-RIII school district, and his board…

Coturnix has the latest linkages from the freethinkers.

News from The Panda's Thumb: tonight, The Simpsons is all about the creationist pseudo-controversy, and Lisa gets arrested as an evilutionist. Let's all tune in! I was unimpressed. There were a few good barbs thrown at the creationists, but in the end the matter is settled by something trivial (…