pharyngula

A little while ago, we had a report of creationist graduating from Harvard and going on to use his degree for evangelism. How sweet, I know…but surely he wouldn't admit to simply getting his degree for window dressing, would he? Why, yes he would! he's very proud of the purity of his creationist…

Focus on the Family has just come out with their list of the "five media Leftists who distort Americans' views of the Bush and Obama presidencies". Ooooh. Guess who is on the list? Paul Krugman, Nobel prize-winner, is #1. #2 is the editor of Newsweek, Jon Meacham; #3 is Ezra Klein. #4 is my…

The latest Humanist News Podcast is up, and it contains my AHA award acceptance speech. You should listen to it for Norma Ramos's talk on the trafficking of women, though.

Good trick, Al! Next challenge: I want to see him draw a map of the world.

A group of prominent Swedes have come out with a manifesto decrying the influence of religion in the world — which is great, but I do wonder why every time I read about famous Swedes, at least one of them has to be a former member of ABBA. It's a fine statement that promotes humanism as the only…

I never wear it to class, though. Maybe students would fear and respect me more if I did.

Bob Henderson, the creator of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, gets interviewed. He must not be a True Prophet, however, since he apparently isn't getting rich or acquiring obscene amounts of power.

Not this nonsense again: it's the argument that it's only natural to believe in gods. Atheism really may be fighting against nature: humans have been hardwired by evolution to believe in God, scientists have suggested. The idea has emerged from studies of the way children's brains develop and of…

The White House has released the text of Obama's speech to school chidren. It's nothing deep, just a bit of rah-rah, study hard, you can do great things, yadda yadda yadda. It certainly shouldn't have freaked out all those schools that were reluctant to expose their kids to the words of our…

Wonder no more: this video explains it all. You have to read between the lines to get it, but short answer: god is Australian!

Well. You know, I mentioned that my contributions here were going to be greatly reduced for a while, while I was busy plugging away at this damnable book. I had a very busy and productive day, pounding away at the keyboard, and didn't even look at the site until this evening…and then what do I…

This is not good for bloggingheads: that makes the third high profile science blogger to announce their rejection of bloggingheads, after Sean Carroll and Carl Zimmer. Phil would be #4, except I realize I was rather ambiguous about it when I mentioned it before. So, just to clarify, NO, I won't be…

Hey, those other people get their Jesus in a pita, their Hebrew blessings from croaking fish, and Allah in their sliced fruit, so it's about time we got something. How about a fifteen foot tall A in a geological anomaly? Sean Murphy sent me this; you can find it in Boulder Canyon up Sugarloaf…

I reported a while back that the University of Wyoming geology museum was in danger of extinction: it has been pulled back from the brink by a generous private donation of over half a million dollars, with matching funds from the state. I don't like to see significant public institutions' survival…

(via Wonkette)

When I was in New York a while back, I got to meet Ben Fry, a clever fellow who has been doing some amazing things with data visualization. One of the things we played with was a a new toy he'd worked out, or rather, a new application of some old tools. One of the things biologists are interested…

The lucky people near George Washington University get to learn all about godless sex on 16 September. Fred Edwords "The Joy of Godless Sex" 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM The George Washington University Marvin Center Amphitheater When it comes to sexuality, two sizes don't fit all. Nor does one institution.…

Fargo, North Dakota has declared 24 September to be Freethought Day, thanks to the Red River Freethinkers. We're definitely going to have to have a party up North that day.

The new Molly winner for the month of July has been determined: give 'Tis Himself hearty congratulations and many backslaps. Now we need to figure out who the hot commenter for the month of August was — leave your suggestions in the comments. Now some terrifying news: I'm supposed to talk with a…

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

This is the start of a big film project by Conceptual Guerilla: he's attending events by acolytes of Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck, teabagging (just the name is good for a giggle) parties and such, and simply recording their own words. It's a weird combination of certainty and ignorance, and as you'…

I'm going to be on the radio tonight, at 10pm Central time, on a program radiating out of Missouri State University called the All-American Gun Show. The host is JT Eberhard, a dangerous rascal, and I think he's planning to harrass me fiercely. Here's the blurb for the show: PZ Myers, biology…

This is how to design an online poll to stymie the Pharyngulistas: make sure it makes no sense and limits the options to only unpalatable choices. Go ahead and try and figure this one out…although it does say it is for creationists, and it is for Christians only. Why Creationist is your favorite?…

I got email from a young former Mormon who has been trying to puzzle his way through some of the craziness that comes out of Utah, and he sent me this strange document by Elder Boyd K. Packer, which is apparently representative of a lot of Mormon scholarship. I think he wants to know if I think it…

Seed is planning to roll out some big upgrades to the commenting system here, and they're going to potentially add a lot of new features, which is cool. They also want to know what you think, but they've chosen to get user input in a way I find rather uncomfortable. They're doing it with an online…

President Obama is going to deliver a speech to students, broadcast on CSPAN, on 8 September. He's going to "speak directly to the nation's children and youth about persisting and succeeding in school. The president will challenge students to work hard, set educational goals, and take…