Paul Z. Meyers
pharyngula
Posts by this author
September 10, 2011
This story is some kind of awesome:
For those who don't want to watch the whole thing, the observation in brief is that color perception is affected by color language. The investigators compare Westerners with our familiar language categories for color (red, blue, green, yellow, etc.) to the…
September 8, 2011
What do you know…I just got back from a morning spent lecturing on the historical evidence for an old earth, and James Kakalios has a post on the contemporary evidence for an old earth. We all agree! The earth is very, very old! And we've known this for at least two centuries.
Could someone get the…
September 8, 2011
I think I like this guy.
Science is the litmus test on the validity of the educational enterprise. If a school teaches real science, it's a pretty safe bet that all other departments are sound. If it teaches bogus science, everything else is suspect.... I want a real college, not one that rejects…
September 8, 2011
Fox News carried out a phone survey to find out what people thought of god and science. Here are the results:
Which do you think is more likely to actually be the explanation for the origin of human life on Earth:
The theory of evolution as outlined by Darwin and other scientists
21%
The…
September 7, 2011
I'm teaching an upper-level course in neurobiology this term, and as I usually do, I made all the poor suffering students go out and create blogs, and I also told them they had to write one post a week about neuroscience. Today I was asked if I was going to pharyngulate their blogs, and of course I…
September 6, 2011
Human beings are weirdly adaptable creatures, aren't they?
(Also on FtB)
September 6, 2011
All right, so you don't think you can flit off to some conference somewhere whenever you feel like it. This is the 21st Century! Do it virtually! You may not be aware of this, but the Howard Hughes Medical Institute is an awesome resource that provides tons of information for free to the public.…
September 6, 2011
We're finally rid of Jerry Lewis and his smarmy, condescending sponsorship of a telethon for muscular dystrophy. I think he meant well, but he had the wrong ideas: this article celebrating his absence makes a significant point. There are many diseases for which there can be no cure short of…
September 6, 2011
As Jerry Coyne has alerted us, there is a free evolutionary biology textbook available on Kindle — grab it while you can (if you don't have a kindle, just put the free Kindle app on your computer).
I haven't had a chance to look the book over myself. Eugene Koonin is a respected name, but books…
September 5, 2011
Not really, but if you feel like it, go ahead and record it. There's a contest for the best interpretive dance of your Ph.D. project (here are some past winners). Easy, right? Perform your dance, record it and submit the video, and maybe you'll win $500, a trip to Brussels, and eternal fame and…
September 5, 2011
I need a battalion of these. Only question: do I hold them in reserve for my bid for world conquest, or do I succumb to temptation and use it in the classroom to intimidate the students?
(via io9)
(Also on FtB)
September 5, 2011
I think one thing Razib says is exactly right:
One of the most interesting things to me is the nature of Creationism as an idea which evolves in a rather protean fashion in reaction to the broader cultural selection pressures.
Creationism has evolved significantly, but it's not exactly protean: it…
September 4, 2011
I was just reading this analysis of costs and profits of the iPhone, and it's rather dismaying. It's largely about how the costs are distributed: the iPhone is assembled in China, and contributes to our trade imbalance, but it's not because China has a technological edge — all the components are…
September 3, 2011
Ann Coulter is back to whining about evolution again, and this week she focuses on fossils. It's boring predictable stuff: there are no transitional fossils, she says.
We also ought to find a colossal number of transitional organisms in the fossil record - for example, a squirrel on its way to…
September 3, 2011
I have been trying to understand the peculiar popularity of these posts about sharp-clawed carnivores called "cats", and near as I can tell it has something to do with the property of cuteness. "Cute" seems mostly undefinable, however, but usually seems to involve playful juvenile behavior by large…
September 2, 2011
Aww, that's kind of sweet. The creationists are trying to cheer me up while I'm on my sick bed. How else to interpret these wacky assertions from Austin Casey, a 19 year old student?
Science is fundamentally a search for the truth about the universe, and Perry's acknowledgement of the holes in…
September 2, 2011
I've been flattened with some flu-like bug, so don't expect creativity from me today, or even any effort.
(NatGeo)
(Also on FtB)
September 1, 2011
The American education system is a mess — thanks to the right wing cranks, we keep trying to apply free market principles to a process to which they don't apply. Watching America deal with education is a lot like watching the old USSR trying to cope with competitive economies — that there's a place…
September 1, 2011
The same guy who made the Teach the Controversy shirts has a new line, Monsters of Grok, in the style of rock band t-shirts…only in this case, they're shirts for scientists and philosophers. I admit, the Darwin shirt didn't grab me, but I could see wearing a nice stark jangly ad for David Hume.
(…
August 31, 2011
I don't know whether to be intimidated or aroused by the description that goes with this image. Or both.
The dominatrices of the orchid world are the Bucket Orchids. They are pollinated by orchid bees that want the plant's aromatic oils to use them in their courtship dance with females. But what…
August 31, 2011
I have decided not to ever debate creationists any more. What settled it for me was the awful Jerry Bergman debate: I was deeply embarrassed to be sharing the stage with that raving fruitcake. It was clear that it was not an opportunity for rational discussion, and further, talking with members of…
August 31, 2011
There's a reason I really despise Libertarianism…but still find them hilariously twisted. Here's a case of a columnist defending the science of Rick Perry. You know that evolution stuff? It's not that important. Creationism is a waste of time and it makes Perry look "unsophisticated"…but so what?…
August 30, 2011
We saved their butts in WWII*, now it's time for everyone to save them from this foolish poll.
Should homeopathic treatments be available on the National Health Service?
59.1% Yes
40.9% No
*It's more complicated than that, I know, but it's always good to pander to the American ego.
(Also on FtB)
August 30, 2011
Go watch this video of Bill Nye explaining global warming to a Fox News babbler. You can see why he's a national treasure: he cocks those eyebrows, he clearly thinks he's dealing with a knucklehead, but he goes on to slowly and carefully explain the science to him. All those years of children's…
August 30, 2011
My wife and I have three kids, and while that pregnancy and childbirth thing is way, way back in the past, we did have some strong opinions after our experience. Midwives were wonderful, we had only the best and most positive experiences with them, and they were the indispensable supporters we were…
August 30, 2011
Jobs is stepping down from his leadership role at Apple, as has been all over the news for the last several days, and I had to say that he's someone I've really admired. Not just as a fully committed member of the Cult of Mac, but because I've really liked his style.
Here's a video of Jobs…
August 30, 2011
Two years ago, a California science foundation gave permission to to the American Freedom Alliance ("freedom" is like "family" in these organizations; when you see it, you should be instantly suspicious) to show a movie in their IMAX theater. The film was titled "Darwin's Dilemma: The Mystery of…