pharyngula

Brian O'Brien of Gustavus Adolphus College has sent along an important message for those of you who like big flowers that stink of rotting meat—they've got one. In 1993 I obtained seeds of the plant Amorphophallus titanum (common names: Titan Arum; Corpse Flower) from Dr. James Symon, who had…

It was a tough decision in the contest to design a fabulous new Darwin Fish. I admit that I was partial to the designs that included cephalopods, but the other judges (who I was tempted to call Paula and Randy) kept coming back to those chordate-derived designs. We did finally achieve consensus,…

I've tried a different tack now — I've left several comments on Matt Nisbet's very own blog, in the fading hope that he'll actually pay attention to what I'm saying, rather than what he imagines I'm saying, or what other people tell him that they imagine I'm saying. Comments there are held up for…

There's a fascinating exchange of views in the student newspaper at SMU, where the recent "Darwin vs. Design" dog and pony show was held. Leading up to the event, the Discovery Institute shills were busy trying to lay the groundwork. In particular, there was an editorial that tried to distance ID…

Let's support the troops! I always thought those stupid yellow ribbon magnets that people stuck on their cars were insulting in their triviality, but I did not know how low we could sink in the insipidity of token nods to those who are making sacrifices in the services. Mike Dunford received some…

Today is the anniversary of Darwin's death in 1882, and I am prompted to post this in response to a peculiar question. "Just read Carl Zimmers Evolution, a triumph of an idea. In it he states that Darwin, on his death bed cried out to god? How could this be if he had denounced religion and god?"…

It's Rush Limbaugh. What took him so long? It's all secularism's fault, and what he wants is more god, more prayer, and more religion at the university. He doesn't comment on the fact that the killer wanted to "die like Jesus Christ". (Who knew Jesus murdered 32 innocents on the way to the cross,…

Could D'Souza be right? Does our lack of religious beliefs really impair our ability to offer help to people? I suppose that if we actually cared, we could have sent teams to Virginia to do useful things like stroke sad people's thetans and point to chairs and trees for them (a technique that will…

Dinesh D'Souza has a truly awful opinion piece up in which he basically accuses atheists of being hateful robots. Why? Because Richard Dawkins wasn't invited to any of the memorials at Virginia Tech, and because he couldn't spot any atheists in the crowds (I'm wondering what he thinks we look like…

You're bored with it? I'm bored with it. All bored now. But since the discussion is still going on everywhere, and I'm frothing rabid (as everyone knows) and always ready to snarl and bite even when (especially when?) I'm beset with ennui, I'll call your attention to Greg Laden again. He's pointing…

One of the readers here is also a student at Virginia Tech, and has written his own reflections on the tragedy.

You recall that nice scarlet letter "A" for atheism t-shirt? I like it so much that I've decided to get it tattooed on my forehead. And this is so important to me that I'm also dragging my kids into the tattoo parlor to have it done to them. After all, my beliefs are important and this minor…

Zeno makes an obvious point: creationists have no sense of humor. He singles out this tedious comic strip running on the Answers in Genesis pages, called CreationWise, and of course when anyone thinks of an unfunny religious apologist with a strip, they think of Johnny Hart. But even worse than any…

If so, how to explain this commentary by Cardinal Pell of Sydney, Australia? I know. Every time I turn around someone tells me that nobody except a few nuts really believes that stuff.

But why should that reduce The Comics Curmudgeon to a "quivering, urine-soaked lump of fear"?

The entire shrieking, howling, raving mob of religious lunatics at Westboro Baptist Church, who are planning to attend the funerals of the slain students and staff.

Zachary Moore had a casual conversation with a Discovery Institute staffer at one of their "Darwin vs. Design" conferences, and it sounds like said ID drone spoke a little bit too openly. In fact, it was so friendly that as I was waiting in the auditorium lobby for the conference to start, I struck…

Here's what the various ScienceBloggers are saying about Virginia Tech. I'm not personally enthused about turning the whole ugly episode into a rallying cry for whatever cause you favor right now, but I do side with Dunford: of course this is a time you should express your positions. This is a good…

This is an amusing (but somewhat violent) movie that is an apt metaphor for the strengths of science. It starts with a Kiai Master, one of those woo-woo martial artists who claims to have the power of knocking his opponents flat with his mystical chi—and it's awfully funny how all these martial…

Kentucky has Ken Ham's wretched creation "science" "museum", but now Ligonier, Indiana is getting in on the act with their own version of a pseudoscientific parade of lies in the name of Jesus. At this point, they've just begun restoring a decrepit old building to house the monstrosity, but they…

Kids underfoot? Are they pestering you for entertainment? Tell them to go look up dinosaurs in Dinobase, and to come back when they've got them all memorized. I remember as a kid it was easy to wow the grownups by memorizing a few dozen genera, but now … whoa. There's more minutia there than you'll…

I knew this one would come slithering out quickly: Ken Ham. Anyone heard from Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell lately? I wonder if their handlers heard the news and rushed to slap a gag on them.

Startling Moniker attended an Institute for Creation Research lecture — I have never been surprised at one of these sorts of things. It's always one foolish lie after another to an audience predisposed to swallow whatever crap is served up. Everyone should go to a creationist presentation (they're…

Along with that copy of Imprint that I was sent yesterday, someone at the Bell (Scott? Was that you?) slipped in a copy of … oh, it was horrifying … a comic book. Not just any comic book, though, a Crusader Comic, one of Jack Chick's line of full sized comic book style propaganda pamphlets (unlike…

In my mail today, I received a copy of the Bell Museum's quarterly, Imprint, which contained a fine article on the Bell's strategy for addressing the creationists. After summarizing some of the museum's efforts and recent national events, it concludes this way: Bell Museum programs are one way that…

First commentator to tie the Virginia Tech shootings to Muslims, without a lick of evidence: Debbie Schlussel. And if it isn't connected in any way to Islamic terrorism? Even if it does not turn out that the shooter is Muslim, this is a demonstration to Muslim jihadists all over that it is…

I'm willing to read books by Simon Conway Morris, Ken Miller, and Francis Collins. I think they're dead wrong on the religion issue, but they are smart guys who contribute positively to the debate in other ways. I will also read Behe and Dembski and <gack, hack> Wells; they are not smart…

I've finished Simon Conway Morris's Life's Solution: Inevitable Humans in a Lonely Universe(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll), a book I've mentioned before and promised, with considerable misgivings, to read thoroughly. I didn't like his ideas, I thought he'd expressed them poorly before, but I'd give his…

This is horrifying: somebody went on an armed rampage at Virginia Tech and killed at least 21 before killing himself. No clue yet on why this happened.

The Missouri House of Representatives has passed a bill that would impose new rules on state colleges to "protect diversity" that includes this most interesting clause: (1) The report required in this subsection shall address the specific measures taken by the institution to ensure and promote…