Paul Z. Meyers
pharyngula
Posts by this author
February 21, 2008
Look at this: I'm dispensable. MAJeff is organizing a gathering of Pharyngula readers without me. Go ahead, go, and send me pictures and make me jealous.
February 21, 2008
Taner Edis has written a short summary of Islamic creationism. It's not a pleasant picture.
Muslims hold a variety of views on evolution; Yahya-style creationists do not speak for all. Some Muslim thinkers accept evolution in the sense of descent with modification, provided that this evolution is…
February 21, 2008
It's a baby, and it's cute, and it's marine. Do I need any other excuses to post this?
February 21, 2008
Just when you think these guys can't get any more dishonest, here comes Darwin's Plantation: Evolution's Racist Roots. The tag line on the book is a quote from Ham: "Although racism did not begin with Darwinism, Darwin did more than any person to popularize it."
Wow. More than Martin Luther, who…
February 21, 2008
RPM has put up an amusing bestiary of typical science seminar attendees — it's all true, I've seen all of those people.
But you know what the problem is? It's a collection of pedants and old people! Where are the celebrities misbehaving in our talks? Maybe we'd get more attention for science if we…
February 21, 2008
Lots of people have sent me photos and accounts of the recent lunar eclipse (are you confusing me with that inferior spacey blog, or something?) — so I've put some of the good ones below the fold.
From Marcia:
From Phillip:
From Eric:
And here's an interesting story about an eclipse.
Don't worry…
February 21, 2008
Some of you may be reluctant to delve into the fiery melee that are the Pharyngula comments, but you're missing a very entertaining battle. We had a creationist named Steven pop by last night to offer his, um, opinions. Here's a brief summary of some of his sillier claims.
Darwin was a racist.…
February 21, 2008
Florida approved science standards that actually use the word 'evolution', but as I noted at the time, the creationist compromise was that it had to be referred to as "the scientific theory of evolution". It was weird: it is the scientific theory of evolution, as opposed to the non-scientific…
February 21, 2008
The new, science-rich edition of the Tangled Bank is hosted by Greg Laden this week. Get your coffee and sit for a while.
February 20, 2008
What a perfect situation: it's bitterly cold outside, but the moon happens to be in the sky right outside my front window, so I can see it from the comfort of my living room. It's half gone right now!
Now the moon has gone dark and red! Surely these are evil portents. What god should I worship to…
February 20, 2008
A reader sent me two links to video clips. The contrast is fascinating.
Here's the first. It's a nice illustration of the evidence behind our understanding of the evolution of whales, all in 7 minutes.
Now watch a creationist explain whale evolution.
Ouch. He complains that those wicked…
February 20, 2008
Take a look at this excellent list of evolution misconceptions. The entries are very brief, but mostly correct and very common: in particular, #12, "Natural selection involves organisms 'trying' to adapt" is one of the most common mistakes in creationist thinking — they completely miss one of the…
February 20, 2008
Oxford University is getting $4 million from — who else? — the Templeton Foundation to study "why mankind embraces god". I hope that what I'm seeing is mere journalistic sloppy truncation, but knowing the Templeton Foundation and the usual crap I read from theologians, I fear that this does reflect…
February 20, 2008
Greg is still accepting submissions for the Tangled Bank, so you can still squeeze in.
February 20, 2008
Check out Phil for the details. For us Minnesotans, the events start around 8pm, should reach totality around 9, and should be over around 11.
Here's the good news: we're supposed to have clear skies!
And now the bad news: it's about -27°F outside right now, and while we're supposed to warm up a…
February 20, 2008
What should me make of this ugly story from Turkey?
A high school senior and an elementary school student were attacked in the Mediterranean town of Mersin with strong acid spray. In two separate incidents within the same hour both girls were approached from behind by a group of young men who…
February 19, 2008
This gallery of science fair projects is partly funny, partly cringe-worthy, and partly petty and annoying. Some of the projects are weird, but some of the entries are simply mocking the appearance of the kids … and as a former high school nerd myself, I rather resent that.
But yeah, "Crystal Meth…
February 19, 2008
It means "devil toad," and it was a 10 pound monster that lived 70 million years ago, in what is now Madagascar. It's huge, and judging by its living cousins, was a voracious predator. If it were alive today, it would probably be eating your cats and puppies.
In other words, this was an awesome…
February 19, 2008
The Florida board of education kept the lunacy to a minimum and actually approved science standards that use the word "evolution". They still had to do a goofy song-and-dance compromise to include the phrase "scientific theory of" before the dreaded "E" word, just so the creationists can go back to…
February 19, 2008
One of our soldiers in Iraq leaves an interesting comment on the web:
Here's a picture of me celebrating Ash Wednesday shortly before going out on mission. The Catholic Priest also blessed all of our Gun Trucks. You can't ask for much more protection than that when doing Convoy Security. Unless of…
February 19, 2008
Kevin Beck tells us that finally, Florida has the right spokesman for the creationist situation down there: Carl Hiaasen has written an editorial. If you don't know Hiaasen, you should — he writes hilarious comic novels that highlight the absurdity of politics and culture and crime in Florida. I'm…
February 19, 2008
Apparently, I was challenged by some functional illiterate who demanded that I address some unstated complaint by 5:30 today, or I will "forever be cast as having no credibility." , and accusing me of hiding some "skeletons".
Those skeletons aren't mine, they're the department's, and really, they'…
February 19, 2008
Russell Seitz discovers another review of Expelled. It's by that deluded dolt, Tom Bethell, and it's a positive review.
It is surely the best thing ever done on this issue, in any medium. At moments it brought tears of joy to my eyes. I have written about this controversy for over 30 years and by…
February 18, 2008
Oh, joy! Carl Zimmer has published a profile of Roger Hanlon, the well-known cephalopod expert, and he is specifically discussing the work on camouflage that I previously summarized. I've also cited his work on sexual mimicry and nuptial dances — this is a fellow whose work all true worshipers of…
February 18, 2008
Perhaps you thought that glossolalic freak I highlighted the other day is unrepresentative of religious attitudes in America. How about these people, though?
They're probably good, decent people who care about their families, but listen to what they are saying — they are picking a president on…
February 18, 2008
This is no fair. I left Seattle 30 years ago, and now they're celebrating Octopus Week? Maybe if they'd thought of it then, I wouldn't have moved to Oregon, and Utah, And Pennsylvania, and Minnesota.
February 18, 2008
Full-Time, One-Year Faculty Position in Biology
University of Minnesota, Morris
The University of Minnesota, Morris seeks an individual committed to excellence in undergraduate education, to fill a full-time, one-year position in biology beginning August 18, 2008. Responsibilities include: teaching…
February 18, 2008
Only even less tangible. John Allen Paulos tells the story of his vacation in Thailand.
No, it's not that kind of story.
February 18, 2008
Perhaps I'm not as disappointed as Greg, but I am unimpressed with the 'presidential' debate at the AAAS. What we had was two assistants to the Clinton and Obama campaigns (the Republicans were complete no-shows) pop in to run through some canned promises. There was no debate. There was no…