Paul Z. Meyers
pharyngula
Posts by this author
December 1, 2007
Yesterday, I hopped into the black evo-mobile and made the long trek to Minneapolis to witness another creationist make a fool of himself. As is my custom when traveling alone, I like to crank up the car stereo until the road noise is beaten back, and the soundtrack for my trip was first, NPR's…
November 30, 2007
Since Phil has suggestions for holiday telescope shopping, I have to offer some suggestions for microscope shopping. If you really want to get a kid interested in biology, a microscope is a great gift, but I'll give you the price tag right up front: $150 is probably the minimum to get a decent, low…
November 30, 2007
A reminder: tonight is the creationist schlockfest at the University of Minnesota. Smart people will meet at the Campus Club, on the fourth floor of the Coffman Union, between 5:30 and 6:45, for pre-seminar preparation.
See you there!
November 30, 2007
Let's ruin a perfectly pleasant Friday with a poll full of ugly reality.
The poll of 2,455 U.S. adults from Nov 7 to 13 found that 82 percent of those surveyed believed in God, a figure unchanged since the question was asked in 2005.
It further found that 79 percent believed in miracles, 75 percent…
November 30, 2007
Good news, everyone! In a new encyclical that reveals the papacy is feeling the heat from all those vocal atheists, the pope makes a startling admission:
Reciting arguments made by atheists, he said: "A world marked by so much injustice, innocent suffering and cynicism of power cannot be the work…
November 30, 2007
Mark Mathis, the guy who did the interviews for the creationist movie Expelled, has been doing the Christian talk radio circuit lately. He was on in the Twin Cities yesterday, although I missed it … but he's about to go live on WAMT 1190 in Florida, at 11:05 ET. Listen in, or even call in…make him…
November 30, 2007
So this young man, Dennis Lindberg, refused a blood transfusion and died. This was a completely useless, futile death; it wasn't a sacrifice that helped someone, and it was avoidable by a routine medical procedure. So what could possibly have driven him to this behavior?
Earlier Wednesday, Skagit…
November 29, 2007
Cute, weird collection of bug art. This was painted by a cockroach?
November 29, 2007
Texas Citizens for Science has posted a summary of the political pressures:
TEA has a new policy, one of neutrality between biological evolution and Intelligent Design Creationism. This new policy was put in place when Dr. Don McLeroy--an outspoken Creationist and activist for Intelligent Design…
November 29, 2007
It's ben a terrible couple of days for Christianity — I've gotten an awful lot of e-mail reporting indiscretions by those trusted members of the clergy.
Rev. Don LaRose/Rev. Ken Williams, lunatic who abandoned his family and changed his name. The only thing he kept in common in his identities was…
November 29, 2007
The dying grandma gambit is a scenario familiar to most atheists; it's been played out a few times in this thread. I'm sure you know it.
Here's how it works. An atheist says something assertive about religion; religious sympathizer retorts, "Would you say that to your dying grandmother? You…
November 29, 2007
We now have a copy of the vile, biased e-mail that cost Chris Comer her job. It's unbelievably one-sided and horrible — I swear, it's like using your office network to harrass co-workers with explicit porn. It turns out that this offensive e-mail was from the NCSE, and referenced the Center for…
November 29, 2007
There are several other designs, too —
order your Squidmas cards today!
November 29, 2007
In the Dover trial, you got the palpable sense that the creationists were terrified of Barbara Forrest's testimony. I did not know quite how deeply the dread was until today, though: the Texas director os science curriculum, Chris Comer, was pressured into resigning because she forwarded an e-mail…
November 28, 2007
Since we're entering the holiday season, and I wouldn't want to be accused of contributing to the War on Christmas (oh, horrors!), here are some fortuitously christmassy entertainments.
If you're shopping for just the right gift for that devout Christian, look into the Twelve Days of Kitschmas.…
November 28, 2007
Whoa. Giuliani is toast. The guy was using city funds to pay for his gambols with his mistress?
This would be good news if it weren't for the fact that Huckabee, Romney, Thompson…heck, the whole revolting Republican lineup…make me ill.
November 28, 2007
A pathologist in Ontario made some dreadful, stupid, sloppy mistakes, the kinds of errors that can destroy people's lives.
The mistakes Smith made in conducting autopsies or giving second opinions on autopsies prompted the province to call the inquiry. His work contributed to some parents or…
November 28, 2007
The lesson is that you should never, ever give a network executive control of your fate.
Those kinds of macabre twists would be Futurama's undoing. Fox was expecting something familiar, The Simpsons in space. Executives certainly were not prepared for the bizarre contours of Groening and Cohen's…
November 28, 2007
Last week, I reported on this new breakthrough in stem cell research, in which scientists have discovered how to trigger the stem cell state in adult somatic cells, like skin cells, producing an induced stem cell, a pluripotent cell that can then be lead down the path to any of a multitude of…
November 28, 2007
Has everyone else heard of the Secret Science Club, though? It sounds a bit like Cafe Scientififique, but with a New York attitude — you lucky New Yorkers ought to go (it's a bit far for this lucky Minnesotan to make the commute).
It's got a good writeup in the Gothamist, too. And a nice logo.
November 28, 2007
Trent Lott may be bailing out of politics, but it looks like his successor may be Chip Pickering, Pentecostal kook who had a brief appearance on Borat. Is it an improvement to replace a mean stupid thug with a religious airhead with a nice haircut?
November 28, 2007
T. Ryan Gregory has announced that you can now read the inaugural issue of Evolution: Education and Outreach, which includes his own article.
This is the new journal set up by Niles and Gregory Eldredge (father and son) to "provide direct linkage between the worlds of scientific
research and the K…
November 28, 2007
I almost feel sorry for Guillermo Gonzalez. The Discovery Institute is turning him into a political football, and making his denial of tenure a far greater mess than is warranted. They're going to hold a press conference on Monday.
The fight will rage on over Iowa State University astronomy…
November 27, 2007
Whether you love Christopher Hitchens or hate him, there's something here for you: you can read Hitchens' account of getting a full Brazilian. There are photos (don't worry, nothing to make one stagger to the fainting couch).
I think I'm going to have to cancel my appointment, though. It sounds…
November 27, 2007
Our Friday plans are getting better and better. Remember, the crappy talk by John West blaming Darwin for Hitler is at 7 on 30 November at the UM campus — come prepared to be critical. The fun part is that we're meeting between 5:30 and 6:45 in the Campus Club, on the fourth floor of the Coffman…