pharyngula

I don't think journal editor L. Henry Edmunds is quite clear on how the scientific method should work: we're supposed to have the free exchange of information. His journal recently retracted a paper (from other sources, it was apparently because the authors, um, "recycled" data from another study…

The Mount Soledad Easter Cross has a long and contentious legal history. It's a 43-foot-tall concrete cross standing on public land, initially erected by Christians, and used as the focus of Christian religious ceremonies, and is clearly intended and used for a sectarian religious purpose. It is…

He's really going to be upset at the wild rumor-mongering about the affair with a Palestinian teenager named Mary.

Jerry Coyne has just heard that Chris Mooney has an article in Playboy — I knew about this a while back, and have a copy of the text. I didn't mention it before because it isn't online, and it's dreadfully dreary stuff. The entire article is a case of false equivalence: he cites scientists like…

Someone thought the dim view of my dark, snow-covered backyard in the background of these beer pictures was intimidating…so I thought I'd shoot the Thompson Pale Ale by the light of day.

I'm on Bradley Manning's list of 'likes' on Facebook. There you go, now the CIA probably has a thin little dossier on me for that. But it's OK — I like Bradley Manning, too, and am appalled at the torture he's receiving at the hand of our free democratic government which respects the liberty of the…

Morphological variation is important, it's interesting…and it's also common. It's one of my major scientific interests — I'm actually beginning a new research project this spring with a student and I doing some pilot experiments to evaluate variation in wild populations here in western Minnesota,…

Don't ever call atheists militant, except where they do something like this. A governor in Pakistan has been killed for opposing blasphemy laws. Interior minister Rehman Malik said the killer was a member of Mr Taseer's own security team, who quickly confessed to the crime and who had apparently…

Jonah Lehrer has posted a reply to criticisms of his article on the 'decline effect' in science. It doesn't work, and his arguments miss the mark. As I said, what the statistics show is that science is difficult, and sometimes answers are very hard to come by; that does not justify his attempt to…

Standing in line to swap fluids and disease by swilling from the same cup was going to get someone in trouble, eventually — and now it's happened. Catholics in New York have been exposed to hepatitis A through sharing Jesus' blood. All the practitioners have been asked to get tested and vaccinated…

Science finally enters the 21st century with ZOMGSCIENCE.NET. Got a short attention span? Are you conditioned by blipverts to need your information jazzed up loud with big bold all-caps headlines and profanity? Is this article too long and subdued for you? Then you should read ZOMGSCIENCE.

Power Balance is a company that prospered on gullibility: they sell overpriced silicon rubber wristbands with an imbedded hologram that do absolutely nothing, but which they claimed would enhance athletic performance. And they got suckers to shell out $60 for them. The law caught up to them and…

Whoa. Orange Blossom Amber was orangey. I'm at no risk of scurvy for a while.

A few people have noted in the comments that Conservapædia's hot new front page topic is "Atheism and Obesity" — we're all supposed to be humongous wobbling lardasses, as if that is some kind of rational argument against an intellectual position ("you're fat!" kind of shot its bolt in grade school…

If you're disappointed in CNN, you can always turn to MSNBC…ooops, never mind, they're solemnly reporting on the end-of-the-world nonsense from the Harold Camping Cult. They're predicting the Rapture will come on 21 May. I would like to propose a novel version of Pascal's Wager for the news media.…

All the participants in the chattering thread know I'm easily teased into a link with a reference. (Current totals: 11,618 entries with 1,232,005 comments.)

Sea urchins are cool and beautiful animals: But it's the closeup of the self-sharpening teeth in a radial mouth that grabbed me.

The CNN Belief Blog continues to blaze a vapid trail of inanity through the wilderness of insanity called religion. They have just published 11 faith-based predictions for 2011. Why? I don't know. To open 2011, CNN's Belief Blog asked 10 religious leaders and experts - plus one secular humanist -…

This brief exchange captures it all. Just to put it in text: creationist ignoramus posts amazing "fact" in his status: ** Fact- if the earth was 10 ft closer to the sun we would all burn up and if it was 10 ft further we would freeze to death... God is amazing! Someone politely replies, stating…

I just saw a commercial peddling gold coins, going on and on about how the price of gold was soaring above $1300 per ounce, and showing this fancy glinting well-lit shiny gold coin and telling everyone the cost of gold meant the $50 price could only be guaranteed for 7 days. This coin is 14 karat 0…

Tonight was a minimalist night — I just had a salad for dinner. So when I read the label on Blue Star wheat beer, which said "Water, malt, hops, yeast, & that's all," I figured it would go well…and it did.

I hadn't realized how bad the economy was until I saw the front-page headline in the Wall Street Journal — that sober, serious financial paper read by bankers and economists. Need a Job? Losing Your House? Who Says Hoodoo Can't Help? Tough Times Boost Sales of Spider Dust, Spells for Good Fortune,…

Have you noticed how religion is always telling you how simple the answers are, yet at the same time claims that the universe is too complex for science to explain? Look at religion's explanations. How was the universe created? A big man in the sky just poofed it into existence. Where did humans…

After a wearying day of snow excavation and household chores, I didn't even look—I just reached into the refrigerator and grabbed the first thing to come to hand, Gordon Biersch Czech Style Pilsener.

I was interviewed by Wendy Stanley just yesterday, and presto, the podcast is already up! Also, if you're looking for more to listen to, Hank Fox was interviewed on Living After Faith.

What can I say, denizens of the obsessive thread, I want you to thrive in this new year. So I'm going to give you not one, but TWO videos with important health tips. The first takes me back to those days of Saturday morning cartoons in the 1970s. The second is some tips from Rebecca Watson. Doesn…

It's the end of the year, and for a change, we're going to have an additional Molly award given: this time, for notable contributions throughout the year. Think of it as a Molly with oak clusters for endurance and sustained performance. Leave your nominations right here in the comments. In…

I've tallied up the votes for the November Molly award, and we have two winners: a posthumous and well-deserved award to DominEditrix, and another to the fortunately still living NigelTheBold. Celebrate the recognized contributors, and start thinking about who you liked to read in December…and…

All alone on New Year's Eve while the wife is away…so somehow my hand was drawn to the hot babe on the label of Acme Pale Ale.