jlynch | February 2, 2008Razib has posted his thoughts on Chapter 4 of Gould’s The Structure of Evolutionary Theory and ends with:
I suspect that defenders of this reputedly brilliant work will claim the long build up cashes out in a stupendous climax which will leave me aghast at its audacity. We shall see, but after 341 pages, 1/4 of the narration, I’ve been treated to a nearly useless prologue and passable if self-indulgent history of science.
This reminds me of one of the paradoxes about Gould. Among historians (and the public) he was believed to represent mainstream science, a belief not shared by many…
jlynch | February 2, 2008
The Six Nations Championship began today, with Ireland trying to recover from a disappointing World Cup showing last year. A 16-11 defeat of Italy is a win, but not a very convincing one. On the other hand, Wales defeating England 26-19 at Twickenham is always good news.
Remaining fixtures for the Irish are:
France (2/7) at Stade de France
Scotland (2/23) at Croke Park
Wales (3/8) at Croke Park
England (3/15) at Twickenham
Any readers in Europe manage to see the game (or for that matter the Welsh victory)? Any comments?
I resisted making comments about rugby being infinitely better than…
jlynch | February 2, 2008Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed. A yellow dressinggown, ungirdled, was sustained gently behind him by the mild morning air. He held the bowl aloft and intoned:
--INTROIBO AD ALTARE DEI.
Halted, he peered down the dark winding stairs and called out coarsely:
--Come up, Kinch! Come up, you fearful jesuit!
So began a work published today in 1922 in Paris on the fortieth birthday of its author. The work is, of course, Ulysses, and the author, James Joyce. The book ends with a eight-sentence, unpunctuated…
jlynch | February 2, 2008Births
1695 - William Borlase, English naturalist
1802 - Jean Baptiste Boussingault, French chemist
1829 - Alfred Brehm, German zoologist
1841 - François-Alphonse Forel, Swiss hydrologist
Deaths
1712 - Martin Lister, English naturalist and physician
1907 - Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist
1957 - Grigory Landsberg, Russian physicist
1970 - Bertrand Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, English mathematician, writer and philosopher
jlynch | February 1, 2008Readers who saw my post yesterday about cat domestication may be interested to see that Greg Laden has posted on the paper. Greg’s view is that "[t]he conclusion the authors draw about cat origins is very weak ... but the information this study provides about cat breed genetics is excellent and will be of value [to?] cats around the world."
jlynch | February 1, 2008Just a quick note to say how happy I am that Arizona State University and our president, Michael Crow, has endorsed the ScienceDebate2008 initiative. That is all.
jlynch | February 1, 2008PZ has noted that the boyos over at Uncommon Descent have deep-sixed a comment thread that (rightly) pointed out that he bested DI-fellow Geoffrey Simmons in their debate yesterday (it will be interesting to see how the DI spins this one). Happily, After The Bar Closes has the comments archived. Therein, you can find this gem from Louis Savain (yeah, that Savain):
The ID movement is wasting its time and resources, in my opinion. This ID vs. evolution fight will never be won with either debates, arguments, brochures, web sites or what have you. The opposition has a propaganda machine that is…
jlynch | January 31, 2008Births
1635 - Marquard Gude, German archaeologist
1761 - Christian Hendrik Persoon, South African mycologist
1844 - G. Stanley Hall, American psychologist
Deaths
1897 - Constantin von Ettingshausen, Austrian geologist
1903 - George Gabriel Stokes, Irish physicist
1958 - Clinton Davisson, American physicist and Nobel Prize laureate
1976 - Werner Heisenberg, German physicist and Nobel Prize laureate
1976 - George Whipple, American scientist and Nobel Prize laureate
jlynch | January 31, 2008
The Story of Isaac
The door it opened slowly,My father he came in,was nine years old.And he stood so tall above me,His blue eyes they were shiningAnd his voice was very cold.He said, Ive had a visionAnd you know Im strong and holy,I must do what Ive been told.So he started up the mountain,I was running, he was walking,And his axe was made of gold.
Well, the trees they got much smaller,The lake a ladys mirror,We stopped to drink some wine.Then he threw the bottle over.Broke a minute laterAnd he put his hand on mine.Thought I saw an eagleBut it might have been a vulture,I never could decide.…
jlynch | January 31, 2008
A recently published study has used microsatelite markers to discover that domesticated cats originated in the Middle East, a finding that reinforces earlier archeological research. The abstract reads:
The diaspora of the modern cat was traced with microsatellite markers from the presumed site of domestication to distant regions of the world. Genetic data were derived from over 1100 individuals,representing 17 random-bred populations from five continents and 22 breeds. The Mediterranean was reconfirmed to be the probable site of domestication. Genetic diversity has remained broad throughout…
jlynch | January 31, 2008Unlike Razib, my reading of Gould’s The Structure of Evolutionary Theory isn’t progressing. This is for a number of reasons but primary among them is a busy week service-wise coupled with other reading that must take priority if I’m going to be coherent in class. Looking at the beast in question, I’m guessing weekends will be the only time I can get to it and then I’ll probably only finish a chapter at a time. At that rate, I’ll probably take three months to finish the book.
So to keep you occupied, you can read Razib on chapters one, two and three. At this rate, he’ll be finished in no time!
jlynch | January 31, 2008
This is a grey-faced sengi, Rhynchocyon udzungwensis, a new species of giant elephant shrew that has been described in the February issue of Journal of Zoology (Lond.) (on whose editorial board I sit). It's a 700g beastie, so it is hefty for an elephant shrew.
Photo by AFP & California Academy of Sciences.
jlynch | January 30, 2008Just a brief notice that my ASU colleague Quentin Wheeler has named a species of whirligig beetle after Roy Orbison. Orectochilus orbisonorum, which resides in India "is unique among Indian Gyrinidae and Orectochilus lacordaire, in general, since the ventral surfaces are white as the result of clear areas of cuticle allowing internal tissues to be visible." The description is to appear in Zootaxa. Quentin, director of the International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University, in the past has discovered 65 new species of slime-mold beetle of the genus Agathidium, with one…
jlynch | January 30, 2008Events
1958 - Explorer program: Explorer I - The first successful launch of an American satellite into orbit.
1958 - James Van Allen discovers the Van Allen radiation belt.
1961 - Project Mercury: Mercury-Redstone 2 - Ham the Chimp becomes the first hominid in outer space.
Births
1868 - Theodore William Richards, American chemist and Nobel Prize laureate
1881 - Irving Langmuir, American chemist and Nobel Prize laureate
1929 - Rudolf Mössbauer, German physicist and Nobel Prize laureate
jlynch | January 30, 2008DESIGNING DARWIN - Prize competition Organized by the British Society for the History of Science Outreach & Education Committee
The year 2009 sees both the bicentenary of Charles Darwin’s birth (on 12th February) and the 150th birthday of his most famous work, On the Origin of Species. In anticipation of the celebrations, the BSHS Outreach & Education Committee is offering prizes for original designs that best illustrate the significance of either (or both) of these anniversaries.
Format of the entry: entries may submitted in one of the following electronic formats:
A poster up to…
jlynch | January 30, 2008Apparently there are some questions you just can’t ask. The cdesign proponentsists maintain that the truth is being stifled by their not being allowed ask "difficult" questions of evolutionary biology. Yet we need to remember that supporters of intelligent design have questions that they avoid, often by censorship of the kind they accuse mainstream science. Witness DaveScot over at Uncommon Descent:
Permutations of the question "Who designed the designer?" are trite, easily addressed, and if you read the moderation rules you’ll find that comments using this and other trite arguments are…
jlynch | January 30, 2008Razib notes "I’m sure you know that Marx was a keen follower of Darwin’s theory." Eh, no. Not so much.
While Marx in 1860 described Origin as containing "the natural-historical basis of our outlook," by 1861 he was noting that "[i]t is remarkable how Darwin recognises among beasts and plants his English society with its labour, competition, opening up of new markets, 'inventions’, and the Malthusian 'struggle for existence’". Indeed he would view Darwinism as a bourgeois ideology which mirrored the bourgeois competitive struggle in capitalist society. Marx’s use of Darwin is underwhelming…
jlynch | January 29, 2008
Events
1996 - Comet Hyakutake is discovered by Japanese amateur astronomer Yuji Hyakutake.
Births
1720 - Charles De Geer, Swedish industrialist and entomologist
1822 - Franz Ritter von Hauer, Austrian geologist
1899 - Max Theiler, South African virologist and Nobel Prize laureate
1949 - Peter Agre, American biologist and Nobel Prize laureate
Deaths
1858 - Coenraad Jacob Temminck, Dutch zoologist
1928 - Johannes Andreas Grib Fibiger, Danish scientist and Nobel Prize laureate
1962 - Manuel de Abreu, Brazilian physician
1991 - John Bardeen, American physicist
1995 - Gerald Durrell, British…
jlynch | January 28, 2008Births
1688 - Emanuel Swedenborg, Swedish scientist and philosopher
1846 - Karol Olszewski, Polish scientist
1901 - Allen B. DuMont, American scientist and inventor
1926 - Abdus Salam, Pakistani physicist and Nobel Prize laureate
1947 - Linda B. Buck, American scientist and Nobel Prize laureate
Deaths
1934 - Fritz Haber, German chemist and Nobel Prize laureate
jlynch | January 28, 2008 Razib is reading Stephen Jay Gould’s monumental The Structure of Evolutionary Theory. I have to admit that I bought it when it appeared nearly six years ago and, as yet, have not managed to get beyond the first ninety-odd pages. What I liked about Gould when I was an undergraduate over twenty years ago now just seems annoying. What worked in small doses turns into a nightmare when presented in a five pound package. In short, Gould clearly needed an editor. That said, Razib has inspired me to try again. Who knows, I might even finish it this time.
So, have any readers started (or finished!)…