jlynch | August 1, 2006
Today is the anniversary of the birth (in 1672) of Johann Jakob Scheuchzer. A major factor in the development of paleontology in Switzerland, he is also considered the founder of paleobotany and his Herbarium diluvianum was a standard through the nineteenth century. His work on a great variety of fossils makes him generally considered the founder of European paleontology.
In 1725 Scheuchzer examined a specimen of what he believed to be a fossilized victim of the Noachian Flood (homo diluvii testis) and he described the specimen in his 1731 work Physica Sacra. He died in 1733, believing the…
jlynch | August 1, 2006As I type this, votes are being counted in Kansas in primaries for the State Board of Education. You can keep track of the results here. For the record, Bacon, Morris, Willard and Patzer are ID supporters.
It seems as good a time as any to repost this from June of last year, in the spirit of hoping that the good people of Kansas reject an ignoramus like Connie Morris:
When an elected state school board member such as Connie Morris (KS) can write a newsletter [pdf] that reads as if it was written by an illiterate thirteen year old, then you know there is something wrong with the system in…
jlynch | July 31, 2006
Believe it or not, the Flying Spaghetti Monster gets hate-mail ... or rather Bobby Henderson does. Check it out here .... it shows a remarkable lack of Christian compassion (and for that matter, spelling and grammar).
Possible "highlight":
As a Christian, I follow Jesus for his teachings of love and tolerance; it is people like you who make me sick, I hope you die in a lake of fire and get your eyes pecked out by crows, so that you may go to hell and exist for eternity in a lake of fire getting your eyes pecked out by crows.
With love,
Charlie
jlynch | July 31, 2006Jerry Coyne has a piece in TNR Online on Coulter. Unfortunately, it's subscription only, but (see below) here is a highlight:
The real reason Coulter goes after evolution is not because it's wrong, but because she doesn't like it--it doesn't accord with how she thinks the world should be. That's because she feels, along with many Americans, that "Darwin's theory overturned every aspect of Biblical morality." What's so sad--not so much for Coulter as for Americans as a whole--is that this idea is simply wrong. Darwinism, after all, is just a body of thought about the origin and change of…
jlynch | July 31, 2006As Ed reports here, the mask has fallen away from ID. Joel Borofsky - Dembski's "research" assistant - has admitted that the push for "balance" in Kansas is nothing more than an attempt to inject ID into schools:
It really is ID in disguise. The entire purpose behind all of this is to shift it into schools...at least that is the hope/fear among some science teachers in the area. The problem is, if you are not going to be dogmatic in Darwinism that means you inevitably have to point out a fault or at least an alternative to Darwinism. So far, the only plausible theory is ID.
BOOM! Thank you…
jlynch | July 31, 2006A quick puzzle ...
I was born on this day in 1860 and have a 10502 foot peak named after me in Alberta. I helped my better-known husband (whom I married at the age of 54) with his fieldwork in Canada, but am also known as an illustrator.
And a quick visual clue:
jlynch | July 30, 2006Grrlscientist asked. I answer:
I too had taken this before. I seem to remember having got a slightly lower score. Must be the extra memory in my new laptop :)
jlynch | July 30, 2006A recent Harris Poll found that 50% of Americans polled now say Iraq had weapons of mass destruction when it was invaded (up from 36% in 2005) and 64% say Saddam had "strong links" with al Qaeda. In other news, huge numbers of Americans have no "strong links" with reality. And the administration likes it that way:
In the summer of 2002, after I [Ron Suskind] had written an article in Esquire that the White House didn't like about Bush's former communications director, Karen Hughes, I had a meeting with a senior adviser to Bush. He expressed the White House's displeasure, and then he told me…
jlynch | July 30, 2006Seen in today's Arizona Republic:
Use frozen embryos to end crisis
Prime Minister Fuad Saniora of Lebanon, among others, has called for an immediate cease-fire to stem the rising tide of civilian casualties in his country.
The Bush administration, through Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, says that an unconditional cease-fire would be nothing but a "false promise." A "false promise" to some, perhaps, but not to the Lebanese civilians who will continue to be maimed and die. However, since these civilian casualties (being Lebanese and not American) are mere "collateral damage," many think…
jlynch | July 30, 2006Sixty civilians huddling in a basement get murdered (there is, frankly, no other word for it) when Israeli shells hit the building in Qana. Condi Rice gets rebuffed by the Lebanese and heads home with her tail between her legs. Kofi Annan calls the UN Security Council to call for an immediate cease-fire (I predict a US veto on that).
Yeats' poem "The Second Coming" never seemed more apt:
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and…
jlynch | July 30, 2006I was going to post earlier on a New York Times article that discusses the harrassment that a Jewish family has recieved for asking that prayers at school events be made more generic and less Christian, but PZ beat me to it. I will highlight this part however:
A homemaker active in her children's schools, Mrs. Dobrich said she had asked the board to develop policies that would leave no one feeling excluded because of faith. People booed and rattled signs that read "Jesus Saves," she recalled. Her son had written a short statement, but he felt so intimidated that his sister read it for him. In…
jlynch | July 29, 2006A few months ago I passed eighth grade math. Now I've gone and passed eight grade science. I feel so accomplished :)
You Passed 8th Grade Science
Congratulations, you got 8/8 correct!
Could You Pass 8th Grade Science?
Oh, and question 6 shoud read neutron not neuron.
jlynch | July 28, 2006You may want to turn your volume down ...
Somebody needs to up the dosage.
(Yeah, I know. It's probably a fake, but it's still funny in a "look at the monkey" kind of way)
jlynch | July 28, 2006Book meme from Janet:
1. One book that changed your life?
Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species
2. One book you have read more than once?
Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species
3. One book you would want on a desert island?
The Complete Works of Plato
4. One book that made you laugh?
Anything written by ID supporters.
5. One book that made you cry?
Anything written by ID supporters.
6. One book you wish had been written?
Women: A Guide for the Perplexed
7. One book you wish had never had been written?
I don't know if I would wish that any book had never been written. As Oscar Wilde said, books…
jlynch | July 28, 2006After spending time with my DSL provider yesterday, it looks like my line came back automagically over the night. I'm having it checked out this afternoon nonetheless, but I'm hoping I can stay connected until then at least.
While I Was gone, plenty happened here. Two quick posts worth highlighting: Ed outlines a legendary poker game (and highlights the genius that is Phil Ivey) while David over at The World's Fair has been choosing articles from The Science Creative Quarterly for each of us SB-ers. Check them out here, here and here and introduce yourself to the wonderful world of SCQ.…
jlynch | July 28, 2006This week's words are:
Requirements ::
Pizza ::
Dating ::
Issue ::
Sharp ::
Distinguish ::
Remote ::
Felony ::
Exercise ::
Choose ::
(source)
See below the cut for my replies.
Requirements :: Hate
Pizza :: Peppers
Dating :: Done that
Issue :: Newspaper
Sharp :: Blunt
Distinguish :: Gentleman
Remote :: Control
Felony :: Crime
Exercise :: Science
Choose :: Life
jlynch | July 26, 2006My DSL line is out at home and has been since last night. Since I don't want to be coming in to my office during my "break", it may be that posting will be sparce for awhile. Just a warning.
jlynch | July 25, 2006I was reminded of this by a recent post over at Crooked Timber. Cosma Shalazi's review of Stephen Wolfram's A New Kind of Science [amz] is titled "A Rare Blend of Monster Raving Egomania and Utter Batshit Insanity" - I'd love to be able to stick that on a review!
jlynch | July 25, 2006Dick Morris on Fox yesterday:
What we don't understand is in Iraq, a civil war is progress, because it means it's no longer a war against us.
I doubt the Iraqis see it as "progress". Dick.
jlynch | July 24, 2006The American Bar Association issued a report yesterday on the use of "signing statements" by Bush (in particular) and future Presidents (in general). They note that the practice is "contrary to the rule of law and our constitutional system of separation of powers." Some examples,
Whenever Congress directs the president to furnish information, Mr. Bush reserves the right to withhold it.
When Congress imposes mandates and requirements on the executive branch, the president often says he will read them as advisory or "precatory."
When Congress tries to define foreign policy ... Mr. Bush…