jlynch | January 29, 2006I just don't get it. Over at Uncommon Descent, Dembski posts on a course in the philosophy of biology at the University of Bern (Switzerland) that includes a single lecture (of ten) that discusses ID, and commentators are acting like this is a big deal.
Guys, there are courses all over this country that deal with ID, though probably not in a manner that the IDists would be happy with. For example, my BIO/HPS: Origins, Evolution and Creation course has been dealing with ID since its inception in 1998 and this semester will feature over 18 hours (nearly half the course) of lectures on ID.
The…
jlynch | January 29, 2006Once again, ID supporters are being a little economical with the truth. Over at Uncommon Descent, Dembski posts an op-ed by Stephen Meyer in the Daily Telegraph (28/1/06). Meyer sets the scene with:
In 2004, the distinguished philosopher Antony Flew of the University of Reading made worldwide news when he repudiated a lifelong commitment to atheism and affirmed the reality of some kind of a creator [see here]. Flew cited evidence of intelligent design in DNA and the arguments of "American [intelligent] design theorists" as important reasons for this shift.
And ends with:
Nevertheless, [ID]…
jlynch | January 29, 2006Last week was the first real week of teaching in that it was the first week when we had content-driven classes. So Tuesday saw me walking into class for a three-hour seminar on Galileo (to be repeated again on Thursday). The reading was relatively easy - Drake's translations of Starry Messenger (1610), Letters on Sunspots (1613) and the Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina (1615) - so I expected no major problems with that. One of the most difficult things, in my mind at least, is trying to convince students about how novel Galileo's finisings were. They know about the moons of Jupiter, they…
jlynch | January 29, 2006Yet another poll, or rather this time a nascent one being run by the boyos at TelicThoughts who mailed myself and more than a few other science bloggers to see what our answer to the question "On which points are intelligent design and creationism identical?" given the following definitions:
"creationism" will be defined as "a belief in the literal interpretation of the account of the creation of the universe and of all living things related in the Bible" (source: Dictionary.com). "Evolution" will be defined as "the theory that all modern life forms are derived from one or a few common…
jlynch | January 28, 2006Over at Adventures in Ethics and Science, Janet has a nice post on the riff she gave to students this semester on plagiarism. I have to say, I too take plagiarism personally in that I cant imagine the students think I am that dumb not to be able to detect it -particularly in this day of Google and Turnitin.com. That said, I take a different tack with my (usually) honors classes - I stress the damage it will do to their future prospects. Plagiarism at ASU gets you a transcript grade of 'XE' which notes failure due to academic dishonesty. Thus, the student can kiss goodbye to any reputable…
jlynch | January 28, 2006Over at DailyKOS, Wes Elsberry (of NCSE) gets interviewed. Wes graciously gives props to Ed Brayton, Troy Britain, Reed Cartwright, Mike Dunford, Pim van Meurs, and myself (among many many others) for our help on the Dover case, but frankly it all pales into significance compared to the work Wes, Nick Matzke and the NCSE put into the case. They are the heroes of all of this.
jlynch | January 28, 2006If only to contextualize the Harris Poll I mention below, it is worth pointing out that science literacy in this country is fairly appaling. Witness the bi-annual NSF Science & Engineering Indicators (2004), which found that forty percent believe that astrology is either "very" or "sort of" scientific. This drops from 49% to 25% as education rises. It clearly should raise alarm bells if a quarter of college graduates feel that astrology can be even "sort of" scientific. Read the whole report ... it should depress you even if you are an ID supporter.
The demographic for this survey was 7…
jlynch | January 28, 2006Over at Uncommon Descent, both Dembski and Dave Springer are highlighting this Harris poll from July of last year (you got to hand it to the ID supporters, they keep up with the literature). Dembski merely makes a number of observations (belief in ID increases with education and is more common in Democrats and in the NE and West of the country) while Springer practically passes out with excitement ("Wow! ... Amazing. I recall Bill Dembski months ago writing ID has the momentum and Evolution has the inertia. How right he was!"). However, one needs to look at the actual poll results before…
jlynch | January 27, 2006Do you agree that "[o]ne of the great strengths of the Endangered Species Act is its
foundation in sound scientific principles and its reliance on the best
available science"? As this letter notes, "[u]nfortunately, recent legislative proposals would critically weaken this foundation. For species conservation to continue, it is imperative both that the scientific principles embodied in the Act are maintained, and that the Act is strengthened, fully implemented, and adequately funded." If you are a professional biologist - or working towards an advanced degree - please consider co-signing the…
jlynch | January 27, 2006Not for the easily offended - so PZ will enjoy it ! - is the BEAST Most Loathsome People in America 2005. And who do we see at #46? Why, none other than Bruce Chapman of the DI!
46. Bruce Chapman
Charges: Founder of the misnamed "Discovery Institute." Despite its pioneering title, Chapman's organization seeks to make one of the worldâs oldest, dumbest ideas the prevailing ideology, to "undiscover" evolution and set us back more than a century. Seems to believe a petition signed by 400 PhDs and professors is convincing proof of Intelligent Design's widespread acceptance, when more scientists…
jlynch | January 27, 2006On January 28th 1986, the shuttle Challenger broke up 73 seconds into its tenth mission. Here James Oberg demolishes seven myths about the Challenger tragedy - including the idea that millions of people saw the "explosion" (and the reason for quotes will become obvious if you read the article) live on television. I was a freshman in college at the time. The flight started at 11:08 EST - just after four in the afternoon in Ireland and I remember watching the launch on CNN which, as Oberg notes, was the only channel that was showing the event live.
While some of Oberg's points were not news to…
jlynch | January 26, 2006My experience of Europe in the 1980's was that creationism was a particularly American phenomenon - and frankly, I still think it is. However, the following poll from the UK gives one pause for thought:
Over 2000 participants were asked what best described their view of the origin and development of life:
22% - creationism
17% - intelligent design
48% - evolution
15% - did not know
While this would appear to be similar to the situation here in the US, there is one important difference. When asked what should be taught (versus their own belief), 69% wanted evolution as part of the science…
jlynch | January 23, 2006Philip Skell - whom I've dealt with before - is once again shilling for the Discovery Institute. Witness:
"I am writing -- as a member of the National Academy of Sciences -- to voice my strong support for the idea that students should be able to study scientific criticisms of the evidence for modern evolutionary theory along with the evidence favoring the theory"
Problem is, the NAS - which Skell and the DI cloak their antievolutionism in ("Members and foreign associates of the National Academy are elected in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research…
jlynch | January 22, 2006Over at Pharyngula PZ has a nice post on sexual selection in Swordtails (Xiphophorus helleri). By a strange coincidence, I bought a couple of male neon swordtails yesterday for my tank and was reminded why the staff in many pet stores know nothing about their stock. Male swordtails have an elongated caudal fin - hence the name - and I asked the clerk for two male fish. He disappeared off to the front of the store, came back after a minute, only to announce to me that "We can't tell which ones are male." Ummm. So I set him straight, showing him that the tank contained two visiblly different…
jlynch | January 21, 2006Scienceblogs got a mention on BoingBoing - which if you don't know, is well worth checking out daily - and I'm seeing a spike in visits from that site. So, welcome one and all!
jlynch | January 21, 2006Over at Dispatches, Ed makes two interesting points about the Buttars bill I mention below. Firstly, the bill is in danger of being destroyed should it be challenged in court as the religious intent expressed by its supporters would clearly fail the Lemon test. Secondly,
We don't allow people to practice in many fields without demonstrating that they have some expertise in it. We won't even let someone cut hair without a cosmetology license in this country. And yet we allow ignorant legislators pass laws on those issues without demanding that they know anything about them. I propose a new…
jlynch | January 21, 2006Things have been quiet here - primarily because it was the first week of the semester and everything that entails. But it's over now and hopefully I can get back to blogging.
While I was away, Buttars' bill in Utah apparently advanced on to the next stage of Senate consideration. Buttars states "I've never advocated for, never included anything about intelligent design, creationism or any faith-based philosophy," this despite his statement in USA Today (8/8/05) that "I believe those fighting against the teaching of intelligent design in
schools have an ulterior motive to eliminate references…
jlynch | January 15, 2006Over at Evolgen, RPM has posted the seventh installment of his series on detecting natural selection, a piece on nucleotide polymorphism and selection. As always, it is worth checking out. For those that missed the earlier pieces, here is RPM's summary with links:
The introduction can be found here. The first post described the organization of the genome, and the second described the organization of genes. The third post described codon based models for detecting selection, and the fourth detailed how relative rates can be used to detect changes in selective pressure. The fifth post dealt…
jlynch | January 14, 2006Last night's talk on the Cambrian explosion went really well - managed to nicely weave a narrative of fossils, genetic analysis, and evo-devo over the two hours (questions were spread throughout the talk). Over at Pharyngula, PZ has linked to some nice scanning electron micrographs of Cambrian arthropods. Check 'em out, they're quite cool.
jlynch | January 14, 2006The next big thing for the ID movement will be the publication of Darwin's Nemesis: Philip Johnson and the Intelligent Design Movement in April. I have previously discussed this festschrift for Johnson here and here. Over at Uncommon Descent, Dembski - whose "retirement" from blogging doesn't seem to have slowed his posting - is shilling the volume, noting that he managed to insert some comments on Dover into the preface. As you can imagine, Dembski manages to spin the decision into a good thing for ID.
Just as a tree that has been "rimmed" (i.e., had its bark completely cut through on all…