The War on Science
mikethemadbiologist | September 29, 2007There are no NASA scientists in this picture (from here)
Because if NASA scientists do science, the terrorists win. Or something.
Over at Culture Kitchen, there's a good series of posts about the new NASA security procedures that apply to all NASA employees. Parts one and two are worth reading, but the categories of offenses that are part of the "Suitability Matrix." Here's the description of the lowest level of offenses, Class A (italics mine):
Severity A:
Infrequent use or possession of marijuana. Abusive language (Hey...we live in NYC here!). Unlawful assembly (which some protests we…
mikethemadbiologist | September 27, 2007And, thankfully, the NY Times' Cornelia Dean calls the intelligent design creationists out on it:
There is no credible scientific challenge to the theory of evolution as an explanation for the complexity and diversity of life on earth. And while individual scientists may embrace religious faith, the scientific enterprise looks to nature to answer questions about nature. As scientists at Iowa State University put it last year, supernatural explanations are "not within the scope or abilities of science."
It's about time this is stated more forthrightly. One section of the article piqued my…
mikethemadbiologist | September 24, 2007From the archives comes this post about the ridiculous attraction to 'breaking paradigms':
Every so often, intelligent design flares up like a really bad pimple. If you're a biologist, you're always torn between ignoring it or responding to the same old statements of belief that you or someone else has refuted over and over again. Pharyngula sums up this frustration perfectly:
I am tired, so tired. A few people have claimed we're overreacting to Bush's tepid endorsement of Intelligent Design creationism, but no...look at the deluge of garbage from the frauds of creationism that has followed…
mikethemadbiologist | September 22, 2007A follow up to yesterday's blast from the past:
Ever since Majikthise, Pandagon, and Alternet linked to my post about Yglesias, my sitemeter hit-counter thingee has blown a gasket (and, Majikthise, um, thanks for the very kind words, but low expectations are much easier to live with...). Anyway, it's been interesting to read what other people think about the post.
One general angle I've noticed is that many commenters are focusing on the politics of evolution. Granted, this post was picked up largely by political websites, so this is to be expected. Regarding the politics, I'm not naive: I…
mikethemadbiologist | September 21, 2007Let no one say I won't call out liberals when they're idiots about evolution. From the archives:
About a week about Matt Yglesias had a post about evolution where he wrote (italics mine):
Last but not least, nothing whatsoever of practical importance hinges on whether or not life on earth originated as a result of intelligent design. The theory is exceedingly silly pseudo-science, but it doesn't actually threaten anything. There is, moreoever, no reason to think it's especially crucial for the average citizen to have an accurate grasp of state-of-the-art biological theory. Most people don't…
mikethemadbiologist | September 13, 2007Genomicron has a great satirical post about how to write a bad science story. It's worth a read. So, I ask you, readers, which of these ten journalistic 'sins' is the worst:
http://genomicron.blogspot.com/2007/09/anatomy-of-bad-science-story.html
1. Choose your subject matter to be as amenable to sensationalism as possible.
2. Use a catchy headline, especially if it will undermine the story's credibility.
3. Overstate the significance and novelty of the work.
4. Distort the history of the field and oversimplify the views of scientists.
5. Remember that controversy sells, and everyone loves…
mikethemadbiologist | September 6, 2007"More vomit! Damn it, I need more vomit!"
Actually, before I get to this post about people who believe in demonic possession, I have a very simple question. If you believe in demons, isn't that almost akin to worshiping them? After all, we do refer to believers as God-fearing people. Anyway, I've been meaning to post this description of the casting out of demons from Joe Bageant's Deer Hunting With Jesus (italics mine; "Brother Mike" refers to the author's brother):
After the worship service, I approach Brother Mike about exorcism: "I gotta ask you, Brother Mike," I said, "do you cast out…
mikethemadbiologist | August 28, 2007...and why most scientists oppose the Bush administration. In a post about hurricane Katrina, Rick Perlstein writes (bold original, italics mine):
I recently had an instructive moment with a colleague here at Campaign for America's Future. We've been discussing a series of texts for a redesign of the site meant to introduce the various themes of The Big Con. In one box, he'd placed various consequences of conservative government. In another, he'd placed descriptions various fundamentals of conservative philosophy. He'd placed "cronyism" in the first box. I gently corrected him, moving it to…
retrospectacle | August 27, 2007As noted around the science blogosphere, something wicked this way comes. PRISM, or the Partnership for Research Integrity in Science and Medicine (created by the Association of American Publishers), is setting up a strawman argument against Open Access publications, claiming that the tradition of peer review is under attack. Open Access, such as PLOS journals and other initiatives, make it easier for people to have access to the research that they, as taxpayers, implicitly fund. Wouldn't you like to know what you are paying for, and whether it benefits your life? Wouldn't you like scientists…
mikethemadbiologist | August 25, 2007ScienceBlogling Tara of Aetiology has co-authored a PLoS Biology article about HIV denialism and the internets. Go read it. The HIV denialists are clogging up the internet tubes...
tlambert | August 23, 2007Last month the Australian mounted an over-the-top defence of one of their pundits after blogs criticised him for spinning as favourable to the government an opinion poll that showed the opposition way ahead and no change in its lead. So how do you think they reacted to Media Watch's criticism?
With 4672 words blasting Media Watch, including the entire editorial, stories from Caroline Overington and Matthew Warren and an opinion piece from David Salter.
Check out the unbelievable arrogance of their editorial:
When Media Watch demanded we jump to an apology and correction, The Australian was…
tlambert | August 21, 2007A couple of weeks ago, I wrote how the Australian had misrepresented Rajendra Pachauri (IPCC head), falsely claiming that he supported the Australian government's policy of delay. Media Watch has the latest developments. Pachauri wrote to the Australian:
I am writing to convey my deep disappointment at the news report in your newspaper of August 9 with the headline, "Climate expert backs Canberra". Nothing that I said in my telephone interview with Mr Matthew Warren implied or even remotely conveyed that I supported or opposed the Australian Government's policies on climate change.
I am…
tlambert | August 9, 2007Matthew Warren claims in the Australian:
The head of the world's leading climate change organisation has backed the Howard Government's decision to defer setting a long-term target for reducing greenhouse emissions until the full facts are known.
Despite widespread criticism of the Government's decision last month to defer its decision on cutting emissions until next year, the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said yesterday he agreed with the approach. ...
The Coalition and Labor have committed to the introduction of emissions trading from about 2011, based on a long-…
mikethemadbiologist | August 3, 2007Once again, Michigan congressman John Dingell has decided to side with Detroit automakers who continue to resist entering the 21st century. The House has scrapped legislation that would raise fuel efficiency standards...to those less than Europe and Japan:
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, decided not to allow a vote on an amendment requiring cars and light trucks sold in the United States to achieve a fleet average of 35 miles per gallon by 2019. The measure, similar to one the Senate passed in June, drew fierce opposition from automakers and dealers, the United Automobile…
mikethemadbiologist | August 1, 2007The blogosphere is in a wee bit of a tizzy over a Vanity Fair article that hints Giuliani might be having an(other) affair, this time with advisor and motivational speaker, Starr Shephard. Personally, as long as he's not doing it in public, I don't care who Giuliani is or is not screwing, although the whole subject does generate some unappealing mental images. But the motivational guru part is disturbing.
A quick use of the Google found an advertisement placed in the Village Voice by Shephard:
Did You See or read "The Secret"? STARR is here to serve you in order for you to light the flame…
mikethemadbiologist | July 22, 2007The Democrats aren't doing any better funding stem cell research--or any other research. Empty pockets at the Next Hurrah writes:
http://thenexthurrah.typepad.com/the_next_hurrah/2007/07/will-democrats…
Inflation in the life sciences this year is estimated at 3.7%; thus, Congress's increase [of 2.8%] is yet another year of real-dollar budget cuts for NIH. Even worse, the way they're allocating the money, most NIH institutes would see an increase of less than 2.5% under the Senate plan and less than 1.7% under the House plan, increases well below the level of inflation (Facts and figures on…
mikethemadbiologist | July 5, 2007Calling all woo-meisters (including ScienceBlogs Lord High Defender Against Woo). In this Slate article about the vaccines-cause-autism crowd, which describes how this is one idiot idea that will never go away, I came across this puzzling statement about antibiotics:
Another apparent benefit is the notion, espoused by a network of alternative-medical practitioners and supplement pushers, that if vaccines are the cause, the damage can be repaired, the child made whole. In the homes of autistic children it is not unusual to find cabinets filled with 40 different vitamins and supplements, along…
mikethemadbiologist | June 28, 2007...and the psychological brickwalls they run into. With all of the talk about the Creationist Museum, I thought it would be worth discussing a museum that is trying to teach evolution. In the June 2007 issue of Evolution*, Diamond and Evans describe some of the responses to a revamped evolution exhibit, "Explore Evolution", at the Nebraska State Museum.
The authors conducted a survey of visitors to the Nebraska State Museum, asking them seven questions about the exhibit, with the goal of determining what cognitive biases existed among museumgoers (note: I've snipped the references):…
mikethemadbiologist | June 26, 2007Well, they're not my suggestions, they're David Hillis' But they are still pretty good.... In the June 2007 issue of Evolution, Hillis writes about how to make general biology textbooks discuss evolution better. He has a list of ten suggestions, and I thought it would be interesting to go through them (italics original; boldface mine; I cut a great deal of text*):
1) Demonstrate that evolutionary research is current and ongoing.... Post-Darwinian findings also present an excellent opportunity to teach about the process of science, and to show that the methods of evolutionary biology are…
mikethemadbiologist | June 8, 2007When you do 'faith-based' science, you have problems when you don't follow the tenets of that 'faith.' From the AP:
The man who plays Adam in a video aired at a Bible-based creationist museum has led a different life outside the Garden of Eden, flaunting his sexual exploits online and modeling for a clothing line that promotes free love.
After learning about his activities Thursday, the Creation Museum in Kentucky pulled the 40-second video in which he appears.
"We are currently investigating the veracity of these serious claims of his participation in projects that don't align with the…