Jerry Coyne’s Why Evolution is True came out recently in paperback, so if you were waiting to purchase it because of the hardcover price, you’ve got a green light. If you’ve already got the hardcover, consider purchasing the paperback and donating it to your local library. I just picked up a copy today for $16.00 …
Monthly Archives: January 2010
Scott Roeder convicted of 1st-degree murder
Scott Roeder, the man who murdered Dr. George Tiller on May 31st, has been convicted of first degree murder and faces a life sentence with the possibility of parole after twenty-five years. According to the article, Roeder’s attorneys wanted him to receive a lesser conviction of voluntary manslaughter, but the judge wouldn’t allow it. I …
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Consistency is irrelevant to denialism
I follow the Skeptical Science blog and I took special interest to today’s post by John Cook about a debate featuring Ian Plimer and Christopher Monckton versus Barry Brooks and Graham Readfern. I’ve only heard Monckton speak before and he has shown himself to be mostly full of schlock conspiracy theories, smoothly twisting (or fabricating) …
International Darwin Day Petition
I’m not a big fan of web-based petitions. They’re generally pretty worthless when it comes to actually getting things done, but they also make participation really, really easy. So, in the spirit of supporting the federal recognition of Darwin Day in the United States, I signed this petition put forth by the International Darwin Day …
If it’s cold, it’s evidence!
I find it noteworthy that the global warming deniers, many of whom were touting the recent cold snap in the USA as evidence against global warming, are strangely silent about the recent warm temperatures we’ve been having. In Pennsylvania, it was about 60 degrees this morning, which is pretty high for this time of year… …
Those stupid scientists!
From Calamities of Nature comes this comic (the image here is just the first panel). I don’t want to spoil it for you, but I’ve heard a similar argument made by Sam Harris concerning the word “elite” in a Newsweek essay about Sarah Palin and politics last year. Not exactly the same argument, but related. …
Reality, Death, and Family Cats
There’s a great post on Unreasonable Faith by guest blogger Vincent Skolny (of Avangelism.com) about kids, their understanding of death, and the nature of reality. He writes about his three-year-old daughter’s understanding of death as it relates to a recently-deceased family cat… and herself. A small excerpt from the conclusion: Death isn’t confusing at all: …
Oh, it’s a beautiful graph!
A simple graph from SMBC showing the relationship between belief in a higher power and a good science education.
I love xkcd
xkcd is such a great web comic, not just for the humor, but for the insights. It’s also wonderfully techie and appeals to the geek part of me. Today’s comic is one of the funny and insightful ones (reproduced with the original title text for your hovering enjoyment). What I love about it is the …
Mississippi targeted by creationists
Mississippi can now lay claim to hosting the first anti-evolution bill of 2010, according to the National Center for Science Education. Gary Chism (R-District 37), who last year introduced a bill that would have required biology textbooks to include a classic creationist disclaimer about evolution, has sponsored this new bill, HB 586. From the NCSE …