Octopus mototi
Figure from Cephalopods: A World Guide (amzn/b&n/abe/pwll), by Mark Norman.
Pharyngula
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
I griped before about those sleazy credit report ads with Ben Stein that were appearing all over the site. Well, they seem to have had one fortunate effect: they got Ben Stein fired for ethics violations from his gig at the New York Times.
The NYT has yet to explain why they thought Stein could usefully contribute a column on economics in the first place, however.
Jerry Coyne has published his review of Unscientific America in Science. It begins this way:
In Unscientific America, a book slight in both length and substance, science writers Chris Mooney and Sheril Kirshenbaum argue that America’s future is deeply endangered by the scientific illiteracy of its citizens and that this problem derives from two failings of scientists themselves: their vociferous atheism and their ham-handed and ineffectual efforts to communicate the importance of science to the public.
And ends this way:
More than at any time in my life, I see Americans awash in popular science. Bookstores teem with volumes by Stephen Gould, Steven Pinker, Brian Greene, Steven Weinberg, Richard Dawkins, Michio Kaku, Edward O. Wilson, and Jared Diamond; natural history museums have become user friendly; and entire television channels are devoted to science and nature. Science education is readily available to anyone who is curious. And yes, we scientists need–and want–to share our love of science with the public. Still, we must compete with the infinite variety of claims on people’s time and interests, including sports, movies, and reality shows. No matter how much atheists stifle themselves, no matter how many scientists reach out to the public via new media, we may not find the appetite for science infinitely elastic. This does not mean, of course, that we should refrain from feeding it. But figuring out where and how to intervene will take a lot more work than the shallow and unreflective analysis of Unscientific America.
In between he describes how what little data the authors present does not support their claims, suggests that the problem of science illiteracy is much more complicated than they let on (duh), and that their suggested solutions are either trivial and suggested before, or wrong.
Somehow, I don’t think this review is one that Mooney and Kirshenbaum will highlight on their blog. It’s probably the review that will be most influential to scientists, however.
Coyne J (2009) Selling science. Science 325(5941):678-679.
Against my advice, the Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers ran an incredibly offensive ad on city buses in De Moines featuring naked lesbians masturbating with Bibles.
No, wait, that wasn’t it. It was an ad announcing that god hated Christians and they were all going to burn in hell.
No, I don’t think that was it. It was an ad offering free bacon to anyone willing to deny the Holy Spirit, and the Iowa vegans were outraged.
Nah, don’t think so. Actually, the horrible, awful, evil ad they were running was this one:
That’s it? “Don’t believe in God? You aren’t alone”? That’s the ad that some people found offensive? So offensive that the ad was promptly yanked from city buses, and Governor Chet Culver announced that he was “disturbed, personally” by them?
That’s insane. What’s the matter with those Iowans? One day they do something to make us proud, the next they do something so petty and stupid.
Look, it’s a clear case. There was absolutely nothing offensive about those ads, nothing that would make the horses skittish or frighten the children. Somewhere down the line, a few intolerant ignoramuses freaked out and started phoning the bus company, and a coward or a zealot somewhere in the chain of command saw an excuse to shut down a harmless advertisement. It’s bigotry, plain and simple.
By the way, there’s also a poll:
Do you think it was right for DART to remove the Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers ads from its busses?
Yes
21.6%
No
78.4%
It’s going the right way, at least…but could be better.
I tried to watch this new video from Edward Current, but it turns out my Faith-Vision is legally blind.
Sam Harris wrote a recent op-ed in the New York Times criticizing the nomination of Francis Collins to head the NIH. As you all know, newspapers limit the amount of space you can have, so that was the very limited version — he has now posted a lengthy critique of Collins on the Reason Project.
The big field trip to Ken Ham’s amusement park is on Friday morning — we’ll be meeting at 10am at the parking lot, just look for the mob.
Be ready. This is exactly what you can expect if any of the creationists engage with you.
Expect them to be smug in their ignorance, and recite the same old tripe they always do. But remember: don’t get angry, just be amused. We are not going there for a rumble, this is a reconnaissance mission, in which we will harvest many stories.
I have another request: anyone who is joining us for this event who is also a biologist, please email me. I’d like to coordinate a little bit and make sure we’re well distributed in the group — there are a lot of people going, and we won’t be able to troop through in one big mass.
If you aren’t going, I will be twittering away on my iPhone as we go through, so you can follow along vicariously. I’ll use the hashtag #CreoZerg, and welcome any other twittering attendees to use it, too.
People are worried that there won’t be pictures. I just charged up FOUR batteries for my Nikon D50; I’m bringing my iPhone with its camera; I will have my Flip camera; and I’m thinking about bringing my digital video camera (although I may not, since it’s feeling like overkill so far). I’m sure others will be doing likewise. The press will be there. There will be photos, do not fear.
We uppity obnoxious “New Atheists” often get called “militant” or “rabid” or even “fundamentalist”, and unless you’re doing it as a joke, it’s highly inappropriate. Real rabid radicals do things like these animal rights lunatics, who have targeted the CEO of a pharmaceutical company, setting fire to his vacation home and stealing his mother’s ashes from her gravesite. Now that is unconscionable and damaging behavior.
The site also has a poll, if you’ve been pining away for one lately. Maybe you can express how the actions of the real militants make you feel.
Animal research:
Is necessary
43%
Should be abolished
57%
It definitely needs some correction.
I was recently interviewed for the Young Australian Skeptics podcast, and it’s now available for download.
As I’m sure you’ve all heard by now, a deranged gunman went on a shooting spree in a fitness club in LA, killing 3 women and injuring 10 before blowing his own scabrous, rotting brains out. The guy was just plain nuts (in a fairly common sort of way, unfortunately), but he also left behind an online diary.
Maybe soon, I will see God and Jesus. At least that is what I was told. Eternal life does NOT depend on works. If it did, we will all be in hell. Christ paid for EVERY sin, so how can I or you be judged BY GOD for a sin when the penalty was ALREADY paid. People judge but that does not matter. I was reading the Bible and The Integrity of God beginning yesterday, because soon I will see them.
Say, that logic looks rather familiar, doesn’t it?
