Late to the party, but it’s still good

He’s a little late, but Afarensis finally saw Judgement Day. Verdict: he likes it! I knew he would. He also points out the key factor that demolished the creationist case:

This, in a nutshell, is why ID lost at Dover. The contrast between the experiments embodied in that stack of papers and books vs the lack of any interest in performing experimental checks on their own ideas on the part of ID advocates spelled their doom.

I think there were several factors that played a role: the obvious dishonesty of Bonsell and Buckingham, and the analysis that showed Of Pandas and People to be a descendant text of creationist literature were pretty darned important. But yes, the Discovery Institute’s clear avoidance of actually doing any science was damning.

This failing will be repaired in time for the next trial by the recent hiring of eminent scientist Michael Medved.

Help me out here, fellow academics

My library doesn’t subscribe to this journal, but maybe yours does. Can anyone send me a pdf of this paper?

Mather JA, Anderson RC 2007) Ethics and invertebrates: a cephalopod perspective. Dis Aquat Organ. 75(2):119-29.

This paper first explores 3 philosophical bases for attitudes to invertebrates, Contractarian/Kantian, Utilitarian, and Rights-based, and what they lead us to conclude about how we use and care for these animals. We next discuss the problems of evaluating pain and suffering in invertebrates, pointing out that physiological responses to stress are widely similar across the animal kingdom and that most animals show behavioral responses to potentially painful stimuli. Since cephalopods are often used as a test group for consideration of pain, distress and proper conditions for captivity and handling, we evaluate their behavioral and cognitive capacities. Given these capacities, we then discuss practical issues: minimization of their pain and suffering during harvesting for food; ensuring that captive cephalopods are properly cared for, stimulated and allowed to live as full a life as possible; and, lastly, working for their conservation.

I suspect the reasons for my interest would be obvious.

Thanks, all, it is now in my hands.

Student Post: Mirror-Touch Synesthesia. I Feel Your Pain

For this week’s in-class “NeuroSlam” I spoke about a paper on mirror-touch synesthesia– a condition in which an individual reports feeling an actual tactile sensation in response to seeing someone else touched. For example, this synesthete would feel as if someone touched their arm if they saw someone touching another’s arm. Inspired by an fMRI of a mirror-touch synesthete that showed hyperactivity of mirror-touch network neurons (mirror neurons we all have in the somatosensory cortex, premotor cortex, and parts of the temporal lobe that fire in response to touch and viewing touch), researchers Micheal J Banissy and Jamie Ward wanted to study empathy in mirror-touch synesthetes as empathy is believed to be related to mirror neurons.

In addition to providing evidence for mirror-touch synesthetes experiencing a synesthesia very similar to actual touch, Banissy and Ward measured empathy in these individuals using a psychological test. They reported that synesthetes scored much higher in the “emotional reactivity” subset of the empathy quotient but not in “cognitive empathy” or “social skills.” This supports the theory that mirror neurons do play a role in empathy as well as the idea that empathy is a complex neurological process that can’t be be wholly described in one neural network.

Banissy, M.J., Ward, J. Mirror-touch synesthesia is linked with empathy. Nature Neuroscience 10, 815 – 816 (2007)
Published online: 17 June 2007 | doi:10.1038/nn1926

Wake up, everyone!

A few little videos by way of the marvelous Kevin Hayden:

  • Ladies, did you know that you are just like a cardboard box? We’re supposed to treat you delicately and with respect, just in case you’ve got something in your uterus. If you’ve had a hysterectomy or you’re menstruating, though, and we know the box is empty, well, we don’t have to worry about you so much.

  • Guys, did you know that you are followed everywhere by a mob of enthusiastic, hyperactive sperm? I love how both sexes can be objectified by the functions of our gonads.

  • I’ve shown the video for this one before, but I’m going to do it again just because I love the New York Dolls and this will put you in a happy mood for a Monday morning. Here are the New York Dolls performing “Dance Like a Monkey” live:

Separation of church and state establishes a new religion!

Whoa. Somehow, I think I’ve ended up in the Bizarro Universe. New Scientist reports that the Discovery Institute has a problem with the information for teachers that accompanied the recent Judgment Day documentary.

The teaching package states: “Q: Can you accept evolution and still believe in religion? A: Yes. The common view that evolution is inherently anti-religious is simply false.” According to Casey Luskin, an attorney with the Discovery Institute, this answer favours one religious viewpoint, arguably violating the US constitution. “We’re afraid that teachers might get sued,” he says.

Say what?

[Read more…]

D’Souza dishes up more dreck

Zeno compares Dinesh D’Souza to Mark Twain. This exercise is much like comparing mouse droppings to our upcoming Thanksgiving feast, but I suppose it must be done. Note D’Souza’s argument for free will:

I am sitting at my computer with a cup of coffee on my desk. I can reach over and take a sip if I choose; I can knock the coffee mug onto the carpet if I choose; I can just leave the cup alone and let the coffee get cold. Now I ask: Is there anything in the laws of physics that forces me do any of these things? Obviously not.

I had no idea that he was that stupid.