149 years ago today 24 Nov 200818 Sep 2017 Sgt Pepper… oops, wrong oeuvre… On the 24th of November 1859, a green bound book was published. It made something of an impact on the way we think… Hat tip to Professor Olsen @ Large Evolution History
Evolution Visualising Darwin 6 Sep 2009 PZ Macrabbit has already mentioned this, but I thought I’d pile on: it’s a Javascript utility that shows you how Darwin edited the six editions of the Origin over the course of his life, by Ben Fry, who lets you download the program Processing (now that’s a name!) for free…. Read More
Evolution Virgin births 4 Dec 2007 Forget about the season; virgin births can happen any time of year… and anywhere. So there is an Ask a Scienceblogger question about virgin births. In zoology this is called “parthenogenesis” (which means “virgin birth”), and in botany it is either called “vegetative reproduction” (think: cuttings) or “apomixis”, in which… Read More
Evolution Myth 5: Darwin thought evolution relied on accidents and chance 20 Feb 200918 Sep 2017 This myth says a lot about the default views of western thinking, rather like the issue of teleology. Read More
I’ve told you lot before: I’m innumerate. I passed pure math with distinction and failed applied. I can’t even do basic arithmetic without a calculator.
I’ve told you lot before: I’m innumerate. I passed pure math with distinction and failed applied. A famous Czech professor of mathematics once said that mathematics is the only science that has no use for numbers.
And just three years later, Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. I know, I know. But I love telling that to people who claim that Darwin instigated racism.:)
With all respect to James Goetz, 32 years before that, Britain passed into law The Abolition Act, which came into force and effect on 01 August 1833. That act altered the status of a slave to that of an indentured servant. Many imagine that this is a distinction without a difference. But consider; the contract of indenture was one that a minor was permitted to enter into, as it was it the benefit of the minor. By indenture, a minor was contracted to a master, in order to learn a trade. Such an indentured servant was entitled to food, clothing, shelter, and education. (The Brits were not content to “free” their slaves to sleep under bridges, and starve in the gutters.) As the indenture lasted seven years, I will not gainsay anyone who wishes to suggest that the true “Year of Jubilee” was 1840. That’s still 25 yearas before the Yanks did anything about the problem>