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
History Turing: A poem 14 Sep 2009 By Matt Harvey from here: POEM: ALAN TURING here’s a toast to Alan Turing born in harsher, darker times who thought outside the container and loved outside the lines and so the code-breaker was broken and we’re sorry yes now the s-word has been spoken the official conscience woken –… Read More
Education Facts of Evolution: a video series for school students 16 Sep 2009 I’m not going to watch the whole series, and some of the statements may be quibble-worthy, but it looks pretty good. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrGtwyhtRwA] HT metspitzer on talk.origins Read More
Evolution Some more on that snake leg 17 Sep 2009 Lanclet, discussing a Jerry Coyne comment on a Pharyngula post, suggests that the snake actually had ingested a lizard, and the lizard’s leg had punctured the snake. It doesn’t change the point about atavisms, but it does make the case less sexy… 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>