Bits and pieces 7 Jan 2009 I’m away from what serves as my computer these days for a while – off to Sydney to find a place to live. Also, the Seed Masters (whom I for one welcome) are upgrading Moveable Type from 3 to 4, so we can’t blog for a few days anyway. But I would like to announce that my paper with Gareth J. Nelson on a possible precursor to punctuated equilibrium and the biological species concept, Pierre Trémaux, has been published in the journal History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences. The full details are: Wilkins, John S., and Gareth J. Nelson. 2008. Trémaux on species: A theory of allopatric speciation (and punctuated equilibrium) before Wagner. Hist. Phil. Life Sci. 30: 179-206. A manuscript version is available from the PhilSci Archive. Evolution History Species and systematics trashcan categorial
Evolution Out of the mouths of [mental] babes 2 Jun 2008 Creationism is being pushed legislatively in Texas again. But this line is priceless, from State Board of Education vice chairman, David Bradley (yes, you guessed, a Republican): Bradley said he doesn’t foresee any successful effort to remove the “strengths and weaknesses” requirement from the science standards. “There are issues in… Read More
Australian stuff Is creationism about to be taught in Queensland? 31 May 201018 Sep 2017 PZ Mistletoe, under whom atheists get to kiss each other, has accused my home base state Queensland* of introducing creationism into high schools. However, what he is responding to, in the Murdoch press (never a good source of information) is a national draft curriculum for all Australian schools, so it… Read More
Evolution Creation, a personal reflection on the movie 18 Jul 201022 Jun 2018 I just saw the movie Creation, with Paul Bettany as Darwin and Jennifer Connelly (Bettany’s real life wife) as Emma Darwin. And I am very pleasantly surprised how well it worked as a film, as well as how effectively it represented the era. My quibbles are just that, quibbles. Mostly,… Read More