General Science Where I was, forty years ago 21 Jul 2009 I know only two locations with accuracy in my life’s experience. One is where and when I was when I found out that John Lennon had been murdered, and the other was where I saw the Moon walk. I was mad keen on the space program. I have model rockets,… Continue Reading
Creationism and Intelligent Design Does science lead to atheism? Not really 2 Jul 2009 Occasionally one’s sole impact on things is the ability to get other people to do good work by threatening to do it badly. I was set to do a review of survey’s on scientists and religious belief, but the literature got out of hand rather quickly, so I emailed Matt… Continue Reading
Evolution Social dominance hierarchies 1 Jul 200922 Jun 2018 Given the dynamic nature of dominance hierarchies among animals, it would be very unlikely to get a well formed control hierarchy in nature. Continue Reading
General Science Indifferentialism 30 Jun 2009 The Sensuous Curmudgeon has a new (old) take on the accommodationism debate: indifference. To quote him/her/them: Our position is to totally disregard what we consider to be a sectarian disagreement among various denominations about whether scripture should be read in a manner to deny verifiable information about reality. One might… Continue Reading
General Science Science in the “dark ages” 30 Jun 2009 God struck down my internet last night, or I’d have posted this sooner: Thony Christie, who has guest blogged here, now has his own blog, The Renaissance Mathematicus. Responding to a comment on the Accommodationism thread, Thony takes down the claim that religion caused the dark ages, when it was… Continue Reading
Book Book review 27 Jun 2009 A guest review by Richard Harter, a member of the Talk.Origins Old Ones… The Medea Hypothesis, Is Life on Earth Ultimately Self-Destructive?, Peter Ward, 2009, Princeton University Press, Princeton New Jersey, ISBN-13: 978-0-691-13075-0 Continue Reading
General Science A brainy post 20 Jun 2009 AK’s Rambling Thoughts has an absolutely wonderful post on the role of glial cells in brain function. The money quote (for me) is this: In the traditional view, the brain was made up neurons, which processed data, and glial cells, which performed support functions, including “surround neurons and hold them… Continue Reading
General Science Bright flash on Australian mountain 19 Jun 2009 A bright flash has occurred near Gin Gin in Queensland, followed by a fire on the mountain. Authorities are not saying what it was, but the locals have come up with the most likely explanation: space junk, rubbish that has re-entered. About ten years ago I was driving my kids… Continue Reading
Evolution Alien life in Phoenix 10 Jun 2009 I find Paul Davies, the physicist who gets quoted on everything, really annoying sometimes. This is one of those times. Davies appropriates another’s ideas (Carol Cleland’s), arguing that we should look for a “second kind of life” on earth. Then he appropriates yet another’s work (Philippa Uwin’s work on nanobes),… Continue Reading
General Science Another Seed blog moves on 31 May 2009 Dr. Joan Bushwell’s Chimpanzee Refuge is now here. Their reasons are given here. Continue Reading