Ecology and Biodiversity “Systematics is sick” 21 Aug 2008 So says a committee of the UK House of Lords: Systematic biology and taxonomy – the science of describing and identifying plants and animals – is in critical decline and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) must act before it is too late. Of course, this is not… Read More
Biology On vitalism 2 Dec 2009 I came across this quote: In our recent science the Aristotelian doctrine is not dead. For but little changed, though dressed in new garments, this Aristotelian entelechy, which so fascinated Leibnitz, enters into the Vitalism of Hans Driesch; and of those who believe with him, that far as physical laws… Read More
Humor Amusing typogarphical errors – 5 30 May 2009 It’s been a while since I made a typo that was funny or deep, so I’ll have to make do with this one: Misquotoes: Annoying quotes taken out of context to mean something other than what they originally meant; a bug in language use that can bite the user. Read More
Darwin Day, cool! John, your blurb says you’re looking for a position. Richard Dawkins is stepping down from the Charles Simonyi chair in Oxford. Maybe you should send a CV and apply…..
From Language Log: “Today is the 199th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, who freed the slaves, and Charles Darwin, who freed the mind.”