On the origins of syphillis 14 Aug 2009 A nice historical review by Thony Christie on syphillis and comets. History Science
History Fallacies on fallacies 22 Sep 2008 Many people are confused about what counts as a fallacy, including teachers of critical reasoning. Opponents of science often accuse pro-science writers of “the fallacy of authority” or “the ad hominem fallacy” when they are noted for having made silly and false claims before. I thought some words about what… Read More
Ecology and Biodiversity Virulence and vectors 18 Mar 202018 Mar 2020 Apropos of nothing, I am reminded of Paul Ewald’s book Evolution of infectious disease (1994). Ewald begins with the question of whether parasites and pathogens evolve towards commensuality (the state of being mutually beneficial, which is what, among others, Macfarlane Burnet thought, along with many immunologists and epidemiologists. Ewald points out… Read More
Book Books 25 Aug 2008 In addition to Fuller’s Science versus Religion, I also received my copy of Phil Dowe’s Galileo, Darwin and Hawking last week, and today arrives Roy Davies’ The Darwin Conspiracy (thanks, Roy; I will be as even handed as I can be), and Frank Schaeffer’s Crazy for God. So I am… Read More
What rubbish. Syphilis is an instrument of God’s Love. Sometime He can love you too much. Either that, or it’s a communist plot to undermine soviet-style healthcare.
So, you’re saying we caught syphillis from God? How did that happen? What did he do to us while we were asleep?
Yes. It’s all God. He works in Mysterious Ways, you know. Even in Norfolk. But when you go barmy, your nose rots, and bits of you drop off, you can be consoled by the fact that it’s all because of God’s infinite mercy. As I always say to parents who have lost children to various complaints, heck, Jesus Wants Me for A Spirochete.
Mathematicians are such nit-pickers, even the ones that write so well. Need I remind you of the list-obsessed One Who Shall Not Be Named?
…besides, you should check out the first line of The Moons of Mars post on his blog. “…US Navel Observatory…”?