Travel Diary 4 7 Oct 2009 I am in Göttingen now, talking to primatologists at the DPZ (Deutsches Primatenzentrum) conference on hybridisation. Neither I nor any of the said primatologists are in the picture above. This is an appropriate place to give a talk on species concepts, because in the 18th century, Johann Friedrich Blumenbach worked here, and he is the originator of the so-called biological species concept. Tonight is a talk on the tree of life, a subject dear to my heart, by Mike Arnold of the University of Georgia, and the conference proper begins tomorrow. Biology Ecology and Biodiversity Evolution Philosophy Science
Ecology and Biodiversity Gore, peace and the “errors” 12 Oct 2007 The International Herald Tribune worries that Gore’s receiving the Peace Prize is going to denigrate the award because it “strays from traditional Nobel definitions of peace work”. Huh. As Tom Lehrer said, when Henry Kissinger can win the Peace Prize, the time for political satire is long past. If anything,… Read More
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. Read More
Creationism and Intelligent Design New work on lateral transfer shows that Darwin was wrong 31 Mar 200918 Sep 2017 A new study into the transfer of genetic material laterally, or across taxonomic divisions, has shown that evolution does not proceed as Darwin thought, and that in fact the present theory of evolution is entirely false. Instead, it transpires that lateral genetic transfer makes new species much more like Empedocles‘… Read More