It takes several hours to write a science post, for when I’m reporting on a paper like the one about the cat genome yesterday, I read the paper twice, and then go over it again before summarizing it. In toto, that post probably involved four hours of effort, most of it in the evening. About a dozen people bothered to comment.
A post on atheist issues, or on “readers’ beefs”, often takes no more than 25 minutes to write. Those posts can garner between 40 and 150 comments.
The lack of comments on science posts, leads me to wonder if people even read them, or read them but have nothing to say, or just skip them as seeming “too hard” (I, as well as Matthew and Greg) strive to make them comprehensible to science-interested readers).
If it’s the latter, what’s the point of writing about science? But if I couldn’t do that, I wouldn’t want to run this website. I could turn it into the Daily Mail of atheist sites, but there’s already an entire blog network devoted to drama, rage, and recrimination.
All I can say is that this is dispiriting.
As far as Atheist postings, you do it well but there are pitfalls that I have seen on another blog:
* snarky attacks on others, including fellow atheists for not agreeing 100% with the writer.
* no filtering of nasty, dispiriting comments
* constantly blogging about obscure people with bizzare ideas, only to make fun of them.
This comment is unclear to me. Are you simply describing someone else’s blog? Are you implying that these things apply here, too?
I hope it’s a comment on other sites; this is not a description that would apply here by any stretch. Folks at WEIT poke some fun at the subjects of the anti-faith posts, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen one commenter be nasty to another – and makes me think our host’s nasty filters are swift and effective!
I don’t encounter much, if any, snark here (nor do I see what I would characterize as attacks or nasty comments). It’s one of the reasons why I like WEiT and the commentariat so much.
I don’t think it’s going out on a limb to say that sounds like a reference to PZ.
I’m grateful to PZ for one thing–he made me aware of WEIT, the bl*g.
Same here. I still read his blog, but WEIT’s on top nowadays!
Ditto. Haven’t been back there for many months.
Years, for me. I only revisit Pharyngula when Jerry or someone here references it. (And then usually only to enjoy a trainwreck.)
This comment is number 90. I read the felid piece with interest and spent an hour or so remembering the Serval, Cheetah, Leopard, Lion, Puma, Bobcat and housecat I have seen in the wild. Wondering about the Serval crosses, and also remembering with great nostalgia the times I spent with a Cheetah in Nairobi’s Wildlife Orphanage back in the ’70’s.
Thanks for the memories and your good work.
Noooo!
Cheer up!
I LOVE the science posts (I also appreciate Greg & Matthew contributing to them), but I have no interweb at home so have to do a catch-up over the week of what I missed at the weekend. As it is, I also get the whole post in my email so I do not always go to the original post. Isn’t it possible to see how many people open a page on WordPress? When I write our library ‘bl*g’, which is mostly historical but also with pictures, & is rather ‘niche’, I hardly ever get comments – mostly because people just like to read something interesting or curious but perhaps also as they do not have anything to add.
What I prescribe is a visit to a cat!
I read the science article to Kink and he was greatly pleased! Mo quibbles there.
I have not seen this point made yet, but for those that may have a professional expertise, something else might be going on, as well. I know that I find your viewpoint to be very valuable, in part because your subspecialization is different than mine.
As you noted, you need more time to write detailed “science” posts. Comments on “science” posts may also take more time, require closer reading, and need careful wording than “general observation” posts. I wonder if many others are in my situation where I might tend to use limited time and attention in other professional writing–either in journal articles or on their own blog.
There is in any brief comment on a post the possibility of miscommunicating and misunderstanding, but it seems more likely in science posts, as well.
Your website is my first stop of the day and the last at night.
I do read the science posts and I am grateful that I have the opportunity to do so….I never really comment though for the same reasons outlined above– most of the time my comments would be something like: “Cool!! Thanks!!”. And that doesn’t sound very sophisticated.
But your science posts are appreciated nevertheless and this old girl with the rusty brain says thank you. And Cool!!
Late to the party as usual. Personally, the reason I keep coming back to this site is the integrity, authority and clarity of the science presented, particularly since being around a cat for 5 minutes is likely to result in a trip to the ED for an asthma exacerbation.
Jerry,
Like other commenters, I do read and enjoy your scientific posts; I rarely comment on any posts. I do, however, often include links to relevant posts in my Introductory Biology course, where lectures are posted on Blackboard. There are so many fascinating discoveries that never make the mainstream. It’s intelligent websites like yours that inform and educate us all, even the educators. Keep up the good work. No more funk over this.
Reading this website is the nicest part of my morning routine and the science posts are certainly part of the attraction. I rarely comment on those, thinking, just like many other readers, that I’d have little to contribute – and I am a biologist! But I forward the links to your science posts to my friends and professional colleagues quite often and they appreciate it. Please continue to post about science.
Perhaps one reason for the fewer comments was that it was pretty technical for many in your audience, and so people were shy about commenting. Not commenting does not mean it was not interesting to them. I shy away from commenting on postings about free will, for example, ’cause I do not feel that I know enough to say anything smart.
I really like the science postings, and consider them to be a special feature of WEIT. I was really busy that day, and could not go over that posting as much as I would like to. I would sorely miss them if they became less frequent, or disappeared.
Please don’t stop the science blogs! They’re terrific. The dynamic, IMO, is that it’s easier to toss off some one-liner about Islam or some creationist nut bag than to come up with a response to the feline genome that seems worth making. Going forward, though, I’ll try to remember to offer thanks, which I genuinely feel.
i love the science posts!
i have visited this bl…website for over 5 years now- on a daily basis and with great joy.
your posts are part of my day-to-day life and i wouldn’t miss a single one of them!
it is the science that lured me here and without it the website wouldn’t be the same… it would be a smaller, a worse version of itself.
i comment very rarely, because i have either nothing to add to the conversation or i am very short on time that day.
please keep up the good work and should you ever be in munich and with some free time on your hands- i would like to treat you to a nice bavarian meal (complete with a beer or two … or three) to thank you for it all.
Going back to read the cat genome post!
I look forward to your science posts but as everyone else has commented I do not have the technical knowledge to comment myself. But keep up the good work.
Dispirited Jerry said, “Hey,
When I’m posting on science today,
Comments just disappear.”
“But Prof, you’re so clear.
That’s why readers have bupkis to say.”
Bravo!
Such is the way with articles. I’ve spent hours researching and writing about things I’ve found fascinating and drawing my own conclusions and writing up those conclusions only to get very few comments. But when I show something that someone else did, I get lots and lots of comments.
I think sometimes people don’t have the time to invest in the reading or just don’t feel qualified to comment. Science writing is important and people are interested in science so I think the effort is worthwhile. But most of all, I think writers should write about what makes them happy and what they enjoy writing about.
The science posts are the ones i like the best because they educate me and are the reason I follow this blog 🙂
You can ditch the other stuff but please don’t ditch the science!
No! Don’t ditch anything!
Just another voice in the choir to let you know how much I enjoy the science blogs. I came to your site because of your biology expertise and clear mind in discussions of religion. Our entire family are avid readers. I think that the lack of comments generally reflects the intelligence of your audience and their understanding of the complexity of these issues. Please keep up the science blogging.
Same sentiment as most, if not all … love the science, but I don’t feel qualified to comment.
I deeply appreciate the effort you put into educating us, and I sincerely hope you will continue to do so.
Science posts are the best. There are no valid excuses for not commenting in relation to other topics, but it is psychologically easier to make a statement about creationism in public schools than it is to make a professional judgement about aspects of the cat genome.
I am sure you do not lack confidence, but do not ever stop or give up because you think no one is listening. The greatest lessons we can give are always for ourselves. It may seem selfish, but it is not. We cannot teach others until we teach our selves. And some posts have that intent more than others…the inward attempt professionalize knowledge.
I didn’t see the post until this morning, sorry! I read about the paper in SCIENCE and started wondering about self-domestication of crows (I just made a comment over at the cat post and hope others with weigh in). I posted because I hand-raise and rehab American crows and spent 3 weeks in New Caledonia this August to research a book about tool-using wild crows. So I think about crows a lot.
I love the science posts the most, though the skewering-of-fanatics posts are always entertaining. I generally only comment to protest something said that I really disagree with and can’t keep silent about. I will try to do more positive commenting.
I know I’m not competent to judge the science papers, so I just listen and learn.
Jerry, thanks for the informative cat genetics analysis and the self-explanatory links to cat color genetics. I immediately went to check the coat pattern type of my tabby ‘Tiger’. But what is there to comment? Cats have a standard number of protein-coding genes. Genes have been gained and lost in rough accord to sensory ecology and history of domestication. Cats fit in just where they should in the tree of life. Great!! Just no way to insert a useful (or perverse) comment or a contrary opinion. Funny bunny Olympics and squirrels trying to climb greased poles are good for a laugh but no substitute for solid (yet tentative) understanding.
I rarely comment as I feel too stupid to do so and as I’m a coward fear making a fool of myself but I read almost all of your posts with great interest Jerry, this is one of my favourite sites and I often do further reading based on what I’ve seen here. I’m frequently amazed that you write sooo much when you also have a proper job AS WELL!
I first came to WEIT because of the science — I got your book later. My science degree is a long time in the past and my career took me in a different direction, though I finished my working life in a science related field. My first love was always science and I have read many popular works over the years.
I love your posts on science and read almost all of them, often saving the posts for later rereads. I rarely comment on any of your posts and, like many others, do not feel qualified to post comments on the science.
WEIT is the site I read most, often late in the day, in fact, almost every day. I enjoy and love most of your posts, but the science is the draw for me.
I am on vacation in Morocco, but still following your posts, despite the difficulty sometimes getting WiFi. I may be a serial lurker, but, like others who have commented, love what you post, you are an excellent writer and I will be getting your new book – the Albatross. 😊
Please do keep the science posts coming and thanks for the wonderful website.
I should also say thanks to Greg & Mathew. I find their posts fascinating and I learn a lot. Kudos to you, Jerry, and to Greg and Mathew.
If it hadn’t been for your science posts, I would take taken Deepak Chopra for the most eminent neuroscientist, William Dempski for the greatest evolutionary thinker, and The Templeton Foundation for the equivalent of The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (US$ 1.4 million vs US$1.1 million). That did more for me than dicovering the meaning of life by reading Eckhart Tolle 😀
I enjoyed the part about urination on the walls. So I did read it!
Please continue the science posts! They are the main course–the standout among the many delightful sides you also provide. I do read the science posts, and I definitely understand and appreciate the time it takes to create them. My problem is, they also take time to read with the attention they deserve. So I rarely read them on the day you post them. Rather, I flag them to savor when I can do them justice. I, too, am not qualified to make a serious comment. But I am grateful to have the chance to look over your shoulder and see what is going on in your field now. Please, please, please, don’t be discouraged. The science posts are the main reason I’m here. And for them, I thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
The main course versus side dishes — perfect analogy.
The side dishes are fun, but without the main course I’d leave hungry.
I commented further up, echoing the “I read the science posts to learn, not to add comment.”
But I just want to emphasize to you Prof. Coyne, that your science posts add HUGE value to your site. If it were only about arguing about religion, there are innumerable other sites for that. The science posts make up some of the great diversity of subjects on your site that make it so compelling, and I probably experience the joy of learning something new here more than any other site I frequently visit. I’m always cognizant of how much work the science posts must have taken.
So, believe me, your efforts in the science posts are greatly appreciated! (Speaking of learning, I learned from Steven Pinker’s interview recently that the passive voice is actually ok :-))
Given they take up more of your time, I would feel uncomfortable asking you for more if I didn’t wish to read them in the first place. Please keep them coming.
Yes, I love the science posts. Sure it’s fun to chime in on the controversies, but those arguments are often the same: e.g. readers beefs are often predictable, but entertaining in a train wreck fashion. But it’s rare I learn something new from them. I can count on learning something new from the science posts.
That’s one of the things that fascinates me about the science vs religion debate. Religion always punts with God-did-It. Among other problems, that’s a boring and intellectually shallow response. But ask the same question to science, and prepare for a ton of information. There is so much to learn. So, please Prof. Coyne, always bring your A-game, we appreciate it.
For my own part, while I read and very much appreciate your science posts (and more often than not file them to be read again later), I very rarely have anything useful to say in the comments. (Yes, okay, you may cry that I very rarely have anything useful to say in comments anyway.) The best I could add in comments might be “Great stuff!” or “Fascinating!”, which is a bit of a waste of bandwidth and comment space.
Dear Professor Ceiling Cat etal. Please accept my apologies for not commenting upon your items especially yourr science ones. As many have already commented that they do not feel qualified to comment, I must say the same. I received my college degrees more than 1/2 a century ago and thus havve the education to fully appreciate your articles but that also shows me how much science has come since that time. I am always in a wonderful awesome learning mode when reading your science articles. Please continue being my teacher. I promise I will comment some more even if only to say “Wow!”.
P.S. My cat who has owned me for the past nearly 16 years loves the fauna pictorials.
Jerry, I read the article and found it quite interesting although I could not add any technical comment. Henceforth I shall leave a brief comment every time you post a science article. I read all the science postings on WEIT. I do not follow science postings on any other site except occasionally. Please don’t stop.
I read the cat genetics post and followed links to two other websites about cat color genetics. I like the science posts. Thanks for writing them.
I came here say the same thing everyone else has already said: it’s the science posts (and WEIT) that brought me here even if I don’t feel I have anything to add in a comment. Maybe that’s a mistake, and I should be posting more “thank you” comments!
I’d add that I do most of my reading on AOL Reader (and previously another RSS app), which is more convenient for seeing when new posts are up and starring ones longer ones that I want to come back to. Your site analytics probably doesn’t register page views when people read things through your RSS feed.
I subscribed to WEIT for the science posts. The atheist issues and reader beefs are just happy side reads. This site keeps me informed about so much that wouldn’t even have hit my radar.
Yes, I should also have said thank you to Greg and Matthew (with whom I apparently share a love of the delicious shade of green used on pre-war LNER steam locomotives!) . Please don’t stop, as I hope you can see now, you are greatly appreciated.
I will also be buying The Albatross.
Jerry,
I read your site every day, virtually every single post, except the Hili dialogues – I’m not much of a cat person. I have saved several of the wildlife photos and use them as wallpaper on my computer at work. My favorites are the posts on science, your travels, people, food, and wildlife, in that order.
I don’t comment very often because I’m not an expert, or have little experience with the topic at hand. But I really do enjoy learning.
Please keep the good stuff coming!
This is the first bl*g-type website I visit every morning. It’s time to say “Thanks.” I’ve often wondered how you find the time to be so thorough in analyzing some paper and to write up your response. Again, thanks for the education.
I LOVE the science posts. They are my favorite part of WEIT. Please dont be discouraged.
On the plus side: if the worst-case scenario is that many of your readers come for the atheism and completely skip the science, it is very unlikely that any of these fans feel upset or ill-used at seeing so many science posts. But of course. You’re a biology professor and an expert on evolution. There would be a general view of appreciation for that.
On the other hand, the few who come only for the science and skip the atheism are probably much more likely to complain or think there’s something wrong with the way you run your website.
As the above comments show, though, most readers seem to come for both. Of course, I simplified it into science vs. atheism. There are doubtless fans of cats, boots, food, photography, travel, and Chicago mixed up into groups and subgroups and permutations.
And 60’s and 70’s music appreciation!
Of course!
Even though I did not comment, I very much appreciate learning about it and the summary of the paper. I read it and told some other ailurophiles about it. I will eventually read the original paper myself and may use it my evolution course.
PLEASE keep posting the excellent science commentaries. I read ALL of them. I don’t often comment,as I don’t have the depth of knowledge, but I do follow up on the links and read the original papers wherever possible.These pieces may take you hours to prepare, but they also provide me with many hours of fascinating reading to pursue. Thanks for the hard work. It IS appreciated!
Do not be dispirited! One data point: I’m here #1 for the science post #2 for the atheist content #3 for the cats. Mirroring many other comments, I’ll bet that the low ratio of comments on the science articles vs. atheism stems from the scientific content being fascinating, but less likely to engender an actual response (other than “gee whiz, that’s cool/interesting!”), vs. atheism, which goes to heart of an intellectual conflict that evokes a range of rational and emotional responses.
If anything MORE SCIENCE PLEASE!
Dr. Coyne,
I rarely comment on the Internet, and this is my first comment on your site. I wanted to add my voice to the chorus imploring you not to be dispirited. I look forward to all of your posts, and I thoroughly enjoyed the post on the cat genome. Like many others, however, I did not comment because I had nothing of value to add.
Keep up the great work!
Is it ironic that this post has garnered so many comments?
I think it’s a heartfelt show of support and appreciation myself.
Me, too.
Still ironic.
I agree. 🙂
My second-favorite thing about WEIT, after the posts of course, is the quality of the comments. If the science posts attract fewer commenters, they do attract high-quality, interesting comments from folks who add to my understanding and appreciation. What is there more of, sand or diamonds? And which is more valuable?
As a non-scientist myself, I find I have questions – I may start posting those because I’ll bet the community would quickly set me straight.
Totally agree with that! Some of the commenters here should start their own notablog if they haven’t already.
Keep up the great work. Always posting links to your articles online.
Thanks again for all the fascinating stuff.
You’ll never get time to read all these comments 🙂
I read about 3 out of 4 of the science posts with interest, but having little background in biology have little to say. (The sciences I know are astronomy and some chemistry.) I confess I read the shorter ones.
I tend to read the posts that I feel I can “act” on in some way (mainly those on atheism, religion, and the atheist “community).
The evolution posts are less interesting to me (that doesn’t mean they are uninteresting or unappreciated) because I figure that engine is going to keep running whether I think about it or not – same with posts on freewill.
When I comment it’s because I feel like I might have something interesting (or funny, or funny to me) to add, and that’s less likely for the evolution posts, where I don’t feel qualified to say much.
Oh and I come here for pictures of Cyrus too. Where’s he been lately? He doesn’t seem to be stalking Hili as much.
Please don’t stop the biology posts! I rarely comment on anything on WEIT – although I occasionally fall prey to “free will” commenting (sorry, it’s just my nature)- however, I truly get the most out of the pure science posts. I have a pretty solid background in the physical sciences and the history science, but my biology, is well, let’s just say a little weak. Consequently, I normally don’t feel I have much insight to add the conversation. I do occasionally have questions, but I usually don’t post them until I have at least tried to look up the answers on my own (it would be embarrassing to ask something obvious). But I do have two questions about the felid post and I am going to ask them in that thread – willing to accept the embarrassment of “Man, do you know anything about biology?” – to encourage the science posts to continue.
JH
Professor Coyne: I agree with the many other commenters that your science posts are the primary reason I follow your blog. I read your posts in between classes, and sometimes share them with my students. I’ve followed your work ever since I was a lowly undergrad in your introductory evolutionary biology course back in 1989. The reader’s photos and cats (especially Hili) are bright spots in my day. I admit I frequently skim the more philosophical posts, but find them fascinating when I have time to think. I enjoy the Teddy bears, the food, and the cowboy boots, and feel that posts like these make it feel like you are sharing yourself as well as your science. Perhaps more comments happen with the political posts because they address controversial topics. No one with sense would find your science controversial. We readers simply read, learn, and enjoy. I’ve never posted before because it makes me feel a bit like a creepy stalker (I see you on campus sometimes and check out your footwear! confession!), and I am also afraid I might accidentally break the roolz. I am sorry to have repeated what everyone else has said, but I wanted you to know that there are silent readers who value what you have to say and appreciate how much work goes into all of your posts.
Not that I comment much anyway, but for me – an engineer, not a scientist – I have less to add on science posts. I read them and enjoy them, but I don’t have the background to offer much meaning to the dialog.
One thing I’ve found though, blogging (i know, it’s not a blog), and as a photographer, is that it’s not usually the really great work that gets the comments; it’s the causally engaging. My few truly good shots usually get far less attention that my quick shots of my parrot doing something adorable. I measure the response not in volume, but in quality.
I love the science posts and I’m a lurking scientist (physician who majored in biology and sorely misses the majority non-human part). In fact I typically want more but I realize that you have other fascinations to discuss. I often lament the infrequency of PZ’s science posts compared to previous years but he also has taken up on various other important issues. And I understand what it takes to properly review a scientific article for presentation–the devil (or angel) is in the details. TAKE HEART GOOD SIR ! Your science discussions are more like–well I don’t have anything to add to that–*sitting back in amazement*.
To echo most of the previous comments, I read almost every article daily. I’ll comment on the ones I feel I have something to add, but don’t feel the need to comment on all or even most of them. I like the Science ones.
Being a biologist I read many of your scientific articles.Many others as well. But being dutch I feel a little shy to make comments. As far as I am concerned, please don’t feel dispirited.
The science posts are wonderful gifts, fun to read and explore (like candy for old scientists), and also extremely useful for teaching. When i taught genetics (with a massive evolutionary superstructure), these are exactly the kinds of sources that saved me huge amounts of time in trying to keep the course up-to-date and sharing new and fascinating material with students. It used to take me hours, sometimes days, to pull together enough info to prepare just a couple of Powerpoint slides, or to develop an exercise or homework problem incorporating such new findings. Retired now, but i am sure many teachers in the biological sciences welcome and appreciate your analyses. (One reason for lack of comments may be that, in some cases, our comments take the form mainly of questions, in which case we feel obligated to go to the original sources and/or do a lit search first.)
In case i gave the wrong impression: i never used Professor Coyne’s work, or that of anyone else, without attribution. His book and science posts and those of others (e.g., pz myers, in the old days) enhanced my ability to understand and convey information accurately, and provided valuable resources that i hoped students would return to often; and I always cited and linked to his website as well as the original papers (which i also read).
I did maths, physics and chemistry at A level followed by engineering at university and therefore have no formal education in biology whatsoever. But with the internet I am learning. Please don’t give up on me.
🐾🐾🐾
This comment gives me paws.
Happy to be of soivice
In addition to benefiting readers, Jerry’s science posts can also benefit the scientists featured there. One of those posts about a paper from my lab created good buzz for me and my students and collaborators. That’s ‘Broader Impacts’, baby.
I read your science articles. I scan the more technical ones. I enjoy reading them.
I don’t comment on them because I simply don’t know enough to say anything intelligent, and I generally don’t want to add a content free comment just for the sake of adding a comment.
The fact is if I don’t know enough to comment intelligently, I don’t.
That said, I do prefer your atheism articles the most, then space/astronomy articles, then biology/evolution articles.
But I would never presume to tell you what to do on your website. I always assumed you do it because you enjoy doing it, not for accolades.
Either way, you should be proud of your website. It’s fun and informative.
Very late to the party, I see. I’ve only skimmed the posts and don’t plan on subscribing, but I see many have already written what I would have. As one of those “about a dozen people” who bothered to comment, I hope it’s obvious that I appreciated it and look forward to much more of the same….
b&
I would encourage you not to judge interest based on the comments you get, Professor. As stated well by all above (and likely below), many of us enjoy and learn from your site and efforts daily, but for a variety of reasons don’t feel compelled to comment frequently (or at all). There have been many times when I wished that you had a “like” button that I could click, just so you’d know that I read and appreciated something, even though I really had nothing to add. Thanks for a great website!
I love reading the science posts and sometimes share certain posts with people who I think might be interested.
I read the cat genome post!
Before we conclude that there’s a lack of interest in the science posts, let’s ask what our null hypothesis should be here. Suppose we have two topics, A and B, and that writing about A is much harder than writing about B (or even just that the way A is covered on this blog is much more work-intensive than B). If readers are equally interested in both topics, and therefore willing to put the same amount of work into writing a comment about them, there will be far more comments on B posts, because the threshold is lower.
I think this null hypothesis is consistent with the observed comment distribution, as well as the content of the above comments on this post, and my own experience.
An aside: Ever since Darwin, evolutionary biology has taken center stage in the materialist viewpoint. The first to perceive its weight was perhaps English philosopher and feminist Harriet Martineau, who in a letter to a friend in late 1859 notes that Darwin’s theory is fatal to religion. “What a work it is!” writes Martineau, “—overthrowing (if true) revealed religion on the one hand, & Natural [theology] (as far as Final Causes and Design are concerned) on the other. The range & mass of knowledge [presented by Darwin] takes away one’s breath.” Early in 1860 Martineau praised Darwin in a letter to his brother, Erasmus: “As for thanking him for the book [‘Origin of Species’] itself, one might say “thank you” all one’s life without giving any idea of one’s sense of obligation.” Considering the options for belief before 1860, that seems about right.
(Quotes from Thomas Glick, ‘What about Darwin?’, 2010)
I read them all and they are the posts that got me hooked on your site in the first place. They are also the posts I tend to forward to friends in hopes they will want to subscribe to your site.
English is my educational background, but I’ve always loved science and the natural world and the fascinating topics you bring up keep me enthralled. I loved the recent one about the new phylum of very strange sea creatures. I am guilty of rarely commenting because like others have said, my comment would consist of: “cool”, “thanks for the learnings” or “thanks for pointing out this interesting find”. With all the pertinent comments, I would feel like a teenager in the mix. In the future I will try harder to come up with something which could add to the discussion.
Please don’t be dispirited- echoing everyone previously.
I usually read them, but often don’t feel that I have anything of note to add to them. But by all means, keep writing them.
Dear Jerry,
The science posts are the best! You should pay attention to how many comments your quiz contest on the respective morphological variety of dogs and cats garnered. I think that is a clear indicator of how much readers like to participate in the science when they feel “qualified.”
Please keep posting the longer science posts. I agree with all the prior comments in the sense that just because I don’t comment doesn’t mean I don’t think about it. I find myself thinking about the four-winged dinosaur post at least once a week – very fascinating. Thank you!
Dr. Coyne,
I read your page daily and find the science articles to be just as entertaining as the theism based ones. I enjoy all of them, however for someone to comment intelligently on science requires more knowledge than it would to comment on religion/atheism. I think that many readers don’t feel competent enough to delve into hardcore science for fear of being wrong. Not saying this is wrong or right, I just know that sometimes I am intimidated by just how much I don’t know, and I consider science to be a daily hobby of mine. I use this as an impetus to learn more, of course, but won’t necessarily comment on a topic where I don’t have a cat in the fight. However, religious misdoings effect us all on a daily basis.
I think part of the problem is that it’s relatively easy to have an opinion on the posts about religion and atheism, and so many people comment and debate back and forth.
I certainly read your science-related posts and find them fascinating, but often I feel that I can’t really add much to your expert analysis and commentary, and so I don’t comment nearly as often.
Please don’t stop writing about science, and please don’t be too dispirited by the relative lack of comments! I can only speak for myself, but I don’t think the lack of discussion is due to a lack of interest.
The great appeal of this site is the mixture of atheism, philosophy, science, cats, foxes, boots, travel, Hili dialogue, food, music etc.!
Please keep writing about all of them and more, for as long as you still enjoy doing so! And thank you for doing it.
Jerry, some additional perspective:
Shouldn’t the primary reason you write the content you do be that you find it interesting? As you obviously do. And that if you put the content out there on WEiT, additional people enjoying and commenting is just icing on the cake?
That’s my perspective for my own little web site anyway. It’s just my design portfolio, and some tools and demonstrations. I know it is of limited appeal, but it’s me, and it’s important to me. If others like it too and find something useful, that’s great. If they don’t, that’s OK too.
In any case as I hope you can see from the comments above, you don’t have anything to worry about.
Another thought: Just because people don’t comment, doesn’t mean that don’t read the content. Looking at your web analytics will give you a better picture of how many people view a page, and how long they stay to read the content.
I came for the atheism, but I read all the science posts and appreciate the depth and clarity that you bring to the subjects you address. I’m amazed by both the quantity and quality of your output.
More,please!
I stumbled upon this website because of my interest in Darwin and desire to learn more about evolution. I love the science posts the best and learn a lot from them. For example, one I recall as especially interesting was about ring species. I also learned about an online class on evolution and genetics from comments on this website, and i have registered for that. The atheism of the site came as an extra bonus. I have been atheist for a very long time, but this website has made me more aware of the negative impacts of religion. Anyway, the science is my main reason for visiting, because it is so clearly explained and I continue to want to learn more about evolution.
This is my lurkiest site and I lurk almost every day. If anything, I’d call your site disciplined.
Mike
I’m a Biology Professor Emeritus, so I come here mostly for the evolution oriented science posts. The atheist posts don’t interest me, and I go to other sites to look at creationist thought. A minor interest in cats (at one time I had 23). The reader’s wildlife photos are often interesting, but they have recently become more difficult to access so I don’t look as as many as I used to. It does appear to me that you are trending in the direction of increasing amounts of posts which do not interest me.
Please, dear Proprietor, know how much your articles are appreciated. I access your website on Twitter and often retweet the scientific ones so that other people may also appreciate them. There is a huge need for accessible and accurate scientific writing. You are keeping many people interested and, hopefully, educating many others. I don’t know where or how you find the time. Many thanks.
Please do not stop the science articles. As many have already commented, I don’t particularly know all of the science you write of, but I enjoy learning.
There are only a few science sites I trust implicitly, and yours is one of those
I enjoy reading the science posts even if I don’t comment on them. The posts that I often skip reading are the ones involving readers’ wildlife photograph, and there I just look at the pictures.
Keep the science coming. I don’t have much of a background in biology and find every science post new and edifying.
The number of comments for this seems to be about in order. As far as I’ve read them (only a tiny fraction), they seem to say pretty much the same as I would like – but I’ll say it nevertheless.
The science posts are always extremely interesting and usually rather advanced. You certainly manage to make things clear also for non-experts on the given subjects … but most of the time, all I could put in a comment would be something not-very-intelligent like “Fascinating, exciting stuff!” Given the high level of many of your really regular commenters, I don’t see the point … in fact, I even would have thought that you’d rather not have these kinds of comments. If there’s some kind of feedback mechanism through which you can see how many people read a particular text, I’d be happy to use that.
If it’s any motivation for you: my partner who is sort of a passive catholic (technically catholic, but no churchgoer) recently told me that she feels less and less point in religion at all, because of the many fascinating science (!) articles and facts (I rarely show her the religion-bashing ones) on WEIT. So please keep enlightening the world – I’ll try to provide more feedback. Thank you!!
I COME HERE FOR THE SCIENCE! I might comment on the atheist and related posts more because I have more “expertise” in that area and feel I can contribute a thought, maybe, but the science posts are what draw me here. Frankly I can get most of the other stuff elsewhere.
Just like many others have mentioned here, I very much enjoy the thoughtful and thorough posts. I’m a biologist (turned software engineer) myself and I have great respect for your ability to take complicated subjects and make them accessible to laymen, while also keeping things interesting for those who already have a background in these matters. That’s the reason why, of the posts of yours I share on google+, about half are your science posts. Keep up the good work! 🙂
“but there’s already an entire blog network devoted to drama, rage, and recrimination.”
A little dig at FTB Network? Zing!
I hardly ever comment period let alone on the science Posts, but I do read them. Atheism and Free Will posts are my favourites.
Please don’t feel dispirited. Keep up the great work!
Adding another voice to the many saying the same thing: YES, I read the science posts; YES, I hope you keep them coming; and NO, I didn’t comment.
Jerry, I’d be happy to give a short word of thanks for each such post, but I think that would get tiring for you and your many followers.
PCC, thank you very much for the science articles (in fact for all the subjects you share with us).
The many science sites out there are becoming sensationalized and hyperbolic, baiting for clicks. Dr Coyne’s work are fair, well written and fact-seeking.
Please don’t stop posting ‘hard’ science, we especially appreciate your take on it.
Same for me. I read most posts and the comments and rarely comment myself.
To join the chorus…I like the science posts and read many or most of them, time allowing. In my case, I usually need some time to reflect on the content. If I have any comment to make, it’s days after the original post and WEIT has moved on. Please don’t be dispirited, Jerry. It’s valuable and interesting stuff.
Speaking just for one, I regularly read your science posts although I have only commented once. When I posted, I wanted to do justice to the rigor of your own work so I spent some considerable time getting all my facts straight. Here, the bar is high, in my opinion. And life is brief. Your blog is an important part of my daily routine even if I don’t have time to send in comments.
I read every post you make, Jerry. My interests run mainly to evolutionary biology, so your science posts are of particular interest. The problem might be that science, especially good science, doesn’t involve the emotional dimension that a post on religion, pseudo-science, or politics might…therefore I generally prefer to learn from your science posts rather than challenge them.
Another problem with your cat genome post, other than it was an exemplar of good science, was that….uh….it was about CATS.
My innate interest in the D*G genome far outweighs any interest in the CAT genome, so any comment i might have made may have run afoul of the roolz.
That being said, i certainly hope you keep up the good work, and the good fight, and i hope to be reading all your posts for a long time more.
I need to register my agreement with most of the commenters above. The science posts are invaluable. I have learned such a great deal from your writings on this site (in addition to WEIT and Speciation – although I admit I’ve only read bits and pieces of that last one as of now). Your writing has helped me cultivate my own scientific interests and uncovered new and exciting parts of the biological sciences that I would otherwise never have been exposed to. As with other readers, I rarely comment unless I feel I have something novel to add, or if I feel somewhat confident in discussing the subject already. My confidence is growing slowly; I will try to make more of an effort to engage on your science posts!
Concur with the obvious main thrust of the comments here.
While pursuing a biology major (but with the rudder on my academic more than a bit loose), I became interested in a Renaissance and Reformation (Erasmus, Luther, Calvin, Thomas More, the Italian humanists) course taught by a well-regarded professor. I later learned that some several years before I started college, students who had not signed up for his class would sneak into the lecture hall to listen to him. (Impossible to do in a small classroom.) I wanted to hear him hold forth, but I didn’t want to have to write a paper every two weeks, as I just didn’t feel I had anything worth saying to possibly engage the expert prof’s interest. Did I have it to do over, perhaps I would audit the course for no credit. Nevertheless, I took it for credit, and endured his occasionally writing “ugh” in the margin next to the offending sentence/paragraph.
I guess I should apologize. As a very regular reader, I should post a few simple thank you’s for your time and effort.
We live a great time when experts in various science fields take the time to write about the state of art in their field and their opinions about the frontiers of research.
I follow several blogs in science from biology to HEP physics. I suppose I take – sometimes – for granted what you and the other bloggers provide.
Sorry about that and I will try to do better going forward.
Dear Professor:
I find your science articles didactic and useful. Please consider that posts related to topics such as epigenetics or “belief in science” have a higher and perdurable impact since they are consulted regardless of the date of publication.
Thank you for the time and effort employed in these articles.
hard to give a fair answer. Here’s off the top of my head. The best journal club style post I recall was the peppered moth one, and I asked a question, and an author replied. That was great. Also the Just So Story by Cobb I think was fun. That was years ago..?
Nowadays, I only read posts. That’s it (excepting this one).
Maybe a poll will help.
Also sorry but I know I likely won’t hammer on this to read replies or sub. Maybe. But I can’t make careful replies anymore.
Let me add to the long list of encouragement.
I do enjoy the science posts and read most of them (i skip some of the highly specialised ones on say, population genetics, because i lack the technical scientific background to understand).
But like many others i wouldn’t have much more to add than “Er, interesting”. I comment on posts where i can form and articulate an opinion or where i have specific knowledge.
Put it another way, i would still visit and read this website even if all posts were about science. So keep doing what you do Jerry :-D!
Jerry,
I read your posts every day, no matter the subject. I don’t generally comment, nor do I generally read the comments of others. I enjoy your science posts very much and I always learn something new from them. Please know that despite my lack of comments, I am always glad to read your thoughts. You are my favorite blogger of all time.
Rebecca
It’s a pity that there is no box that one can tick to indicate that one’s read and appreciated a posting without having anything to say about it. Like many others who have commented here, I like the science postings and get something out of them, but seldom have anything constructive to bring up concerning them, so I don’t comment.
Hi Jerry,
I read your blog for the science. I am not a biologist and so I do not follow the literature in that area. I find the summaries of recent results on this blog very stimulating. I cannot tell you how many people I have discussed the ancient amphibians regrowing their limbs post with. Both for the amazing fossils and this question of where to place Lissamphibia on the tree.
If you want more comments on the science posts, lure some creationists to comment on them and then we can take from here … 😉
Jerry: I read almost all of your posts and absolutely always every science post (and have done so for years), but this is my very first comment on your site.
I much appreciate all the work you put in here. Reading WEIT is a highlight of my day.
Don’t worry. There are lots of us Lurkers and Fans.
Thank you for you efforts.