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.
I must confess, I don’t often read the science posts, but I read the other posts religiously, if you know what I mean. But I am interested in science, so I’ll try harder in future.
Someone needs a hug. Jerry, you’re the go to guy. No-one else is doing what you’re doing and I’d be lost evolutionarily [I don’t think that’s actually a word] without your wonderful science posts. Also love the Hili dialogs.
Many thanks to Jerry Coyne for all your science articles, etc. I most times read them and think; brilliant, wow, impressive, amazing, genius, far superior to what I am reading in the news papers: they need to give you a column. Other times your science articles are above & beyond my level of comprehension.
If I don’t comment it is because like the Bonobos I am busy trying to use a twig to fish termites out the mound.
Jerry – I’m just a lay-person who loves to learn. I’m not qualified to say anything more than “Wow! that’s awesome!!!”
I too read the science posts. They are all fabulous and I often go the original source as well. If I don’t get to them the day of posting I stick them in my WEIT folder and eventually sit down for a WEIT feast. Forget “Luminosity” for keeping your brain from turning to Jello. They charge and you don’t. Having never gone to “Luminosity” I can’t comment on what little brain tricks they may or may not use, your articles are engaging and keep my neurons on fire !!
Short of having the little stupid “like” button (which apparently people would click even at the mention of someone’s death!!)I too will try and comment. Too bad there isn’t an open book icon to click that emotes “read”.
Thanks for all you do. I have often finished a post or seen the number of posts per day and have wondered “Wow, does this guy ever sleep?”
I always read the science posts, but am generally way behind the ‘regulars’ at your website, Prof. Ceiling Cat. These days I have too much on my plate, but the cat genome post has been earmarked for my reading pleasure, when time allows. I had only skimmed it days ago, and alas only had a cheesy response to the flehman reflex, so I let it go for the time being. A serious post like that one deserves a serious comment.
As I am a lowly human servant to 4 orange tabbys, anything you post on my Lords is of interest to me.
Please keep posting the science. I may not always understand it, but I learn.
I’m a translator in health sciences, and there’s nothing I could contribute to science articles by commenting. Sometimes I can discuss them with my daughters, who are both keen on working in science, but that’s as far as I can go. But that doesn’t mean I don’t read them and learn from them…
This is my first comment here. I don’t feel qualified to take on science topic critiques. It does not mean I don’t read and enjoy them.
This blog is daily reading for me.
Thank you for your work.
I had a busy weekend (four dance performances and a symphony concert) and am still catching up with website content. The cat genome post is definitely on my list of things to read in depth.
To be honest, I kind of like the fact that the science posts don’t draw dozens of comments, since it keeps the signal-to-noise ratio relatively high, and I feel like I can take time to digest all the comments before deciding whether I have anything interesting to add.
I read the majority of posts in full via individual e-mails, which each include all embedded photos/illustrations and a simple link to the online comments. With me being in Japan, the flow begins in early evening and continues through the night, so that like right now (at 07:30 JST) I have a short stack of posts to peruse along with my morning coffee. I’ve grown to appreciate very much the variety of science posts here, from which I’ve learned a great deal that is genuinely valuable and useful. As an editor by trade, I also take so much pleasure in the quality of the articles posted at this site. With its typical volume of output, I have limited time to spare for viewing peoples’ comments (though I therefore regret having to miss out on much intelligent wit). In any case, often what I might have been compelled to say has already been offered from others by the time I am notified of the posts. I do click the “Like” button as my little expression of support at times when I do pop in while online. 🙂
I’m in Japan as well! Do we know each other? Surely, we must! I’m in Mie-ken. Where are you?
I read the post and showed it to my sweetheart, and we talked about our kitties and whether we had seen the sensing behavior. She’d not a regular reader, but we both enjoyed the post and learned something from it. Thanks.
Dear Jerry, the science articles are fantastic, and the main reason I frequent this website – even my 8 year-old son reads them. I know the effort to write them is substantial, but please keep it up – my day-to-day existence would be poorer if you stopped. I, in turn, promise to be more active in the comments on those articles (even though I mainly read them to learn something interesting).
Dear Dr. Coyne,
I read your blog daily first thing after family letters, primarily because of the science (the rest is icing on the cake!) I also subscribe to science news such as R&D, DDD, etc. online and subscribe to a number of science magazines.
I was a Liberal Arts major eons ago: history and literature. When brave enough, I ventured into Geology and Paleontology. As a very slow grower, it’s taken many years since then for me to feel relatively comfortable attempting to delve into hard sciences. Now I’m interested in virtually everything, but haven’t the expertise to comment cogently.
I add my thanks to all the rest and hope you continue to brighten our days with science and other topics of interest to you.
I’ve learned a lot about evolution from this website and I apologise for not showing my appreciation by expressing my gratitude more frequently by posting on your science oriented articles. I’m not sufficiently knowledgable to comment constructively and maybe too reluctant to ask what might appear to be dumb questions. On the other hand I also appreciate how much time and effort must go into producing these interrsting and informative articles and couldn’t in all conscience burden you with the task of educating me for free. I feel sufficiently guilty to act now on my too frequently postponed intention to buy a copy of your book WEIT. I would like to add my thanks to the many above for your considerable efforts to date and I hope you will keep up the good work. It is appreciated.
Dr. Coyne, i read many (probably most) of the science posts because I find them interesting and educational. Way better than the science education I had in high school or the limited number of science classes I took in college.
I do not comment because I have nothing to say beyond “neat” or “cool” or “thank you”. And failing to say that last one is inexcusable on my part.
Thank you, Dr. Coyne.
I’m slightly skeptical that as many people read the science posts as say they do.
I probably read less than 1/4 of the science posts for a simple reason: just as it’s more investment to write a good science post than an opinion piece, it’s also more investment to read and properly absorb a good science post than to read and absorb an opinion piece.
I read a lot of science articles, many for my job, and I have a fairly good idea what interests me and what new information I might get out of a paper/exposition. In the cat genome story, for example, I heard about it on NPR and what I heard of that story seemed unremarkable. It seemed unlikely to me that this paper would tell me much that I care about. Jerry seemed to agree, actually, starting his article off with “The cat genome: what does it say about domesticated moggies? Not much, really”. Not a big encouragement to read it.
It is also true, of course, that even when I read a science article there is often little to say other than “that’s interesting”. The science articles I am more likely to read and more likely to comment on are things with some bit of obvious debate around them. The ENCODE paper, for example, garnered many comments because it was making a controversial claim. Although many of the ENCODE authors are people I know and respect, I found the PR they were selling about function everywhere in the genome to border on fraud. I don’t know what came over them. I think, as a practical matter, if you want commentary on science articles, you’ll probably have to frame them as a controversy, or at least solicit our opinions with an overt question about the research. That or invite ID people to come debate us all like Larry Moran does.
It’s hard to admit I don’t read most of them because, while I don’t read them, I’d miss them if they were gone. I like knowing that the 3/4 of the science articles I don’t read are there waiting for me if I develop an interest. I doubt you’d want to write them for that slim benefit, but it is a kind of appreciation.
It is always nice knowing where to come when I need more info about a certain topic. That search box can be handy.
Well, even though I am probably older than you, I look upon you as a sort of mentor; I’m a molecular biologist who wants to become an evolutionary biologist.
And I love to argue! So believe me, I would be the first to jump in and bite that bate, but you haven’t said anything wrong (in my field) so I just look upon this as a learning site. I come here to learn. Is that so wrong?
However, my take on some things, (e.g. The PNAS paper on the cat genome) may be ‘slightly’ different from yours. Shall I jump in with a comment, then?
Please don’t feel dispirited. You are helping me as well as many others. By the way, who won that “Why are cats so similar compared to dogs?” competition??
For what it’s worth, I’m in the “read them but have nothing to say” group. I rarely comment, but the main reason I come to this site is for the science (I enjoy the other topics as well, mind you, but the science is my primary reason). You help keep me up to date and often provide some good fodder to share with my own students.
Please don’t let the lack of commenting dispirit you.
p.s. I just discovered this site a couple of months ago. I’m a newbie!
I read and enjoy your science-related posts, but I don’t comment because I usually have nothing to add, but I do find the posts fascinating, and I enjoy going through the comments left by others, especially those that seem like experts in the field.
I’ve got a B.S. in Biochemistry, so I at least know or am familiar with the basics of science and from time to time read the original papers if they are open to the public. It’s good stuff, and I hope you keep it up. I may not comment on your website, but I bring up the things you post to family and friends over dinner or something. And the cat-genome-post actually just yesterday came up in conversation.
Usually when I have a question or a comment that I’d like to make regarding one of your science-posts, I research it, and usually find the answer I was looking for or find that the comment I wanted to make was in fact unfounded or unsupported, so I end up not commenting.
I appreciate your hard work and come here daily to read all the posts. I only infrequently comment as others have already made the point I would have made. It’s hard to be original! So don’t be dispirited. But I’m sure writing itself gives you pleasure.
I read virtually all the science posts. I’m just not a commenter–this is the first one I’ve filed. So by all means keep the science coming. That is indeed what really distinguishes this site.
Hi Jerry,
I’d like to add yet another “Me too!” comment (normally I hate to do me-toos, but hopefully it’ll add to the weight of the pretty good response you’ve received above this comment).
I found your web site many years ago and the strong advocacy of Atheism got me hooked. I have been reading your web site every day for years. My favourite topics – the ones that keep me coming back – are the science ones, not the ones on Atheism (you can only say so much on that topic, but the horizons of science are endless).
Thank you for your hard work reading and reviewing those science papers and making them available and approachable to non-scientists like myself.
As many have probably said already. I come here for the science–the atheism is just a bonus. I try to read most of the science posts but don’t have time to comment on anything these days. My comment now is meant to remind you I’m out here, even if I don’t seem respond directly. I take the science I get here back to my students in one form or another (I love to do cat genetics with my biology class–so thanks for that one!).
Keep up the great work and try not to be too dispirited. You are doing wonderful things.
Like a lot of people, I come here for the science; I just don’t have a lot to say. Please don’t mistake lack of comment for lack of interest.
I’ll add my name to the long list of visitors who read but don’t comment on the science articles. I rarely comment at all, but enjoy the science articles and atheism articles alike. WEIT remains my favorite blog-like-website, a cut above similar atheism-themed blogs, and honestly, it would lose a lot of its appeal without the science content.
Please don’t be disheartened. I read all your posts (and I’m sure many others do too). I love all your different kinds of posts and would be sad if you took out the science ones.
I don’t comment as I usually don’t have anything intelligent to add.
Another vote for moar science, or at least no less science, at the best science website throughout the inter-tubes. When I read a new author, I pretty much HAVE to read their entire corpus, e.g., Dawkins, Hitchens, Patrick O’Brien, C.J. Sansom. At a web-site, I read every article and all the comments! Can anyone recommend a good therapist?
Please,please Jerry don’t feel unappreciated. You have a marvelous website. Keep up the good work. Some of us are just lurkers and learners.
I’m a long-time atheist. I most enjoy the evolution/biology articles. Animal pics bring enjoyment too. Thank you, Doc.
I like your science posts and they definitely benefit me the most when I read them. I also enjoy your travel/food posts quite a bit as well. However, I never have much to say regarding the science posts that I read. I feel it would be rude to keep saying “awesome post” or “very interesting” over and over again. If I do read a religious post and someone says something I disagree with, I might post, but on a serious science article the only thing I might do is link it from my blog.
Please keep the science posts coming. They are a wonderful part of my life.
I usually skip your religious posts because I dislike the subject and the people you argue with are not genuine. I grew up creationist so I feel I’ve already had more than my fair share of stupid. However, I occasionally enjoy your religious posts. Your “Name a truth revealed by faith” a while back was awesome.
I’d like to pile on and thank you for the science as well as inflate your spirit.
As many other readers, I feel like a “wow, cool” response almost detracts from the higher-level articles. Thus, I’ll usually only comment when I feel like I have something non-trivial to add.
That said, as a mathematician who studied biology a bit as an undergrad, I find the mathematics of genetics/evolution to be fascinating and I hope you’ll do more posts along this vein.
WEIT is my favourite website (plus it’s gloriously ad-free to boot). I’ve been exposed to a lot of science through it.
I also learned about lagniappe, the word and the concept. And where else would a cat be helping me with my remedial Polish…
.s.w.e.e.t. post
both re
i) the lovely lagniappe noun and
ii) Hili’s, Cyrus’, Malgorzata’s and Andrzej’s linguistic lessons otherwise !
So TRUE !
Blue
I was going to comment on the cat post, though not about the content. I had been thinking about the accusation that it takes more faith to believe in evolution than a god. However, the faith that I have in the proposition that I could understand the genetics discussed if I studied more biology is different from that of a religious believer.
I didn’t want to distract from the topic.
WEIT brought me to this site. The column is always well-written, easy to follow and understand. Reading it each day is an event I look forward to. Please continue telling us about the many wonders of science. THANKS!
I know very little about biology so I cannot comment on the articles in any kind of intelligent way. But I do enjoy reading them and do my best to try to understand them, though I don’t always succeed. Please don’t stop writing them because of folks like me, though.
I also want to add my voice to the chorus! I read all the posts and may not necessarily understand everything, but it’s still interesting to read about what’s going on in science right now. There’s a nice variety of topics from Jerry, Matthew and Greg, so I never know what I might be reading about next, it’s great.
I teach music and sometimes I know what I’m saying goes over the heads of my students. I just hope that one day it will click and they’ll think, “Oh! So THAT’s what she was talking about, now I get it!” It’s planting seeds, and sometimes you don’t see what blooms.
I guess a lot of folks are going to say the same thing, but I find your posts on science very interesting. I’m just not really qualified to comment.
Dear Dr. Coyne,
I read your site on a daily basis and enjoy the science writings quite a lot. However, as someone with no special skills in biology beyond lower-level university classes, I often have nothing to comment on. I suspect many who visit are like me: they are quite interested, but often do not come up with questions or comments.
Well, I only skimmed the 326 (so far) comments very, very briefly, but I want to add my meager voice to the cheering multitudes.
I came here for the science! And stayed for the atheism. I also have little to add to the science posts (besides occasionally asking for the identification of this or that spider), but find them fascinating, and invariably learn things I’m now glad I know.
Keep up the good work!
I don’t think comment numbers reflect interest. I often skim or bypass the atheist/photo posts due to lack of time but will always read the science ones. I usually don’t comment at all but when I do it is more likely to be on a non-science post (like this!) because it is easier and lower risk to post unprepared opinion than comment on something for which a bit of knowledge is preferred.
I suspect the comment counts reflect the amount of time/energy required to make a (perceived) useful/interesting comment – which is probably not too different from the time/effort ratios required to write the posts in the first place.
What can I say but ditto to all the “I love science posts” but rarely comment.
I find many of the science posts very interesting (in fact, this is what brought me here). As an interested layman, I find a few overly technical, but most are enlightening for people like me and written in a way I can enjoy reading.
I don’t comment because I usually don’t have anything of value to add to a scientific discussion, but this does not mean that I don’t like these posts (and, very often, the comments too).
Jerry,
My husband and I read your remarkable blog every day and we really enjoy the science articles. Please don’t change a thing, the mix of science, kitteh tales, travel notes, and photos makes it a pleasure keep challenging ourselves.
I love your science stuff! Don’t be discouraged. I bet that there are tons of people out there like me who enjoy your posts but are just too lazy to let you know. I will try to comment in the future.
Your website is fantastic!
Thank you for everything you write about.
(I gotta say that Hili the cat is my favorite though)
You tolerate novices like me as long as we are polite and in return I get the insight of years of experience from yourself and colleagues I respect and trust.
Seems like a good deal to me.
Science and science related news, chasing down the religious ridiculous is my favourite and comments, photos from readers are a bonus.
I find the genome a very complex subject but the post very informative and of interest to this reader.. the title gave me a wrong heading at first and I bypassed it.
Not to mention Darwin is my hero he saved me from a life of f@#king religion if not a little uncertainty. I think
the keyboard has been drinking…
Delurking to agree with hundreds of posts above. I don’t always agree with your religio/politico posts, but I always read the science posts. I began collecting fossils as a tiny girl in the Ohio valley more than 50 years ago. Your website connects me to my past, and the world’s past. Thank you.
I enjoyed your post on the cat genome a lot. It will help me to read the paper itself later. Do keep it up!
Just to re-assure you Jerry, I always read the science posts. This is the first comment I have left because you deserve the feedback. I really appreciate the work you put into it as I would never be exposed to the information. My 8yr son has a passion for science and your blog helps me keep up the stream of good information to him and makes me look like a clever dad.
Keep up the good work.
P.S. the posts I don’t read are the ones about cats.
Hi Jerry,
I read the science articles, I might skip the odd post, but I also miss others. I have maybe commented 3 times in many years. This website is my most frequented science page, long ago rejecting the Daily Mail blogs. I have a very good memory for what has been posted on here.
Thanks
Michael says it quite well
I will only comment when I feel I have something constructive to add, and because of my expertise, that is likely to be infrequent here. I read this blog because I find the science fascinating. I do not comment for the sake of commenting.
Please do not be dispirited.
With regard to the Cat Genome blog: Your entry made that accessible to me. I couldn’t have really made anything of the original article. Also to echo what others have already said – I don’t comment unless I feel I have something to add.
Please keep up the excellent and varied posts. From great photos to insightful texts and making a lot of science understandable!
Though a daily reader, for similar reasons to others I have never posted, but was today moved to state how valuable I find the WEIT blog, including the scientific posts.
I am constantly amazed that anyone could prepare so many well reasoned and clearly explained articles while holding down a demanding day job and travelling extensively.
Following a strict religious upbringing in England with Methodists & Closed Brethren, my lifelong task (68 years) has been a search for the truth about the human condition and our planet, past, present and future.
I eagerly devour material from commentators like Dennett, Sagan, Harris, Dawkins, Tyson, Krauss, Hitchens and even Lane Craig and Lennox, but I find the WEIT site the most consistently useful source for perceptive insights and clear analysis on a wide range of topics. All my searching and thought have over time shifted me to a De-facto Atheist on the Dawkins scale.
I now do my best to pass on what I have learnt to those who are prepared to listen, believing that honesty with ourselves and others rather than wishful thinking provides the best hope for the future of our species and planet.
Please keep up the good work, and even if you do not hear from us very often, I assure you that your efforts are greatly appreciated.
I think the whole matter comes down to the difference between “opinion” versus “fact”. In science anything which cannot be substantiated with some good evidence and expressed with quite a good understanding of the topic is seen, even by the writer himself/herself, to be a total disservice to the conversation. This in a way is a great tribute to the nature of scientific knowledge. So a lack of comment is no indication whatsoever of disinterest. I myself withhold any comments on science topics unless I feel I really have dedicated enough time to have gained a considerable understanding of the topic.. and in the field of biology this means a relatively thin coverage. But I read WEIT primarily for the science, with an additional interest in matters of opinion. Opinion is entertaining, but is a very cheap commodity, often devoid of fact. Please keep the science coming thru at WEIT Jerry.
Regarding all the references to ‘meaningless comments that just take up space’–sure, that is often a problem on some sites; but surely very short nods of appreciation don’t use up too much of anyone’s time.
I like to think of the situation as being in the room where Jerry’s giving a speech. It seems rude NOT to let the speaker know you’re appreciating his time & effort. A simple “thanks,” or “wow!,” or “so interesting!” or such is the same as smiling at the speaker and otherwise letting him/her know you’re actually listening.
We just need to “reframe” this. 😀
In my opinion, your science articles are you at your best. They are read and appreciated by this subscriber. In the interest of full disclosure, I do delete pictures of animals without looking, so I may not be 100% your target audience!
In my opinion, your religion articles are you at your best. No, wait, in my opinion, your travel articles are you at your best. No, wait, in my opinion, your Readers’ wildlife photographs articles are you at your best. No, wait, in my opinion, your cat articles are you at your best. No, wait, in my opinion, your science articles are you at your best. No, wait, in my opinion, your noms and science and music and…..no, wait, in my opinion, your entire bl*g is you at your best. Well, except for your book(s).
I read the science posts as well as the posts on religion and other topics. I don’t usually post comments and probably never would on the science posts. I started reading this site after reading WEIT and other popular books on evolution because I was teaching middle school science (in Oregon, US). I teach math now, and am still very interested in evolution and will continue to read your posts. Thank you for the effort it takes to craft these posts. I discuss them with friends and in this way, your ideas are spreading.
Another reason for not getting to the leaving-a-comment part is simply that your new posts are pushed to my mailbox (that’s a side effect of hosting the website on a blog site, I’m afraid, but for me, a pleasant one), so I often read the original posts in my mail …
Like many others, Prof. CC, I do read your science posts — indeed, I eagerly anticipate them — yet decline to comment since:
(1) I am a humanities student;
(2) your writing is highly accessible (I cannot recall ever feeling perplexed by one of your sci posts, hence no non-googleable questions arise); &
(3) I am either unaware of relevant debates in the field or insufficiently knowledgable to weigh in on them. The comment section discussions between individuals with scientific training are highly informative here — many of you are excellent teachers (whether intentionally or not).
Thus, I have little to add in the way of constructive commentary. Nonetheless, I enjoy your sci writing immensely — I sought out this site after reading WEIT — & have learned a great deal from them.
Silence on the sci posts could be a manifestation of a cultural issue: many Westerners complain or criticize readily, but neglect to express gratitude. (Apologies if others already offered this observation — it’s that time of the semester, so I haven’t read all the other comments).
Post scriptum: Additionally, due to academic demands, I’m often late in reading them. Weighing in on a several-days-old post seems to violate an unspoken etiquette — especially when the comments section has already fallen silent. It seems a tad narcissistic to me.
I see I’m rather late to the party, but here’s my comment. I’ve read your WEIT book, Jerry, and found it fascinating. But I’m an engineer and such people are commonly uninterested in things that bleed and move (spiders etc freak me out). So I’m not naturally inclined to read your biological posts in any depth, nor do I have the expertise to comment on them. But I do regularly peruse your website and I’m very grateful that there are people like you with the knowledge and writing skills needed to demolish the religious insanity on this planet (if you haven’t, watch “God Loves Uganda”, an eye-opening expose of the damage being done by the Christian Right in Africa). Keep up the good work!
I carefully read all of your scientific posts. I am only a sociologist. So I cannot comment on biology.
I mostly delete the posts on religion without reading them.
I began reading your posts after reading your book WEIT.
Keep writing.
Elizabeth Nall, PHD
Please continue writing about science.
I enjoy reading them, but will not comment on them unless I feel intellectually qualified and can devote the time to a thoughtful and useful response.
But I enjoy reading every single one of them.
I read all the science posts, and I find them interesting and enlightening. I don’t comment as much on those, because the subject matter is intimidating.
Keep up the good work.
I am in the “reads but leaves no comment” camp. I do not comment because most of the time I do not really have anything of value to add. I would rather leave the comments up to those who know more about the subject than I do.
Please don’t stop.
I am just a lurker, but reading your blog is one of the high points of my day. I enjoy reading the science posts very much. I do not have anything useful to add to them, which is really the reason why I lurk and have never posted a message on any of your blog posts until now.
Any post with a cat in it gets my attention of course, and the posts on atheism are incisive and a pleasure to read. However, I spend a lot of time reading your science posts because they spark me into reading around the subject in question. It is thanks to you and your blog that I now have a hard drive stuffed with abstracts and papers and books…
Really I just want to say thank you and again, please don’t stop.
Just like your non-biology posts are easier to write, they are also easier to add a quick comment, but the biology one’s are very much enjoyed!