Why Evolution is True is a blog written by Jerry Coyne, centered on evolution and biology but also dealing with diverse topics like politics, culture, and cats.
I have a sore throat (and probably am getting a cold), so I’m going home to rest. I’ll leave you with this video for today. Don’t worry: ducks will be fed, but the Daily Duck Doings will be postponed till tomorrow.
As you probably know, as hermit crabs grow they have to leave their old shells and move into bigger ones. From BBC Earth, we have this lovely video showing hermit crabs, deprived of empty shells, using beverage cans as new homes. The cans aren’t ideal given the asymmetry of the crab, but kindly rangers leave empty shells for the growing beasts.
You probably know that comedians like Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld won’t do standup comedy at colleges and universities any more, for they don’t want to be victims of the humorless university Offense Culture. Indeed, if anything characterizes Regressive Leftism, it’s the absence of a sense of humor beyond the genre of inoffensive Bob Hope-ian jokes. This report, made by the liberal outlet VICE News, actually shows how ridiculous the whole thing is, with comedians vetted in advance and instructed which topics are taboo (one college booker says she might reexamine the payment if there was an offensive comment).
What this will produce, as evidenced by the comedian at Lesley College, is a series of bland performances that will offend nobody, but lose their edge in the process. Pay particular attention to the exchange at 3:38, when a student who books comedians tries to rationalize how a comedy for “diverse voices” must carry a single unified message. “Diverse in a way that respects me, my identity, and my experience,” she argues. “Respect for everything” is a recipe for bad comedy.
Comedian Judy Gold then speaks out forcefully against comedy censorship.
Actually, I’m surprised that VICE not only produced this, but sent out a reporter to ask colleges hard questions.
Alan Lightman is an accomplished physicist and writer who has produced a ton of books, both fiction and nonfiction (I much enjoyed Einstein’s Dreams), and is Professor of the Practice of the Humanities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His joint interest in science and the humanities is admirable, but if this video is any evidence, his arts appear to have corrupted his science.
The short video, put on YouTube yesterday, is from the Public Broadcasting System’s (PBS’s) NewsHour: the network is notable for its softness toward religion. The piece is introduced by the presenter as Lightman’s rebuttal of the claim that “science and religion cannot coexist peacefully.”
Lightman apparently had a quasi-religious experience gazing at the stars while lying in a boat, much like Francis Collins’s epiphany when he saw a frozen waterfall. Gazing at the cosmos, Lightman says that he “found himself falling into infinity”, feeling “connected to something eternal and ethereal—something beyond the material world.”
Well, yes, many of us feel that way, although of course our emotions and awe are not “beyond the material world,” but simply neural reactions produced by a combination of our genes, our experience, and chemicals in our synapses. Such feelings are, of course, no proof that there’s anything beyond the material world, any more than the hallucinations produced by psychedelic drugs—like my young hashish-fueled vision of a blue dragon descending from the sky above the Nepalese Himalayas—proves things like the existence of blue dragons.
What’s worse, though, is Lightman’s risible attempt to foist some theology on the viewers:
“In recent years some scientists have attempted to use scientific arguments to question the existence of God. I think these people are missing the point. ‘God,’ as conceived by most religions, lies outside time and space. You can’t use scientific argument to either disprove or prove god; and for the same reason you can’t use scientific arguments to analyze or understand the feeling I had that summer night when I lay down in the boat and looked up and felt part of something far larger than myself.”
Wait a tick. First of all, most religions assert that God interacts with the world, regardless of where said God resides. And if that’s true, then yes, empirical arguments—”science”, if you will—can be used to support or weaken the case for god. The fact is that we have no evidence that God does or ever did interact with the world, despite the possibility (as I note in Faith Versus Fact), there could be such evidence. As many scientists have pointed out—Carl Sagan, Richard Dawkins, and Sean Carroll among them—the world looks precisely as we would expect if there were no god—at least not the omnipotent and all-loving god “conceived by most religions.” What kind of god would invent natural selection as his way of creation? Only a very cruel god, or one who wanted to be amused by the sufferings of the world. A god who doesn’t interact with the world is a god rejected by most believers.
Further, who says that science can’t understand feelings or emotions? We’re already making progress on this question from a number of directions: evolutionary biology, neurochemistry, brain scanning, and so on. To claim that these things are beyond the ken of science is to make the Argument from Ignorance, something that Lightman shouldn’t be doing. He is, after all, a scientist.
Lightman further abjures his scientific credentials when he claims, in effect, that the feeling that you’re part of something larger than yourself (and of course we are: we’re part of the Universe, and our atoms come from the stars) is a feeling that itself is evidence for the supernatural:
“I’m still a scientist; I still believe that the world is made of atoms and molecules and nothing more. But I also believe in the power and validity of the spiritual experience. Is it possible to be committed to both without feeling a contradiction? I think so.”
Well, yes, so long as you realize that the “spiritual experience” is “valid” in the sense that “people have them” instead of in the sense that “this proves the existence of the numinous.”
Lightman goes on to rhapsodize about our longing for certainties and for the “permanent: some grand and eternal unity.” Yes, but longings aren’t the same as realities; science is in fact designed to prevent this kind of conflation.
This confirmation bias, this attempt to drag the divine into emotions felt while gazing at the stars, colors Lightman’s whole short and embarrassing monologue. It’s especially embarrassing when Lightman concludes with the deepity, “We ourselves are part of the Ying-Yang of the world.”
Of course science and religion can “coexist peacefully”: we don’t see scientists shooting Baptists or vice versa. But that doesn’t mean that faith and science are compatible. One field tells us what people like Lightman want to hear; the other tells us what’s true. These are not the same thing.
This tweet, by The Donald, has received a lot of press:
As has been stated by numerous legal scholars, I have the absolute right to PARDON myself, but why would I do that when I have done nothing wrong? In the meantime, the never ending Witch Hunt, led by 13 very Angry and Conflicted Democrats (& others) continues into the mid-terms!
If Trump has the “absolute right to PARDON himself,” then that applies for any crime. Couldn’t he kill Robert Mueller and then pardon himself for murder?
And if he’s done nothing wrong, why is he fighting testifying before a grand jury, something he once said he welcomed?
In the latest press conference with Sarah Huckabee Sanders, look how she refuses to answer the repeated questions about whether the President thinks he’s above the law, and whether he might pardon himself. She’s a travesty, but of course most Presidential press secretaries are; they get paid to avoid questions, to lie, and to dissimulate:
I can hear Manafort and his lawyers. Lawyers: WE TOLD YOU NOT TO TALK TO ANYONE Manafort: BUT IT WAS IN COOODE, WITH AN AAAAAAPPPP Lawyers: Yeah, you're going to need to increase your fee deposit Manafort: How much? Lawyers: Write zeroes asshole. We'll tell you when to stop.
We have two videos today, the first from reader Rick Longworth.
Having moved from New York to Idaho this year, I’ve been on the lookout for a differences in the assortment of bird species. I’ve been filming a pair of black-chinned hummingbirds (Archilochus alexandri), a western species, which took up residence near the house (inspired by Stephen Barnard). They zip around like little fluffy blurs (70 wing beats per second), so I’ve filmed them at 40% speed. The male has a favorite branch in a dead tree where he sits to ambush small insects. He sometimes struggles with the gusty wind. I noticed the black chin actually flashes a bright iridescent violet when it’s at just the right angle, so I set my camera to view him head-on at the feeder. The last part of the film records the female – less showy, but very elegant. She must have been sitting on eggs last week. I rarely saw her. I suspect they’ve hatched since she now visits the feeder as often as the male.
Look at their tiny feet!
And the latest from Stephen Barnard on his pair of America kestrels (Falco sparverius) nesting in a box affixed to his garage:
This is an unusual video that fits in with your bird-attack theme. The kestrels are continually being pestered by obnoxious Brewer’s Blackbirds (Euphagus cyanocephalus). The blackbirds will even bomb me and Deets and Hitch [JAC: the latter two are border collies] when I mind the camera. You can hear their harsh, ugly call in the soundtrack. Even their scientific name sounds unpleasant. They’re about the same size as the kestrels, but adapted for more generalized flight. They seem to have an advantage in a slow-speed dogfights where the kestrels’ speed advantage is absent.
Natasha had a plan. She spots a blackbird that was probably munching on the vole I pushed off the tripod head onto the ground this morning. She attacks. In the commotion one of the birds, or both, shakes the tripod, and Natasha proceeds to do a number on the blackbird, as you can tell from the soundtrack.
So here’s my question for you. Is it plausible that the kestrels are engaging in baiting? Is that the reason they left the vole on the tripod? I’ve never heard of such a thing before, and why would they
leave a perfectly good vole out in a conspicuous place, to waste when they have chicks to feed? This could be an accident, a coincidence, but maybe there’s purposeful behavior.
My own guess is that this was an accident, but what do I know? Readers?
We’re now at Tuesday, June 5, 2018, and I’m feeling like a visit to 47th Street this afternoon to pick up rib tips. I’ve been a good boy eating healthy food since returning from France, so it’s time for a mini-debauch. It’s National Ketchup Day (Heinz is the only decent variety, of course), but ketchup isn’t a food, although Ronald Reagan’s administration considered it a “vegetable” on school lunch menus. It’s also World Day against Speciesism, a day that I heartily approve. Don’t squash insects today! They value their lives, too!
On June 5, 1851, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, an anti-slavery tome, began appearing as a serial in the abolitionist newspaper The National Era. It became the best selling novel of the 19th century, and the best selling book after the Bible. On this day in 1893, the sensational trial of Lizzie Borden began in Massachusetts; she was accused of killing her parents with an axe. She was acquitted. On June 5, 1916, the Arab Revolt began against the Ottoman Empire, and of course we know about it through this movie:
On June 5, 1956, Elvis Presley sang “Hound Dog” in public for the first time, on the Milton Berle Show. As Wikipedia notes, he “scandalized the audience with his suggestive hip movements.” See for yourself:
On June 5, 1968, after winning the California Presidential primary, Robert F. Kennedy was shot at the Ambassador Hotel by the Palestinian Sirhan Sirhan. Kennedy died the next day. Could he have become President? (The alternative was Hubert Humphrey.) We’ll never know. Sirhan is still in prison at age 74, and his next parole hearing is in 2021. On this day in 1981, the CDC’s “Morbidity and Morality Weekly Report” noted that five people in Los Angeles were afflicted with a form of pneumonia seen only in immunocompromised people. These were the first recognized cases of AIDS.
Exactly eight years later, “Tank Man” stopped the progress of five Chinese tanks (for half an hour) in Tianamen Square. Remember this? The man remains unknown after nearly thirty years:
Finally, on this day in 2003, a brutal heat wave in Pakistan and India peaked, reaching temperatures over 50 °C (122 °F).
Notables born on June 5 include Pancho Villa (1878, assassinated in 1923), John Maynard Keynes (1883), Bill Moyers (1934) and Margaret Drabble (1939). Those who died on this day include Stephen Crane (1900, age 28), Mel Tormé (1999), Ronald Reagan (2004), Ray Bradbury (2012) and Tariq Aziz (2015).
Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili and Cyrus are deep into theology:
Hili: Did you ever wonder about the mystery of the Holy Trinity?
Cyrus: No.
Hili: Neither did I.
In Polish:
Hili: Zastanawiałeś się nad misterium trójcy świętej?
Cyrus: Nie.
Hili: Ja też nie.
And up in Winnipeg, Gus is enjoying spending the warm weather in his garden, though he’s bothered by the chickadees. Look at that head!
From Matthew, a solar eclipse passing over Earth:
Oh, Earth! 😍🌏 Solar Eclipse as seen by Himawari on 9th March 2016 Made with interpolated time-lapse footage projected to 3D Here it is in 8k [!!!!] 60fps 😎 https://t.co/nrXaZxWfWMpic.twitter.com/lpvK0lHBxf
This experiment of a fish swimming upstream is truly stunning. Why? The fish is dead. If you're streamlined and flexible, you can do a lot by doing nothing at all.
Also this INCREDIBLY WEIRD THING which is a type of firefly, if you can believe that. And it’s the adult form! SO WEIRD. I love it 😍 pic.twitter.com/c4jIbLfHyg
Alsomitra macrocarpa has seeds which use paper-thin wings to disperse like giant gliders. The seeds, which are produced by a football-sized pod, can glide hundreds of metres across the forest https://t.co/V74QJ84UIipic.twitter.com/gEtxB6yQg4
Speaking of Jewish humor, those of a certain age will remember Allan Sherman, the parody songwriter and Jewish comedian. My parents had his albums when I was a kid. Here’s my favorite of his songs: “Seltzer Boy”, which, as YouTube notes, is
Allan Sherman’s great 1962 Jewish parody of folk singer Odetta’s recording of the African-American “Water Boy,” which she performed in concert with Harry Belafonte in 1960.
This is sheer genius:
Don’t bring me water
I rather have seltzer,
‘Cause water don’t bubble
And water don’t fizz;
Water I hate it
‘Cause it ain’t carbonated,
But a glass of seltzer
On the other hand is.
There’s something about that last line, and the words “on the other hand”, that crack me up.
Addendum: Someone said it’s funnier if you know the original. Well, here it is, by Odetta:
