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.
Reader Pliny the in Between, who took a characterization of me as “Angry Cat Man” and turned it into a superhero who is my own alter ego, has created another episode. As I didn’t understand it at first, the artist gave me an explanation:
Phantom zone was an inescapable glass-like prison dimension used on the planet Krypton (Superman mythos). Since cats always seem to want inside when out and outside when in, what better way to trap a cat man than in a revolving door.
This sad obituary for Manan, an eleven-year-old boy, was in this morning’s Hindustan Times:
A very good question: “God needs you more than we need you. But you must ask Him that when He has already many Manans here why has he taken you—only one Manan of Mahajan family?”
Is there any state more benighted about science than Alabama? Not that I know of. AL.com reports that the state school board has voted unanimously to approve the continuing appearance of the famous “evolution disclaimer” sticker pasted in the front of certain secondary-school biology textbooks. Have a gander (click to enlarge):
This is completely bogus: the theory of evolution by natural selection is no more “controversial” than is the “theory of atoms” or the “germ theory of disease,” and the school board is lying when it implies otherwise. As for their old creationist trope that natural selection can’t be assumed to cause “macroevolution” because that wasn’t observed, we have both the observations of adaptive changes in the fossil record that, as far as we know, can only be produced by natural selection. And of course the fossil record (whales, horses, hominins, birds, etc.) testifies amply to the fact of macroevolution.
As for the origin of life, that’s another canard. Yes, we don’t know how it came about, but we’re making progress, and to impy, as the disclaimer does, that because we don’t know the answer it must involve the supernatural, is the usual god-of-the-gaps argument.
Note that the disclaimer singles out evolution, and not the many other areas of science that are far less clear. There is, I think, no textbook sticker for dark matter or dark energy. It is evolution, and evolution alone, that is the subject of this hedging, and there’s only one explanation for it: RELIGION. Anyone who denies that this sticker is motivated by religious beliefs and has no secular purpose (thus violating the Lemon test applied by the U.S. Supreme Court) doesn’t know how America works.
The sticker is an embarrassment to Alabama, proclaiming its school board as scientifically ignorant and soaked in religion, and is an embarrassment to America.
But, as the site report, the parents love it. Why not—many of them are religious, and the effect of the sticker is to tell the students, “Hey, you know—evolution might be wrong!”
The inclusion of the disclaimer was part of a recommendation by state Superintendent Tommy Bice to approve recommendations from the state textbook committee on science textbooks at last week’s board meeting.
In making the recommendation, Bice told board members that the appropriate books would include “the statement on specific scientific theory.”
Board member Stephanie Bell, who has worked on the disclaimer updates in the past, said that the disclaimer would be included in the same textbooks as it has in the past.
“It has been a very positive addition,” Bell said at the meeting. “Parents have been very appreciative. And in the few cases where they have not seen this as expected, they have called and asked questions about it and the local systems have taken care of it very quickly.
“It does fit in perfectly with the course of study and the questions that are presented in the course of study.”
I am now in India, and in the middle of serious turmoil afflicting Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), where I am staying with friends for a few days. There is some information on the turmoil at the JNU Wikipedia page under “student activism” and “2016 sedition controversy.”
On February 9, the JNU students demonstrated for a number of causes, among them the mistreatment of a terrorist who was hanged on this day several years ago (counter to Indian law, he wasn’t allowed to see his family before execution, and his body wasn’t turned over to his relatives). This demonstration, an annual event, has now morphed into a general occasion to express left-wing sentiments. JNU is consistently leftist and secular, a thorn in the side of the right-wing and Hindu-centric Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which holds power for at least the next three years.
The new vice-chancellor of JNU, appointed by the BJP government, refused to give the students permission to demonstrate on February 9. They did anyway. There were reports that “anti-India” slogans were shouted, including calls for India’s destruction, and—horror of horrors—for freedom of Kashmir. Here’s a bit from Wikipedia:
According to India Today, “Anti-India” slogans like “Kashmir ki azadi tak jung chalegi, Bharat ki barbadi tak jung chalegi” (“War will continue till Kashmir’s freedom, war will continue till India’s demolition”) were “reportedly raised at the protest meet.”
Calls for Kashmir’s freedom are not illegal, but calls for India’s “demolition” apparently are.
A short time later, the police (at the University’s request) invaded JNU, imposing a form of martial law on it for a few days, taking photos of anybody talking to reporters and searching the dorms and those arriving on campus.
After the police raid, the government then arrested three students for “sedition,” a vestigial remnant of British colonial law. Two are still in jail, facing serious time if convicted. But some of the tapes produced by the government as evidence of seditious shouting have already been shown to be doctored. Most people don’t think the sedition charges will stick, but it seems likely that the government will cook up other charges, and that the students (and the University) will continue to be pursued doggedly. In the meantime, both the students and faculty went on strike, the former for several days, the latter for one.
Another 15 students stil face punishment from JNU for equally unsupported charges. I attended a student/faculty “teach in” yesterday, which reminded me of the U.S. in the Sixties, when we did the same thing against the Vietnam War and the draft. It was impressive and remarkably peaceful; the students who spoke were passionate and committed. And a substantial number of faculty were there to show support. It was, in fact, far more peaceful than a Donald Trump rally—perhaps because Indians stick to the Ghandi-an tradition of peaceful protest.
All this has become national news: a left-wing university, perhaps the best in India, is pitted against a right-wing government that despises it and, indeed, seems bent on destroying it. JNU is on the front pages of India’s biggest newspapers every day.
As Wikipedia notes:
More than 500 academics from around the world, including JNU alumni, released a statement in support of the students. In a separate statement, over 130 world-leading scholars including Noam Chomsky, Orhan Pamuk and Akeel Bilgrami called it a “shameful act of the Indian government” to invoke sedition laws formulated during colonial times to silence criticism.
For one time I agree with Noam Chomsky!
Only Ceiling Cat knows what the BJP will bring to India, but it’s not good: more nationalism, more Hindu-centric feelings in a religiously divided nation, more punishment of dissenters. It reminds me of what the Erdogan government—equally religious and punitive—is doing to Turkey. There’s an election here in three years, and maybe they’ll turn the present regime out.
The BJP is driven by a policy called “Hindutva,” which is designed to impose “Hindu-centric” values on everyone. It’s not so much that other religions, like Islam, will be forced to worship Hindu gods, which they won’t but they will be expected to adopt “Hindu values,” defined, of course, by the BJP. It’s much like the “we-are-a-Christian-nation-and-should-have-Christian-values” trope in the U.S., except the Hindutva form of religious nationalism is far more malignant.
UPDATE: I went to this afternoon’s (Friday) demonstration and spent an hour and a half listening to chants and talks, both in Hindi and English. A few photos:
Chanting (in Hindi) in the section of campus now known as “Freedom Square.” I couldn’t understand the words, but I recorded a video. Many news reporters were there.
Chanting:
The students listened raptly (except, of course, for those checking their phones):
This is Shelha Rashid Shora, the vice-president of JNU’s Student Union. She’s a real firebrand, and gave a speech in English both yesterday and today. (I’ve made a video of a segment.) I’m told that a substantial part—perhaps most—of the campus activism is done by women students and professors. The freedom that women enjoy at JNU, and the fact that the sexes mix freely, is one reason why the school is so highly resented by traditional Indians, who of course don’t enjoy that kind of equality, and whose marriages are often arranged.
One thing I’ve noticed is that the activists keep a sense of humor, even those who, like Shora, are under threat of suspension (they use the old British term “rustication”). Although I can’t understand the speeches in Hindi, they’re often punctuated with laughter. And here’s further evidence:
Oy gewalt! The only American universities that seem immune from the cancer of Authoritarian Leftism are conservative religious schools like Bob Jones University and Liberty University. The latest victim is The University of Arizona, where, as The Daily Beast reports, a “Committee of Marginalized Students” has been formed. According to the Arizona Republic, the list of demands is 19 pages long, and even if I could find it, I wouldn’t want to read it. (Note: I found it here and couldn’t resist a look.) Here are some of the demands, gleaned from the two sources above (quotes are verbatim demands from either the Beast or the Republic):
A few of the demands, like a the women’s center crisis hotline and victim’s advocacy center, seem reasonable, but the rest are nonsense demanded by privileged students who haven’t checked their privilege. But the demands are clearly not just requests, for they’re accompanied by threats:
The students of course have every right to publicize their grievances and to diss the university. But “mobilization”? I’m not quite sure what that means, but perhaps, like Melissa Click, they want to bring some “muscle” to the issue.
I have nothing more to say about these Snowflakes that I haven’t said before. Their grievances cannot be totally dismissed, but the vast majority of their plaints just reflect a need to feel cosseted and unchallenged, and to affirm their own identity. Not so long ago it was “all must have prizes”; now it’s “all must have student centers.”
And of course who is going to pay the huge tuition rise that would result from meeting these demands? One thing’s for sure: not the students.
As I mentioned before, I am being flown to and from India on Air India—in business class! It’s the first time in my life I’ve ever flown out of steerage, so it was of great interest to me to see how the toffs travel. When I checked in (special line for business class!), they handed me a pass to the Air France lounge at O’Hare. Since I was starving, I said, “Is there food there?” (as I said, I’m new to this). The ticket lady said, “Of course!”. And, it being Air France, there were plenty of noms, a comfortable place to sit with free wi-fi, and they even call you when your plane is ready to board.
The lounge:
There were free soft drinks, juice, and delicious sandwiches. I had two sandwiches: brie-and-apple, and smoked turkey with cheese—along with some Doritos, pineapple juice, a mozarella-and-tomato salad, cookies, and chocolate pudding. I’m afraid I made a pig of myself. . .
There was lots of free booze, too, servez-vous style, but I had none. I don’t usually drink around or on international flights. Had I been a boozer, though, this would have been paradise:
The snacks, including cereal, individually-wrapped cookies, and muffins:
We boarded first (ah, the life of a toff!), and had spacious and comfortable seats with video screens and lots of leg room. The view from my seat. I slept most of the flight, but did watch one movie: The Hunger Games; Mockingjay Part 2, as I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. The fuss is about very little.
Business class. It was almost empty! The seats convert to flat beds with a push of a button, and for once in my life I slept for hours on an international flight. (We left Chicago at 2:30 p.m. and arrived in Delhi at 3:15 p.m.).
Free newspapers and magazines right at the start. Make mine the good gray Times.
And free booze. I relaxed my habits a bit and had a beer, even though there was champagne and hard liquor. Booze messes up my time clock when I’m traveling.
Free Indian toiletries, including jasmine soap, vanilla lip balm, and rose geranium face wash. I saved them. They also gave us free Air India pajamas, with the airline’s symbol of a rajah on them. I should have saved them but didn’t have room.
Snacks with my beer (I could have had more). The thing to go for is the “dry snax,” which are spicy Indian chaat (see below), the perfect accompaniment for a beer.
The appetizers (I chose the vegetarian Indian option):
Dinner: daal (lentils) in the small bowl, kofta curry, rice, mixed spicy vegetables, and a vegetable chappati (bread). It was very good, and I guess it had been prepared in Chicago. The photos are blurry because they were taken with a 1/4-second exposure, hand-held in a vibrating plane.
Dessert: kheer (Indian rice pudding), flavored with green cardamom and topped with pistachios. This is one of my favorite Indian desserts. Two chocolates came with it.
Breakfast: I had an omelet, but wished I had investigated the Indian option.
And now I am comfortably ensconced in Delhi, and this is the breakfast my hosts kindly provided this morning (Friday). Idli, sambar, coconut chutney, papaya, and freshly squeezed orange juice. A lovely South Indian breakfast, and you can’t beat that!
Oh, and I’ve never visited India at this time of year, so I’ve never seen the bougainvillea bloom. It’s all over campus:
by Grania
Good morning, and Friday has arrived which means weekend!
News first: Jerry is alive and well, and will provide evidence of this in a couple of hours.
Now onto the main event: news from our felid friends in Poland. Hili has decided that discretion is the better part of valor.
Hili: I will wait here.
A: Why?
Hili: Because I don’t know whether that little dog will be frightened by Cyrus or will want to play with us in which case I would be frightened.
In Polish:
Hili: Ja tu poczekam.
Ja: Dlaczego?
Hili: Bo nie wiem, czy ten mały pies wystraszy się Cyrusa, czy będzie chciał się z nim bawić, a wtedy ja się wystraszę.
And we have two bonus monologues from the intrepid explorer-philosopher cat, Leon as well.
Leon: A cat has a difficult life when the staff is ill.
Leon: I had such a beautiful dream.
And now, forward to the weekend!
by Grania
Recommend something to read or something to watch
With Jerry presumably in bed (it is late at night in India), it may be several hours before he can check in with us.
In the meantime, here’s my recommendation for something to read or watch.
Nick Cohen writes on the state of universities as places for free exchange of ideas.
If you enjoy Cohen’s take on this problem, you should try to get a copy of his interesting and sometimes eerily prophetic book What’s Left?
Nick Cohen also did a very good interview with Dave Rubin a few months ago. It makes for fascinating discussion, particularly as Cohen’s perspective is European rather than American and examines the phenomenon in comparison to similar trends on the historic Socialist Left.
Seen something interesting? Share it with us.