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 don’t really know much about this, though I lived in Edinburgh for five months. But I’m predicting, based on purely subjective criteria, that the Scots will vote to remain with Britain. I say this simply because it’s the tradition and because the economic and logistic uncertainties are so large.
I have no dog in this race: I love Scotland and if they want independence, that’s their call. If that happens, I’ll celebrate it. After all, it’s a democratic vote.
Your guess?
UPDATE: A bulletin from CNN:
Polls close in the vote to determine whether Scotland will become independent or remain part of the United Kingdom.
Those in line to vote when polls closed were allowed to cast ballots. Results are expected to be announced over the next few hours.
Sadly, as I am preening the Albatross I have almost no time to write about science: such posts are much, much harder than posts on politics and atheism. Fortunately, the Albatross is almost at her nesting ground.
Coincidentally, Matthew finished his book the same day as I did, and, yesterday, as I was going through my bibliography (mindless grunt work), I got this note from Matthew:
Going through bibliography, nearly fixed it all. Amused to discover I had left out Watson and Crick (1953a,b)
Not two minutes before that, I discovered that I had cited Darwin but had left Darwin (1859) out of the bibliography. Coincidence? Or God?
At any rate, I’d like to tout Matthew’s book, even though it won’t be out till June 20, published by Profile Books. I’ve read bits of it and it’s very good. Those with an interest in biology—or science in general—will like it.
Here’s the draft cover (notice the cleverly colored letters):
It looks at how the idea of genetic information came to be, covering 20 years of post-war science and technology. Most of it is on the struggle to unravel the genetic code, but it also deals with stuff like introns and exons, artificial genetic codes, and the perennial New Paradigm of Evolution: epigenetics (fortunately, Matthew’s assessment of that is clear-eyed).
As for The Albatross, I am informed by my publishers that I will be killed if I divulge any information about it. All I can say is that you have a rough idea of the topic, and I promise that it is a real, genuine book, not a warmed-over collection of website posts. Oh, and you have to buy it. Srsly.
Like Sam Harris, Bill Maher is one of those people who inspires a lot of rancor among atheists because their view aren’t perfectly consonant with the thoughtful, secular “line”. Harris favors gun ownership and profiling for terrorists, while Maher was an anti-vaxer. (I’m not sure whether he still adheres to that position.) My view has always been that even if you disagree with someone about something, you should still promote their arguments that you consider good. Hitchens was in favor of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, but how does that invalidate his arguments against religion? And do you know anyone who doesn’t have at least one opinion that seems bizarre?
Here’s a 6-minute video of Bill Maher’s September 11 (!) appearance on the Charlie Rose show in which he just steamrollers over Rose (who appears to be religious), over Rose’s claims that Islam is no worse than any other faith, and over Rose’s stupid assertion that ISIS isn’t really Islamic.
At 45 seconds in, you can see Rose tacitly admitting he’s a believer, saying that he “covers all the bases” (but hastens to add that he’s “a devotee of science, too”). Rose also agrees with Howard Dean’s claim that he (Dean) “is about as Islamic as ISIS”.
Here Maher shows that he can be absolutely serious and eloquent on the topic of religion. There’s none of the persiflage that people objected to in “Religulous.”
Rose, sadly, seems to be a pretty lame apologist for Islam. I have to say that I think less of him after his performance here. He, like other apologists, should look at the polls on Muslim beliefs throughout the world.
I’ll add here a cartoon from reader Pliny the in Between, taken from his/her website Pictoral Theology:
From PuffHo we have a demonstration video (apparently posted and narrated by a University teacher) on how not to email a professor. As you’ll see below, the email is an mashup of several student emails sent to a math professor in Michigan, and the name of the student is made up. But it’s pretty much the kind of email that all of us get at one time or another. (I’m quite familiar with these presumptuous emails, as well as the numerous requests for exemptions, especially around exam time when ageing relatives seem to die. . . )
PuffHo‘s notes:
“This ‘LOL’? You and I are not in a relationship yet where we can just chuckle and laugh about things…”
Yes, any students planning to write an email to their lecturers might want to watch this video first. It was posted by Marcus Anderson, a maths professor in Michigan – and it’s a handy guide to not using text-speak in formal situations.
And before you go thinking that Anderson is publicly shaming the student: ‘cartmanrulez99’ a fictional creation, based on “two or three poor emails put together,” explains Anderson on YouTube. “I would never post an email of a student to the Internet nor would I suggest anyone else ever doing that.”
Moreover, he adds, he’s not youth-bashing. “In my opinion, each and every generation is smarter than the previous generation,” he writes. “I have seen that first-hand in my twenty years of teaching. If you think that there were no dumb people in the past, think again.”
Well, I never! The Guardian reports that the newish Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, admitted a few weird things in an interview with the BBC conducted in Bristol Cathedral (video below):
The Archbishop of Canterbury has admitted to having doubts about the existence of God and disclosed that on a recent morning jog with his dog he questioned why the Almighty had failed to intervene to prevent an injustice.
He quickly added that as the leader of the world’s 80 million-strong Anglican community this was “probably not what the archbishop of Canterbury should say”.
Earlier, the interviewer, BBC Bristol’s Lucy Tegg, reminded him of the weight his words carried. “You have a remarkably prominent role within the faith community around the world,” Tegg said.
“I’ve noticed,” Welby quipped.
Tegg then asked him: “Do you ever doubt?”
Welby replied: “Yes. I do. In lots of different ways really. It’s a very good question. That means I’ve got to think about what I’m going to say. Yes I do.” He added: “I love the Psalms, if you look at Psalm 88, that’s full of doubt.”
Welby suggested that his doubts were a regular occurrence, by recounting a recent morning run with dog.
“The other day I was praying over something as I was running and I ended up saying to God: ‘Look, this is all very well but isn’t it about time you did something – if you’re there’ – which is probably not what the archbishop of Canterbury should say.”
He added: “It is not about feelings, it is about the fact that God is faithful and the extraordinary thing about being a Christian is that God is faithful when we are not.”
What he means is that his wish for a God always overcomes his doubt. I wonder, though, how he manages to convince himself that God is still there though he never gives Welby any signs. As the American philosopher Delos McKown said, “The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike.” (That, by the way, is one of the pithiest and truest criticisms of religion I’ve ever heard.)
However, Welby has no doubts about Jesus, and by that he clearly doesn’t just mean a historical person around whom the Jesus myth coalesced, but a real divine Jesus. But how can he doubt God and accept Jesus? Don’t Anglicans accept the Trinity? That’s like doubting Santa but accepting his reindeer!
In the interview, Welby said he was certain about the existence of Jesus, even talking about his presence beside him. “We know about Jesus, we can’t explain all the questions in the world, we can’t explain about suffering, we can’t explain loads of things but we know about Jesus,” Welby said.
Asked what he did when life got challenging, Welby said: “I keep going and call to Jesus to help me, and he picks me up.”
I’m baffled. Welby seems smart and eloquent, and realizes the formidable theological problem of “natural evil.” To say “we can’t explain loads of things but we know about Jesus” makes a very mockery of the word “know.” What he really means is this: “Yes, there are tons of things that religion can explain, but because it makes me feel good to think that Jesus is there, is divine, and is the source of our salvation, I’ll accept him.” It’s like a scientist saying, “I don’t know all sorts of things about dark matter, dark energy, and so on, but I do know that string theory is right.”
After a fulsome introduction by someone who feels “blessed” to have Welby there, the BBC interviewer takes over at 4:50 and the interview ends at about 18:00. Then the Archbishop lucubrates about suffering and how God is there “in the middle of it.” If you listen to only a few minutes (it was nearly unbearable for me to hear the whole thing), listen from 18 minutes to the end (about 5 minutes total). It’s not even Sophisticated Theology™, but a concatenation of statements for which Welby has no evidence. There’s also a bonus prayer at the end.
Reader Bruce Lyon sent us a big selection of lovely bird and butterfly photos. His notes are indented:
Here is one last selection of photos from my June trip to the Kuankuoshui (KKS) Nature Reserve, China. I will include a couple of insects this time.
Below: A spectacular Mrs. Gould’s Sunbird (Aethopyga gouldiae), named after the wife of the famous 19th century bird painter John Gould. Since this is a male sunbird, I guess it is a Mr. Mrs. Gould’s Sunbird. Sunbirds are nectarivores (eat nectar), which makes them the ecological equivalent of hummingbirds in the Old World. I find it interesting that many sunbirds have iridescent plumage, just like hummingbirds, and in some species this shiny plumage is found on the throat and crown as it is in many hummingbirds. This seems like a case of convergent evolution to me. In both groups, males are often much more colorful than females, which suggests that plumage is likely favored by sexual selection. I am puzzled as to why sexual signals would be so similar in the two group—what is it about nectar eating or foraging that favors this specific type and configuration of conspicuous plumage?
Below: Another male sunbird reaching for nectar.
Below: A female sunbird.
Below: This Black-throated Bushtit (Aegithalos concinnusis) is a congener of the much duller American Bushtit familiar to people in western North America and also the more dapper Long-tailed Tit of Europe. All three of these species live in large groups and are cooperative breeders.
One taxonomic group that is well represented in China is the bulbuls (Family Pycnonotidae), which occurs throughout Asia, the Middle East and Africa. According to Wikipedia, the Asian members of the family tend more often to be found in open habitats, while in Africa the bulbuls tend to be rainforest birds.
Below: Brown-breasted Bulbuls (Pycnonotus xanthorrhous) were very common in the open areas like tea plantations. These birds seemed feisty and I often saw them bickering with each other.
Below: Brown-breasted Bulbuls like to nest in tea bushes and have gorgeous eggs.
Below: Another very common open habitat bulbul, the wonderfully named Collared Finchbill (Spizixos semitorques). Apparently these guys eat a lot of fruit; perhaps that explains their unusual beak.
Below: One last bulbul, this time the forest dwelling Mountain Bulbul (Ixos mcclellandii). I love the shaggy look on these guys—I guess it is part of the rugged mountain look.
A couple of butterflies. Below: A dense group of blues flushes up from bird droppings on a road. These blues were very common along the roads and invariably occurred at bird droppings, where I suspect they were going for some nutrient like sodium. According to Wikipedia, the blues, are in the subfamily Polyommatinae in the family of gossamer-winged butterfly family Lycaenidae.
Below: This male and female butterfly chased each other for ten minutes and at one point climbed to at least 500 feet, perhaps even 1000 feet, and then plummeted back to the ground. It was a spectacular display. It seemed like the yellow one (male?) was chasing the white one. My colleague Magne Friberg suggests that the species is likely to be the Lesser Brimstone (Gonopteryx mahaguru).
Bruce adds this: “If anyone is interested in seeing the entire annotated collection of some of the best of the images from my China trip, they are posted in a Picasa album.“
This short (2-minute) video will chill you, for it shows an interview with a 12-year-old Syrian child sniper who evinces no compunction about killing one person after another.
I have no idea if he’s on the side of ISIS, the Syrian rebels like al-Nusra, or some other group, but it hardly matters. This is what war and religious indoctrination do to kids. Does he have any chance to have a normal life (if he doesn’t get killed, that is), or will he be so enamored of killing that he’ll simply keep doing it?
Meanwhile, according to multiple sources (including the Associated Press), 800 police in Sydney and others in Brisbane have just conducted huge raids against terror cells of Muslims. One group in Sydney planning to behead a random Australian citizen in public as a demonstration of their ardor. No doubt it would have been filmed and used as propaganda. According to the BBC:
One man has been charged with planning an attack. Prosecutors said he planned to “gruesomely” execute someone.
Australian media reports said a plot involved beheading a random member of the public after draping them in an Islamic State flag.
Asked about the reports in a press conference, Mr Abbott said: “That’s the intelligence we received.”
“Direct exhortations were coming from an Australian who is apparently quite senior in ISIL (Islamic State) to networks of support back in Australia to conduct demonstration killings here in this country.”
Apparently the many ISIS sympathizers in Australia are frustrated that they can’t go to fight with their coreligionists in Iraq and Syria, and wanted to do something similar in Australia.
It seems only a matter of time before this kind of public execution, like the one visited on Theo van Gogh, happens in a country like Australia, the U.S., or Great Britain.
As Chicago is on the quarter system, we start school late (around the beginning of October), but the first year students show up for orientation this weekend. It’s time, then, to don the Official Atheist Footwear™, the better angels of our feet. I got this lovely pair of Lucchese Classics for a song on eBay, and all but the n00bs will be able to guess the hide:
