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.
Hili is getting a bit cranky as Editor in Chief, as her staff keeps interrupting her naps with questions.
A: Hili, look at this article. Are we taking it?
Hili: Decide by yourself. If a person cannot delegate she is not fit to run an organization.
In Polish:Ja: Hili, spójrz na ten artykuł, bierzemy to?
Hili: Podejmij sam decyzję, jak ktoś nie potrafi delegować uprawnień, to znaczy, że nie umie zarządzać firmą.
We’ve recently seen videos and photos of flying squirrels from the New World, but here’s a very distant relative, the sugar glider from Australia (Petaurus breviceps). Flying squirrels are placental mammals, while sugar gliders are marsupials, and have evolved their morphology and behavior completely independently of flying squirrels. This is in fact a remarkable case of convergent evolution, one that I mention in WEIT.
Matthew Cobb sent me a gif, and why not share it? Note that this is a long one, with three different aerial displays:
Sugar gliders are popular pets, even in the U.S., but I’ve never had one, and would be wary of it. They are, after all, wild animals that are completely arboreal. If you’ve had one, weigh in below.
Here’s one of the great felid videos of 2014. I wonder if this beast was expecting a summons or something?
h/t: Chris
This may not seem like a biggie, but I really do see violations of the First Amendment as a slippery slope. Every time the Ten Commandments is displayed on public property, every time creationism is taught without opposition in public-school science classes, every time a manger goes up on a courthouse lawn, it makes it easier for further (and perhaps worse) violations to occur in the future. That’s why it’s important to quickly nip in the bud any incursion of religion into the U.S. government. The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF, the Official Website Atheist Organization™) is superb at this: they try to stop First Amendment violations at the outset, avoiding lengthy and expensive court battles. It’s important to recognize that doing so doesn’t just protect nonbelievers—it protects members of all faiths, for none should be privileged.
Iowa State University (ISU) is of course a public university, but the officials have allowed Gideon Bibles to be placed in the university guest rooms. We’ve all opened drawers in our hotel rooms to find such Bibles, but some readers have carped about that. Well, hotels can do what they want (Marriott hotel rooms, for instance, also have copies of the book of Mormon, since Bill Marriott, the son of the chain’s founders, is a Mormon.
Well, one of our readers, whose name I won’t reveal, complained to the FFRF about the Bibles in the ISU student union, and today the FFRF (i.e., staff lawyer Patrick Elliott) sent them one of their patented letters, which any sane lawyer will recognize as a shot across the bow. (Its implicit message is, “If you don’t take action, we’ll sue your pants off.”) I reproduce it below.
As I mentioned, this is not a huge battle in the war to keep church and state separate, but every little bit helps. And it does tick me off to see Bibles in hotel rooms. You never see the Bhagavad Gita or The God Delusion!
Note, in the letter below, the case law stating that Gideon Bibles cannot be placed in public secondary schools. Public universities are clearly not exempt from such a ruling.
Ceiling Cat bless the FFRF and its staff! If you want the biggest secular bang for your charity buck, you could do worse than give them a donation. Oh, and if you see potential violations of the First Amendment, always think about reporting them to the FFRF. They are nice folks and will decide whether any issue is worth pursuing.
Student life at the University of Chicago is famously un-fun: we were, in fact, voted last on a national list of “fun colleges”—and the students are proud of it! Every year, for instance, the students sell tee-shirts showing our school at the bottom of the fun rankings, along with the motto “The University of Chicago: Where fun comes to die.” (Another favorite shirt proclaims: “The University of Chicago: Hell does freeze over.”)
But the administration does its best to try to enliven the College Experience for a bunch of studious kids. Sadly, their “idea” of fun involves things like having students get up at 6 a.m. on days as cold as this and gather at the gym daily for a week to do group exercises (I think they used to do them by the lake in the freezing weather). Calisthenics build solidarity!
Our winter fun also includes ice sculpture. Once a year, during the coldest weather, the U of C hires several ice sculptors to carve blocks of ice in the quad right outside my lab. They’re quite amazing—at least until they’re vandalized, which takes about a week.
They just went up this week, so here are two showing the U of C emblems: a phoenix and a gargoyle:
During the day. Note the modern touch: that scanning code, whatever it’s called.
One of the perpetual ways to make fun of religion, at least in America, is to note that many Americans think that God takes an interest in sports. Athletes like Tim Tebow give thanks to God for their achievements and their teams’ victories, and Americans regularly pray for the success of their teams. (I doubt that this happens much in Europe, but I’m sure it’s common in South America!).
Well, now there are data showing that the belief that God (or demons) somehow affect the outcome of sporting competitions has been quantified by a survey—a survey by the Public Religion Research Institute, and summarized int their report, “Half of American fans see supernatural forces at play in sports.”
This graph summarizes the data, with “average Americans” in tan, football fans are in maroon, and other fans are in olive. Now since the survey methodology reports a survey of 1,011 adults—not just sports fans—I assume that the data below represent a subset of those Americans who follow sports. But, according to the data, that is 89% of all Americans (I’m one of the other 11%).
Yes, exactly half of the fans (and 55% of football fans) see supernatural influences in sports:
Some highlights from the survey, taken directly from the report (see the link above for more data, such as which areas of the U.S. see more influence of the supernatural):
Demons—or Satan!:
This is the best statistic (my emphasis):
“The majority (66%) of the rituals performed by fans involve wearing team jerseys or clothing with the team’s colors on them, though some fans report more creative apparel choices. One fan reports that he wears “a dirty pair of underwear… over my pants and then I put my jersey on.” [JAC: I weep for his wife—if he has one!] Roughly one-quarter (24%) of fans who report having a ritual describe some type of activity, such as dancing in a circle, sitting in the same seat, or talking to their television. Some activities are quite specific, like one fan’s report that he takes all the money out of his wallet and puts it in the right-hand pants pocket before every game.”
There are more data, like the proportion of Americans who watch the Superbowl, or who like soccer, but that’s not relevant for this post. The data reinforces the stereotype of the American as one who thinks God concerns Himself with who wins or loses a football game. And (I know I’m harping on this), does this really comport with Sophisticated Theologians’™ insistence that religious people see God not as an anthropomorphic being—or even a “being” that exists—bur rather as just a Ground of Being, the “meaning of meaning”?
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Creation Today is a literalist Christian ministry now headed by Eric Hovind, and was founded by his father Kent Hovind, now serving ten years in the federal penitentiary for tax evasion and other charges. And now they’ve gotten into the creationist movie business.
As The Blaze reports, as of October Hovind’s crowdsourced funding efforts met their initial goal of $150,000, and hope for another $100,000 so they can ramp up the “special effects” and ensure a wider distribution.
The Blaze also reported, in a separate piece several months ago, some information about this movie, which I think is the first creationist movie to be made in 3D:
Hovind is calling the movie a “bold statement,” telling TheBlaze this week in an e-mail interview that he wants viewers to experience the creation story in a very personal way — so personal, in fact, that they actually feel like they were there when it happened (hence the 3D effects).
“Genesis 3D will bring to life the Genesis account as it has never been done before,” he said. “And not just with great visual effects, but also up to date scientific research from leading experts in biblical creation.”
“Scientific research from leading experts in biblical creation”? If there’s been such research, and it’s supported creationism (as opposed to just mining and criticizing the literature supporting evolution), I don’t know about it.
Many scientists, atheists and others who embrace evolutionary theory and who reject the Bible’s take on creation will be less-than-thrilled with the project, especially considering it’s literal look at the world’s formation. But Hovind believes that there is plenty of scientific research to support the “truth,” which he claims is rooted in the creationist message.“The new Genesis 3D Movie is thrilled to be working with some of the leading scientists and theologians in the Creation movement,” Hovind continued. “Renowned ministries like Answers in Genesis and the Institute for Creation Research have expressed their enthusiasm to lend their PhD power to Genesis 3D.”
I wonder if their “PhD power” can outweigh ours. We have MORE PhDs! At any rate, the movie seems to be more or less what you expect: the lame arguments for ex nihilo creationism:
Hovind and his team claim that they have spent years looking at the creation issue and the film will be the perfect opportunity to add perspective to the ongoing debate. “Genesis 3D” will essential corroborate the reasons why he believes Christians are justified in taking the Bible’s creation account literally.
“Those who dismiss the Bible will need to reconsider their position upon experiencing Genesis 3D,” he added, also claiming that the film will be a major barrier for evolutionary enthusiasts. “[The film] directly confronts the lie of evolution which has so permeated our culture.”
And for those like the National Center for Science Education (NCSE), who maintain in the face of all data that there’s no connection between science and atheism, or that science and religion are compatible, have a look at this:
Evolution, Hovind believes, has separated people from embracing God and the Bible. So, rather than sit back and complain, he’s set out to come up with a purported solution that will surely spark debate.
For Hovind—unlike the NCSE, the National Academy of Sciences, and other organizations who argue that there’s no antagonism between science and religion—knows fullwell that learning real evolution, or even the methods of science themselves, instill a form of doubt that ultimately makes people question their faith. A survey by the Barna Group—an evangelical Christian polling firm—distilled five years of research into “Six reasons young Christians leave the church.” Here’s one of them:
Reason #3 – Churches come across as antagonistic to science.
One of the reasons young adults feel disconnected from church or from faith is the tension they feel between Christianity and science. The most common of the perceptions in this arena is “Christians are too confident they know all the answers” (35%). Three out of ten young adults with a Christian background feel that “churches are out of step with the scientific world we live in” (29%). Another one-quarter embrace the perception that “Christianity is anti-science” (25%). And nearly the same proportion (23%) said they have “been turned off by the creation-versus-evolution debate.” Furthermore, the research shows that many science-minded young Christians are struggling to find ways of staying faithful to their beliefs and to their professional calling in science-related industries.
It’s a science-y world we live in, and you don’t have to be a genius to see that. If your church is anti-science, you don’t only look anti-modern, you look stupid. But since some modern science (particularly evolution) violates the tenets of evangelical Christiantiy, they have to pretend that their creationists myths are actually supported by science. I’d claim that creationist propaganda is more than just getting creationism taught in the schools; it’s getting creationism to look scientific and therefore more credible. That’s what “Genesis 3D” is all about.
For your delectation, here’s the trailer, which is mostly blurbs and begging for dosh, with very few scenes from the movie. At least the filmmakers admit that taking Genesis literally is a big hurdle to accepting Christianity.
The fundraising site is here, but remember: the final movie hasn’t yet been made. I’m not sure what the people in the clip above were watching.
by Matthew Cobb
There’s a moth somewhere here.
h/t @SensoryEcology and especially @DanBrown81 who took the photo (I think)