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.
It is one day before I leave for Europe, and every cherry pie in Poland should be quivering in its boots. I’ll have to finish packing (tins of Fancy Feast for Hili!), and so posting may be light today. In this day in 622, or so the legend goes, Muhammad and Abu Bakr arrived in Medina, an event that marks the beginning of the Muslim calendar. Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili sees the ghost of a mouse, which is puzzling since she seems to be up in a tree. . .
Hili: Do you believe in ghosts?
A: No. Why do you ask?
Hili: I fancy I see the shadow of a ghost of the little mouse I ate yesterday.
In Polish:
Hili: Czy wierzysz w duchy?
Ja: Nie, dlaczego pytasz?
Hili: Bo mam wrażenie, że tam jest cień ducha myszki, którą wczoraj zjadłam.
This video, made by Wylie Overstreet and Alex Gorosh, is apparently the first attempt to make a model of the solar system completely to scale: that is, the sizes of both the planets and their orbits must be on the same scale of measurement. The one constraint is that they start with a model Earth the size of a marble: the rest follows automatically.
The model was constructed in the Nevada desert, and they needed seven miles of empty space to do it—and even that is excluding Pluto (it’s a planet, dammit!), an inclusion that would have made the model much larger (readers can calculate how much larger). It’s a laborious and fascinating task, and has garnered nearly 900,000 views in the last three days.
The final test, in which they compare the image of the real rising Sun with that of the model Sun, both from the vantage point of the model Earth, is lovely. Kudos to the filmmakers!
The last time Ben Goren wrote a post on this site, it really twisted the knickers of the ID-ers (particularly Vincent Torley) who frequent the creationist Uncommon Descent site. I thought it was time to twist them a little more, so we’re following up “Why doesn’t Jesus call 9-1-1?” with a new post on the topic, “Is there free will in heaven?” That may sound like a funny question, but do remember that, to many Christians, heaven is populated by souls, and the soul is supposed to be what runs our mind on Earth. Herewith, Ben Goren, who is apparently afflicted with Alliteration Syndrome.
The Flip Side of Free Will
by Ben Goren
Regular readers are by now fairly familiar with Jerry’s assurance of the importance of recognizing the reality that we lack free will — as well as where the regular commentators specifically situate.
But all our debate occurs within a secular assemblage. We all agree: no gods grace our globe. Alas, we are almost alone; most support supernaturalism: Christians, chiefly. For them, free will fits a different function, superbly summarized by Terry Gilliam in his timeless classic, Time Bandits:
Should you absent our sane sanctuary and encounter an evangelizing ecclesiast who proffers profundities on allegorical autonomy, consider countering with a couple of queries:
Is there evil in Heaven? And also free will?
If nay and yea, free will engenders no evil. If yea and nay, what need we needless will? And if even Heaven has evil, why wish it?
Of course, sophisticated sophists supply replies. Frequently, free will itself is slaughtered on the hereafter’s altar…after which it wends its way to the world and wearies us once again with weapons-grade divine indifference.
I wanted to direct you to a nice post on reader Heather Hastie’s site, Heather’s Homilies. The post is called “Is New Atheism a Cult?“, and I believe it’s a rule that when an article’s title is a yes-or-no question, the answer is “no.” And indeed, that’s the conclusion Heather reaches after considering Neil Godfrey’s rather intemperate rantings against New Atheists and his strong approbation for a book by He Who Shall Not Be Named. The links to the relevant accusations are in her post.
Rather than post an excerpt—as you should read her piece for yourself—I’ll just put up one of her graphics, for Heather’s really good at finding relevant illustrations. I love this one,had never heard it, and my trolling of the Internet suggests that it’s real:
Three cute videos for today. The first gives cat-related phrases from around the world. Being an India-phile, I especially like the phrase at 1:51: “After eating 900 rats, the cat goes on a pilgrimage.”
I believe this next clip is from Russia, one of the great sources of cat videos. What we have is the world’s most focused cat, but what does it see?
Finally, here is a cat who doesn’t like his bath AT ALL. Not only that, but he appears to be Jewish, for it’s meowing “OY!” over and over again. Poor thing. His name is Tigger, and he has his own Facebook page, “Tigger–The NO Bath Cat.”
It’s a rainy Caturday in Chicago: we had tremendous thunderstorms last night and my phone blurted out three loud flash flood warning. It’s settled down now to a gray drizzle, but the rain should stop by Monday, Departure Day. In this day in 1959, Nikita Khrushchev was barred from visiting Disneyland because of security issues, and became livid with anger. As the History Channel notes:
Khrushchev’s anger increased when he learned that he would not be allowed to visit Disneyland. Government authorities feared that the crowds would pose a safety hazard for the premier. Khrushchev, still fuming about the debate with Skouras [Spyrous Skouros, head of Twentieth Century Fox, who had criticized Krushcheve to his face], exploded. “And I say, I would very much like to go and see Disneyland. But then, we cannot guarantee your security, they say. Then what must I do? Commit suicide? What is it? Is there an epidemic of cholera there or something? Or have gangsters taken hold of the place that can destroy me?” Khrushchev left Los Angeles the next morning.
Meanwhile in Dobryzyn, Hili is also upset, but because of noms:
Hili: Did you buy salmon pate?
A: There wasn’t any.
Hili: You could go to another shop.
In Polish:
Hili: Kupiłeś tę pastę z łososiem?
Ja: Nie było.
Hili: Mogłeś pójść do innego sklepu.
