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.
We haven’t heard from The Staves in a while, but here’s a lovely and plaintive song, written and first recorded by Sufijan Stevens, about my home town. Sufijean’s many (and diverse) live versions on YouTube are good, but I love the Staves’s harmony:
Steven’s version as performed on Austin City Limits. Don’t ask me why everyone’s wearing wings.
The weather in Chicago was gorgeous yesterday: not too hot, and the lake was a very dark blue, almost black—darker than I’d ever seen it. Gas prices are about to skyrocket due to a problem in a local refinery, but my long-distance driving is over for the moment. Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, the Furry Navel of the World is contorted like a pretzel:
A: Are you doing yoga?
Hili: No, I’m meditating.
Ja: Uprawiasz jogę?
Hili: Nie, medytuję.
Leon: And I am to climb this mountain at lunch time?
This came through my CNN news feed, and it’s saddening.
Former President Jimmy Carter says, “Recent liver surgery revealed that I have cancer that now is in other parts of my body.”
Carter, 90, had a “small mass” removed from his liver earlier this month. At the time, he received a prognosis for a full recovery.
Carter said he will receive treatment at Emory University in Atlanta.
Say what you will about Carter’s presidency, what’s undeniable is that he had a good heart and, unlike many other former Presidents, has behaved in an altruistic and exemplary way since he left office. It looks as though his end is near, and I’ll miss him being around.
The Cunkster has tw**ted a “find the cat” contest picture (via Matthew Cobb). Can you help her and spot the moggie? If you can, I’ll ask Matthew to tw**t the answer back to Philomena.
This book, which came out in March, may be useful for secular parents. It’s by author and journalist Wendy Thomas Russell, and called Relax, It’s Just God: How and Why to Talk To Your KidsWhen You’re Not Religious. If you click on the secreenshot below, you’ll go to an interview on PBS between Russell and Jeffrey Brown:
Thomas’s description sounds reasonable, but also a tad accommodationist, and I am a torn about the interview. On one hand, I don’t think kids should be indoctrinated with any belief, whether that be atheism or religion. Russell does seem to agree, urging parents to explain to their kids what different people believe in a neutral way.
On the other hand, she doesn’t discuss, at least here, any evidential basis behind those disparate beliefs. She says, correctly, that what people actually do matters more than what they believe, but she also emphasizes teaching kids critical thinking. That, then, neglects both emphasizing critical thinking in assessing different worldviews, as well as the role of religion in conditioning people’s behavior: “Mommy, why do so many people hate gays?”
Has anybody read this? Curiously, the book ranks pretty high on Amazon, both in terms of ranking and customer reviews, but there are extraordinarily few of the latter.
h/t: Karl
This is an hourlong podcast interview with Phil Ferguson, which I did yesterday (on top of my two-hour yakfest on the Milt Rosenberg show). It deals with both WEIT and FvF, and matters evolutionary.
As always, I can’t bear to listen to it, but you can–by clicking on the screenshot below. It starts at 18:40, and goes to about 51:00. I’ve determined where the end is, but, as usual, I can’t bear to listen to it.
I got nothing today, and am feeling a bit wonky, so you’ll have to settle for entertainment. Here’s a video associated with a current children’s exhibit on The Great Adventure of the Body in Japan. Object: teach kids interactively about their alimentary canal and other parts of the body. As you’ll see, the makers have no shame:
I found a rather snarky explanatory video in English, along with the notes:
Teaching kids about the human body is important. And so is making learning fun. Which is why Japan has combined both of these elements oh so beautifully at “The Mysterious Great Adventure Of The Body” – an interactive science exhibit for kids that teaches youngsters about the parts of body, including the anus. And poop in general. Did I mention there’s a toilet exhibit? Cause there is.