Comments

  4. BlueIndependent says

    And he doesn’t look a year over 90. =)

    So any idea what sort of creationist antics will come about because “satan” has just had his birthday?

  5. says

    BlueIndependent, my guess is Pat Robertson will send a bolt of lightning from the cloudless sky to fuse the sandwalk into a large glass sculpture reading “DARWIN SUCKS BELIEVE IN JESUS”. But it’s just a guess.

  6. says

    It would be awesome to have an animated give that morphs from some kind of ape picture into Darwin’s picture.

    Unfortunately, lack the requisite photoshop skills to provide such an image.

  7. Frank Anderson says

    And what better way to celebrate than with a Charles Darwin Bobblehead? Oh, come on…it’s for a good cause!

    Alternatively, you could just come to Carbondale to see Dr. Massimo Pigliucci speak at 7 p.m. this Thursday night. You know, just in case you happened to be in southern Illinois that night and wanted to edify yourself.

  8. GreenishBlue says

    I’m throwing a tiny little Darwin Day party tonight. We’ve expanded the theme a little bit and made it kind of an atheism party. I’m trying to put together a music playlist of songs about science and atheism spanning eras and genres. Let’s all post our favorite atheist and pro-science songs to make my job easier!

  9. jonboy says

    This has to be my all time favorite song
    Artist: Monty Python
    Album: Monty Python Sings
    Category: Humor and movie theme music
    Song Title: All Things Dull And Ugly
    Philosophy: Disteleology
    Description: ‘Orrid parody of hymn all things bright and beautiful.
    Contributed By: [email protected] (William Barwell)

  10. BlueIndependent says

    Evolving Squid,

    It would be even “awesomer” to have one that shows Jonathan Wells’ face morphing from an ape to Wells, or Dr. Dino from a Brontosaurus into Dr. Dino. Those would be sure to make the creationist blogrounds.

  12. flame821 says

    The Animaniacs (WB) have a LOT of science based songs. Of course you MUST have Dolby’s “blinded me with science” and I’m am trying to remember that fellow from the 50s/60s who did the table of elements and pollution and such

  13. notthedroids says

    “So any idea what sort of creationist antics will come about because “satan” has just had his birthday?”

    Uncommondescent.com is your first-stop shop for increasingly hysterical creationism. Witness Denyse O’Leary contribution to the dialog:

    “Looking at the photos fronting the Darwin Day site, I get the feeling that the old boy contracted a spiritual disease of some kind early in life that ate at his vitals.”

    They also have a link to the Disco Inst’s reaction.

  14. Will E. says

    There’s XTC’s “Dear God,” Sting’s “All This Time,” Dead Kennedys “Religious Vomit,” and Public Image Ltd’s “Religion.” Otherwise, most atheist/science-y songs give me tard-tingles.

  17. Richard Clayton says

    Of course, if you’re a Young Earth Creationist, you know better than to trust “science falsely so-called” and those lab-coated phonies when they speak of ages and dates. Darwin’s actually ONLY 49 MINUTES OLD!

  19. BlueIndependent says

    “Looking at the photos fronting the Darwin Day site, I get the feeling that the old boy contracted a spiritual disease of some kind early in life that ate at his vitals.”

    Well Darwin lived to the ripe old age of 73, and that was well above the average life expectancy in the 19th century, so that “spiritual disease” seems not to have been particularly fatal.

    But the psychological source of this comment on Darwin is at the very least incoherent and unclear. Did Darwin contract this spiritual disease? Did he give it to himself or did someone or something give it to him? And, how come God’s divine power was not able to cure him of it?

    We of course all know the answers to such meaningless and rhetorical questions (which are themselves based on meaningless rhetoric). It’s just sometimes interesting to dissect meaningless comments that have no thought behind them.

    Will E.: Good on you for the Sting suggestion. Soul Cages is my absolute favorite Sting album. It’s nigh on perfect cover to cover.

  20. BlueIndependent says

    One could also recommend the entire American Idiot album by Green Day, although it’s not so much pro-athiest, as it is anti-Bible thumper.

  21. Amit Joshi says

    Hey PZ, weren’t you ranting a few weeks back about how it’s just wrong to use pictures of Darwin in his old age, since he did his most important work when he was much younger? And ditto Einstein?

    Or do I confuse you with another favorite Science blogs curmudgeon?

  23. KAB says

    Re: Atheist songs

    Against Me! has a song called “Walking is Still Honest” that takes a very pro-atheist stance. The chorus is: “Can anybody tell me why God won’t speak to me? Why Jesus never called on me to part the ****ing seas? Why is death easier than living? You can be anything when you’re on your ****ing knees. Not today, not my son, not my family, not while walking is still honest”. Being a punk rock song, there is some yelling…most notably when he gets to concept of heaven toward the end. Lots of emotion and distaste for religious indoctrination.

  24. says

    You simply must have “The Galaxy Song” by Monty Python on that playlist.

    Unfortunately I heard a teacher call the theory of evolution Darwinism. It is painful for me when a teacher is completely wrong and teaches it to the class. Ugh.

  25. Scott Hatfield says

    I don’t know about atheist songs so much, but a really good record with an evolutionary theme is Elvis Costello’s “Monkey To Man”. I love it!

  26. Adam says

    I think its rather amazing that Charles shared his birthday, indeed birth year (1809), with Abraham Lincoln.

    The two finest minds of the 19th century, born thousands of miles apart on the very same day.

    To further the amazement, Lincoln was perhaps our least religious President, with the possible exception of Jefferson. Were I not such as skeptic, I would think there would be something more to this astounding coincidence.

  27. says

    Here at ASU we just had a little lunchtime get-together to wish Charles Darwin a happy birthday. Tea and cakes, we sang Happy Birthday, and there was a little talk on his early life and background (up until the Beagle voyage). It’s a step in the run-up to the big bicentennial in ’09.

    I was particularly pleased to attend as my wife and I got our doctorates from the Cambridge department of Earth Sciences, which has an excellent collection of Darwin’s geological samples and great material on Adam Sedgewick (who taught Darwin geology).

    Happy Darwin Day to all :)

  28. notthedroids says

    The Industrial Revolution created the opportunity and need for Lincoln and Darwin to be who they were. I’ll let James Burke fill in the details.

  29. José Ramírez says

    Checkout Bad Religion (Atheist Peace) and A Perfect Circle (song Judith is awesome) for some cool atheistic music.

    Greg Graffin, Bad Religion’s frontman, has a Ph.D. in Biology.

  30. José Ramírez says

    Checkout Bad Religion (Atheist Peace) and A Perfect Circle (song Judith is awesome) for some cool atheistic music.

    Greg Graffin, Bad Religion’s frontman, has a Ph.D. in Biology.

  31. says

    Of all the praiseworthy elements of Darwin’s personality, his intellectual honesty is right up there. How many authors today would title a chapter “Difficulties of the Theory”? CD was clear about weaknesses in his hypothesis and said so. Nowadays so many books in EEB are advocacy science–pushing one hypothesis and highlighting only its strengths. A little of Darwin’s humility and generosity would go a long way today.

    Getting Things Done in Academia

  32. Neil says

    Not Darwin or evolution specific, but here is another suggestion of great all-purpose songs for skeptics, unbelievers, or plain old anti-religious a-holes like myself. From Frank Zappa’s “You Are What You Is”, tracks 14, 15, & 16: “The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing”, “Dumb All Over”, and “Heavenly Bank Account”. Or as I call them, the Holy Trinity. Or should that be A-holey Trinity?

  34. BlueIndependent says

    Mike Kaspari: …How many authors today would title a chapter “Difficulties of the Theory”?

    It is a rather rare thing today, but I have encountered some intellectual honesty in my readings lately. Specifically, this is with regard to Altschuller’s TRIZ method of problem solving. TRIZ’s supporters make very clear up front what problems the methods WILL help solve, and what problems it WILL NOT help solve. They are very grounded while still promoting the methodology.

    I have also encountered some of them same in my career-based research. Someone putting forth a new theory or methodology will always get sell me if they’re honest up front what they can and cannot do for me.

  35. Bunjo says

    Over on Uncommon Decscent (and other nut blogs) they are really upset by Darwin Day (good!). On one hand some are saying that scientists are worshipping Saint Darwin (shouldn’t that be Saint Charles?), and on the other hand others are saying that Darwin Day is an atheist plot to discredit religion. I guess that pointing out that their trying to bring religion into science was bound to generate a counter reaction will not go down too well.

    In any event as long as ID refuses to identify the designer(s), there is a small possiblity that Charles Darwin was the Son of the Designer, sent to Earth to explain his Father’s design! Just joking.

    Sod teach the controversy – cherish reason & demand evidence.

  38. Ichthyic says

    How many authors today would title a chapter “Difficulties of the Theory”?

    you must not read very many journal articles.

    We don’t typically label a section of a paper “difficulties…”, but the limitations of any given experiment are typically noted in the results and discussion. Indeed, the peer review process itself often brings out the limitations the original author might have missed, and the author is expected to include or address said limitations in the paper before final publication.

    It doesn’t ALWAYS happen, but that IS the typical process.