Browse the IgNobel Awards and find your favorites. I rather liked the idea of ovulatory status affecting the earnings of lap dancers (although I’d like to know more about other factors that might influence performance), but the best was the title of the paper that won the literature prize: “You Bastard: A Narrative Exploration of the Experience of Indignation within Organizations.”
When I’ve seen bits of it before, I’ve felt a terrible urge to run howling from the room…but they’ve hired a new cast member who might well provide some insightful and provocative opinions.
I hope Jerry Coyne will forgive me that my frequent thought as I was reading his new book, Why Evolution Is True(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll) was, “Wow, this sure is easier to read than that other book.” That other book, of course, is Coyne and Orr’s comprehensive text on Speciation(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll), which is a technical and detailed survey of the subject in the title, and that I wouldn’t necessarily recommend to anyone who wasn’t at least a graduate student in biology. We all have our impressions colored by prior expectations, you know, and Jerry Coyne is that high-powered ecology and evolution guy at the University of Chicago whose papers I’ve read.
The new book is simple to summarize: just read the title. It’s aimed at a lay audience and answers the question of why biologists are so darned confident about the theory of evolution by going through a strong subset of the evidence. It begins with a discussion of what evolution is, then each subsequent chapter is organized around a class of evidence: fossils, embryology and historical accidents, biogeography, natural selection, sexual selection, speciation, and human evolution. If you want a straightforward primer in the experiments and observations that have made evolution the foundational principle of modern biology, this is the book for you.
Why Evolution is True makes an almost entirely positive case for evolution; it has an appropriate perspective on the current American conflict between science and religious fundamentalism that avoids dwelling on creationist nonsense, but still acknowledges where common misconceptions occur and where creationist PR, such as the Intelligent Design creationism fad, has raised stock objections. It’s a good strategy — the structure of this book is not dictated by creationist absurdities, but by good science, and creationism is simply noted where necessary and swatted down efficiently. It’s a more powerful tool for it, too — creationists can lie faster than anyone can rebut them, so the best strategy is to focus on the real evidence and force critics to address it directly.
You all really ought to pick up a copy of this book if you don’t already have a sound understanding of the basic lines of evidence for evolution (or, if you do, you could always get Speciation to get a little more depth). I recommend it unreservedly. Oh, except for one little reservation: it won’t be available until January. Go ahead and put it on your Amazon pre-order list, then.
So people want to know more about the Toronto visit…
They’re charging for people to listen to me? Wow, I feel like Celine Dion now. You can get more information and order tickets at the CFI site.
I am a little uncomfortable with the hyperbole on the poster, though. Couldn’t they have said “world’s most famous atheist & science blogger from Morris, Minnesota”? Especially with Larry Moran right there in town, he is probably going to give me some grief over that line.
There are also some other things planned for Saturday, but I don’t have those details just yet. I know that the fabulous Skatje will be speaking in a panel or Q&A or something on that day, and I might be hovering around at a skeptics event around then, but it’s all a little vague right now. There will be stuff to do and opportunities to schmooze for those of you who’d rather go trick-or-treating Friday night.
The poster, by the way, is by Glendon Mellow, who even discusses his intent in creating it.
I guess I wasn’t paying attention. Good thing there are sources on the web to explain history to me.
Since people have been asking about my travel schedule lately, here’s how I’m going to be spending my weekends:
| Friday, 31 Oct-2 Nov: | Toronto, ON |
| Friday, 7-9 Nov: | Washington, DC |
| Thursday, 13-15 Nov: | Kearney, NE |
| Wednesday, 19-22 Nov: | Philadelphia, PA |
| Friday, 5-6 Dec: | Orlando, FL |
I’m hoping the visit to DC will be an especially joyous one.
This is just the craziest thing I ever heard. Politics where you can actually have politicians who don’t believe in god, and where you can talk about removing the privileged status of religion from the legislative body, and where all the major political parties have organized representation by freethinkers? Yeah, and they also have gumdrop trees and rivers of chocolate and beer volcanoes, too, I bet. Where is this magical place? Middle Earth, maybe? Nah, it’s called England — which I could be persuaded is also a mythical fantasy land.
There is a great tradition of free thought in the Conservative Party. Many leading Conservative thinkers have not required religious belief or superstition to define their lives or their political views.
The creation of the Conservative Humanist Association means that all three major UK political Parties now have associations aligned with the British Humanist Association. We hope that all UK political parties will now recognise that the majority of our people want a more secular political system.
There is an opportunity for Conservatives – with our focus on individual freedom and choice – to create a real dynamic for change in our civil society.
Can you imagine a statement like that from either of our major American political parties?
But then, isn’t everything? We had a veritable orgy of communion wafer consumption in Springfield, enhanced by a chocolate coating. Why can’t the transubstantiation trick involve chocolate and milk instead of bread and wine?
I lived in Philly for seven years, so I do have a connection and retain my affection for the city, and a respect for the addytood Philadelphians have always had. I felt a real tingle of sentiment when I heard that Philadelphia sports fans booed Sarah Palin. Clenched fist salute for Philadelphia!
I did not get shot at during my presentation. I was not heckled to the point of tears. Richard Carrier‘s talk did not bore me. Despite Springfield being the world capitol of the Assemblies of God Pentecostal church, Sarah Palin did not attend…but it is not the case that the event was poorly attended. I did not fall off the stage, nor were there any technical problems with the video equipment. There were no Catholic picketers. Jesus did not manifest in a chariot of fire to smite the two godless speakers. The audience at our talk did not shy away from asking difficult questions of Carrier and myself. The beer that evening wasn’t bad. While I did briefly disparage the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, no one threatened my livelihood or waved a sword at my neck. I was not neglected or mistreated. I did not eat all the chocolate-covered communion wafers I was given…yet. I did not miss a pleasant evening at the Springfield Brewing company.
I do not understand why anyone would think I am a pirate.
Ben was concerned that I would write horrible things about Springfield and MSU, so I had to cruelly let him know I would not write a post that said anything positive at all about my visit.
I do not think I would turn down an invitation to return.
You probably didn’t know that Richard Carrier is not a ninja.
