Pharyngula
Friday Cephalopod: Good mommies
Posted by PZ Myers on April 8, 2016 David Klinghoffer whines about an imaginary foul
Posted by PZ Myers on April 7, 2016 Uh-oh. I’ve disappointed David Klinghoffer. I should probably put that on my CV. You see, the other day he praised a fellow named Tom Gilson for a post in which he provided a succinct summary of Intelligent Design creationism, and I took that summary apart, point by point. You might think, perhaps Klinghoffer finds fault…
It’s Paul Nelson Day, again
Posted by PZ Myers on April 7, 2016 Solemn greetings, all. Today, as the more reverent among you know, is Paul Nelson Day. Today is the 12th annual feast day of St Nelson, patron saint of obtusity and procrastination, and we honor his contributions to science by…well, by not doing much of anything at all. You could make grandiose claims today and promise…
Your exactly accurate
definition is still exactly stupid
Posted by PZ Myers on April 5, 2016 One of the most common dodges used by Intelligent Design creationists is to use a vague definition of their subject so that critics have nothing specific too attack, and also so they can accuse anyone who disagrees with them of using a strawman argument. For example, they claim that organisms exhibit “specified complexity”, which cannot…
Superbrains will not come out of a test tube
Posted by PZ Myers on April 5, 2016 Stephen Hsu thinks super intelligent humans are coming. He thinks this because he’s very impressed with genetic engineering (he’s a physicist), and believes that the way to make people more intelligent is to adjust their genes, and therefore, more gene tweaking will lead to more intelligent people, inevitably. And not just intelligent, but super-intelligent, with…
Mary’s Monday Metazoan: Trouble-making immigrants
Posted by PZ Myers on April 4, 2016 Mostly, the killer whales native to Puget Sound are salmon eaters. But there are also transient orca who cruise through the Sound, and their diets may be a bit more adventurous. And then this week the gray whales were passing by, and…uh-oh. Gang fight. It’s that time of year. The Great Migration of 22,000 Eastern…
Friday Cephalopod: Squid in Spaaaaace!
Posted by PZ Myers on April 1, 2016 The Squid Scientists take a photo of their baby animals, and unwittingly reveal what they’re actually doing. Look behind the squid — I know it’s hard, why would you want to look past cephalopods? — and what do you see? That blurry poster in the background? It’s a space shuttle launch. And now you know.…
Speaking of bad science, never trust the American College of Pediatricians
Posted by PZ Myers on March 28, 2016 I know! It sounds so official and sciencey! It’s got “college” in it, which is formal and academic, and “pediatricians”, which are a kind of doctor, and you can never go wrong slapping “American” on your brand label. But they are a lie. It’s also because the ACP is not a legitimate medical organization; its…
Mary’s Monday Metazoan: Rorqual!
Posted by PZ Myers on March 28, 2016 This is a Minke Whale, in life. Unfortunately, it’s going to be a little harder to see them in life. The Japanese whaling fleet has just returned to base with a lot of carcasses that will be destined for cans and pet food. Japan’s whaling fleet has returned to base with the carcasses of 333…
You had me at your contempt for mowing lawns
Posted by PZ Myers on March 28, 2016 The Roaming Ecologist has a few words about lawns. Lawns – those myopically obsessive (and evil) urban, suburban, and increasingly rural monoculture eyesores that displace native ecosystems at a rate between 5,000 and 385,000 acres per day* in favor of sterile, chemically-filled, artificial environments bloated with a tremendous European influence that provide no benefits over…