About this blog
I am maintaining this blog to post observations and news about the world of science and higher education as it connects with various societal issues.Archives
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- Animals Becoming a scientist Biology revision Cognitive Science Education Environment Ethology Evidence they think we're stupid Evolution General Jargon Medicine Mental health MSU Zoology Nature of science Religion Responsible Conduct of Research Science and public discourse Science humor Skepticism Technology Uncategorized
Category Archives: Evolution
The Queen of the Sciences solves the mystery of the dinosaurs’ demise
Medieval academics called theology (or alternatively philosophy) the “Queen of the Sciences” because they saw it as the capstone of all higher learning. Carl Friedrich Gauss used this term to describe Mathematics. I would reserve this term for Paleontology for … Continue reading
Posted in Animals, Environment, Evolution, General, Nature of science
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Embodied intelligence in slime molds…
More on this later: http://news.yahoo.com/puddles-goo-brainless-slime-molds-memories-190525442.html Slime molds remember where they’ve been using the slime they leave behind. Ariadne’s thread, Hansel’s bread crumb, Physarum‘s slime.
Posted in Cognitive Science, Ethology, Evolution
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Super-intelligent purple space squids apparently were unintelligent designers
From Ronald Bailey of Reason Magazine…
Religion and vaccination
Here we have a story from Grand Rapids, MI, about a woman who could lose her job at a hospital because she is refusing to be vaccinated against influenza. The hospital makes flu shots a condition of employment. Such a … Continue reading
Posted in Evolution, Religion, Science and public discourse
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Evolution, spite, and ideological suicide bombs
11 October 2009 Recently we’ve seen allegations by a politician and a pundit that conservative leaders are being “spiteful” by taking positions that undermine their political foes (especially President Obama), even though these positions would seem to make them look … Continue reading
Posted in Ethology, Evolution, Religion, Science and public discourse
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More on vestiges
In the previous post, I pointed to a site that lists the “Top 10” vestigial organs. Number of 9 on this list has long been my personal favorite: the vestigial pelvic bones of modern whales. The reason it is my … Continue reading
Vermiform musings
Well, maybe the human appendix has a function after all. Long one of the textbook examples of a “vestigial organ,” a recent publication now reinterprets the appendix as serving a critical role in helping deal with contamination of food. Here … Continue reading
Posted in Evolution
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Ethologist 