1001 Ideas that Changed the Way We Think - "Not-junk DNA"

Glenn Branch of NCSE alerted me to this book: 1001 Ideas the Changed the Way We Think. He wrote some of the articles [see Creationism and Evolution in 1001 Ideas]. The last great idea that changed the way we think (#1001) is written by Simon Adams, a "historian and writer living and working in London." Simon Adams thinks that the discovery that most...

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Mmmmmmm ..... orange chicken

We're in Washington D.C. for a wedding. Our hotel is the Ritz-Carleton in Arlington, Virginia, right next door to the Pentagon City Mall. This is a photo of the food court in the mall. I was here with my children 20 years ago (August 1993) when I discovered "Panda Express" and orange chicken for the very first time. Of course I had to celebrate this...

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What do Intelligent Design Creationists believe?

It's always difficult to pin down an intelligent design creationist. They demand detailed "naturalistic" explanations of everything before they will accept them but, on the other hand, they won't ever give you their explanation. For example, we know they have doubts about the evolution of bacterial flagella but have you ever heard them describe their...

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Recovering from an ice storm

We had a big ice storm in Southern Ontario last weekend. There are still thousands or people without power and many are unlikely to have power restored before Christmas (tomorrow).We got off fairly lightly. We were never without power (underground wires) and the roads were cleared pretty quickly. However, lots of trees in our neighborhood suffered...

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Evoluutio on sekä fakta että teoria

I visited Finland for one day in August and now I can publish blog posts in Finnish! Seriously, Timo Kauppila has translated my Evolution Is a Fact and a Theory into Finnish and put it up on his BioLogiikka web site [Evoluutio on sekä fakta että teoria]....

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Heloise Guerin - Vogue Japan - February 2014

Photography: Victor DemarchelierStylist: Aurora SansoneHair: Diego Da SilvaMakeup: Adrien Pina...

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Natasha Poly - Vogue Japan - February 2014

Photography: Patrick DemarchelierStylist: Nicoletta SantoroHair: James PecisMakeup: Aaron De MeyCasting Director: Piergiorgio Del M...

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Mirte Maas - Vogue Japan - February 2014

Photography: Toby KnottStylist: Sabino PantoneHair: Alessandro RebecchiMakeup: Houda RemitaCasting Director: Piergiorgio Del M...

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Natasha Poly - Vogue Japan - February 2014

Photography: Patrick DemarchelierStylist: Nicoletta SantoroCasting director: Piergiorgio Del Moro for DM FASHION STUDIOHair: James PecisMakeup: Aaron De ...

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Science vs religion in the Princeton Guide to Evolution

The Princeton Guide to Evolution is a collection of 107 articles on various aspect of evolution. The editors felt they should address the obvious conflict between evolution/science and religion. There are at least five different approaches they could have taken.An atheist perspective on the incompatibility of evolution/science and religion. Richard Dawkins or Jerry Coyne would be good choices.An atheist perspective on the compatibility of science and religion (the accommodationist view). Michael Ruse or Nick Matzke are obvious choices.A theist...

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Elliott Sober illustrates (inadvertently) the problem of definitions

One of the problems in most debates and discussions in the problem of definitions. It's common for two opponents to end up talking past one another because they don't agree on what they are arguing about. That's why an important component of critical thinking is to define your terms so that everyone knows what you are defending (or attacking). But...

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Anna Selezneva - Vogue Paris - December 2013

Photography: Lachlan BaileyStylist: Geraldine SaglioHair: Diego Da SilvaMakeup: Christelle Cocq...

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Naty Chabanenko Digitals - December 2013

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Arlin Stoltzfus explains evolutionary theory

A few days ago, I asked the following questions, Is the "Modern Synthesis" effectively dead?, and What do they mean when they say they want to extend the Modern Synthesis?. The point I was trying to make was that there are many different views on evolutionary theory and it's often difficult to figure out which version of evolutionary theory someone...

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Exam questions for 2nd year students in a critical thinking course

Here are the questions on yesterday's exam for students in my course. Students will be graded on their explanations and not so much on the actual answer they give. The idea is to reward critical thinking and that includes the ability to see both sides of an issue and recognize problems with whatever side you choose to defend.Assuming that the technology is safe and effective, should we, or should we not, have laws forbidding the cloning of humans?What is the best definition of a "gene"? Explain why you choose that definition and give examples of...

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Irina Kravchenko - Numero - December 2013/January 2014

Photography: Sofia & MauroStylist: Samuel FrançoisHair: Romina ManentiMakeup: Rie Om...

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Fei Fei Sun - Vogue - January 2014

Photography: David SimsStylist: Phyllis PosnickHair: GuidoMakeup: Diane Ken...

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Sam Rollinson - Vogue - January 2014

Photography: Craig McDeanStylist: Grace CoddingtonHair: Julien d'YsMakeup: Peter Phil...

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Today is exam day and "You shall not pass"

Today is the day of the final exam in my course on critical thinking and scientific misconceptions. I thought my students would get a kick out of this photo. I'm certain that all regular Sandwalk readers know what I'm talking about but just in case there's any new readers who don't get it, here's a short clip from the movie.1 1. Note to IDiots and...

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Monday's Molecule #227

Last week's molecule was the drug pantoprazole, a proton pump inhibitor used to treat excess stomach acid or acid reflux [Monday's Molecule #226 ]. The winner is Bill Gunn.This week's molecule (left) is related to one from last April. That molecule, is one of the essential molecules in the human diet and today's molecule is the reason why. This is...

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What do they mean when they say they want to extend the Modern Synthesis?

As far as I'm concerned, the "Modern Synthesis" has been replaced by modern evolutionary theory that incorporates Nearly-Neutral Theory and random genetic drift as an important mechanism of evolution [see Is the "Modern Synthesis" effectively dead? ]. This extension, and replacement, of the 1940s version of evolutionary theory took place in mainly...

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Is the "Modern Synthesis" effectively dead?

The "Modern Synthesis," or modern evolutionary synthesis, refers to a framework of evolutionary theory developed and promoted by prominent biologists in the 1940s. The term comes from the subtitle of a 1942 book by Julian Huxley. The central theme was the integration of "classic" evolution with population genetics. Although the original version was...

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Cara Delevingne - Vogue UK - January 2014

Photography: Alasdair McLellanStylist: Kate PhelanHair: Anthony TurnerMakeup: Lisa But...

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