pharyngula

How could I forget? Easy, actually, it's a rather forgettable event in which nothing happens. Seven years ago, Paul Nelson invented a creationist metric, ontogenetic depth, which purportedly measures the complexity of developmental processes and somehow implies that evolution is impossible. At that…

Another madman has run wild, this time in Brazil, killing 11 schoolchildren and wounding another 13 before killing himself (and here's the story in Portuguese, with many photos, including a few that are grislier than you'll see in the US media). The killer left a suicide note, and a Brazilian…

Not in the same place at the same time, unfortunately — that could be an interesting conversation. But they're both out and about talking. Tonight at 7pm Eastern, Sam Harris will be wasting his time debating William Lane Craig. Rumors are that you will be able to watch the debate live at that link…

I don't know if I should encourage these things — they are of the devil. At least the intent in this contest to create anti-creationist LOLcats is good. Your goal is to make a funny picture with peculiar grammar that mocks creationist ideas, and win fabulous prizes. Go for it!

An unsavory fellow named Tommy Pitts is under arrest for child abuse in Oklahoma. Police said Pitts was arrested on 15 counts of first-degree rape, 15 counts of rape by instrumentation, 20 counts of lewd or indecent acts with children under 16 and 20 counts of forcible sodomy. He is on suicide…

Man, this article is bad. Perhaps atheism is a luxury of the well-to-do. Put differently, everyone--even the most hardcore atheists, I think--will start believing in God if put under a high amount of stress. Think of the last time you prayed to God, and I will bet that, for many of you (whether you…

There is a church in Romsey, Australia which is getting lots of attention because they offer a "Sci-Fi and Fantasy Friendly Church Service," where people dress up as fantasy characters and wave light-sabers around while quoting Buffy and Bilbo. It's a weird story, because every church service…

I have an excuse to visit Philadelphia this May: I'll be attending the Friggatriskaidekaphobia party that Margaret Downey will be putting on on Friday, the 13th of May, along with Tom Flynn. Meet Tom Flynn, along with PZ Myers, at the Freethought Society (FS)'s 2011 Anti-Superstition Bashon Friday…

The world doesn't always suck! Two tidbits to brighten your day: Glenn Beck is leaving Fox News, in a move that is claimed to be amicable but is probably more due to the fact that his show loses money for the network. In one of those very important elections, the race between liberal challenger…

I have to acknowledge the very silly Mark Vernon, who considers the award a triumph. Apparently, Martin Rees accepted the award to hit back vengefully at Richard Dawkins — oh, how I wish I were in a position to wreak havoc on mine enemies by getting £1,000,000 handed to me. He really does see this…

I have a request to all of you. Some of you hate me, so you'd enjoy this, but it's more important that those of you who have a mild and distant affection for me take a stand, too. If, sometime in the future, when the billions of dollars role in, if you learn that I'm flying in children for sex, I…

Time Magazine is running a poll to determine who are the most influential people in the world — like an online poll is the best way to do that — and one of them is Christopher Hitchens, who currently has 11989 votes saying he's influential, and 570 saying he's not. Join the mob, and let's make it…

I'm going to Hawaii next week, while snow is still on the ground here in Morris, so I have to think tropical. (If you're wondering, I'll be attending and speaking at the West Coast Regional Meeting of the Society for Developmental Biology.)

If you've been following the wars in Africa, you already know that there's at least one other powderkeg besides Libya — Côte d'Ivoire, which is struggling with a disputed succession and roving gangs of angry young men with guns. The Nation has an excellent summary of the problems in Côte d'Ivoire,…

This cartoon. Why? Because the first thing I do in the lab is hammer them on basic statistics, show them how to calculate p values, and struggle to keep them from over-interpreting their results.

Another year goes by, and yet again the Templetonians have failed to throw a million pounds at me. I feel the same way I do when they announce the Powerball lottery winners and my ticket isn't among the winners — of course, I never buy lottery tickets anyway, but that just makes the analogy even…

If I converted to Spaceology, would you all mind if I turned the endless thread into my personal ashram? (Current totals: 12,156 entries with 1,331,434 comments.)

What a deal. The American Association of Physical Anthropologists is meeting in Minneapolis next weekend, and they are offering a free, open workshop for teachers on "Fossils, Bones, and Primates: Enriching High School Teaching." I hope our local educators can find time to take it! The workshop…

For a change of pace, here's an email from a reader who is not a crazy creationist, but instead an atheist scientist with a problem. Hmmm…maybe I should work on being the scientist version of Dan Savage. I've edited out revealing information, because obviously this woman is in a situation fraught…

Wait—Liberty University gets half a billion dollars a year in federal aid? And they have almost 50,000 students? I feel a great disturbance in the Force, as if thousands of minds suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I looked a little further and discovered, though, that Liberty…

Lawrence Krauss has sent me a guest post discussing his debate with William Lane Craig. As he notes, these debates with cranks are always a mistake; debates in general are a format tailored to give the weak side, even the side that has no credibility at all, an equal standing with the stronger side…

Lawrence Krauss vs. William Lane Craigby Lawrence Krauss It sometimes surprises me, although it shouldn't, how religious devotees feel the need to regularly reinforce their own convictions in groups of like-minded individuals. I suppose this is the purpose of regular Sunday church services, for…

Last weekend (no, the weekend before) I got to stop on a long layover in Seattle and have dinner with the family back home. My sister took a few pictures, and so just because I can, here's me and my mother. See? She doesn't look at all demonic.

@JoeCienkowski is a motor-mouthed creationist who hangs out on Twitter. His wife, Brandy Evans Cienkowski, is much less vocal and considers herself one of those 'liberal Christians', and she apparently got fed up with Joe (he has also been arrested at least once for battery in January, which is not…

The slimy weasels of congress are now on the case, muttering about somehow silencing the terrible people who endanger our country by inflaming the mad Muslim hordes, and Greenwald calls them out. Harry Reid and Lindsey Graham yesterday both suggested that Congress take unspecified though formal…

I'm afraid I don't have access to this specialty journal, Curator: The Museum Journal, so it's a good thing the author sent me a copy of his article on the modern treatment of human origins in museums. It's amusing, since part of it is a substantial comparison of the exhibits at the American Museum…

R. Joseph Hoffmann really doesn't get it. He's written an article that is basically doing nothing but decrying blasphemy on some very strange grounds: that it's stupid and pointless and cowardly. He also compares me and the desecration of a cracker with Terry Jones and the burning of a Koran that…

Sometimes, issues demand nuance. This is a complicated world and there are a great many subjects that simply aren't reducible to binaries — we do a disservice to the subtleties when we discard them in favor of absolutes. And often I can agree that we need depth and breadth of understanding if we're…

You know how scientific disputes are settled, volublists of the eternal thread? With epic rap battles. Bring it, Hawking. (Current totals: 12,143 entries with 1,328,883 comments.)