I spent last Thursday and Friday at the Unchallengeable Orthodoxies conference hosted by the ASU Sandra Day O'Connor Law School in conjunction with the University of Cambridge. Lots of interesting discussion on academic freedom, scientific practice and suchlike. I presented a 20 minute case study on why I felt that evolution was not an unchallengeable orthodoxy and why creationist claims about being stifled or expelled do not hold up when examined in light of scientific practice and the history of science. It's a talk that I'm working up into a longer version to be presented at the American Humanist Association Annual Meeting in June. That meeting is here in Tempe, and PZ Myers is to be receiving the Humanist of the Year award.
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Next week there is a big conference here at ASU - hosted in conjunction with University of Cambridge - examining the concept of "Unchallengeable Orthodoxy in Academia and Science." The general purpose of the conference is:
To critically examine the precept that American and British universities…
I really didn't want to get involved with the whole "framing" debate again. For whatever reason (and they are reasons that I've failed to understand), the very mention of the word seems to set certain members of the ScienceBlogs collective into rabid fits of vicious invective that leave rational…
Time to get back to the classroom! Our spring semester starts tomorrow. This term I'll be teaching Calculus I and History of Math. I have a relatively light teaching load this term, as my reward for accepting a relatively heavy teaching load last term.
Things are going to be a bit hectic for me…
John Baez from UCal-Riverside, in addition to his many contributions to the field of mathematical physics, has given to us the enormously useful Crackpot Index. His index, which awards varying point values based upon the attributes of the claims being made, gives a fairly reliable indication of…
And you will open your MacBook which will light up and purr, connect to whatever wi-fi you near and ask you, seductively, "what would you like to do tonight, John?"
You'll caress her solid aluminum sides and say, "Baby, whatever you want to do I'm up with that."
And you'll be up with that.
Uh, speaking of unchallengeable orthodoxies, how'd Tempe Normal do in the little hoops tournament? Aw, darn, so does that mean there are no Pac-10 representatives left? Wait...oh, good, there is one in the Sweet Sixteen.
BTW, to calculate the number of years that my wife (UA Systems Engineering, 1985) and I have been married, just add up the number of consecutive years that THE University of Arizona has had a team in that little tournament. But hey...the perennial hope of Tempe Normal: we always win in baseball! (At least that was the cry in the 1980s, even though UA won two national championships in that decade.)
Oh and PZ will be here in Grand Rapids this week. That's almost as newsworthy as a tournament win for Tempe Normal! :-D
Steve,
And there was I thinking you were classier than that! *sigh*
5-0 ... just saying. You know what I'm talking about. (Oh, and a 3-0 sweep over the weekend in baseball)
All gentle ribbing aside, I have no problem with UA doing well in the tourney, though you have to admit that the wildcats had the easier first two games.
You're right about the first two games, and Utah should be pretty annoyed about being paired with a 12 seed that was clearly a whole lot better than that seed. And I would think you'd be a big fan of Pennell -- he's the class act you thought I was (:-D) and besides, didn't he spend some time in Tempe?
Someday when we have a beer at the Chuck Box I'll tell you my sordid tale of Sun Devil fandom and my spectacular conversion experience. (Please tell me the Chuck Box is still there.)
Chuck Box is still there and still serves heart attacks on a plate :) Do indeed let me know if you're ever in town.