jlynch | December 1, 2008
Yellow-bellied weasel, Mustela kathiah Hodgson 1835
European mink, Mustela lutreola L.
jlynch | November 23, 2008According to the Intercollegiate Studies Institute "Americans fail a basic test on their history and institutions" with an average score of 49% (college educators apparently score 55%, and office-holders 44%).
I scored 88% (29 out of 33)... I put that down to not being a product of the American school system :)
Some of the questions are a little right-leaning but have at it nonetheless.
jlynch | November 22, 2008
The Tyndall Correspondence Project (of which I am a participant) has now gone online. Our aim is to follow in the footsteps of the Darwin Correspondence Project and transcribe the letters of the Irish physicist, John Tyndall. The site is a little bare at the moment, but more information and resources will be forthcoming.
jlynch | November 22, 2008O'Leary: "Behe is a working biochemist"
Me: "Funny definition of working you're using there, Denyse"
jlynch | November 16, 2008
Long-tailed weasel, Mustela frenata Lichtenstein 1831
(source)
I was unable to find a good picture of Mustela felipei (Izor and de la Torre, 1978) so that, alas, will be left by the wayside.
jlynch | November 9, 2008 Something a little different this week ...
Steppe Polecat, Mustela eversmanni Lesson 1827.
I spent three years of my life measuring mustelid skulls. I kind of miss it.
jlynch | November 8, 2008So I'm here in Pittsburgh for the History of Science Society annual meeting. Had a chance to catch up with Janet and Ben while meeting Michael Robinson (of Time to Eat the Dogs) for the first time. Congratulations to him for winning the HSS Forum for History of Science in America book prize for his book The Coldest Crucible. Also got to meet some readers (you know who you are!).
jlynch | November 1, 2008ASU has a number of exciting graduate programs in history, philosophy and social studies of science (with particular emphasis on the biological sciences). I am a faculty member for three of these programs (Biology & Society, Philosophy & Human and Social Dimensions of Science and Technology) and have worked with PhD and MA/MS students. If you are an undergraduate or graduate student who wants to study in these fields, please do not hesitate to use the contact information below or contact me with any questions you may have.
We announce new graduate programs to study science and society…
jlynch | October 28, 20082009 ASU-MBL History of Biology Seminar: Theory in the Life Sciences
May 20-27
Application Deadline: January 15, 2009
The MBL-ASU History of Biology Seminar is an intensive week with annually varying topics designed for a group of no more than 25 advanced graduate students, postdoctoral associates, younger scholars, and established researchers in biology, history, philosophy, and the social sciences.
The 2009 seminar will focus on the meaning of "theory in biology" as well as "biological theory." What makes biological theories different from theories in the physical sciences, and how has…
jlynch | October 27, 2008
Mountain or Pale Weasel, Mustela altaica Pallas 1811
Click for bigger, clearer version of this little beauty!
jlynch | October 23, 2008
On Monday, we'll begin the final lap of the Monday Mustelid, namely the 18 members of the genus Mustela. So it seems apt to post what is probably the most famous image of a mustelid, Leonardo Da Vinci's "Lady with the Ermine" (1482-'83). You can read more about the portrait here.
This is by way of pointing out that there are a number of the remaining species that I am unable to find a good picture of. So this will be the sole mention of M. africana Desmarest, 1818 which would have been our Monday Mustelid next week.
jlynch | October 19, 2008
Marbled polecat, Vormela peregusna Güldenstädt 1770
(source)
Seriously, who wouldn't love this little guy?
jlynch | October 17, 2008
Two-week-old Black footed ferret pup (Mustela nigripes).
Those Bleiman Brothers have done it again and given us ZooBorns. Too cute for words.
jlynch | October 12, 2008
African Striped Weasel, Poecilogale albinucha Gray 1864
(Apologies for the quality of the picture)
jlynch | October 8, 2008I'm currently sitting in a hotel room in Indianapolis. Tomorrow I will be attending a two-day Liberty Fund seminar on "Liberty in the Scientific Enlightenment," a discussion using E.O. Wilson's Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge as a jumping off point. Other attendees (there are 15 in total) include Vernon Smith, Larry Arnhart, Carl Mitcham, Stephen Barr, and Ronald Bailey. How - or why - I ended up in such company, I'm still unsure, but if anything interesting happens, I might just post something.
jlynch | October 5, 2008
American mink Neovison vison Schreber 1777
(Formerly Mustela vison)
[source]
jlynch | October 4, 2008I'm going to take a break from this blogging thing for a while. The past few months have been sufficiently crazy (blame a new lecture course, some deadlines, and a general malaise) to prevent me keeping abreast of anything worth writing about. I'll continue posting the Monday Mustelid every week, but don't expect much more until ... well, until who knows when.
jlynch | September 29, 2008
Over at Uncommon Descent, "DaveScot" has attempted to make the case that "public interest in global warming evaporates". By his own measure, public interest in ID barely exists.