Joshua Rosenau spends his days defending the teaching of evolution at the National Center for Science Education. He is formerly a doctoral candidate at the University of Kansas, in the department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. When not battling creationists or modeling species ranges, he writes about developments in progressive politics and the sciences.
The opinions expressed here are his own, do not reflect the official position of the NCSE. Indeed, older posts may no longer reflect his own official position.
I'm very fond of my cute little MacBook. It's faster than my desktop machine, it's light, I can watch movies on it without a problem, and I can use gestures with it.
Gestures rock.
Here's how it works. I've got a window open. It has a scroll bar on the side, and a bunch of things I want to click…
Their mistake was messing with the writers of the Daily Show:
They made a mistake messing with the occupant of this desk:
(Images from NOVA's Judgment Day, I'm the desk's current occupant.)
Alas, their only mistake was living in the path of this monster:
Now's a good time to donate to your…
I've had Jesca Hoop's stunning "Intelligentactile 101" stuck in my head for months, ever since an mp3blog posted it. It came up in iTunes today, and I checked to see if the album is out yet and it is. Awesome. "Intelligentactile 101" by Jesca Hoop from the album Kismet (2007, 4:20).
Fingertips…
You can see the NCSE's official stance on the NOVA documentary about the Dover trial at our website, but I want to add to that. The official stance is that it is "accurate," which skips the part about how ID got its ass handed to it in Dover. The thrill of that victory was getting a bit distant,…
There's a Simpsons episode where Bart manages to make tons of cash off of Homer by betting on the outcome of (IIRC) the chariot race in Ben Hur. "He has to lose eventually," is roughly Homer's response when asked to explain why he'd keep betting on the losing horse.
I keep thinking of that scene…
One of the frustrating things about reading creationist claptrap for a living is that they get so very much wrong. They get their facts wrong, they draw conclusions from those erroneous claims which would not be valid even if their factual claims were correct, and then they weave it all together…
In Creation/Evolution circles, the Salem Hypothesis suggests that "In any Evolution vs. Creation debate, A person who claims scientific credentials and sides with Creation will most likely have an Engineering degree." Surveys of the phenomenon suggest that it is a very real phenomenon.…
In an interview with Point of Inquiry, the host asks Behe if he'll clarify whether, "just to be clear, you think the young earth creationists are completely wrong."
"Uh, yes I do," Behe confidently replies. He pauses, the interviewer gathers himself for the next question, and Behe (reaching deep…
Surely the Disco. Inst.'s Rob Crowther doesn't want to cast ID in the role of a murderer or a pedophile, but the parallel is inescapable in his latest whinge about NOVA's Judgment Day (airing next Tuesday on PBS):
First they dramatized the O.J. Simpson trial. Then they acted out Michael Jackson’s…
The 83 year-old author of the song which made Mr. Clean a household name died a few days ago. Cadden was a graduate of the KU journalism school; he still has family in the area. He worked in advertising from the 1950s through the '70s, and worked as a freelance composer and writer after that.…
When told that Jim Ryun's fanboys have established a Second Life outpost for the former track star and ex-Congressman:
Ryun’s campaign spokeswoman was downright wary. “We don’t condone or support it. I don’t think we’re going to look at it anytime soon,” said Jackie Harrison. “It’s intense. You…
IDolator MikeGene is confused. On considering mice in which a change in enzyme production results in fast running and a longer sex life, Gene makes two comments which do not make sense in conventionally spoken English. First:
Here is an example where the traits of aggression, hyperactivity,…
Origins of life researcher Leslie Orgel died a few days ago. He was trained as a chemist, and had produced a number of important insights into the likely paths toward the origins of self-replication.
His greatest cultural impact probably came from the promulgation of "Orgel's Rules," especially…
The Kansas Democratic Party is curious to learn: "Why are you leaving the GOP?" The Kansas AG, Lieutenant Governor, a Kansas member of Congress and several Kansas state legislators all did it. What made you Flee the GOP?
Reposted from the old TfK because it's fun.
In KU's introductory biology lab about evolution, the students are asked (not my phrasing):
In the vertebrate animal clade, jaws have evolved from cartilage-like rods associated with gills. In jawless ancestral vertebrates, as well as extant jawless…
Chuck Colson has had an interesting life.
During his years as a Nixon goon/lawyer, he wrote the infamous Enemies List, proposed firebombing the Brookings Institution and stealing documents while firefighters put out the fire, and headed up the plan to steal psychiatric files about the Pentagon…
The gang at Billy D's blog really seem to like a website called Science made Stupid. I'm sure you join me in my astonishment that they aren't suing for trademark infringement.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment denied a permit to Sunflower Electric Power, blocking construction of a massive power plant.
"I believe it would be irresponsible to ignore emerging information about the contribution of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to climate change and…
Thanks to all your efforts, Senator Vitter asked that the $100,000 he earmarked for the creationist Lousiana Family Forum be given to someone else.
Thank you for your calls and emails to your Senators. If you have time, you might want to call your congresscritters back and offer your heartfelt…
Last month, papers in Louisiana spotted an interesting earmark tacked onto the Senate version of the appropriations bill for the Departments of Labor, HHS, and Education. Senator David Vitter (R-LA brothels) had allocated $100,000 for a Dobson-derived group – Lousiana Family Forum. The money was…
Just as I was leaving Kansas, I managed to convince the excellent Chris Mooney to head out and give a talk in Hays. He's arrived safely, and will be talking about climate change out there tonight.
Last year, then-attorney general Phill (the extra 'l' is for "lascivious") Kline was sued over his interpretation of a state law. He claimed that a law requiring doctors and other counselors to report sexual abuse required them to inform his office of any sexual contact with a minor child, even if…
Many of us here at Scienceblogs are participating in this effort to raise funds for teachers who have good ideas about how to improve education. The projects I'm promoting (in the sidebar), aim to get kids out into nature and nature into the classroom. I hope you'll help these teachers out by…
At Creation Ministries International, Don Batten wonders Are look-alikes related?:
My childhood best friend looked so much like me that our teachers, and even our friends, had a lot of trouble telling us apart. ‘Are you twins?’, we were often asked. However, there was no family connection as far…
"Zibote" by Ernesto Djedje from the album Le roi du ziglibithy (2001, 5:52).
"Thunder Chicken" by The Mighty Imperials from the album Thunder Chicken (2006, 3:11).
"Ice Is A Solid" by Dorothy Collins from the album Experiment Songs (1:50).
"Angel Flying too Close to the Ground" by Willie Nelson…
The Disco Institute's Rob Crowther is confused. Because the NCSE announced and linked to an ID statement by the National Council for the Social Studies, Crowther seems to think the NCSE has changed its own position.
This really rests on two confusions (two of Crowther's many confusions). First,…
The situation in Myanmar (the once and future Burma) is horrific. A beautiful country has been slowly gutted by thugs, and the world has silently watched its descent into madness. The democratically elected leader of the nation has been under house arrest for decades, and couldn't even get her…
While searching for statistics on the size of bat wings, I came across this statement:
Anyone who has studied the history and statistics of cricket up to the advent of roundarm bowling will agree that the single greatest controversy that the sport had to deal with pre-roundarm concerned the width…
