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Monthly Archives: August 2011
Mathematician David Berlinski Doubts Whale Evolution by Random Variation and Natural Selection
Whales, obviously, evolved from land mammals. But did they achieve this feat via a blind process of random variation and natural selection? Mathematician David Berlinski doubts it: . To my mind, the jaw-dropping informational complexity of life is the strict Darwinian … Continue reading
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Tagged apologetics, atheism, Charles Darwin, david berlinski, evolution, God, natural selection, philosophy, science, whale evolution
8 Comments
Ron Paul Rejects the Theory of Evolution
Very discouraging. I didn’t know that Ron Paul was on the anti-science dark side: . I think that this part of his comment is especially noxious and stupid: Well, first I thought it was a very inappropriate question, you know, … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged anti-science, atheism, epistemology, evolution, libertarianism, philosophy, Republican party, Ron Paul
5 Comments
Global Debt Slavery Watch: Economic Anthropologist David Graeber Thinks Slavery and Debt Slavery May Be a Distinction Without Much of a Difference
At Naked Capitalism, Dublin-based journalist Philip Pilkington asks economic anthropologist David Graeber an intriguing question: We know that in many Western countries over the past few years households have been running up enormous debts, from credit card debts to mortgages … Continue reading
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Tagged class warfare, david graeber, debt, debt forgiveness, economics, globalism, jubilee, materialism, mind, philosophy, social psychology
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Evolution vs. Creation Rhetoric Watch: Cornelius Hunter Notices an Interesting Rhetorical Move That Charles Darwin Made in the Origin of Species
At his blog recently, Cornelius Hunter called attention to this statement of Charles Darwin’s from the Origin of Species: If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed, which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged apologetics, Charles Darwin, cornelius hunter, creationism, evolution, God, Jesus, rhetoric, science
7 Comments
Jeb Corliss Grinds the Crack: Insane Wingsuit Flyer Laughs at His Near Death Experience
Daedalus’s son Icarus famously flew too close to the sun. Ecstatic Jeb Corliss nearly flew too close to the rocks (which would have made him Dead-alus). Yes, this is real. He cuts it incredibly close. Then laughs.
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Tagged balls, carpe diem, daedalus, death, flight, jeb corliss, laugh, laughter, life, near death experience, wingsuits
4 Comments
Christianism Watch: The Sign of the Fish Enlisted for War
A pretty darn ironic image: one of the Prince of Peace’s symbols enlisted for nationalist identification and war: . Of course, Constantine did something similar with the cross. But, if a contemporary Christian uses the sign of the fish in … Continue reading
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Tagged christianism, christianist, gandhi, God, Jesus, nonviolence, peace, religion, religion of peace, war
5 Comments
Why Not Getting a Flu Shot is Like Giving Your Keys to a Robber or Predator
This high quality National Public Radio (NPR) produced video on how viruses pick the lock on cells, then hijack them, ought to send every parent to the doctor for their kids’ shot updates. And, if you don’t get your own … Continue reading
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Tagged anti-vaccine movement, biology, critical thinking, death, flu, flu shot, flu shots, life, molecular biology, parenting, vaccinations, viruses
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Blogging David Goodsell’s “The Machinery of Life” (Evolution, Scale, and the Counter-Intuitive Nano-Realm)
David Goodsell is a molecular biologist at The Scripps Research Institute in California, and he has written a hippie-beautiful introductory text to molecular biology, The Machinery of Life (2nd edition, Springer 2010), which Scientific American calls “an impressive and original book.” I call it “hippie-beautiful” because … Continue reading
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Tagged beauty, biology, blood, cells, complexity, david goodsell, design, evolution, life, nanotechnology, nature, science
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Blogging David Goodsell’s “The Machinery of Life” (Chapter 1)
David Goodsell is a molecular biologist at The Scripps Research Institute in California, and he has written a hippie-beautiful introductory text to molecular biology, The Machinery of Life (2nd edition, Springer 2010), which Scientific American calls “an impressive and original book.” I call it “hippie-beautiful” because … Continue reading
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Tagged biology, cells, complexity, engineering, evolution, life, machines, molecular biology, science
1 Comment
Via Satellite, Tropical Storms Remind Me of Einstein’s Hair
Just an observation. . And: . Source for images: Wikipedia Commons via NASA and the World-Telegram.
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Tagged albert einstein, bad hair day, bad hair days, chaos, chaos or cosmos, Dionysus, einstein, hair, hurricanes, NASA, satellites, tropical storms
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Blogging David Goodsell’s “The Machinery of Life” (The Preface)
David Goodsell is a molecular biologist at The Scripps Research Institute in California, and he has written a hippie-beautiful introductory text to molecular biology, The Machinery of Life (2nd edition, Springer 2010), which Scientific American calls “an impressive and original book.” … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged biochemistry, biology, cell biology, complexity, English, evolution, hippies, life, machines, meaning, Santi Tafarella, science
4 Comments
Two Contending Leaps of Faith Concerning Our Universe’s Origin: God Did It; the Multiverse Did It
My own best-guess of what we’re embedded in is by way of an analogy that Alan Watts once proffered: the universe is akin to an apple or cherry tree. Just as a cherry tree “branches” and “leaves” and “cherry blossoms” and “cherries” … Continue reading
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Tagged alan watts, analogy, apologetics, atheism, atheist, cherry blossoms, faith, God, life, multiverse, philosophy, reason
7 Comments
Did Jesus Refer to Evolution When He Said, “Many are Called, but Few are Chosen”?
Many are called, but few are chosen. This well-known saying of Jesus (Matthew 22:14) passed through my mind this afternoon, and, when it did, it occurred to me that, if Jesus really is God, then he might have been giving a … Continue reading
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Tagged apologetics, atheism, Charles Darwin, evolution, God, Jesus, philosophy, science, strict materialism, the Bible
5 Comments
Was the Cambrian Explosion Really an Explosion?
Donald Prothero, a paleontologist, knows his fossils. And, in 2007, Columbia University Press published his book, Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters. For it’s scope, clarity of writing, and visual attractiveness (it has lots of illustrative drawings, … Continue reading
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Tagged apologetics, atheism, atheist, biology, cambrian explosion, evolution, gradualism, intelligent design, science, stephen gould
7 Comments
The God of the Philosophers vs. The God of Revelation
. This past week, I read Peter Vardy and Julie Arliss’s The Thinker’s Guide to God (O Books 2003). The authors are Catholics, and it’s a really great read. Here, for example, is a wonderful distinction that they make with regard … Continue reading
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Tagged agnosticism, apologetics, aquinas, aristotle, atheism, atheist, Catholicism, God, Jesus, philosophy, unmoved mover
2 Comments
Rick Perry Doesn’t Have Any Idea How Old The Earth Is
A little child (with his mother’s promptings) shall lead him:
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Tagged atheism, atheist, Charles Darwin, evolution, God, holy jesus!, Jesus, Republican party, rick perry, young earth creationism
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Jon Huntsman Shocker: Plants And Animals Change Over Time And Carbon Dioxide Raises Atmospheric Temperatures!
This dude’s presidential aspirations, at least from within the Republican Party, are toast. . Actually, on a more serious note, I can’t help but wonder if Jon Huntsman is gunning for the Vice Presidency. As President Obama’s former ambassador … Continue reading
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Tagged climate change, evolution, global warming, jon huntsman, mitt romney, Politics, rick perry, science, ticket balancing
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