The Humanists of Greater Portland and Center for Inquiry Portland will host a birthday party for Darwin Day 2012, at the SW corner of Pioneer Square in downtown on Sunday, February 12th from 12pm-3pm. Come out and help celebrate science and reason to Portland passersby! There’ll be cake!
click on this photo to see more photos from last year's event
Via:
Consilience Conference: Evolution in Biology, the Human Sciences, and the Humanities
April 26-28, 2012 | St. Louis, MOFor details, see conference website: http://consilienceconference.com/
About the Conference:
Speakers at this conference are all top researchers in biology, the social sciences, or the humanities. All the speakers know the level of consensus in their fields and can recognize major changes taking place, identify the major unsolved problems, and point toward future directions of research. They can all also discuss relations among at least two of the three areas (biology, the social sciences, and the humanities).
The conference features morning and afternoon sessions for each of three days. Each session contains one speaker from biology, one from the human sciences, and one from the humanities. We’re aimed at maximizing the interaction among the three areas.
Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows are invited to submit poster proposals.
E. O. Wilson will deliver the Keynote address.
Welcome to the 43rd edition of the history of science blog carnival, The Giant’s Shoulders. I have separated this month’s posts into people, places, and things, with all sorts of ideas within. Enjoy!
People
Nathaniel Comfort of the blog Genotopia talks history of science on the podcast Mendelspod (54:03).
James F. Crow, Population Genetics Pioneer, Dies at 95 – The New York Times: “James F. Crow, a leader in the field of population genetics who helped shape public policy toward atomic radiation damage and the use of DNA in the courtroom, died last Wednesday at his home in Madison, Wis. He was 95.”
Cetacean Scientists in the US – AmericanScience: “Paul Greenberg recently reviewed D. Graham Burnett’s The Sounding of the Whale: Science and Cetaceans in the Twentieth Century in the New York Times. Greenberg traces the arc, as told by Burnett, of the cetacean scientist from standing knee-deep in whale innards at the turn of the century to being newly enlightened by whale-ish complexity in the interwar years to fighting alongside other frustrated technocrats at the dawn of an age of international conservation to expanding the human and Cete mind in groovy ways amidst a backdrop of Cold War science. He comes away fascinated by the experience, but also wonders if the reading public wouldn’t benefit from something less that 793 pages, with footnotes for the footnotes (almost) —or actually, he wonders if the public wouldn’t benefit from more: a shortened version to accompany the encyclopedic one.”
Science and The New Inquiry – AmericanScience: “This brings us, briefly, to the hipster. Greif hinges his analysis on hipsters’ emphasis on “forms of knowledge that they possessed before anyone else,” on “a priori knowledge as a means of social dominance.” There’s something about this element of performance that feels somehow distant from the philosophical clubs of the 1800s.”
Huxley’s Apocryphal Dinosaur Dinner – Dinosaur Tracking: “I don’t know where the story about Huxley and the Christmas turkey came from. It is one of those stories that seems simply to exist in the academic ether. (Even the Discovering Dinosaurs authors voiced their uncertainty about the tale in their book.) Fortunately for us, though, Huxley’s many scientific papers trace the development of his thoughts about birds and dinosaurs.”
New portrait to mark Hooke’s place in history – IOP Blog: “Despite the folklore, however, there is now no doubt that Hooke had a profound influence on the history of physics, not least through the law of elasticity which he drew up while working as Robert Boyle’s assistant in 1660; a law of physics that now bears his name. Now, thanks to Rita Greer, a history painter, who has undertaken a project to memorialize Hooke, a portrait of the scientist will be hung at the Institute of Physics (IOP) in London.”
Google’s doodle: women have eggs – Why Evolution Is True: “Today’s Google doodle (above) is in honour of Nicolas Steno (1638-1686) – it would be his 374th birthday today (in fact it’s a bit more complicated than that, because he was actually born on 1 January 1638, but under the old Julian calendar…). The doodle fetes Steno’s principle of superposition, which is the idea that, in any geological strata, the lower layers are older than the upper layers. Furthermore, it shows fossils in the rocks – Steno was the first person to clearly show that fossils were actually the remnants of long-dead animals. But Steno was not just the father of geology. He was one of the most amazing thinkers who participated in the Scientific Revolution that took place in the 17th century. He also made lasting contributions to anatomy and physiology, and above all to our understanding of where we come from. All in the space of about 12 years.”
Hitchcock’s Primeval Birds – Dinosaur Tracking: “Lacking any better hypotheses, Hitchcock prominently featured his avian interpretation of the three-toed tracks in his 1858 book The Ichnology of New England. It was a gorgeous fossil catalog, but it also came at almost precisely the wrong time.”
Happy Birthday, William James – AmericanScience: “Today marks what would’ve been the one-hundred-and-seventieth birthday of one of the most well-regarded and enigmatic figures in American science: William James… James is a towering figure in American intellectual history – and he’s gotten lots of attention in the ensuing century as a result. Lately, it’s been picking up. The last few years marked a series of centenaries, including those of some of his best-known works: most significantly, The Varieties of Religious Experience in 1902 and Pragmatism in 1907.”
Podcast 44: Silent Spring at 50: a comparison perspective – Exploring Environmental History podcast: “2012 marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of Rachel Carson’s book ‘Silent Spring’… In order to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Silent Spring this episode of the podcast explores the significance of this book with Mark Wilson, a PhD candidate at the University of Northumbria in Newcastle, England. Mark has written a study which compares the response to Silent Spring in the US and Britain. He also agues that Silent Spring is a typical product of its time that was closely connected with the Cold War and the rise of the counter culture at both sides of the Atlantic.”
Remarkable radium – Stories from the stores: “100 years ago today, Marie Curie was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, becoming the first person to win two Nobel Prizes. The citation recognised ‘the discovery of the elements radium and polonium … the isolation of radium and the study of the nature and compounds of this remarkable element’.”
Nothing new under the sun? – The Panda’s Thumb: “I was reminded of that flap the other day while I was reading Alfred Russel Wallace’s autobiography. Wallace mentions an 1872 talk he gave to the Entomological Society in which he described Herbert Spencer’s hypothesis that segmented insects are the result of an aggregation of once-separate ancestors…”
How to bridge the Two Cultures? – The History of Emotions Blog: “Lisa Jardine, centenary professor of renaissance studies at Queen Mary, University of London, put forward an interesting essay on Radio 4 on Sunday, looking at CP Snow’s ‘Two Cultures’, and the rise of technocratic government (you can read her essay here). She said…”
Rudwick and Newman & Principe and the Recovery of Meaning – Ether Wave Propaganda: “In the preparation of his Bursting the Limits of Time: The Reconstruction of Geohistory in the Age of Revolution (2005), Martin Rudwick visited some of the geological features that geographers and natural philosophers of the late-18th and early-19th centuries discussed in their works. Accordingly, he devoted a special section to “places and specimens” in the book’s bibliography (pp. 653-654). He urged that such visits be seen as akin not only to documentary resources, but to the work of ‘…some historians of the experimental sciences [who] have been demonstrating the value of reconstructing the apparatus and replicating or ‘re-staging’ the experiments of historical figures in order to understand more fully how their hands-on laboratory experience of natural phenomena translated into theoretical conclusions.’”
Hasok Chang and “Complementary Science” – Ether Wave Propaganda: “In this post, I want to talk specifically about Chang’s ideas on what he calls “complementary science” — a vision for a new relationship between the history and philosophy of science and actual scientific work.”
Happy Birthday, Johannes Kepler! – Galileo’s Pendulum: “Newton showed why Kepler’s laws worked, based on his new laws of gravitation and motion, ultimately putting all of astronomy into the realm of physics where they had previously been separate. We should still honor Kepler, though: he discovered how the planets move without the benefit of Newton’s mechanics, which is a rather amazing feat. Happy 440th birthday, Johannes Kepler. Everyone go outside tonight and look at some planets in his honor.”
A trio of posts from Thony at Renaissance Mathematicus: Only 26 and already a professor! (Newton); How Charles tried to oust Isaac from Cambridge (Babbage); and Kepler contra Fludd, science contra woo? (Kepler)
James Moore on Alfred Russel Wallace (podcast, 11:37) – To The Best of Our Knowledge: “Alfred Wallace was the co-discover, with Charles Darwin, of the theory of natural selection. Wallace was also a great 19th century naturalist who spent years collecting speciments in the Amazon River Basin and later in the Malay Archipelago. Unlike the aristocratic Darwin, Wallace always had to work for a living. Historian of science James Moore says Wallace remains a mysterious figure, unlike the more famous Darwin.”
Muslims in the History of Sciences – The Pen (magazine): “Many people think that Muslims did not play a role in the history of sciences. They suppose religion does not let man to improve in science; so in this case Islam was in no position to let the Muslims to contribute to the scientific works. These are what the schools have taught for decades even in Muslim countries. This fallacy has been collapsing for the last few years. There have been some initiatives and projects that raise awareness of scientific achievements of the Muslims from the 7th century onwards.”
Why the Arabic World Turned Away from Science – The New Atlantis: “To anyone familiar with this Golden Age, roughly spanning the eighth through the thirteenth centuries a.d., the disparity between the intellectual achievements of the Middle East then and now — particularly relative to the rest of the world — is staggering indeed.”
Book Review: The First American by H.W. Brands – SomeBeans: “Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) is someone who has crossed the paths of a number of protagonists in books I have read on the history of science, including Antoine Lavoiser, Joseph Banks and the Lunar Society. I thought I should read something on the man himself: ‘The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin’ by H.W. Brands.”
HMS Beagle’s Naturalist – Wellcome Library: “McCormick’s diary may not be as famous as some of our other holdings, but its (relative) unfamiliarity is arguably a virtue: it’s one of the manuscripts held by the Wellcome Library that directly reminds us that there can be disputed accounts of ‘familiar’ historical events.”
Plaque spotting: Henry Cavendish (1731 – 1810) – Bloomsbury Bytes: “There is a black plaque to Henry Cavendish at 11 Bedford Square WC1, which is the north-east corner where Montague Place begins. It is difficult for the casual passer-by to notice, as it blends in rather well with its dark brick background. In this house, purchased around May 1783, Cavendish created a museum, a laboratory, and a scientific lending library of roughly 12,000 volumes contained in row upon rowsof elaborate sliding shelving, available to colleagues and other gentlemen who had been properly vouched for…”
Rhyme and reason: The Victorian poet scientists – New Scientist: “Poetry has been a long-standing tradition in the natural sciences, and Victorian scientists, in particular, had a wide-ranging education that fostered a powerful affinity with the Muse.”
They Froze for Science – and Got the Eggs – Neuron Culture: “The histories of exploration and science are littered with catastrophies like the Scott expedition, big ones like his polar push and the small ones like the penguin eggs: people and ideas and ventures embedded in ice and slowly obscured. These failures are necessary to the successes; Scott’s drive drove Amundsen, and Wilson’s questions about the origins of feathers later got answers, in transmuted forms, in today’s theories about birds’ descent from dinosaurs. The same desire, an ardor akin to Ahab’s, animates them all. It shows more in the failures. Who can’t be at their best when things go well? The real test is when things don’t quite work out.”
This dude strongly pushed the existence of intelligent Martian Canals. His initials also influenced the naming of Pluto. – Popperfont: “Science history rocks! This is a picture of Percival Lowell. More at his wiki entry.”
Maskelyne and Banks Revisited – The Board of Longitude 1714-1828: “After spending five weeks last summer as an intern and immersing myself in the NMM’s collections relating to Nevil Maskelyne, I have found myself intrigued by the character of his relationship with Joseph Banks. A previous post on this blog highlighted two episodes in the forty or so years that they knew each other, one from 1775 revealing a confident friendship between them and a shared scientific curiosity, and the other painfully polite, written in highly stilted and formal language in the months following a major dispute in 1784. Further reading has shed more light on the latter incident, and I have found documents that reveal the depth of the schism between the two men at this time.”
Art in the Lion’s Den – Laelaps: “Though Knight is best known for his restorations of prehistoric life – his dinosaur murals at Chicago’s Field Museum are arguably the finest ever composed – he could not have reconstructed primeval creatures so wondrously without instruction from the anatomy and attitudes of living animals.”
Hypotheses and Newton’s Rings – Early Modern Experimental Philosophy: “Newton’s “Hypothesis” paper provides a good example of his method of hypotheses. He remains carefully detached from his own hypothesis, using it only to ‘illustrate’ his theory and to suggest further experiments. Newton was also careful to keep his hypotheses well separate from his theory; the paper ends with a series of ‘Observations’ that contain no reference to his hypotheses at all!”
Richard Owen vs. Textbook Cardboard – Laelaps: “But this is historical hogwash. The dramatic battle between 19th century evolutionists and creationists over Archaeopteryx makes for a spicier narrative, I will admit, but does not hold together upon close scrutiny. Owen may have been an anti-Darwinian naturalist, but he was an evolutionist of another sort, and the high price he paid for Archaeopteryx had nothing to do with keeping the bird out of the reach of Huxley’s ilk. Rather, the primordial bird was to be one of many jewels that Owen set in the crown of his magisterial museum.”
£50 reward for industrial revolution pioneers on new bank note – Guardian: “Sir Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England, has often voiced his yearning for a “rebalancing” of the economy towards neglected manufacturing, and he will put the nation’s money where his mouth is next month when the Bank produces a new £50 note celebrating two pioneers of the industrial revolution. The Bank will evoke the memory of the inventor James Watt and his Birmingham business partner, Matthew Boulton on the new note.”
Places
New entires in the BSHS Travel Guide: Observatory of Tycho Brahe, Sweden; The Carlsberg Laboratory, Copenhagen; Sigmund Freud Museum, Vienna; Semmelweiss Museum, Budapest; City of Science and Industry, France; and a call for Philadelphia-specific articles!
Cursed Glaciers – History of Geology: “Some historians suggest that this myth is based on observations of advancing glaciers during the period of the “Little Ice Age“, a period of cooling extending in the Alps from the 16th to the 19th centuries.”
History of science in science museums and science centers – Medical Museion: “I guess what bewildered me is that history of science has been the obvious vantage point for most science museums for more than a hundred years. In other words, science museums have by definition been museums that displayed science historically: science museums have been identical with science history museums. But then I realised that this call had been made by scholars who don’t at all take this for granted.
Science in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery – teleskopos: “This post relates instead to an extra-curricula visit to another newly renovated Edinburgh institution (see my Longitude Blog post on the National Museum of Scotland) – the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.”
An 18th-century astronomical tour – teleskopos: “Bugge’s journal was discovered in the Royal Library in Copenhagen by Kurt Møller Pedersen over forty years ago. Although Pedersen quickly brought it to the attention of scholars, circulating a transcription and translation in the 1970s and ‘preliminary’ edition in 1997, this is the long-anticipated scholarly edition of a text that is of great significance to historians of scientific instruments, observatories and machinery in the eighteenth century.”
Richard Feynman’s Grave – Zoonomian: “Today I paid my respects at the grave of physicist Richard Feynman, interred with his wife Gweneth at the Mountain View Cemetary in Altadena, California. Feynman died of cancer in 1988 and his wife died the following year.”
Charlie’s Rose – Zoonomian: “I stumbled upon these today in the gardens of the Huntington (Library, Art Collection, Botanical Gardens) Estate in San Marino. According to this rose dealer, the variety is hardy, with a ‘strong and delicious fragrance that varies between a soft, floral Tea and almost pure lemon according to weather conditions’. Sounds like it would be right at home at Darwin’s former home in Kent (where it may indeed be for all I know).”
Things
Animals or Brutes? – Anita Guerrini: “As I have been reading a number of anatomy texts from the seventeenth century, I have been struck by the ambiguity of the term “animal.” Now, these texts are all in Latin (a few were translated into the vernacular, in this case French, but not many). There is a clear distinction drawn between “animal” (the same in French), “homo” (or “homme”) and “brutus” (or “brute”).”
A Sometimes Unnatural History – BibliOdyssey: “The images below (background cleaned) are taken from the multi-volume natural history work, ‘Getreue Abbildungen Naturhistorischer Gegenstände’ (1795-1807), by Johann Matthäus Bechstein.”
Some Final Thoughts on Maps – PACHSmörgåsbord: “Judging by the increase in sophistication and nuance in student papers, it seems that this experiment in pedagogy enjoyed at least some success. Unfortunately, unlike many experiments that might seem to offer immediate results, I may never know the ultimate success or failure of this experiment. I, at least, enjoyed the process enough and students seemed to like working with old maps enough to merit using maps again the next time I teach my Introduction to the History of Science.”
Will a new HMS Beagle set sail in 2013? – Guardian: “Once launched, the new Beagle will bring the adventure of science to life, retracing FitzRoy and Darwin’s voyage, serving as an ambassador for British science, history and industry, and taking scientists and sailors to sea. Both disciplines are about looking at horizons, wondering what lies beyond, and not stopping until you, your crewmates and lab-mates have found out.” (visit The HMS Beagle Project)
The Nervous Icon – Part III – Textbook History: “‘The Nervous Icon’ is my name for an illustration of the human nervous system that found its way into dozens of anatomy, physiology and biology textbooks published between the mid-1800s and the mid-1900s. I began tracing its history in The Nervous Icon – Part I, where I touched on the issues of artistry, copyright, and mechanical reproduction in science textbooks. I followed up a month later in The Nervous Icon – Part II, where I went ‘over my head’ into the history of encyclopedias and the tension caused by the conflict between the assumption that cultural artifacts were the property of the dominating imperialist power and the imperatives of the emerging global marketplace. As I said then, ‘big stuff for a blog.’”
A Pictorial History of the Mysterious Wolverine – The Wolverine Blog: “The only obvious thing about wolverines is the fact that they have always been – and still are – mostly a mystery. Wolverine biologist Jason Wilmot recently unearthed three images spanning the early decades of natural history, and they neatly summarize how little was known about the animal at the time.”
Consilience: Photographers Operating at the Intersection of Art and Science – Monsters & Madonnas: “In many ways, art and science are likely bedfellows. Both support a culture of experimentation that is inspired by curiosity, while attracting individuals interested in generating fresh ideas and forging new paths. Consequently, there is a discoverable history of unifying practices, practitioners, and organizations dedicated to artists and scientists dating back to the Lunar Society. Photography has a singular place in this unfolding history.”
Intel vs. Obelisk: The Renaissance Beauty of the Single-Chip Microprocessor – Ptak Science Books: “The moment that I saw this image1 of (what I think is) the 8086 processor I thought of its great visual similarities to one of the greatest engineering works of the 16th century, so much so that with a little imagination, the older work seems a pentimento of the newer.”
Highly Recommended: The Discovery of Evolution, by David Young – ScienceDenial: “I never thought I was interested in the history of science, much, until I started reading David Young’s The Discovery of Evolution. Now I’m not even sure where I go[t] this book, but it had been on my shelf a while before I picked it up and took it some place to read over lunch one day. I hope I didn’t steal it, but if I did I’d like whoever I took it from to know I really, really enjoyed reading it. (Just kidding. I didn’t steal it.)”
In Praise of Ephemeral Astrological Literature – PACHSmörgåsbord: “Whether or not The Economist’s analogy is accurate, I think ephemeral print has a lot to offer if we spend the time studying it. These pamphlets often reveal what the most sophisticated astrologers thought, how astronomical ideas were spreading amongst the learned, how influential astrologers aligned their work with local princes and political agendas, and what the public might have known about their world.”
Botanists finally ditch Latin and paper, enter 21st century – Culturing Science: “And if you’re a botanist consulting a lengthy record of described plant species, you don’t want to lose some of those descriptions into the black hole of cyberspace. But this year, the botanists decided the web was less spooky and now can describe species in any electronic journal that has an ISSN, for the purpose of archiving.”
Dogmas in Neuroscience and Further Thoughts on the Limits of Neurohistory – The Neuro Times: “Secondly doesn’t the existence of these dogmas, as well as the observation we don’t know the origins of the claim that we have 100 billion neurons, only elevate further the fact that in order to even begin a neurohistory project we would need a clearer, deeper, and refined history of neuroscience and neurology? The dogmas that Lent et al. describe point towards other unsettled questions.”
On Collecting and Collectors – PACHSmörgåsbord: “Some areas I wish Blom had spent some time exploring include arranging, displaying and mediating access to collected objects. How is it that collectors use their collections to establish and project intellectual, social, and political authority? How is the status of the possessor enhanced by having the authority to arrange objects, to establish relationships between those objects, by displaying them in particular ways? How does that person’s authority increase by controlling access to that body of objects? It is fascinating to think about these power dynamics on a personal level, but what happens when they are transferred onto larger institutions? Institutions like academies and museums are not simply conduits for accepted scientific knowledge but instead actively shape that knowledge through processes of collecting, housing, arranging, and displaying artifacts.”
January 6, 1912: Continental Drift! – History of Geology: “January 6, 1912 the German meteorologist Alfred Wegener presented in a lecture entitled “Die Heraushebung der Großformen der Erdrinde (Kontinente und Ozeane) auf geophysikalischer Grundlage” (The uprising of large features of earth’s curst (Continents and Oceans) on geophysical basis) for the first time his hypothesis of the ancient supercontinent Pangaea, from which all modern continents split apart.”
From the Contracting Earth to early Supercontinents – History of Geology: “Already when the first maps of the American continents were published (1507 and after), the similitude between the western coast of Africa and the eastern coast of South America intrigued geographers and naturalists and this fascination continued in the following centuries.”
Hunting the Higgs – Project Syndicate: “Fifty years ago, particle physicists faced an unexpected challenge. Their best mathematical models could account for some of the natural forces that explain the structure and behavior of matter at a fundamental level, such as electromagnetism and the weak nuclear force responsible for radioactive decay. But the models worked only if the particles inside of atoms had no mass. How could huge conglomerations of such particles – proteins, people, planets – behave as they do if their constituent parts weighed nothing at all?”
Introducing “Science Studies Dissertation Reviews” – Dissertation Reviews: “It is with great pleasure that we announce the forthcoming launch of “Science Studies Dissertation Reviews,” set to go live in Winter 2012. In the tradition of the Dissertation Reviews project, the new site will feature friendly, non-critical overviews of recently defended, unpublished dissertations in Science Studies. Approximately 20 dissertations are currently under review, with more to come.”
Darwin’s Many Origins – Zoonomian: “Meet the front end of the Huntington Library‘s 252 strong collection of Darwin’s Origin of Species – all 20 feet of them. I snapped this at the permanent ‘Beautiful Science’ exhibition last month, and have just gotten around to a bit of research… Henry Edwards Huntington acquired much of his collection, now at San Marino, by buying up ready-made collections or even whole libraries. But some books he bought individually, including, in 1860s New York, an 1859 first edition of the Origin of Species in original cloth – for $22.79.”
If you’re in Portland or nearby, here are two events to look forward to. I won’t be going to either, but if you do, let me know!
First:
The INSTITUTE for CREATION SCIENCE
Sunday, January 26, 2012 Meeting
5:00 to 7:00 PM“Metamorphosis – the Beauty & Design of Butterflies”
The creation is filled with uncountable fascinating examples of life that defy the secular paradigm of evolution over millions of years. The special case of butterflies is a miraculous illustration that could be explained as God saying to us, “here is one instance that is impossible for you to explain by evolution.”
At the January meeting of ICS we will enjoy a “doubleheader” of information on the butterfly. First will be a showing of the spectacular hour-long video, “Metamorphosis – the Beauty and Design of Butterflies” by Illustra Media; an unforgettable documentary filled with the joys of discovery and wonder. Then Mr. John Hergenrather of Creation Encounter Tours will provide a local perspective from his long study of the Monarch Butterfly and its west coast life cycle.
We invite you to come on January 26 for a perspective not often available in your experience. Biologists have called the butterfly life cycle “butterfly magic.” Come prepared to be amazed!
This meeting of ICS will be held at Rivercrest Community Church located at 3201 NE 148th Avenue in Portland, OR 97230. Doors open at 4:30 PM to allow your access to the creation science book and DVD tables. For more information on this meeting, please access the website www.icspdx.org where you can also find a map to Rivercrest Community Church
Second:
The 26th Annual Northwest Creation Conference 2012
Saturday February 11th
Columbia Conference Center, Holiday Inn at the Portland Airport
For more details, here’s the brochure as a PDF.
Son of incarcerated creationist Kent Hovind, Eric, is their headline speaker. An emphasis is going to be on dinosaurs in the Bible and sessions for children. And this is likely what Eric and his fellow creationists will be spouting:
I first saw this video on Why Evolution Is True.
I’ll be hosting the next edition (43rd) of the history of science blog carnival, The Giant’s Shoulders. Please send me your posts, in a comment here, or through this form, no later than January 15th.
Seeing that I have announced this on my Facebook and Twitter pages, I guess I should so so here, too. By next fall, Catherine and I will have another young child to introduce to science and nature. Come August, Patrick will be a big brother, and I know -I know - that he will help instill a love of nature and curiosity into his or her little mind.
Following a doctor’s appointment this morning while Patrick was at school, we told him the news this evening. I think he was happy:
If you live in the Pacific Northwest and feel left out of being able to visit a creation museum, fear not!
There is much wrong with the statements made by these men reading off of cue cards.
1. Doug Bennett states that the NSM “will explain both the biblical and naturalistic points of view, side by side. In this way, visitors can see both views and then can determine for themselves which theory makes the most sense and which theory matches the evidence that we see in the world around us.” Less than a minute later, Rick Deighton states, “The museum will show scientifically how evolution is absurd.” So much for letting the visitor look at the evidence and make their own decision!
2. Evidence that confounds the most ardent evolutionists? I’d like to see what they offer that hasn’t been explained away by non-creationists, otherwise known as scientists.
3. Deighton: the NSM “will also put on display the catastrophic consequences of Darwinism. For example, Hitler and his Nazi regime could never have done what they did without the foundation of Darwinian evolution.” A tired claim shown to be wrong by historians.
4. The NSM will be different from other creation museums because it will be a “true science museum.” Yes, don’t mind the words biblical, gospel, Jesus, God, and creation that will be on many of the labels in the museum. This museum will be all about the science, okay?
I came across this video in a blog post from the Portland Mercury: A Cadre of Old, White Guys Plot a Creationist Science Museum.
From the journal Evolution: Education and Outreach:
Evolution, Medicine, and the Darwin Family
Michael F. Antolin
Abstract The common scientific roots of evolution and medicine are deep, as these fields of science developed in parallel from the Enlightenment in the late 1700s to the modern genomics era. The influence of the medical sciences on the discovery of evolution in the 1700s and 1800s is typified by how the medical family of Charles Darwin, including his grandfather Dr. Erasmus Darwin and father Dr. Robert Waring Darwin, directly and indirectly guided Charles’ scientific development and eventual discovery of natural selection. In particular, in the 1700s, Erasmus Darwin was a prolific writer, legendary doctor, and published extensive descriptions of both the process of adaptation and common descent among all of life (including humans). The influence began with Charles’ years in medical school at Edinburgh and is recorded in Charles Darwin’s own letters and notebooks. Despite scientific overlap, evolution and medicine have remained distant from each other, in part because of the same religious and political reasons that many oppose the view of a world changing via evolution. But evolution also has been limited in its influence on the biomedical sciences because of abuses and misunderstanding. The three issues discussed here are (1) typological application of medical “constitutions,” (2) teleological thinking in how adaptations evolve, and (3) the misapplication of evolution during the eugenics period up to the 1940s. The modern-day surge of interest and synthesis between evolutionary biology and the biomedical sciences, medical practice, and public health can build on a long legacy that spans more than two centuries. The large role played by the Darwin family of doctors can bring this history to life, can be used to illustrate potential pitfalls as the synthesis moves forward, and may be of interest to students both as undergraduates and in medical schools.
Christopher Hitchens lost his battle with cancer yesterday. Your voice will be missed.
Please chime in in the comments, if you don’t mind…
I did a guest post for the blog of the Foundation Beyond Belief, which I copy here:
Humanist Perspectives: Connecting Children to Nature
This post is part of our Humanist Perspectives series. In this series, we invite guest contributors to explore active humanism and what it means to be a thoughtful, engaged member of society. Please share your thoughts in the comments!
by Michael D. Barton
I have many favorite quotes about children and nature, but here are two very simple yet insightful ones:
What is the extinction of a condor to a child who has never seen a wren? – Robert Michael Pyle, author
How can we expect [children] to really care about their natural environment if they’ve never had an experience in it? – Martin LeBlanc, Sierra Club
Taking your child or children on an afternoon trip to the zoo is a great thing to do, but what does that matter if a child is not connected in some way to the animals that live near their home? Why should we care to learn about pandas and cheetahs and polar bears if we haven’t learned about salmon and owls and dragonflies? My five-year-old son is a member of a generation that will face serious issues regarding the environment. As his father, I strive to raise him to be a scientifically literate and environmentally conscious adult. While I am not a homeschooling parent and my son will be going to public school, there are two aspects of education I feel fall into my hands: teaching about evolution and raising an outdoor kid.
Parents are first and foremost the responsible party when it comes to getting children away from television, computers, and digital devices and into nature. While environmental education is increasingly being recognized in schools and other educational avenues, it is not enough. Education begins in the home and with family. Here in Portland, Oregon, the outdoor education program for Multnomah County sixth graders has been cut from a full week outdoors to just a few days. There will always be funding issues with schools and education, and extra programs are the first to go (except football, of course). While many schools do participate in environmental education (field trips, school gardens, etc.), teachers are overworked. That is why I find it a parental duty to share nature experiences with my child. We’re not backpackers nor experienced campers — we simply leave the house a few times a week and head to local nature parks or nearby trails and participate in nature programming at museums and libraries. There is not a lot of effort involved (unless you live somewhere with less-than-ideal weather). I find myself having had a better day than if I had not gone outside.
Since I do not consider nature in any way the creation of a supernatural deity, for me bringing evolution into our experiences makes them more personal. We’re part of the natural world along with every creature great and small, plant, rock, wave, and breeze. As Alan Watts put it: “You didn’t come into this world. You came out of it, like a wave from the ocean. You are not a stranger here.” We must care for our planet not just for ourselves to remain, but for all of our extended family.
The National Center for Science Education is not going anywhere. Creationist attacks on public education are not going to disappear in the foreseeable future. And now the NCSE has had to branch into protecting climate change education as well. I, as a parent, need to do my best to expose my son to these important ideas in science, not as an expert, but as a fellow learner. We have plenty of Darwin and evolution books geared toward children on our shelves (too many, my wife probably thinks). While my son learns, I learn, too. He is going to teach me things. What he is going to teach me is not just the neat stuff about the natural world, like different bird species for example. He is going to teach me that immersing oneself in nature has a deeper meaning. To feel that we are a part of nature is crucial in thinking about how we want to treat this planet. This is where evolution comes in strong. It is no surprise that some creation-minded folks also discredit the idea that humans have had an effect on the climate of this planet. Certainly understandable if one views themselves as above nature and given dominion over it. But my son is not going to be taught that he belongs to some group of humans created by some god (he will of course learn about religions). He will learn what we can know for sure about our world and our place in it. He will learn about evolution and how humans are not the epitomy of creation but just one (and yes we are unique, but so are all other organisms) animal in the tree of life. This is not indoctrinating a young mind, as some might suggest. Rather, it is teaching a young mind about his place in a world that could get along just fine without him. Earth is not ours for the taking, but ours for the caring.
I’m fond of a snippet from an 2009 article in Forbes by Kathryn Tabb, “The Debate Over Intelligent Design”:
But what would this ghost [Darwin], who would find the separation of church and state unthinkably radical, have to say about the legal battles over evolution being waged across America? An indifferent student, Darwin preferred the outdoors to the schoolhouse and once confessed, ‘Observing, thinking & some reading beat, in my opinion, all systematic education.’ My guess is that Darwin would urge the children … to take advantage of all the mayhem to sneak out while the adults aren’t looking — and, equipped with magnifying glasses and notebooks, take to nature and draw their own conclusions.
Take to nature, indeed.
I encourage you to look into the Children & Nature Network, a nonprofit organization that promotes connecting children to the outdoors (its founder is Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder
A new article by John van Wyhe (Darwin Online and Wallace Online [coming soon!]) and Kees Rookmaaker looks at the claim that Darwin held on to Wallace’s letter from Ternate for two weeks and used it to modify his own theory (essentially, that Darwin stole from Wallace). In the Biological Journal of the Linnean Society for January 2012:
A new theory to explain the receipt of Wallace’s Ternate Essay by Darwin in 1858
John van Wyhe and Kees Rookmaaker
Abstract In early 1858, when he was in the Moluccas, Wallace drafted an essay to explain evolution by natural selection and posted it to Darwin. For many years it was believed that the Ternate essay left the island in March on the monthly mail steamer, and arrived at Down House on 18 June 1858. Darwin immediately wrote to Lyell, as requested by Wallace, forwarding the essay. This sequence was cast in doubt after the discovery of a letter written by Wallace to Bates leaving on the same steamer with postmarks showing its arrival in Leicester on 3 June 1858. Darwin has been accused of keeping the essay secret for a fortnight, thereby enabling him to revise elements of his theory of evolution. We intend to show that Wallace in fact sent the Ternate essay on the mail steamer of April 1858, for which the postal connections actually indicate the letter to have arrived precisely on 18 June. Darwin is thus vindicated from accusations of deceit. Wallace’s Ternate essay and extracts from Darwin’s theoretical manuscripts were read at a meeting of the Linnean Society of London on 1 July 1858, which is now recognized as a milestone in the history of science.
Here’s a collection of holiday items relating to Darwin and evolution that I’ve posted over the last 5 years or so…
Two holiday card options from Blag Hag:
Paleontologist Thomas Holtz penned “The Twelve Days of Darwin” for Darwin Day in 2009, but it seems appropriate for this time of year, too.
Colin Purrington has a Darwin ornament you can print out and fold then hang on your holiday tree:
Tree from xkcd:
Some Darwin Santas:
Snowman evolution, from John Kerschbaum (via Jay Hosler):
Evolving tree:
Evolution of Santa:
The Heroes of Science ornament collection includes Darwin:
Atheist Christmas Cards has a few of Darwin:
And finally, you could always just take a Darwin fish and place it on your tree:
Powerful video:
Two Darwin articles from Vol. 33, no. 1 (2011) of the journal History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences:
Darwin’s “Beloved Barnacles”: Tough Lessons in Variation
Costas Mannouris
Abstract In 1846, burdened by insecurity and self-doubt, and having been convinced that he needed to study some group of organisms closely, Darwin embarked on an eight-year odyssey in the protean and perplexing world of barnacles. At the time, he was searching for evidence in support of his theory of evolution by natural selection. In the course of his long study of barnacles, however, he was not just validating his preexisting theoretical system, but was also modifying his views on such fundamental aspects as the universality of individual variation, which is the focus of this paper. According to this notion, the members of any population of living things are expected to exhibit sufficient differences from one another for natural selection to operate. By emphasizing the theoretical value of the barnacle project, my analysis contributes to the historiographic tradition which highlights the significance of the period between the first comprehensive formulation of the theory of evolution by natural selection in 1844 and its urgent publication in the late 1850s. In the course of these years, Darwin’s theory was not just accumulating empirical laurels, but was also expected to adapt to a changing conceptual landscape.
and:
What Would Have Happened if Darwin Had Known Mendel (or Mendel’s Work)?
Pablo Lorenzano
Abstract The question posed by the title is usually answered by saying that the “synthesis” between the theory of evolution by natural selection and classical genetics, which took place in 1930s-40s, would have taken place much earlier if Darwin had been aware of Mendel and his work. What is more, it nearly happened: it would have been enough if Darwin had cut the pages of the offprint of Mendel’s work that was in his library and read them! Or, if Mendel had come across Darwin in London or paid him a visit at his house in the outskirts! (on occasion of Mendel’s trip in 1862 to that city). The aim of the present paper is to provide elements for quite a different answer, based on further historical evidence, especially on Mendel’s works, some of which mention Darwins’s studies.
I’ve changed the look of my blog, mainly by removing much of what was in the sidebar. Links and a blogroll are now on separate pages. To help in updating my blogroll, please let me know if I had your blog on it before and now don’t, or, if you think I should have your blog on my list, let me know!
In the journal Science & Education:
Darwin’s Other Bulldog: Charles Kingsley and the Popularisation of Evolution in Victorian England
Piers J. Hale
Abstract The nineteenth-century Anglican Priest Charles Kingsley (1819–1875) was a significant populariser of Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection. Kingsley was successful in this regard because he developed such diverse connections throughout his career. In the 1840s he associated with Chartists and radical journalists; in the 1850s and 1860s he moved freely in scientific circles and was elected Fellow of the Linnean Society of London in 1856 and Fellow of the Geological Society of London in 1863. In 1859 he was appointed Chaplain in Ordinary to the Queen. In 1860 the Prince Consort was willing and able to secure Kingsley appointment as the Regius Professor of Modern History at Cambridge University and he subsequently became tutor to the Prince of Wales. Thereafter he was frequently invited into high Victorian Society. A friend of ‘Darwin’s Bulldog’ Thomas Huxley, of the eminent geologist Charles Lyell and a correspondent of Darwin, at every turn he sought to promote Darwin’s ideas as theologically orthodox, a life-long campaign in which he was eminently successful.
From the journal Victorian Studies:
On Suffering and Sympathy: Jude the Obscure, Evolution, and Ethics
Caroline Sumpter
Abstract This article links Thomas Hardy’s exploration of sympathy in Jude the Obscure to contemporary scientific debates over moral evolution. Tracing the relationship between pessimism, progressivism, and determinism in Hardy’s understanding of sympathy, it also considers Hardy’s conception of the author as enlarger of “social sympathies”—a position, I argue, that was shaped by Leslie Stephen’s advocacy of novel writing as moral art. Considering Hardy’s engagement with writings by Charles Darwin, T. H. Huxley, Herbert Spencer, and others, I explore the novel’s participation in a debate about the evolutionary significance of sympathy and its implications for Hardy’s understanding of moral agency. Hardy, I suggest, offered a stronger defence of morality based on biological determinism than Darwin, but this determinism was linked to an unexpected evolutionary optimism.
From the December 2011 issue of the British Journal for the Philosophy of Science:
Historical Science, Over- and Underdetermined: A Study of Darwin’s Inference of Origins
Aviezer Tucker
Abstract The epistemology of the historical sciences has been debated recently. Cleland argued that the effects of the past overdetermine it. Turner argued that the past is underdetermined by its effects because of the decay of information from the past. I argue that the extent of over- and underdetermination cannot be approximated by philosophical inquiry. It is an empirical question that each historical science attempts to answer. Philosophers should examine how paradigmatic cases of historical science handled underdetermination or utilized overdetermination. I analyze such a paradigmatic case, Darwins phylogenetic inferences. Darwin proceeded in three consecutive stages. The initial inference that there was some common cause of homologies was usually overdetermined. The final inference of the character traits of ancestor species was usually underdetermined. The second stage inference of the causal net that connected the species that share some common cause was inbetween. A comparison with Comparative Historical Linguistics demonstrates similar three stages of inference that move from the over- to the underdetermined.
