Category Archives: Evolution

Heuristics Are Not a Cognitive Flaw, But a Necessity in an Uncertain World

Posted on April 18, 2012 by

So says economist Gerd Gigerenzer. As far as I’m concerned, this video is essential viewing for not only economists, but also biologists, especially those interested in behavior. As one behavioral ecologist I know once quipped, “I don’t believe in optimal … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecology, Economics, Evolution | 3 Comments

A Question for Education ‘Reformers’ About Tennessee’s “Monkey Bill”

Posted on April 12, 2012 by

Do you give a shit? If you haven’t heard, the Great State of Tennessee, in a effort to inflict reversible (hopefully) mental retardation on the children entrusted to its educational system, has passed legislation that “encourages teachers to present the … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Evolution, Fucking Morons, Global Warming, The War on Science | 1 Comment

NYC Department of Education Loses Its F-cking Mind

Posted on March 28, 2012 by

And that is the polite way of putting it. According to CBSNewYork, New York City’s Department of Education has a list of words it would like to remove from tests (boldface mine): Fearing that certain words and topics can make … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Evolution, Fucking Morons | 7 Comments

Nothing in Movement Conservatism Makes Sense Except in the Light of Creationism: Global Warming and Educational ‘Balance’

Posted on March 12, 2012 by

The reason I keep bastardizing biologist Theodosius Dobzhanky’s aphorism about the importance of evolution is that creationism is so daffy that it makes movement conservatives’ tactics and methods crystal clear (that there’s significant overlap between movement conservatives and creationists is … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservatives, Creationism, Evolution, Global Warming, Uncategorized

Obama and Why Rhetoric Matters: Nothing Makes Sense in Movement Conservatism Except in the Light of Creationism

Posted on March 5, 2012 by

Once again, with apologies to Theodosius Dobzhansky. Rick Perlstein explains why liberals and progressives are so bothered by Obama’s failure of rhetoric (boldface mine; emphasis original): Instead, his favorite campaign line on the Republican record was a story about competence: … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservatives, Democrats, Evolution | 1 Comment

So How Will the Ag Lobby Explain This?

Posted on February 22, 2012 by

A brand spanking new paper in mBio describes how a clone of MRSA (the bacterium methicillin rensitive Staphylococcus aureus), known as ST398, long-associated with agriculture including pigs gained its methicillin and tetracylcine resistance. Surprise! It happened in the agricultural setting. … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Antibiotics, Evolution, Microbiology, MRSA | 4 Comments

Los Cubanos!

Posted on January 25, 2012 by

Amazingly, all of these snails belong to one species, Polymita picta (from the Harvard Museum of Natural History): I realize this is from an exhibit on coloration in nature, but if HMHN wanted to do this right, it would put … Continue reading →

Posted in Evolution, Genetics, Museums etc.

Why Intelligent Design Should Not Be Taught in High School

Posted on January 25, 2012 by

Last week, a long time reader pointed my attention to two blog posts by the Washington Post‘s Jay Matthews, who argues that creationism should be taught to advanced biology students by qualified teachers. Matthews has been flogging this horse for … Continue reading →

Posted in Creationism, Education, Evolution | 2 Comments

Salmonella, E. coli, and Plasmids, Oh My! Solving the Plasmid Persistence Problem and the Virtues of Open Non-Equilibrium Models

Posted on January 11, 2012 by

Ed Yong has some very good coverage of a recent PNAS paper that describes how bacterial mini-chromosomes, known as plasmids and that often carry disease-related or antibiotic resistance genes, can jump from bacterium to bacterium at really high rates when … Continue reading →

Posted in E. coli, Evolution, Plasmids, Salmonella | 3 Comments

Nothing in Movement Conservatism Makes Sense Except in the Light of Creationism: The Reagan Tax Hike Edition

Posted on January 10, 2012 by

With apologies to geneticist Theodosius Dobzhansky who wrote “Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution.” Because if you’ve had to deal with the little lies in service of the ‘Big Truth creationists spout, or the complete … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservatives, Creationism, Evolution, Fucking Morons | 1 Comment