SETI Gets Good Press
June 25, 2012
For an enterprise that has failed for 50 years, SETI gets good press. There are many worthy enterprises on the planet; what is it about SETI that gets honorable mention with nary a critical word?
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Belief in Hell Lowers Crime
June 20, 2012
A psychologist has determined that belief in hell reduces the crime rate. A finding like this might belong in the "Well, duh" category, but more interesting is the interpretation.
Neanderthal-Heidelberg Distinction Blurs
June 14, 2012
"Heidelberg Man" has been a modern name imposed on certain fossil humans that have been unable to speak for themselves. Now, their bones appear to overlap with Neanderthals. But don't modern humans have Neanderthal DNA? Do the distinctions make any sense?
South Korea "Creationism" Means War
June 11, 2012
Give just one side of a controversy the press, and you will get a one-sided presentation of the issues. That happened this week in the journal Nature.
Myth Busters: Flubs in Evolutionary Anthropology
June 10, 2012
Evolutionary psychologists and anthropologists have trouble explaining living humans, let alone past ones.
Stalin's Railroad of Death Unearthed
June 7, 2012
Stalin, who read Darwin in divinity school and turned atheist, became a ruthless dictator whose reign of terror killed multiple millions more than Hitler. One of his evil deeds is being remembered: a railroad project in Siberia that was never completed despite causing the deaths of at least 100,000 people.
How to Make Darwinism Impregnable
June 6, 2012
The way to make a concept impregnable is to use rhetorical devices to render competition out of bounds, and then nationalize the favored view. An AP story demonstrates how this is done with evolution.
Venus Transit Recalls Adventures of Yore
June 5, 2012
Today's transit of Venus, in which our sister planet appears to cross the disk of the sun, will be the last till 2117. As observatories and millions of people watch the rare planetary alignment, few may know the stories of astronomers who predicted them and explorers who risked life and limb to observe them.
Darwinian Indoctrination Still Not Working for Most Americans
June 1, 2012
Almost half the American public still believes God created man recently, despite decades of indoctrination by education and the media.
Spiders Can Cross Oceans
May 31, 2012
Why did the spider cross the ocean? To colonize the Old World after it "originated" in the New World.
Animal Sin: What Does It Imply?
May 20, 2012
Some animals commit cruel or disgusting acts humans would consider immoral. What does this mean?
What SETI Guru Wants to Know
May 18, 2012
Seth Shostak, a SETI advocate, has two key questions for aliens.
Shrink Validity Is Shrinking
May 18, 2012
Should you trust the diagnosis of a psychiatrist? If it helps, individuals are free to choose. Behind the scenes, however, there are severe, deep-seated debates about whether psychiatrists understand disorders, let alone diagnose them properly.
Noah's Ark Claim Not Trustworthy
May 13, 2012
A creationist group in Hong Kong is releasing a dramatic documentary filled with fantastic claims about the discovery of Noah's Ark on Mt. Ararat. Other prominent creationists are warning of fraud and scientific malpractice.
Evolutionists Need to Mind Their Matters
May 12, 2012
To a Darwinian evolutionist, the mind is the product of unguided mutations and random environmental pressures acting on material forces. This raises questions about the mind and morals: do they have any validity? Evolutionists need to "mind" their matter. The following examples show how they try to justify these non-material entities arising from matter in motion.