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No, NASA hasnt found aliens

post from Bad Astronomy Blog on 12 May 2008 11:52:58 PM. © Bad Astronomy Blog

The web is abuzz about a NASA announcement of "the discovery of an object in our Galaxy astronomers have been hunting for more than 50 years".There’s speculation running rampant, that they’ve found aliens, or an asteroid that will wipe out the Earth, or whatever.Folks, think. If NASA had that news, would they make a pre-announcement [...]

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Einstein on gods and Judaism

post from Pharyngula on 12 May 2008 11:06:17 PM. © Pharyngula

Hey, we've heard theists cite the authority of Einstein in service to their superstitions often enough: practically every colloquial mention of a god by Einstein seems to get reiterated to support a claim that he was a fellow believer. There's an obscure Einstein letter going up for auction that's got some juicy stuff to fire back, though.

Keep this one in mind next time someone tries to tell you that Einstein was on their side:

The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this.

This comment will start a few flames:

For me the Jewish religion like all others is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions. And the Jewish people to whom I gladly belong and with whose mentality I have a deep affinity have no different quality for me than all other people. As far as my experience goes, they are no better than other human groups, although they are protected from the worst cancers by a lack of power. Otherwise I cannot see anything 'chosen' about them.

Note, please, that Einstein's views are not a final authority here, and you're nuts if you decide you should be godless because Einstein was — this is simply more useful information to oppose arguments from authority.

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[YouTube] Stem Cells

post from Nerdy Science Blog on 12 May 2008 10:39:02 PM. © Nerdy Science Blog

A brief yet beautiful 3D animation about introduction of stem cells, worth to have a look.Another good presentation on “Everything You Wanted To Know About Stem Cells”, quite informative but I manage to watch only half of it as it is 51 minutes long!I shall come back to this later. addthis_url [...]

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West 86th Street Subway Art 1

post from Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted) on 12 May 2008 09:59:55 PM. © Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted)

tags: West 86th street subway art, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC

I am now presenting NYC subway tile artworks as photographed by me at the 86th street subway platform at Broadway street, where the local "red line" (1-train) stops. This platform was decorated by an artist, Nitza Tufino and a group of students from the Grosvenor House school, and depicts scenes from typical NYC life on the UWS (Upper West Side) -- one of my favorite Manhattan neighborhoods.

86th Street Subway Art #1
as seen at NYC's 86th Street stop at Broadway for the uptown 1 train.
(This piece was completed in 1989; it was mounted on 2 July 2006)

Unfortunately, this piece was defaced by vandals;
I am not sure if all the damage can be repaired.

Image: GrrlScientist 2008.

Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].

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Isn't Maine one of them there Yankee states

post from Pharyngula on 12 May 2008 08:29:50 PM. © Pharyngula

So what are they doing having their own creationist troubles? It just goes to show that this isn't just a problem for southern yokels in Florida and Texas — it's an epidemic all over the country.

The specific problem in this case is a ignorant kook who has been made director of School Administrative District 59 and has decided to flout the state standards and expectations for science classes. Look at this fellow's arguments:

Matthew Linkletter of Athens says that both are merely theories that represent "personal beliefs and world views," rather than proven science. Linkletter suggested during last week's SAD 59 board meeting that the board discuss evolution, the "Big Bang Theory" and other studies he believes should be deleted from the curriculum.
The school board tabled action on the science curriculum at the April 28 meeting, and will reconsider the issue when it meets at 7 p.m. May 19.
Linkletter, a Christian, said there is no way to prove either evolution or creationism.
"You can't show, observe or prove it," Linkletter said of the belief systems. "It's something you have to believe by faith. It doesn't meet the criteria of science.
"If it's not scientifically verifiable, then maybe we should leave it out of the science classes. When you make a statement that's not backed by facts and just represents a world view, then it has no place."

It's just a "theory"; it's a "worldview"; you can't "prove" it. This is a guy who doesn't know one thing about science but has clawed his way up the political ladder so he poison it. As is usual in these situations, the qualified science teachers are stuck there, trying to do their jobs, and gazing incredulously at the posturing buffoon in the administrative position.

"The empirical proof of evolution is in the study of genetics and how genes relate between organisms," said Ward, who teaches advanced-placement senior biology, senior anatomy/physiology and 10th-grade biology. She said evolution is proven, as an empirical matter of science, through studies of the human genome.
"My personal, as well as the National Science Teachers position, is that you can't teach genetics or ecology without evolution.

I rather like this summary:

Madison Town Manager Norman Dean, who taught science in Madison from 1962 through 1996 and once taught Linkletter, characterized his former student's proposal as "absolutely stupid."

Hyphoid Logic has a round-up of some of the news stories (although they are all saying about the same thing right now), and one godless Maine blogger is urging the locals to join him at at the next school board meeting on 19 May, and also provides contact information for reaching the board. Strangely, while SAD #59 does have a web page, it's mostly blank and doesn't even list the board of directors — if anyone has email contact information, let me know and I'll post it so we can get a fast letter writing campaign going.

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Revenge of the students

post from Pharyngula on 12 May 2008 06:39:50 PM. © Pharyngula

Don't you wish you were here?

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We already have one skinny guy on the TARDIS

post from Bad Astronomy Blog on 12 May 2008 06:38:10 PM. © Bad Astronomy Blog

Comedy Central has an interesting table up: which Presidential candidate would make the best companion for Doctor Who*? Turns out, in their opinion, it depends on the Doctor. McCain gets three nods, while Obama gets four, including being on board with David Tennant. I dunno. I’d like to see Nader complaining about the unsafe features [...]

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Yet more Republicans in denial

The latest Pew survey on Americans' attitudes toward the climate crisis is so depressing, I am reminded of that old Busby Meyers song, "What's the use of getting sober, when you're gonna get drunk again?" I mean, really. Why bother? But because the only alternative to carrying on is to not carry on, here's my attempt at giving the numbers a positive spin.

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McSleepy is a knock out

From The Engineer: Researchers at McGill University and the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) have performed the world's first totally automated administration of an anesthetic using a system they created called 'McSleepy'. The new system administers drugs for general anes

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Vaccination update

BABloggee Bret Hall sent me a note linking to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article following up on my earlier diatribe against antivaxers. The article talks about a new outbreaks of measles, and people could potentially die:The disease - which is completely preventable through vaccination - can lead to pneumonia, encephalitis and death. It is most [...]

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