Residents of Australia's Northern Territory are being warned to stay away from a monkey authorities say has been spotted roaming the Darwin suburb streets. The monkey, which is thought to have been brought into the area illegally, may bite or attack any who approach it. Monkeys are also known to be quite strong and throw their own poo at others!
Obviously, this is a serious situation, but the equally obvious humor could not be passed-up. While area Christians refuse to believe such a monkey even exists, authorities insist they refrain from approaching any small, excessively hairy, individuals uncommon to the area until further notified.
© C Harris Lynn, 2010
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Showing posts with label evolution. Show all posts
Showing posts with label evolution. Show all posts
Friday, February 5, 2010
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Darwin's Theory of Evolution Turns 150
Today marks the 150th anniversary of the first publication of Charles Darwin's seminal theory of evolution in On the Origin of Species. First published in 1859, the theory was actually not all that "new" - Darwin had been working on it for years and another thinker was publishing very similar papers elsewhere in the world - but the book and its theory became one of the most controversial of all time, and remains so to this day.
Evangelical actor-turned... well, evangelist, Kirk Cameron, released a bizarre video on his website in which he calls Darwin a misogynist and links him to Hitler! Today, a video of Cameron being confronted by UCLA students surfaced on TMZ in which the actor-turned-evangelist stumbles all over his "theories." Cameron is releasing some version of The Origin of Species in which he presents counter-theory throughout.
Christie's auctioned-off a rare first-printing of Darwin's On the Origin of Species which was found on a family's bathroom shelf in Oxford. I do not know if the book has been sold yet, but it is expected to fetch upward of $100,000. About 1250 copies were in the first-print run.
Celebrations across the world have commemorated Darwin's 200th birthday this year. Many separate "Darwinism" from "Evolution," but zealous Christians do not.
© C Harris Lynn, 2009
Evangelical actor-turned... well, evangelist, Kirk Cameron, released a bizarre video on his website in which he calls Darwin a misogynist and links him to Hitler! Today, a video of Cameron being confronted by UCLA students surfaced on TMZ in which the actor-turned-evangelist stumbles all over his "theories." Cameron is releasing some version of The Origin of Species in which he presents counter-theory throughout.
Christie's auctioned-off a rare first-printing of Darwin's On the Origin of Species which was found on a family's bathroom shelf in Oxford. I do not know if the book has been sold yet, but it is expected to fetch upward of $100,000. About 1250 copies were in the first-print run.
Celebrations across the world have commemorated Darwin's 200th birthday this year. Many separate "Darwinism" from "Evolution," but zealous Christians do not.
© C Harris Lynn, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Snake in China Gets a Leg Up on Evolution
A woman in China heard something late one night. She turned on the light to discover a snake with a foot clinging to her wall. Go ahead, I'll wait... Yes: a snake with a foot. What? Oh yes, on her wall - but that, the foot thing is...
The woman says the snake was working its way along her wall with its claw! She became so frightened, she grabbed a shoe and beat the serpent to death, but she thought to preserve it in alcohol. It is now being studied at a university in Nanchang.
The snake is pencil-thin and 16" long. The area around the foot is larger than the rest, giving it a swollen appearance; on first sight, it looks like the snake ate something which burst from its side. However, scientists say it is most likely a mutated specimen. A fairly common snake mutation - possibly related - sees specimens with two heads! These are often killed and saved as good luck charms. Experts say the heads have a tendency to attack one another!
© C Harris Lynn, 2009
The woman says the snake was working its way along her wall with its claw! She became so frightened, she grabbed a shoe and beat the serpent to death, but she thought to preserve it in alcohol. It is now being studied at a university in Nanchang.
The snake is pencil-thin and 16" long. The area around the foot is larger than the rest, giving it a swollen appearance; on first sight, it looks like the snake ate something which burst from its side. However, scientists say it is most likely a mutated specimen. A fairly common snake mutation - possibly related - sees specimens with two heads! These are often killed and saved as good luck charms. Experts say the heads have a tendency to attack one another!
© C Harris Lynn, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
Darwin's Egg Rediscovered
Charles Darwin, considered the father of evolution, once traveled on the HMS Beagle, collecting eggs and other specimens throughout his trip. Amongst these were eggs from different birds. At one time, up to a dozen of these eggs were thought to exist, but none have ever been found... until now.
A volunteer at Cambridge University was sorting the eggs in the museum's collection when she came upon a small, brown egg that was cracked and bears the inscription, "C Darwin." The collections manager, Matt Lowe, was the first to realize the egg's importance. The museum's ornithological curator, Dr. Michael Brooke, traced the egg back through Professor Alfred Newton's notebooks. Newton was a zoologist and peer of Darwin's, who wrote about receiving the egg in the mail.
Newton's notes say Darwin packed the egg in too small a box, causing the crack. He goes on to say Darwin came across it in Uruguay and it is from the Common Tinamou, indigenous to those parts. Darwin originally mistook the bird for a partridge and wrote that its cooked meat was "most delicately white."
© C Harris Lynn, 2009
A volunteer at Cambridge University was sorting the eggs in the museum's collection when she came upon a small, brown egg that was cracked and bears the inscription, "C Darwin." The collections manager, Matt Lowe, was the first to realize the egg's importance. The museum's ornithological curator, Dr. Michael Brooke, traced the egg back through Professor Alfred Newton's notebooks. Newton was a zoologist and peer of Darwin's, who wrote about receiving the egg in the mail.
Newton's notes say Darwin packed the egg in too small a box, causing the crack. He goes on to say Darwin came across it in Uruguay and it is from the Common Tinamou, indigenous to those parts. Darwin originally mistook the bird for a partridge and wrote that its cooked meat was "most delicately white."
© C Harris Lynn, 2009
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
More Americans Believe in Angels, Hell than Evolution
According to a new Harris Poll of over 2000 adult Americans, more believe in Hell and angels than in the theory of Evolution. While some 80% say they believe in God (no change since 2005), well over 70% said they also believe in the existence of Hell and angels. Only 47% believe in Darwin's theory of Evolution - though that is slightly higher than those who believe in Creationism (40%). Interestingly, Catholics are more likely to believe in Creationism than Protestants.
The new nationwide poll brings to light several interesting results, including the fact that 44% believe in ghosts and 36% in UFOs. You can find the actual data on Harris' site.
© C Harris Lynn, 2008
The new nationwide poll brings to light several interesting results, including the fact that 44% believe in ghosts and 36% in UFOs. You can find the actual data on Harris' site.
© C Harris Lynn, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
You Are All Sheep... er, Fish
I am of the mind that Creationism and Evolution are not mutually exclusive - especially since, alone, either sounds pretty far-fetched. That is why I question the point of this story:
Scientists studying the midshipman fish believe they have discovered that the part of the brain which drives vocalization, which suggests it is very primitive. According to their conclusions, vocalization in vertebrates can be dated back to somewhere around 400 million years ago. The midshipman fish, much like similar vertebrates, vocalize for mating purposes. Other fish also vocalize for this, and other, reasons.
But while this is all well and good and interesting and informative, let's go back to the lead:
Creationism and Evolution are not mutually exclusive; in fact, when you separate either from the other, they are both pretty ludicrous.
© C Harris Lynn, 2008
Scientists studying the midshipman fish believe they have discovered that the part of the brain which drives vocalization, which suggests it is very primitive. According to their conclusions, vocalization in vertebrates can be dated back to somewhere around 400 million years ago. The midshipman fish, much like similar vertebrates, vocalize for mating purposes. Other fish also vocalize for this, and other, reasons.
But while this is all well and good and interesting and informative, let's go back to the lead:
Creationism and Evolution are not mutually exclusive; in fact, when you separate either from the other, they are both pretty ludicrous.
© C Harris Lynn, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Darwin Downloaded
The works of Darwin are now online and available to anyone who wishes to view them. But be warned: The collection is said to be so vast that you could not digest it all in two months, even if you downloaded one image per minute!
The family has always wanted Darwin's notes available to the public, and the mountain of notes and papers shows his devotion to his work, as well as the thoroughness of his research.
The first draft of his groundbreaking work on evolution has recently been added. You can view all of Darwin's works online here.
© C Harris Lynn, 2008
The family has always wanted Darwin's notes available to the public, and the mountain of notes and papers shows his devotion to his work, as well as the thoroughness of his research.
The first draft of his groundbreaking work on evolution has recently been added. You can view all of Darwin's works online here.
© C Harris Lynn, 2008
Friday, December 14, 2007
Human Evolution Faster Than Thought?
Contrary to the popular notion that human evolution has slowed dramatically, US scientists say that it has actually increased - at a rate approximately 100 times faster than any other in history!
Prof. Henry Harpending, author of the study conducted at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), said "Genes are evolving fast in Europe, Asia and Africa, but almost all of these are unique to their continent of origin. We are getting less alike, not merging into a single, mixed humanity." The professor said this is happening because there has not been much "flow" between different regions since humans first left Africa for the rest of the world.
The researchers provided two theories for why evolution is speeding up:
Prof. Henry Harpending, author of the study conducted at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), said "Genes are evolving fast in Europe, Asia and Africa, but almost all of these are unique to their continent of origin. We are getting less alike, not merging into a single, mixed humanity." The professor said this is happening because there has not been much "flow" between different regions since humans first left Africa for the rest of the world.
The researchers provided two theories for why evolution is speeding up:
- There are more people, meaning advantageous mutations have more chance to appear
- Environmental and dietary changes
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Best Not to Say It Pt. 2 - James Watson and the Origin of Species
James Watson, Nobel Laureate, has resigned his post at the American-based Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, amidst allegations that he suggested African descendants were less intelligent than Europeans.
Okay, here's the thing about that:
If scientists truly wish to further this idea of Evolution -- an idea even Darwin himself rejected at the time of his death -- in opposition to any sort of higher power's involvement (I think all of us outside the Southern Baptist sect can agree that "Divine Creation" as set forth in the Bible is unacceptable as our true origin) as the only "logical" solution as to how we modern humans came to be, then we have to accept, largely (according to what Science claims to know now), that we naturally evolved from some kind of ape-like stock.
Africans bear large, wide noses -- not unlike a certain, closely-related, genus often forwarded as our most likely "cousin" on the Evolutionary chart. They possess sloped foreheads, prominent lips, coarse hair, and dark skin. Apes, monkeys, gorillas, chimps -- all indigenous to Africa.
But wait! Before you go all "Jena 6" on me, let me add a little more information, just so you know I am truly not being "racist" (as to how such a thing could even exist in such a discussion is beyond me, though I have to admit, it is not an Americanism):
The gorilla was said not to have existed and those who claimed to have seen it were ridiculed - in fact, it drove more than one notable scientist out of science altogether (and most likely mad) - until it was "discovered" in @1908. Darwin's Origin of Species was first published in, or around, 1860 (though he had been working on it for a long time prior to that date - at least a decade or more - and another scientist had actually "scooped" him).
When the British Colonists "invaded" Africa under the reign of Queen Victoria, they pitied the Africans and sought to "educate" and "modernize" them in what has come to be known as "White Guilt." A truly misguided effort which actually bore all the earmarks of a sincere attempt at goodwill, but regrettable, nonetheless.
What Watson was actually suggesting, insofar as I discerned, was that Africans could very well be the "Missing Link" so often discussed in Evolutionary theory.
It's just too bad he was working in America when he dared postulate on such a "radical" idea.
America has yet to learn that it cannot have its cake and eat it, too; just can't have it both ways, no matter how hard it tries - no matter how it rails against God, life, and reality - America has set itself up for failure and continues to tell everyone who gets in its way that they "got what they deserve," yet refuses to accept its own fate.
America cannot live up to its own "standards" because no one can, and until America not only understands that but actually owns it, all we Americans are as oppressed as the rest of the huddled masses we are spending our tax dollars "protecting."
I, for one, would like to applaud Dr. James Watson for his integrity and initiative! Perhaps he is wrong - who knows yet? - but at least one scientist had the balls to stand up for the actual process of Getting On With It and said what needs to be said:
Life is ugly and messy and we cannot change that, no matter how hard we try.
Okay, here's the thing about that:
If scientists truly wish to further this idea of Evolution -- an idea even Darwin himself rejected at the time of his death -- in opposition to any sort of higher power's involvement (I think all of us outside the Southern Baptist sect can agree that "Divine Creation" as set forth in the Bible is unacceptable as our true origin) as the only "logical" solution as to how we modern humans came to be, then we have to accept, largely (according to what Science claims to know now), that we naturally evolved from some kind of ape-like stock.
Africans bear large, wide noses -- not unlike a certain, closely-related, genus often forwarded as our most likely "cousin" on the Evolutionary chart. They possess sloped foreheads, prominent lips, coarse hair, and dark skin. Apes, monkeys, gorillas, chimps -- all indigenous to Africa.
But wait! Before you go all "Jena 6" on me, let me add a little more information, just so you know I am truly not being "racist" (as to how such a thing could even exist in such a discussion is beyond me, though I have to admit, it is not an Americanism):
The gorilla was said not to have existed and those who claimed to have seen it were ridiculed - in fact, it drove more than one notable scientist out of science altogether (and most likely mad) - until it was "discovered" in @1908. Darwin's Origin of Species was first published in, or around, 1860 (though he had been working on it for a long time prior to that date - at least a decade or more - and another scientist had actually "scooped" him).
When the British Colonists "invaded" Africa under the reign of Queen Victoria, they pitied the Africans and sought to "educate" and "modernize" them in what has come to be known as "White Guilt." A truly misguided effort which actually bore all the earmarks of a sincere attempt at goodwill, but regrettable, nonetheless.
What Watson was actually suggesting, insofar as I discerned, was that Africans could very well be the "Missing Link" so often discussed in Evolutionary theory.
It's just too bad he was working in America when he dared postulate on such a "radical" idea.
America has yet to learn that it cannot have its cake and eat it, too; just can't have it both ways, no matter how hard it tries - no matter how it rails against God, life, and reality - America has set itself up for failure and continues to tell everyone who gets in its way that they "got what they deserve," yet refuses to accept its own fate.
America cannot live up to its own "standards" because no one can, and until America not only understands that but actually owns it, all we Americans are as oppressed as the rest of the huddled masses we are spending our tax dollars "protecting."
I, for one, would like to applaud Dr. James Watson for his integrity and initiative! Perhaps he is wrong - who knows yet? - but at least one scientist had the balls to stand up for the actual process of Getting On With It and said what needs to be said:
Life is ugly and messy and we cannot change that, no matter how hard we try.
Monday, August 6, 2007
Lucy Across the World
The remains of the famous Lucy, the fossilized partial skeleton of a 3 1/2’ hominid is the earliest known and forced scientists to rethink the course of human evolution after its discovery in 1974. It was found in North-Eastern Ethiopia and has only been displayed there twice. A replica is on display at the Natural History Museum there.
For the first time ever, the actual remains are being shipped out of the country for a tour across America. Ethiopian officials say they will use the money raised from the six-year tour to build new museums and improve existing ones. Many have voiced complaints against the tour, noting that these are irreplaceable artifacts.
New York, Chicago, and Denver are among the cities Lucy will visit.
For the first time ever, the actual remains are being shipped out of the country for a tour across America. Ethiopian officials say they will use the money raised from the six-year tour to build new museums and improve existing ones. Many have voiced complaints against the tour, noting that these are irreplaceable artifacts.
New York, Chicago, and Denver are among the cities Lucy will visit.
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