09.02.10
Posted in Evolution at 1:28 pm by nemo
Hucklebird (Stephen Smith) reviews Signature in the Cell/
I have problems with vitalism, but Smith makes the good point that vitalist theories are able to answer to design arguments in a way that theistic designism cannot.
We have tended here to say something like this using a different language, of ‘natural teleology’, via Kant, etc…
I have problems here, but a good review.
Meyer’s book left me frustrated, it makes the case against Darwinism in the emergence of life, then loses me on the design confusion.
I tend to shy away from vitalism, but Smith is correct in seeing its place in the real history of scientific biology. Eliminating vitalism occurred at the same time that positivistic scientism produced a reductionist view that made no better sense.
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Posted in Evolution at 12:17 pm by nemo
The Limits of Evolution
Dawkins is a distressingly dishonest and clever liar who understands the critiques of Darwinism and twists them to keep the public confused.
The issue of blind chance is a decisive problem for Darwinism, so naturally it is important to turn things upside down. The computer simulations referred to simply don’t work, as Dawkins knows, and has known for a long long time. However he never admits to error, never changes his position, and rightly reaps the blind faith of the Darwin brainwashed.
Many believe that evolution simply involves “blind chance” and long time periods working on inert materials; and, therefore, as an explanatory power for the existence of life’s complexity, the theory of evolution is seriously inadequate from a probability perspective.
However, Mr. Dawkins asserts that evolution is more than blind chance as he discusses many of the projects under way involving intricate computer simulations that appear to confirm reasonable chances for the occurrence of meaningful evolution. (A cogent counterargument to the results of these simulations can be found in “Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design” by Stephen C. Meyer, which I reviewed previously.)
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Posted in Evolution at 12:00 pm by nemo
‘Charitable’ Behavior Found in Bacteria
ScienceDaily (Sep. 1, 2010) — Researchers at Boston University and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard have discovered that charitable behavior exists in one of the most microscopic forms of life — bacteria. Their findings appear in the Sept. 2 issue of Nature.
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Posted in Evolution at 11:58 am by nemo
Capacity for Exercise Can Be Inherited: Finding Suggests Pharmaceutical Drugs Can Be Used to Alter Activity Levels in Humans
ScienceDaily (Sep. 1, 2010) — Biologists at the University of California, Riverside have found that voluntary activity, such as daily exercise, is a highly heritable trait that can be passed down genetically to successive generations.
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09.01.10
Posted in Evolution, Fourth Edition, World History and The Eonic Effect at 2:25 pm by nemo
A Glimpse of Evolution
Get started with the online edition WHEE/4th.
The point here is that history and evolution overlap, so speak. Further, human evolution is not yet complete, and is proceeding via civilization to the real completion of homo sapiens.
The Janus-faced connection of history and evolution allows us to detect evolution in historical terms, and thus understand where were are going wrong with Darwinian mythology
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Posted in Critique of Evolutionary Economy, Evolution, Science & Religion at 1:31 pm by nemo
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-shermer/what-i-believe-about-mark_b_701327.html
Shermer defends himself. His defense is not so good, and his book The Mind of the Market is a dubious exercise.
Shermer says he is talking about trade, not capitalism, etc… etc…
Not convincing.
And the issue of trade is a no-brainer in any context but the current one, where free trade is championed by the elite, and an entire class of American workers have been destroyed by the deceptive trade ideology.
So it might be nice if Shermer were more honest, and capable of getting his unraged head out of his ass.
But why keep flogging Shermer: the issue is the false theory of Darwin which skeptics conveniently give a pass. The second issue is the way in which Darwinism, classical liberalism, Malthus, Social Darwinism, all coexist. Trying to prettify the issues by talking about trade and evolution is mostly bad science, and covert ideology. I think Coyne was about right the first time.
As to the ‘woo’ of Chopara, we have discussed that here many times, without much support for Chopra, as such. But please note that Shermer and his ilk are using skeptical discourse to trash Eastern religions in a way that is completely fasle and ideological. When Chopra tries misguidedly to do physics with Eastern religion the results is a convenient target for fake skeptics.
The real ‘woo’ here is the confusion of Darwinism, Social Darwinism, and economic ideology.
Shermer criticizes anger. As I noted in my earlier posts, he is a spoiled idiot of the establishment, behind his skeptic’s mask, and cannot understand the rage of those who have to live in this economic system.
Second, I think I made a mistake in mentioning “capitalism” at the beginning of the column on markets and morality, because (1) the article is really about trade, not capitalism per se; and (2) that word seems to set some people off into MichaelMoorish-like paroxysms of rage, engaging the limbic system full throttle and governing back the prefrontal cortex, resulting in red-faced, spittle-spewing tirades about Gordon Gekko and Bernie Madoff.
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Posted in Critique of Evolutionary Economy, Evolution at 1:22 pm by nemo
Coyne seems to backtrack on Shermer: A response from Shermer
Shermer gets to reply at Huffpost, but our critiques here get no mention (but they will be read and reread hundreds and hundreds of time via Google)
Here are some links on the Shermer piece, which we will repost on top, perhaps.
http://darwiniana.com/2010/08/29/templeton-and-capitalist-ideology/
http://darwiniana.com/2010/08/29/base-and-vulgar-authors-and-then-the-templeton-gang/
http://darwiniana.com/2010/08/29/markets-turning-to-crime-homelessness-and-ten-below-sleeping-bags/
Coyne seems to chicken out on Darwinism and economy. This issue has discredited Darwinism, but since the same gang of hypocrites controls the paradigm, and because they know the public is stupid, they are under no obligation to make any sense of themselves.
So, nota bene: The incestuous interplay of economic theory and Darwinism is ideology, not science. The basic mechanism of Darwin’s theory is false, so the theory is useless for anything in any case.
We are being bombarded by a lot of ’smart stupidos’ on the issues of economics, e.g. Geithner, Summers, and a hoard of others, from Greenspan on. Shermer seems to wish to be one of them.
We need to learn how to discriminate between ’smart’ people, and those who are exploited by the system of meritocracy to promote ’smart’ propaganda.
It is a deadly tactic, and very effective. Look at a figure like Greenspan, who was so narrowly ’smart stupid’ that he couldn’t discriminate on Ayn Rand.
But, whatever the case, it is important to call these two-bit public intellectuals when they abuse Darwinism and economics.
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Posted in Evolution at 1:01 pm by nemo
Lima Beans Domesticated Twice
ScienceDaily (Sep. 1, 2010) — Lima beans were domesticated at least twice, according to a new genetic diversity study by Colombian scientists. Big seeded varieties known as “Big Lima” were domesticated in the Andean Mountains, while small seeded “Sieva” and “Potato” varieties originated in central-western Mexico.The researchers also discovered a “founder effect,” which is a severe reduction in genetic diversity due to domestication. This means that today’s Lima bean varieties contain only a small fraction of the genetic diversity present in their respective wild ancestors.
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Posted in Evolution at 12:59 pm by nemo
Human Activity May Have Boosted Shellfish Size, Archaeological Study Shows
ScienceDaily (Aug. 31, 2010) — In a counter-intuitive finding, new research from North Carolina State University shows that a species of shellfish widely consumed in the Pacific over the past 3,000 years has actually increased in size, despite — and possibly because of — increased human activity in the area.
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Posted in Evolution at 12:58 pm by nemo
Whale Sharks May Produce Many Litters from One Mating, Paternity Test Shows
ScienceDaily (Aug. 31, 2010) — How do female whale sharks meet their perfect mates and go on to produce offspring? While little is known about the reproductive behavior of these ocean-roaming giants, a newly published analysis led by University of Illinois at Chicago biologist Jennifer Schmidt reveals new details about the mating habits of this elusive, difficult-to-study fish.
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08.31.10
Posted in Evolution at 12:08 pm by nemo
Did freedom evolve?
We have exposed Dennett nonse on ‘freedom evolving’ here already, and in WHEE, there is a passage on this, scroll down the ‘Evolution and Ethics’ page: http://history-and-evolution.com/whee4th/chap2_1_2.htm
Coyne here is at least consistent, and his next stop is Kantstudien.
In our discussions of free will, and my continuing puzzlement about how it could really exist, several commenters recommended that I read Dan Dennett’s Freedom Evolves. There, they said, I’d find a solution to the problem about how free will could exist in a deterministic universe. So I read it. And while I enjoyed it a lot, in the end I wasn’t convinced that he’d solved the problem—at least not in a way that was satisfying.
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Posted in Evolution at 11:59 am by nemo
Giraffe’s Neck
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Posted in Evolution at 11:44 am by nemo
Carnivore Species Shrank During Global Warming Event
ScienceDaily (Aug. 31, 2010) — A new University of Florida study indicates extinct carnivorous mammals shrank in size during a global warming event that occurred 55 million years ago.
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Posted in Evolution at 11:43 am by nemo
Impact Hypothesis Loses Its Sparkle: Shock-Synthesized Diamonds Said to Prove Catastrophic Impact Killed Off N. American Megafauna Can’t Be Found
ScienceDaily (Aug. 30, 2010) — About 12,900 years ago, a sudden cold snap interrupted the gradual warming that had followed the last Ice Age. The cold lasted for the 1,300-year interval known as the Younger Dryas (YD) before the climate began to warm again.
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Posted in Evolution at 11:41 am by nemo
First Clear Evidence of Organized Feasting by Early Humans
ScienceDaily (Aug. 30, 2010) — Community feasting is one of the most universal and important social behaviors found among humans. Now, scientists have found the earliest clear evidence of organized feasting, from a burial site dated about 12,000 years ago. These remains represent the first archaeological verification that human feasting began before the advent of agriculture.
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Posted in Evolution at 11:40 am by nemo
‘Stocky Dragon’ Dinosaur, Relative of Velociraptor, Terrorized Late Cretaceous Europe
ScienceDaily (Aug. 30, 2010) — By describing a new double-clawed and highly-unusual relative of Velociraptor, paleontologists have answered a long-standing question: what did the Late Cretaceous predatory dinosaurs in Europe look like? Balaur bondoc, described in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is the first reasonably complete skeleton of a meat-eating dinosaur from the final 60 million years of the Age of Dinosaurs in Europe and provides insight into an ecosystem very different from that of today. Europe at the end of the Cretaceous was awash in higher seas and was an island archipelago dominated by animals smaller and more primitive than their relatives living on larger landmasses.
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08.30.10
Posted in Evolution at 1:29 pm by nemo
Barr vs Behe
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