A Quick Guide of Creationist's (Incorrect) Claims

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I thought I would pass this article along. It's a quick read, and targets many of the wrong beliefs that creationists (especially the young-earth variety) have.

Read it here.

Fight For Space Documentary

I hope this gets made.

Scary Christian School "Science" Textbook

A friend of mine shared this link, and it is scary! Read what this christian textbook says about how we can know things, and how science works. These poor children are being taught this garbage.

New Symphony of Science: We are Star Dust"

No Carl in this one, but wonderful nonetheless. Listen to the lyrics, and think about what these scientists are really saying. It's one of the most surprising and yet startlingly obvious realizations I have had in my life. Check out John Boswell's other science songs at Symphony of Science.

A Wonderful Collection of Hubble's Best Pictures

The Hubble Space Telescope is turning 22, and what better way to celebrate than to look at a gallery of some of its most breathtaking pictures? Follow this link for the eye candy.

Animal Morality

Found an interesting TED talk on moral behavior in non-human animals. We are not so different. Watch it here.

Interested in Evolution?

Animal hand homology

I came across a wonderful youtube channel that has compiled over a hundred shows on evolution from PBS, NOVA, the BBC, and other channels. If you want to learn about what evolution is and what the evidence for it is, this is a great resource:

http://www.youtube.com/user/EvolutionDocumentary

Who Was the First Human?

Richard Dawkins, talking about his new book, The Magic of Reality, explains an important fact about evolution. Namely that a chimpanzee didn't one day give birth to a human, nor a dinosaur give birth to a bird. At any point along the ancestral trail, there was never a point where the parent of one species gave birth to a different species. The creature born is always the same species as the parent. I previously wrote about this concept here. Watch the video for a great explanation.

New Symphony of Science: Dinosaurs!

John over at Symphony of Science has released another remix-ucation video. If you love dinosaurs (who doesn't?) head over there and watch it!

Happy Darwin Day!

Today is Charles Darwin's 203rd birthday. I am grateful for his contributions to science, though I was once very much against them. Now I accept the fact of evolution and see how interesting and elegant this theory is.

Sam Harris: The Fireplace Delusion

Sam Harris has written a wonderfully enlightening and remarkably relatable piece on how the mind reacts when cherished beliefs are challenged by outside sources. He likens the love of a burning wood fire to the love of whatever religious beliefs one may have, and notes that we often react similarly if either idea is attacked. He asks his readers to be honest with themselves and pay attention to how their own mind behaves while they read his summation of wood fires. Then they can more accurately understand how the religious mind works when challenged.

Read it for yourself here.

How Open-Minded Are You?

Nearly all of us think that we are open-minded, rational, unbiased, thoughtful people. We follow the evidence wherever it leads, and we listen to reason. When new evidence comes to light about something that we already hold an opinion on, we believe that we will process it in an unbiased way. This is hardly the case.

Review: A Universe From Nothing by Lawrence Krauss

I just finished “A Universe From Nothing,” by Lawrence Krauss. I found it intensely interesting and enlightening. From a purely scientific perspective, I found it engrossing and understandable, even for a lay-person like myself. There were definitely some points that I did not completely understand, but it helped me to also watch his lecture about this topic online for clarification.

A Universe From Nothing: Preview of a Review

Today I received my copy of Lawrence Krauss' new book, "A Universe From Nothing." I am excited to get started reading it, as his lecture at AAI 2009 about this very topic brought up many questions in my mind.

Man Cured of HIV

Finally, right?  A Berlin man has been given the official word from doctors that he no longer has HIV.  While battling cancer, the man underwent a very risky stem-cell transplant from just the right donor in order to replenish his weakened immune system.  Read about it here.

Does the Universe Have a Purpose? Debate Analysis

Perhaps you have watched the panel debate that took place last month in Mexico that pitted Richard Dawkins, Michael Shermer and Matt Ridley against William Lane Craig, David Wolpe, and Douglas Geivett.  The proposed question of the debate was, "does the universe have a purpose?"  It seemed an important topic, with important figures on both sides, so I thought I would give my thoughts on it.  You can watch the debate here.

New Symphony of Science: A Wave of Reason

John Boswell from symphonyofscience has posted a new music video promoting reason, skepticism and science.  This could be the best one yet.  Watch, listen and enjoy.  Be sure to visit his site!

Large Hadron Collider Creates "Mini Big Bang"

via richarddawkins.net & BBC News:

Lead ion collision inside the LHC

CERN scientists have recently collided lead ions which have created some beautiful and curious reactions.  Scientists hope these experiments will help us understand the processes at work at the very beginning of the universe.  Temperatures reached upwards of 10 trillion degrees, which are the highest ever reproduced in an experiment. Still no word on when the LHC will destroy the world.  Read the full article here.

Happy Carl Sagan Day!

Today is Carl Sagan Day.  A day we remember a great mind and popularizer of science.  Carl has been a major influence on my life and my interest in science, and I never knew much of him until he had already passed.  I urge you all to watch his PBS series, Cosmos.  Search youtube for Carl Sagan, and enjoy.  Celebrate his life with me.  We miss you, Carl.

Bionic Eye Success in Sight

via Atheist Media Blog:



Man, science is amazing.