Pharyngula pointed this out to me. Fantastic little video (8 parts). Was great up until the cold reading part, which I’ve seen explained plenty of times… as always… completely depressing, and always sends a chill down my spine… depressing, but so revealing.
Its definitely worth checking out his other videos aswell (and, additionally, the “explained” videos by other authors are worth looking at too).
Its a nasty way to think. But when you’re down, always remember that you’re not really that bad off…
Picked this up from a NewScientist article.
Ground-living vertebrates have declined by 25%, with most of the slump occurring since 1980. Marine species held fairly steady until the late 1990s before falling sharply to give an overall drop of 28%. Freshwater species have decreased by 25%, primarily since the late 1980s.
Loh says the most dramatic declines have been observed in the tropics. Tropical ground-living species have seen an average population drop of 46%, while their temperate cousins have shown no overall change.
They don’t seem to be 100% sure on the numbers, but they could possibly even be conservative.
Simple post with some parenting inspiration for any mum or dad. Even if you’re not a parent, you must watch this video.
Please tell, because I don’t know… I thought it was just out to jerk tears up until the eye bit.
Bad astronomy has a good write-up on the supposed link (or lack thereof) between autism and vaccinations.
I just can’t make this any clearer. Vaccines do not cause autism. Study after study has shown this, in multiple ways. The removal of the MMR (mumps-measles-rubella) vaccine in Japan did not lead to a decline in the number of cases of autisms diagnosed; instead the number of children falling in the autism spectrum increased.
I looked into this alot when my daughter was going through some of her vaccinations and came to similar conclusions. I’m all for research into the cause of autism and studies done on vaccinations and their safety, but this has been done. Its been looked into time and time again, and the results are conclusive. Sadly, there has already been damage done by the one highly questionable study that sparked alot of this as well as general claims of “toxins and evils” in vaccines…
And there is a chilling side to this. Vaccines are among the greatest achievements in human history. This is not hyperbole. Millions upon millions of lives have been saved by vaccines. Smallpox is gone. Polio is gone. A vaccine has been developed to prevent HPV, saving millions of women from the horrors of cervical cancer.
If vaccinations decline, then we will see an increase in mumps, measles, rubella, whooping cough (pertussis), and many more terrible afflictions… problems that are ultimately completely curable. This is stone, cold fact. Worse, these problems are far more severe in children.
Update: Respectful insolence has provided their own summary of the ‘autism epidemic’:
[...] the apparent increase in prevalence observed over the last two decades can be explained largely by increased awareness and diagnostic substitution. There is no autism epidemic.
The classic, Russell’s Teapot…
If I were to suggest that between the Earth and Mars there is a china teapot revolving about the sun in an elliptical orbit, nobody would be able to disprove my assertion provided I were careful to add that the teapot is too small to be revealed even by our most powerful telescopes. But if I were to go on to say that, since my assertion cannot be disproved, it is an intolerable presumption on the part of human reason to doubt it, I should rightly be thought to be talking nonsense. If, however, the existence of such a teapot were affirmed in ancient books, taught as the sacred truth every Sunday, and instilled into the minds of children at school, hesitation to believe in its existence would become a mark of eccentricity and entitle the doubter to the attentions of the psychiatrist in an enlightened age or of the Inquisitor in an earlier time.
It seems as though it has been found! Further plans are currently underway…
Yes, thats right. 18 children. The Duggar family are supposedly followers of the Quiverfull movement, which is basically just against all sorts of birth control, as well as even “Natural Family Planning“.
The Pharyngula article I picked this up from has some interesting (and some, youtube-ish) comments. The main theme in the discussion, apart from a few nuts is generally just feeling sorry for the kids in the family…
Another classic from XKCD
I’ve been following the recent news over at the official richard dawkins website on the upcoming Pro-Intelligent Design (ID) film “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed”. Describing this film as controversial would probably be an understatement, and I assume thats the effect the producers are after. I’ve got to say I haven’t had the ‘pleasure’ of seeing it myself… but really, I could imagine it would be similar to seeing something like cup chicks. You would only see it because:
Ultimately, i assume both probably have similar reactions.
Following the numerous controversies the film has attracted, the most recent one grabbed my attention. The film has supposedly ripped off (or, recreated very closely) a Harvard video on the inner life of the cell. If you haven’t seen it before, its really quite fascinating. Its available in two versions, one with music and one narrated (most of this goes over my head, but the complex words at least make me feel smarter). Check out the you tube version below (with music) for a taste. But be sure to grab the high def versions of the music and narrated versions though. Definitely worth the download.
All this goes on inside one white blood cell. Worth checking out molecular motors also if theres any disbelief… I know at first i thought that ‘vesicle’ at 1:16 was pretty nuts. Guess what, you have about 100, 000 of those inside each of your 100 trillion cells (if you’re really interested, check out the presentation one of the creators does).
Update: Looks as though Harvard got the video pulled off youtube. Try doing a search if you’re after it still.
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