Back when I was at university studying palaeontology, while quaffing our numerous cups of coffee during the day, I and a colleague used to muse about the ideal palaeontological job…
The blog has been a bit quiet over the last few weeks. The reason is in part because we are downsizing. We are moving from a fairly large house we…
Being in palaeontology, I have joined a couple of palaeontologically oriented groups on Facebook. However, the ‘Paleontology’ groups isn’t one of them. However, someone I am ‘friends’ with on Facebook…
I recently read a fascinating book by Simon Winchester entitled ‘Knowing what we know’1,2. I have a soft spot for Winchester, as he also wrote the book ‘The map that…
Deep into the 21st century, America is more racially, ethnically and religiously diverse than any moment in its 247-year history. The rising cohort of younger millennials and Gen Z — the nation’s best-educated generations ever, which seems to coincide with their embrace of diversity, tolerance and progressive ideas — is showing up at the voting booth. Sorry Sarah Palin, but this is “the real America” now, and the millions clinging to the older hierarchies around race, gender and Christian hegemony are not handling it well. If democracy means this true majority winning elections, then they hate democracy. If the real America is this young and diverse, then they hate America. [https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/us-conservatives-embrace-authoritarianism-anti-democracy-20230813.html]
Dr Melissa Kang, Yumi Stynes and Jenny Latham (illustrator) have published a book entitled ‘Welcome to Sex!’ which is subtitled ‘Your no-silly-questions guide to pleasure, sexuality & figuring it out’1….
I wrote an essay almost a week ago on the futility of arguing against conspiracy theorists (creationists, antivaxxers, climate change deniers etc.) but the utility of taking time to enlighten…
I don’t know how you teach our nation’s [US] history honestly without mentioning these facts [slavery] — but in the eyes of a substantial number of voters, teaching uncomfortable facts is indeed a form of liberal propaganda. And once that’s your mind-set, you see left-wing indoctrination happening everywhere, not just in history and the social sciences. If a biology class explains the theory of evolution, and why almost all scientists accept it — or, for that matter, the theory of how vaccines work — well, that’s liberal propaganda. If a physics class explains how greenhouse gas emissions can change the climate — well, that’s more liberal propaganda.
In reply to an attack made upon him by Sir John Pakington for calling the Conservative party “the stupid party,” John Stuart Mill, while admitting the phrase did occur in…