tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.comments2024-02-29T03:57:00.088-05:00The Mermaid's TaleAnne Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09212151396672651221noreply@blogger.comBlogger6524125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-15093471991013016192021-07-15T10:58:33.327-04:002021-07-15T10:58:33.327-04:00Cool, the study of genetic drift and making extrap...Cool, the study of genetic drift and making extrapolations from it in the case of comparing humans and chimps was the primary factor for me to accept the theory of evolution. For example, Mark Stoneking was very patient with me when he took me on for a 1 credit independent study course while I studied the genetic difference between humans and chimps and originally thought that there was no way that evolution could explain the genetic difference.<br /><br />I'm not sure how to explain it to K-12, but I'll let K-12 educators figure that out :-)James Goetzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02412501436355228925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-47199268709363955372021-07-06T16:42:54.599-04:002021-07-06T16:42:54.599-04:00My work over the past year has had me reading the ...My work over the past year has had me reading the NGSS closely to align my project with national curriculum standards. I found that the current NGSS has little to no information about any process to revise the standards going forward. However, some organizations saw similar problems with the NGSS as it was being developed. One organization was Ocean Literacy. They saw that the Life Science portion of the NGSS was heavily slanted towards familiar terrestrial life and largely ignored ocean life (this remains true). They published some guidelines to better incorporate ocean science into lessons that meet the existing NGSS and provide links to teaching resources. This may be a good approach. The NGSS Life Science standards are heavily slanted to emphasize natural selection. Rather than try to revise the standards (I'm not even sure NGSS HAS a process to do this), perhaps publish some guidelines to better incorporate the concept of genetic drift within lessons that meet the existing standards. Check out the Ocean Literacy website, here: http://oceanliteracy.wp2.coexploration.org/ocean-sciences-in-the-next-generation-science-standards/Nicholas Kilzernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-8300104115653229442020-12-21T09:57:40.911-05:002020-12-21T09:57:40.911-05:00Ken, yours is a far more pleasing way to put what ...Ken, yours is a far more pleasing way to put what my nextdoor neighbor yelled to us while digging out his car, "THIS STINKS!"<br /><br />Holly Dunsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13093169722705922443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-47602362939478787502020-10-06T14:28:14.532-04:002020-10-06T14:28:14.532-04:00I would like to add that this cat had been peeing ...I would like to add that this cat had been peeing outside the litter box for years. It was a nuisance, and we tried everything to prevent it, but we lived with it, though we tried a long list of possible solutions, some of which maybe worked for a bit. But, this cat, who came to us as an adult cat, was very disturbed, and I believe, as does Ken when he's not being flippant, that he was suffering, which is why, in the end, we made the decision we did.Anne Buchananhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09212151396672651221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-23944238747998243252020-10-06T14:27:17.870-04:002020-10-06T14:27:17.870-04:00Nobody, especially us, is happy with what happened...Nobody, especially us, is happy with what happened. <br />Here is a thoughtful and sensitive commentary on this post and on what we did to our pet: https://radiobrowser.libsyn.com/understanding-euthanasia<br /><br />Obviously this is a VERY difficult subject. And Anne reminds me that there were issues beyond his peeing, that we need not go into here. What happened is the very definition of 'tragedy' perhaps. The snotty, snide comment by 'Unknown' is entirely out of order, because it almost suggests we didn't try to save our cat, or 'train' our cat, however that can be done, or didn't love and care for our cat. Indeed, the very opposite is true, as we tried everything we (and several vets) over several years, could do to address the problem. Our post was not tongue in cheek and I would not dispute that 'murder' is a kind of term for killing an animal that did not knowingly, in the willful, culpable sense, commit the offense. Nobody feels worse about what happened than we do (the cat experienced no pain or fear)! Nobody can deny that what we happened to our pet, who trusted us, was awful. But it was 'better' in some ways than all alternatives--which we considered but don't care to go into here.<br /><br />What to do? Put the cat in the local pound, at age 11, to live out the rest of his life there, because no one who knew the issues would want him?<br /><br />Had we lived elsewhere, we might know someone who has many pets indoor and outdoor (no winters there) and who might have taken our cat. Though an elder cat might have trouble adapting to other pets into whose territories s/he was placed.<br /><br />And what is the definition of animal 'pain'? There were many reasons to relate our cat's behavior to a deep kind of unhappiness or disturbed state, that was chronic.<br /><br />At least, "Unknown" hopefully does not eat meat, or any plant tissue that was living when harvested (including seeds), if s/he is not a dreadful hypocrite. And does s/he favor capital punishment? Is s/he pro-choice in humans? Or pro contraceptives? Or pay taxes, knowing that some of that goes to the police or military? What about mowing the lawn, or using wood for housing or furniture?<br /><br />Finally, there was reason to believe that our cat's problem _was_ a kind of pain, perhaps the worst kind: mental pain of some sort that neither we nor a parade of vets could know or treat (indeed, we have a long list of things we tried treating our cat with, under various vets' care, over several years).<br />Ken Weisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02049713123559138421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-58067070973843593852020-10-02T20:24:14.313-04:002020-10-02T20:24:14.313-04:00sick. euthenasia is to relieve the animal of pain....sick. euthenasia is to relieve the animal of pain. killing your pet because you could not train him properly is murder. if you could not get it right early on, give him up for adoption early on. and writing a tongue-in-cheek blog post underscores your lack of conscience. you should be ashamed. if you truly loved your pet you would grieve privately.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00046563879001678786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-3308709060250081462020-10-02T11:43:08.307-04:002020-10-02T11:43:08.307-04:00Condolences on losing your cat. It.Just.Hurts. Whe...Condolences on losing your cat. It.Just.Hurts. When I was a kid (mid-1960s), my mother, who grew up on a farm, was (I thought at the time) overly sensitive to the pains of our pets and overly eager to "put them to sleep". Of late, I've realized that she was probably right. A cat doesn't know/can't possibly understand that it has whatever disease and has a small chance of surviving despite the pain of the disease and procedures. Especially cancers. But it's been a long time since I started hearing of otherwise sensible people paying gobs and gobs of money for cancer treatments for their pets.<br /><br />If you took care of your pet, were nice to it, played with it, said pet had a way better life than it would have had in the wild. The euthenasia bit is the negative part of the karma coming back from cheating mother nature of her torture of her beings.<br /><br />But, damn. With all the hassle, and pain of loss when the pet finally passes, I really really really wish I weren't allergic to cats.<br />David J. Littleboynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-81193599748531220192020-08-11T14:33:50.655-04:002020-08-11T14:33:50.655-04:00Holly,
Another typically fine and thorough post! ...Holly,<br />Another typically fine and thorough post! <br /><br />But you obviously don't have enough real work to do (well, on second thought, educating the reading public is real work). Is URI one of those wimpy organizations that closed down because of a mere, sub-microscopic virus? I thought we had been assured by high political figures that it didn't exist, or something of that sort.<br /><br />The fact that we're all here (well, most of us are all here) should prove that it is possible to escape this dilemma, as we all have done the obstetrical one and that, amazingly, we did it when we all were very very young!Ken Weisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02049713123559138421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-34843879832815194022020-08-07T20:00:51.332-04:002020-08-07T20:00:51.332-04:00If you are judging her behavior - a lot of people ...<br /><br />If you are judging her behavior - a lot of people need to loosen up. she seemed to be saying - AAH is not a new idea and it has yet to be properly investigated. In any case, that's all I heard. <br /><br />The older you get the easier it is to fall into the habit of shaming people into thinking in a different way - It works in RL, with children and it does get harder and harder not to see children all over the place. I know I am guilty of that way too often - and it never fails that people of an opposing prospective or just never thought about a given idea themselves, to resent being shamed. Here's where I would normally something like "suck it up sunshine until you have some facts you are just whining" which is meant to be funny but no one ever gets the joke.Delrayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16920252274466555344noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-10927836565521435942020-06-24T08:24:22.796-04:002020-06-24T08:24:22.796-04:00This is a response from named person Holly Dunswor...This is a response from named person Holly Dunsworth, despite her "lack of intellectual capacity to understand":<br /><br />I highly doubt that SJW's cries of "racism" is preventing or could ever prevent people from keeping the population down. I think that's a major overreaction and perhaps you're just wrapped up in some discussions online that are intractable and unhealthy. As a result, I wonder if your obsessing over -isms is clouding your thinking. To see someone get so worked up about objective truth tells me they aren't a scientist. ("Or perhaps you lack the intellectual capacity to understand it.") Scientists know about how science is done by humans in cultural context, and that science has important sociocultural consequences, due to its assumed and perceived authority. The best science isn't blind to human bias. It accounts for that additional complexity in its quest for the truth. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-73195443017773598442020-06-01T21:16:14.588-04:002020-06-01T21:16:14.588-04:00Once again, if completely irrelevant to your scien...Once again, if completely irrelevant to your scientific work concepts such as the various -isms on the endless list of such concepts rank higher in your list of priorities than objective scientific truth, then you are a complete failure as a scientist and nobody should ever have given you a degree. Plain and simple. <br /><br />The one and only goal of science is to discover objective truth about the world around us. And it is especially important to confront such truths when we do not like them. Because science is a our most important evolutionary asset, as it enables us to consciously change and adapt our behavior in ways that other species are not capable of. At least in principle. The more we willingly ignore that capability, the more we place our long-term existence in jeopardy. <br /><br />Which means that you are also a tool for perpetuating social injustice, it is just that, and this is precisely because the concept of objective truth has been eliminated from your thinking, you lack the intellectual capacity to understand it.<br /><br />And you are also actively threatening the long-term existence of the human species -- in general, zombified pea-brained SJWs tend to go apoplectic when, for example, the subject of overpopulation comes up, because it is a favorite issue of their over which to hurl accusations of "racism" (even though it is a purely biophysical question having nothing to do with any -ism). Well, like it or not, the world is overpopulated by at least an order of magnitude, and if this is not addressed by immediately drastically cutting birth rates, that ensures total global civilizational collapse and an even larger decrease in population but one that is brought by an increase in the death rate instead (there are no other options -- either births go down or deaths will go up). And there will never be another civilization after that because the concentrated resources to build it will have been exhausted by ours. That sort of thing is what obsessing over -isms instead of facing up to the real world as it truly is contributes to. GMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-62167282471689705842020-05-03T15:19:01.170-04:002020-05-03T15:19:01.170-04:00Ernst Mayr was wrong about many things but because...Ernst Mayr was wrong about many things but because he long outlived the other contributors to the Modern Synthesis his influence was outsized. Both proximate (including mechanism) and distal causes are, of course, evolutionary. Without mechanism biology would be wholly theoretical and evolutionary models could be as adaptationist as desired, unencumbered by actual physical entities and processes. Like designing airplanes without considering gravity or friction.<br /><br />Prum argues that aesthetic-based as opposed to fitness-related mate choice should be considered the null hypothesis. But that's wrong; the null is not one kind of sexual selection as opposed to another, but rather that the sexually dimorphic trait was not selected at all. <br /><br />This leads to what I think of as an explanatory hierarchy (not particularly original): which explanation for any trait, including sexually dimorphic traits, has to be exhausted before others can be considered. Phylogenetic inertia > developmental constraint > drift > plasticity > natural selection > sexual selection.<br /><br />So I agree, analysis of sexually dimorphic traits cannot begin and end with sexual selection. Even with socioecological correlations, since it's likely not solely a matter of socioecology driving dimorphism but also the other way around. And in the case of humans, cultural and technological evolution makes our socioecology open-ended regardless of its relationship with dimorphism in other hominoids*.<br /><br />*Aside: Including hylobatids, the underrated apes.Ross Vodtnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-49034095984733434472020-05-03T12:42:13.454-04:002020-05-03T12:42:13.454-04:00ty Holly for the splendid telling of ur idea why i...ty Holly for the splendid telling of ur idea why im taller than my sisters...ur style of writing is straight forward and convincing...keep fighting the Good Fight! Be well HD.finaslegendarystorieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12729732864985558225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-39729386833612800682020-04-07T17:47:13.319-04:002020-04-07T17:47:13.319-04:00It's no surprise that others have seen the rel...It's no surprise that others have seen the relevance of this book to today's coronavirus plague: https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a31540805/decameron-sudden-popularity-coronavirus/<br /><br />We have electronic ways to tell our tales, so we miss out on much of the comradeship of Boccaccio's friends, but we can at least still enjoy the stories, and their relevance is clear.Ken Weisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02049713123559138421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-88148201602655743202020-01-22T14:13:24.021-05:002020-01-22T14:13:24.021-05:00It did not, but by designating that it was "f...It did not, but by designating that it was "female" and, given the choices, it was in play both with me and many of the respondents. It's always at least in the back of the mind of people in my field if we're talking pelves. I realize Twitter is public and welcome that. It's not a scientific poll! It was fun to do as a glimpse into respondents' minds, only. As a writing prompt, only. No worries if you answered differently than you wanted. The poll isn't really the point :)<br /><br />Holly Dunsworthnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-24573450641317112020-01-22T13:57:38.658-05:002020-01-22T13:57:38.658-05:00Hmm, your original tweet didn't ask about diff...Hmm, your original tweet didn't ask about differences in size, just asked what the big hole was for. Unprompted, I'd therefore have gone for something that wasn't sex specific, to wit "holding our hips far enough apart to allow locomotion". <br /><br />I fully accept that I'm the outlier here :-)Peterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12559721137290332762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-56524619203794817492020-01-22T12:10:56.924-05:002020-01-22T12:10:56.924-05:00It's macabre to say so but I love this.It's macabre to say so but I love this.<br />Holly Dunsworthnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-62337790458310056942020-01-08T13:23:19.534-05:002020-01-08T13:23:19.534-05:00So glad to hear it! Good luck!So glad to hear it! Good luck!Holly Dunsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05260104967932801186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-77160775355585584542020-01-08T12:54:24.973-05:002020-01-08T12:54:24.973-05:00Clap, clap! Light into darkness.Clap, clap! Light into darkness.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-39392690725332139102020-01-02T11:39:48.805-05:002020-01-02T11:39:48.805-05:00This is an outstanding resource that I am so grate...This is an outstanding resource that I am so grateful to have discovered as I prepare to teach Intro to Bio Anth for the first time! Elaine Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09695713671639442816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-33034186121392436942019-12-24T10:15:37.598-05:002019-12-24T10:15:37.598-05:00Like any hierarchical system, newcomers are induct...Like any hierarchical system, newcomers are inducted into the system if they behave, and that almost always means don't criticize the Elders in power. Grant reviews....well everyone knows that one says good things about an Elder's proposal, even (or perhaps especially) if the reviewer is also an Elder, knowing that that the tables will be turned (this is not just nasty speculation on my part, as I've seen it directly in review panels). Well, no system is perfect and high-status Elders have, by and large, earned their position. But keeping systems 'clean' is always part of life.<br /><br />No mentor is better than the one who encourages constructive criticism from his/her juniors. I was very lucky in that respect when I was a student and post-doc. Very lucky indeed!<br /><br />The grant system, especially in medical and public health schools, is especially vulnerable (or culpable) in this regard because salaries as well as research costs must come from grants. That should not be allowed.Ken Weisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02049713123559138421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-63639741432906682322019-12-23T19:06:27.844-05:002019-12-23T19:06:27.844-05:00"Now, whether or not it's true, rumor has..."Now, whether or not it's true, rumor has it that a few Thinkers did, in fact, separate from the herd. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you who or where they are, because they remain hidden, knowing that by defying the prevailing System, they would not be well-tolerated. Posses of Deans, Chairs, and other administrators, journalists, PR-spinners and bureaucrats hunt these Thinkers, their collective enemies, down wherever they can be found."<br /><br />Soooo close to the truth. I share critical thought selectively...so as not to be sidelined. <br /><br />There are many in the older generation that can see it clearly. I can speak among them without fear. They taught me well. Younger faculty who also see it will go a long way when some of the smoke clears.<br /><br />I've said too much... <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-91762510595187915042019-12-19T13:25:09.424-05:002019-12-19T13:25:09.424-05:00I'm probably less of a Wilson (and ev-psych) f...I'm probably less of a Wilson (and ev-psych) fan than you are, and I personally think his otherwise excellent book(Sociobiology) would have been better without its final chapter; but while I wouldn't argue with your list of attributes, they aren't unique to humans and (to me, at least) their assertion is largely non-human-specific, or purely sort of ad hoc (or post hoc) and descriptive and so on. I'd say they are that way in the same sense as (I think) you are asserting: making things (expletive deleted) up, post hoc, in hypersyllabic terms to give them a panache of 'science' technicality.<br /><br />Genetics can be 'soft' as well, when it goes beyond its rigorous purview (e.g., asserting about 'genes for' things like criminality, etc.), where many geneticists, or others wanting to appear to know something about genetics, try to assert, I would say, their personal view of the world and society etc.<br /><br />Then, this can lead to sociologibabble, careerist assertions mimicking deeper understanding about things simply observed.<br />And that, in turn, I think, masks the real challenge of understanding genetics and its role (or not) in the life and evolution of organisms and ecosystems.Ken Weisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02049713123559138421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-2699638876501970512019-12-18T07:24:17.464-05:002019-12-18T07:24:17.464-05:00It seems that you would want to write extensively ...It seems that you would want to write extensively here about the writings of E.O. Wilson, and of the evolutionary psychobiologists who have come after him. People engaging socially are signalling cooperation, asserting power and dominance, seeking broader access to resources, those being mainly food and mates, establishing norms based on genetic innate values such as fairness, purity, loyalty and caring, and enforcing those norms. Genetics is hard science, and the shifting of gene frequency through evolution is a theoretical grounding that can support many disciplines. The biggest weakness I can see in social studies wanting to be sciences is they just make shit up - blast off some epistemological eruption of nonsense and expect anyone to take them seriously. That's postmodernism, critical theory - all lead to nonsensical outcomes (biological males decimating women's sports, for example) and are unable to make insightful predictions about anything.Kirk Maxeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11864529687578909475noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-15818684994268617202019-12-17T21:52:09.353-05:002019-12-17T21:52:09.353-05:00Yes, good thoughts!Yes, good thoughts!Ken Weisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02049713123559138421noreply@blogger.com