Month: February 2011

Rod Dreher interviews scientist Eric Plutzer, co-author of a survey of U.S. public high school biology teachers. Plutzer explains why teaching evolution matters:

All nations are increasingly confronted with important policy choices that are informed by science: Should we mandate vaccines for all school children? Should we take costly steps to reduce carbon emissions? How can we most effectively reduce the incidence of chronic diseases?  For ordinary citizens to play a meaningful role in democracies tackling these issues, they need to be excellent critical thinkers concerning science.

They should not blindly accept scientific findings, whether they come from academia, government or industry. But neither should they believe that scientific debates are simply clashes of opinion and values. A healthy appreciation of the nature of science, the persuasiveness of replication, and respect for the necessary expertise is also essential. When teachers tell their students that they can have their own opinions about the validity of evolutionary biology, they are sending a dangerous message to our future citizens.

Plutzer wants to encourage people of faith to study evolution and to find "a spiritual connection in their study of nature." He quotes Darwin himself:

There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.

Tony Woodlief, a strong believer, freely and eloquently admits his fears:

I am a parent with clouded eyes and a scorched heart, which means that every day I battle not just the world but myself, and it is for them, has always been for them; without them I would likely founder. The rooms where they sleep have crosses and icons and they are prayed in more than any other rooms I traverse, and this more in desperation than confidence, a sense that I am not enough, can never be enough, that one more whispered prayer, a cross over the bed, a blessing muttered over their sleeping heads can fill the gap, fill their hearts with what is good, so there is no room left for the great black empty of not God.

All of this is an admission that I haven’t enough confidence in the intellect, in theirs or mine, that with enough verses memorized and catechisms embraced they can reason their ways to heaven.

 

William Easterly tracks development over time on a single block, from "wilderness, to brothels, to Apple store":

Today this block (Greene Street between Houston and Prince) is part of Soho and one of the wealthiest blocks in the city (and the world). Its history had been a series of unexpected events involving many actors, from Nicholas Bayard to the yellow fever mosquito to Anthony Arnoux to James Bogardus to Jane Jacobs to George Maciunas, few or none of whom could have anticipated the outcomes of their actions. Like many other examples, Soho illustrates that a lot of economic development is a surprise.

"A Snap Quiz in Body Language" by David Wagoner appeared in The Atlantic in November, 2004:

We can't hear what they're saying, but that man
Is holding that woman in his arms. Your assignment
Is to deduce their thoughts from what they do.
They've left no apparent space between their bodies.
It could be called a close embrace, but notice:
Her arms are at her sides, her hands relaxed,
Her face impassive, while he's whispering
Something in her ear. His upper torso
Is tilted slightly forward. Hers is yielding,
But not in a way suggesting sweet surrender.
Is this a seduction scene? Is she being held
For questioning? Should she call a lawyer?
He's looking into her eyes now. How wide open
Would you say hers are? What does he see in them?
If he were to let her go, class, what would she do?

(Image by photographer Christopher Jonassen, who "takes photos of abused, distressed frying pans in a way that makes them look like perfect ancient planets.")

Tracy Clark-Flory interviews author Deborah Lutz about her new book on sex in the Victorian era:

Amazingly enough, prostitution was legal during the Victorian period. There were tons of brothels all over the major cities of England, and of all different kinds. There were lots of flagellation brothels; these were places where primarily men would go to be whipped by women or by men. There were also gay male brothels. You could go to a park in London at night, pick up what were called the "park whores" and give them a very small amount of money to have sex openly in the park. I also write about gay "cruising," which was quite common. If you knew the right place to go and knew the right signals, you could pick up a man on the street and have sex in an alley.

For added bonus, Judy Berman points to a video game hosted by the McCord Museum in Montreal that tests your Victorian manners.

Wired leads a tour. Above, Kraft Foods Distribution Center Springfield Underground Springfield, Missouri:

Nearly every ounce of Kraft cheese product—from Velveeta to Kraft Singles—spends part of its life in a 680-pound container inside this 400,000-square-foot subterranean fridge. It’s not about aging, it’s about cheap storage: Moving refrigeration underground saves massive amounts of energy, since the temperature 100 feet down is a constant 58 degrees Fahrenheit. An aboveground pump sends 13,000 gallons of chilled brine through the system every day, keeping the warehouse at a cool 36 degrees. The Kraft facility is actually part of a massive complex that started as a limestone mine in 1946. (The mine is still operational, but a substantial earthen buffer shields the employees of Kraft and other companies from regular explosions.)

Fineman argues that the strategy is a national one – aimed directly at the organizing and funding force behind the Democratic party. Damning quote from Hailey Barbour in the piece. Money quote:

The GOP strategic aim is simple enough. If they can abolish union collective-bargaining rights, they can undermine the automatic payment of dues to the public-employee union treasuries. Shrinking those treasuries and reducing the union structure and membership will make it harder for Democrats and their allies to communicate directly with workers.

And under the infamous Citizens United Supreme Court decision, unions — like corporations — are free to spend as much as they want directly advocating for a candidate. That makes the math even more urgent as the 2012 election season approaches.

Rotterdam, Netherlands, 7.35 am

Joel Cohen takes note of our rapid growth:

It took until about 1800 or 1825 to put the first billion people on the planet. We added the most recent billion in 12 or 13 years. We anticipate two billion more by 2050. 

Clark Estes mashes up various parodies: