Quicklinks: 1-8 January 2023

In the early years of my blog, I occasionally did a “quicklinks” post which just included links to items of interest and a brief description. I didn’t do too many and that sort of short interaction was later taken over by Twitter. In an attempt to boost my activity, if not full-length posts, I thought I might try doing a weekly set of quicklinks that I’ve shared on Twitter. It will not necessarily include everything I see and share there but, hopefully, the most interesting and informative links.

The Royal Society reports that Alfred Russel Wallace, co-discoverer of evolution by natural selection, was born yesterday in 1823.

Alfred Russel Wallace FRS was born #OnThisDay in 1823. He independently conceived of the theory of #evolution by natural selection and his work prompted Charles Darwin to publish 'On the Origin of Species'. Wallace laid the foundations of modern biogeography. pic.twitter.com/IQNxoZuiAF

— The Royal Society (@royalsociety) January 8, 2023

I have yet to read the original article, but, apparently, ancient tools discovered in Brazil, which were previously considered to be evidence of some of the first humans in South America, were likely created by capuchin monkeys.

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The problem with describing organisms as “higher” or “lower”

In my most recent publication, I was not happy with the use of the terms “higher” and “lower” when referring to various organisms but, despite my objections during draft editing, they were retained. However, I want to take this opportunity to state that these terms are the remnants of outdated beliefs, can lead to a poor understanding of biology and do not belong in scientific text. This issue has been addressed in blogs, online fora and the scientific literature (see references at the end).

Scientific literacy in South Africa

General science education in South Africa is in a terrible state. Recently, a survey was conducted among 1000 South Africans. They were asked 10 true or false questions about general science and, as Rapport reports (The article is in Afrikaans because the English versions only report on that article and are pathetic in comparison), the average South African only got five answers correct. These same questions were also asked in the United States where the average person got 6,5 questions correct. Since there is a lot of confusion over these questions I would like go through them, share the correct answer and briefly expand on it.

Why can’t atheists leave the religious alone?

Often you see the question come up, usually by a religious believer, of why atheists challenge other people’s beliefs. Shouldn’t we all be tolerant and just leave each other alone? I think you’ll find most atheists would be fairly happy with that state of affairs (it’s called secularism). That’s not to say they will be completely satisfied but at that point, where religion becomes a private matter, there will probably be far fewer clashes. I would still think they are wrong but I also think they should be free to believe what they will. Why, then, aren’t we at that point? Simply put it’s because religion is still so ingrained in society and shown such deference that it’s impossible to get away from it. It’s so tightly woven into society that at times it’s probably not even noticed.

Videos: Something serious and something fun

I’m really having trouble getting back into writing. In the meanwhile I’ll share two short clips to keep people entertained.

The first one is educational, but with cute animations, and explains what evolution is.

For second one we shoot way off the obscure side of entertainment for the fourth episode of Charlie the Unicorn. It’s not my favourite Charlie but it’s still entertaining.

Enjoy.

Quick links: Dawkins, religious freedom, blasphemy

It’s been a bit too long since I last posted but I just haven’t been finding time to write, today for example my Japanese started again and I never got around to all the revision I wanted to do. I do have some posts in mind but they take some time to write so to prevent this blog from stagnating I’m posting a few links to some things that you might find interesting.

First up there’s an interview with Richard Dawkins over in Playboy. It’s not the usual place you go for interviews with a well-known scientist and atheist but it does quite a good job.

Then just when I was finishing my post on religious freedom I came upon a similar piece written by Peter Singer. I’ve heard a lot about him but I haven’t seen any of his books in the shops.

Lastly I’ll share a piece about the effects of blasphemy laws. An 11-year-old girl from Pakistan could face the death penalty for supposedly burning a Qur’an. You can read the story by The Guardian or ABC News (on Yahoo!).

Children to be taught fact or faith?

The story of a South African science teacher getting reprimanded for teaching science, specifically evolution, has cause quite a stir. Apart from the many comments and related posts on News24 it was even noticed over in America. Naturally, it wound up in a local community paper, giving the views of various locals, where they asked whether schools should teach fact or faith. If you’re ever asking whether you should or shouldn’t teach facts then you’re probably in a lot of trouble.

Valentine’s day and free speech

Today is Valentine’s day. For many people it is a day to revel in the love one shares with another, regardless of race or gender. However it is also the day that a death threat was publicly issued. This death threat has been acted on yet the person responsible for it was never arrested. Today is the 23rd anniversary of the Ayatollah Khomeini’s fatwa calling for the death of novelist Salman Rushdie for writing the novel The Satanic Verses.

One might be tempted to think that after 23 years, and the death of Khomeni, that Rushdie can now live safely. One would be wrong. Just this year Salman Rushdie was intending to appear in India for the Jaipur Literary Festival. His trip was cancelled at the last minute as word came through that there would be an attempt to assassinate him and he felt that it would be irresponsible to put anyone else at risk. Furthermore, he wasn’t even allowed to speak via teleconferencing.