Sunspots 975

 Things I have spotted that may be of interest to others: 

Gizmodo reports on diamond batteries, which would hold a charge for hundreds of years, and not have the dangers of lithium batteries.

Science Alert reports on evidence for high intelligence in Cephalopods (relatives of octopi).

SciTechDaily discusses the prevalence of saber teeth in animals of the past, and why they arose in more than one lineage, and why they disappeared from the fossil record.

Northern cardinal males are known for their bright red plumage. However, as Popular Science and other outlets report, occasionally they are yellow, not red.

Thanks for reading!

Sunspots 845

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to others*:

Finances: Apparently, some Amazon third-party sellers are

pressuring purchases to change negative reviews, according to Gizmodo.

Health: It shouldn't surprise anyone that the US has the worst healthcare among the top 10 industrialized nations. (Report in Relevant, Report in Gizmodo)

History: Gizmodo reports on the first known coins, which were made in China about 2600 years ago.

Humor: (or something) Gizmodo reports on a dishwasher than doesn't need to be directly attached to the plumbing.

Science: Gizmodo reports that birds sometimes pluck hair from animals and use it in nest-building.

Gizmodo also reports that giraffes have an elaborate social structure, on a par with those of elephants and chimpanzees.

Gizmodo tells us that methane is a big contributor to global climate change.

The Scientist reports that scientists have been able to send mouse sperm by regular mail. Such sperm were able to fertilize mouse eggs.

The Scientist also reports that many species of animals (including humans) have genes from species that are now extinct. Examples include dogs and pigs.

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.

*I try not to include items that require a password or fee to view.

Thanks for reading.

 

Sunspots 789

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: Relevant interviews N. T. Wright about the pandemic.

The US, under the Trump administration, is admitting far fewer persecuted Christians from other countries than it has for the last 40 years, according to Christianity Today.

Environment: California condors are making a comeback, thanks to efforts to save them, according to Gizmodo.

Science: The Scientist reports that innovative species of birds are more likely to prosper. The article mentions some amazing examples of bird innovation.

The Scientist also tells us that social isolation can have a detrimental effect on the brain.

Gizmodo reports on studies of Andean condors, which can soar, without flapping their wings, for as much as 100 miles.


The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.

Thanks for looking!

Sunspots 788

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to

someone else:

Christianity:A solid article in Christianity Today about racism and oppression in general.

Computing: Microsoft has instructions on how to disable OneDrive.


Environment: The Huffington Post points out that President Trump has destroyed far more monuments than all the protesters combined.

Democrats in a House Committee on Climate change are taking their subject seriously, but maybe too seriously, according to Gizmodo. Should we really block out part of the sunlight that falls on earth?

Health: The Scientist on whether COVID-19 is spread through the air more than we had thought.
Gizmo also has an article on spreading. There are questions.

Politics: (and education) NPR and Gizmodo report that foreign students in the US are being told that, if their college goes entirely on-line, they have to leave the country. Not exactly welcoming people who often end up as very productive members of society.

Science: From Gizmodo: The song of a common species of bird has quickly changed, apparently as the new song has been copied by other birds.

Gizmodo also reports on the discovery of a new "spot" on Jupiter.

Gizmodo also reports on the death of hundreds of elephants in Botswana.

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.
Thanks for looking!

Sunspots 784

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: Sojourners tells us what the basic responsibilities of white Christians are, in these times.

Computing: Listverse tells us about 10 persistent myths about high-tech devices.


Environment: Gizmodo reports that COVID-19 is being used as an excuse to roll back various environmental regulations.
 
Finance: FiveThirtyEight analyzes the May jobs report.

Politics: FivethirtyEight argues that President Trump's use of force to break up a peaceful demonstration, for the sake of a photo opportunity, violates deeply held American values, not just Presidential norms.

FiveThirtyEight discusses the effectiveness (and not) of fact checking.

FiveThirtyEight also gives us data on prosecutions of police for alleged misconduct. There aren't a lot of prosecutions, and many of them don't result in conviction.


(and Sports) FiveThirtyEight says that support for Colin Kaepernick, NFL quarterback who refused to stand during the national anthem, four years ago, has significantly increased.

FiveThirtyEight also discusses what protests accomplish. 

Science: (and Christianity) An article in Christianity Today on the importance of birds to us, and, apparently, to God.


One-celled algae evolved into multi-celled organisms in less than a year, under selection pressure from a predator.

 
The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.

Thanks for looking!

Sunspots 776

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

The Arts: A fantasy picture about conquering the Corona virus. 

Speculative Faith lists and describes the most original fantastic stories of all time.

Christianity: Christianity Today reports that Easter Sunday set a record for YouVersion (A Bible application) use. Over 40 million used it that day.

Environment: Gizmodo reports that the Trump administration continues to try to remove restrictions on the release of Mercury into the environment, based on a flawed analysis.

Health: FiveThirtyEight realizes that Dr. Anthony Fauci actually predicted the situation we are in now, over a year ago.

(And Etiquette) A Gizmodo writer suggests that the curtsy be brought back, as a form of mutual acknowledgement.

A FiveThirtyEight writer tells us why we have reacted more strongly, as a world, to COVID-19 than to Ebola, Swine Flu, or SARS.

NPR says that we don't need to disinfect our groceries after we bring them in.

Humor: (or something) NPR, and other outlets, report that jigsaw puzzle sales are way up.


Politics: FiveThirtyEight on why Bernie Sanders lost to Joe Biden.

On March 13th, President Trump announced a number of steps toward fighting the COVID-9 virus. NPR reports on how these initiatives are going, a month later. Basically, the government is doing the things it can do itself, but the joint private-public initiatives that were promised haven't materialized, mostly because the White House, apparently, made them up.

Science: To quote the Gizmodo article's title: "Birds are judging you by your outfit."

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.

Thanks for looking!

Sunspots 747

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to

someone else:

Christianity: BioLogos has an article discussing some great scientists who were Christians.

Education: Grammarphobia on the words "ottoman," "settee," "divan" and "sofa."

Environment: NPR and other sources report that North American bird populations have declined significantly in the last 50 years.

Health: NPR reports on research that indicates that taking brisk walks can relieve common types of pain.

Politics: FiveThirtyEight discusses how the religious right is driving political liberals people away from Christianity.

FiveThirtyEight also shows that  moderates, independents, and undecideds are not the same.

Catherine Rampell complains that neither Republicans or Democrats are paying attention to the experts.

Science: From Knowable: mountain chickadees are able to remember at least 80,000 seeds they have stored. Birds with better memories are more likely to survive the winter.

NPR reports on how relatively easy it is to print out DNA sequences (using a 3D printer that emits DNA sequences), and the possible dangers of this technology.

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.
 
Thanks for looking!

Sunspots 696

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: Weekend Fisher lets the Gospel of Mark tell us what it is about, and how it is structured.

Michael Gerson, of the Washington Post, attacks the hypocrisy, and political wrong-headedness, of the adulation some evangelical leaders have for President Trump.

Finance: (and health, and politics) NBC News, and other outlets, report that an Associated Press investigation shows that President Trump's claim, in May, that drug prices would be falling in two weeks, was false. Drug prices have been rising, unfortunately.

Science: Gizmodo asks if perfect memory would be a blessing or a handicap.

FiveThirtyEight reports that we are bad at being able to tell whether another person is lying or not.

Scientific American on why nicotine is so addictive.

And Scientific American says that cats aren't really very likely to catch rats.

And Scientific American also reports on the largest birds that ever lived.


Sports: Two women will be (and already have been) broadcasting NFL football games for Amazon.

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, I believe, it is public domain. I also believe that it was first used in Sunspots, 13 years ago today. Thanks for looking!

Thanks for looking!

Young-earth creationism and the kinds of animals

Genesis 1:20 God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of sky.” 1:21 God created the large sea creatures, and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind. God saw that it was good. 1:22 God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 1:23 There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.
1:24 God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures after their kind, livestock, creeping things, and animals of the earth after their kind”; and it was so. 1:25 God made the animals of the earth after their kind, and the livestock after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind. God saw that it was good. 

7:1 Yahweh said to Noah, “Come with all of your household into the ship, for I have seen your righteousness before me in this generation. 7:2 You shall take seven pairs of every clean animal with you, the male and his female. Of the animals that are not clean, take two, the male and his female. 7:3 Also of the birds of the sky, seven and seven, male and female, to keep seed alive on the surface of all the earth. 7:4 In seven days, I will cause it to rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights. Every living thing that I have made, I will destroy from the surface of the ground.”
7:5 Noah did everything that Yahweh commanded him. (World English Bible, public domain.)

Young-earth creationists, of which Answers in Genesis is the most prominent organization, believe that there was a world-wide flood, occurring about 2348 BC, and that the land animals, including land-based birds, have all descended from the animals that Noah and his family had in the ark with them.

Saving all of the animals causes what seems to be an insurmountable problem for young-earth creationists. How did all of these creatures fit on the ark, and how was it possible to feed them? The answer, from Answers in Genesis, is that there were about 137 kinds of animals, and all of the types we have today descended from them. (This doesn't include insects -- at least some young-earth creationists believe that they weren't taken on the ark. Another estimate from Answers in Genesis is that there were about 1500 kinds of animals on the ark. I'm not clear on why the difference, although the larger estimate is said to have included "flying creatures." Perhaps the lower estimate doesn't include them.) It is doubtful that the Genesis word usually translated "kind" corresponds to any of the categories used by today's taxonomists. Young-earth creationists do not claim that it does.

How many species of animals are there now?
This source, citing an authoritative textbook, says that there are currently 5,416 species of mammals on earth. (This presumably includes water-living mammals, which, according to young-earth creationists, were mostly or entirely not found on the ark. The Answers in Genesis belief is that extinct animals from ancient times, such as the saber-toothed tiger, would have descended from animals on the ark, too.)

This source indicates that, until recently, it was thought that there were 9,000-10,000 species of birds, but that this number is an underestimate, and that there are perhaps twice that many. This source indicates that there are about 7,000 species of amphibians. This source indicates that there are about 10,793 species of reptiles. (This research article proposes that there were 11 kinds of turtle on the ark, which have given rise to 313 living species, and 3 kinds of alligator/crocodile, giving rise to 25 current species.) Using 9,000 as the number of species of birds, and 4,800 as the number of species of land mammals, there are about 31,500 species of birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles now on earth. There have been some extinctions within recorded history -- dodos, moas, the marsupial tiger, dinosaurs -- yes, Answers in Genesis proposes that dinosaur kinds were on the ark -- and others, which would add to the number of species that must be accounted for. Young-earth creationists believe that no more than about 1,500 kinds of animals became 31,500, or more, species, within the last 4,366 years. That means that, on average, each of those 1,500 kinds evolved into 21 species over that period, and that number is probably an underestimate. That's an astounding claim!

Here's a brief statement of the Answers in Genesis position, with a diagram of part of the "cat kind." The diagram indicates that the cat kind of animals, on the ark, evolved into lions, house cats, jaguars and cheetahs. (And, presumably, servals, ocelots, leopards, tigers, including saber tooth tigers, and more.)

R. Joel Duff has written about these beliefs of young-earth creationists, and finds them wanting, for a number of reasons. Some of my criticisms, listed below, are derived from his article:

1) Answers in Genesis, which rejects evolutionary mechanisms for the origin of large groups of organisms, over long periods of time, wants us to believe that evolutionary mechanisms are responsible for an astounding unfolding of many species, over a few thousand years. Answers in Genesis does not say "evolutionary mechanisms" much, or at all, but they are really relying on natural selection for the unfolding of species from ancestral kinds.
2) One criticism of main-stream evolutionary thought, by young-earth creationists, is that some fossil links are missing. But there are no known fossils, from the last 4,366 years, of any of the proposed species explosions after the Ark landed. Furthermore, cave art doesn't show such transitional forms. They are missing!
3) The Bible seems to describe lions, and other animals of Bible times, as if they looked and acted as they do today. Samson encountered a lion in about 1,100 BC, so the cat kind, according to Answers in Genesis, would have diversified to about what it is today in a mere 1,300 years or so. Is that possible? If it is, why haven't animals continued to expand the number of species up until the present day, or why did evolution stop at lions, 3,000 or so years ago, and not continue cat diversification?
4) There is no observational evidence from ancient literature for this explosive diversification.
5) Duff points out that scientific reasoning persuaded Answers in Genesis that there was not room in the Ark for all of the species we now have. The idea of rapid speciation after the flood is a new idea, not one that ancient Biblical scholars got from the text of Genesis. It has come about mostly, or entirely, because of the realization, by young-earth creationists, that it would have been impossible for Noah's family to house, feed, and clean up after 30,000 or so animal species within the dimensions of the Ark. In other words, young-earth creationists, who often accuse Christians of other persuasions about origins, that they are putting science ahead of a plain reading of the Bible, are in fact doing exactly that. See here.
6) This is a matter of culture and esthetics, I guess, rather than a logical objection, but what would Answers in Genesis have us do with all the Bible story picture books that show giraffes, zebras, lions, tigers and other animals, either with Adam and Eve in Eden, or on the Ark with Noah? Do they want us to replace these with pictures of their own inventions, the ancestors of the kinds? (Added June 8, 2022: The answer is "yes." see here for an AiG statement on this subject.)
7) Are we to believe that the names Adam gave to the animals would shortly be outdated, because of rapid evolutionary processes? (In most of the Old Testament, including Genesis, the names of people were chosen carefully, and matched the person's perceived character. Adam may have done that in naming the animals.)
8) Dogs have been artificially selected for thousands of years, but they are still dogs. Why, then, should we believe that natural selection would bring about an explosion of many species from an ancestral dog kind, in a few thousand years?
9) If hyperevolution was responsible for turning 137, 1500, or some other relatively small number of species (or kinds) into over 30,000 after the Ark landed, wouldn't it also have been responsible for rapid diversification before the Flood? If that had happened, wouldn't it have multiplied the kinds considerably?

Thanks for reading. For a chart showing many of the strengths and weaknesses of several views of origins held by Christians, see here. (All views of origins have weaknesses -- young-earth creationism isn't the only one that does!) For "What's wrong with young-earth creationism?" see here. For evidence that at least one of the important Bible scholars of the past, St. Augustine, did not necessarily believe that the earth is only a few thousand years old, see here.

Addendum, September 5, 2018: the Naturalis Historia blog discusses the idea that dinosaurs and humans lived at the same time, and points out several problems with that idea. 

October 26, 2018: I recently saw a post on the Bill Nye vs. Ken Ham debate, held in 2014, on the Gospel and Evolution blog. The reaction to the debate is of considerable interest, but this statement is especially pertinent to the subject of the post you are reading: "Ken Ham didn’t seem to have a problem at all with a 1,000 or so 'kinds' undergoing speciation since his alleged global flood 4,000 years ago to become the millions of species alive on the earth today, not to mention the billions that have lived and become extinct."

Thanks for reading.

Added November 30, 2018: A post by Naturalist Historia (R. Joel Duff's blog) discusses the adoption of evolutionary mechanisms in the explanations given by Answers in Genesis. 

Added December 31, 2018: David Heddle, of "He Lives" also writes about the problem that the large number of species raises for Mr. Ham and his followers. 

Added January 18, 2019: Naturalis Historia discusses horses, and related species, and examines what the Bible says about horses, and concludes that it's not possible for all horse types (including extinct ones) to have come from a single pair. 

Added March 5, 2019: R. Joel Duff has analyzed articles by adherents of Answers in Genesis, and, again, finds the hyper-evolution thesis to be spectacularly unbelievable. (In fact, Duff quotes one AiG author, who states that ordinary evolutionary processes could not have been responsible for the amazing number of bird species of the finch kind, if they all descended from one kind, after the Flood.) Here's one of Duff's articles. It has links to an AiG related publication.

July 18, 2019. This blog post was edited somewhat, including the addition of criticism 9.

August 20, 2019. See this post for more on the subject.

May 19, 2020. For more on proposed rapid speciation, from AiG and other Young-Earth Creationists, see here.

May 26, 2020. An article, published in Answers Research Journal, an organ of Answers in Genesis, and authored by important YEC scientists, says this: "In short, the YEC model proposes significant amounts of morphological change in a window of time that, by comparison with evolution, is extremely short."

July 18, 2022: Todd C. Wood, a young-earth creationist with solid science credentials, reacts to some who are calling Ken Ham, head of Answers in Genesis, an evolutionist. He is sometimes called that because of his belief in hyperevolution.

Sunspots 603

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

The Arts: Relevant reports on some amazing sculpture made from paper.

Christianity: A Relevant article says that the idea that we have a hole in our heart that only God can fill is dangerous.

Relevant also examines the idea of the "war on Christmas."

BioLogos analyzes the theology of Dr. Strange.


Computing: Gizmo's Freeware tells us how to download the Microsoft Solitaire Collection for iOs and Android devices.

Gizmo's Freeware also lists the top 50 games for Windows, released in the last 10 years. Most of these are also available for other platforms.

Education: National Public Radio reports on the benefits of bilingual education.

History: Listverse tells us about 10 diseases that had a profound effect on history.

Humor: A video of 11,000 dominoes falling.


Politics: (and other things) Benjamin L. Corey says that fake news isn't the problem -- it's that people believe fake news, because they want to.

National Public Radio reports that the military has been discharging thousands of veterans who suffer from various emotional an cognitive disorders, resulting from combat, in such a way that they can't receive all the benefits of those honorably discharged. And tried to cover this up.

Science: National Public Radio also reports on the question of what birds hear when they listen to bird songs.






Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 462

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:
The Arts: A four minute, 23 second performance of Leroy Anderson's Typewriter Symphony, with a real typewriter. (I know, some of you probably don't know what a typewriter is.) It's by a Spanish-speaking group, but that doesn't matter.
Computing: National Public Radio reports on those ubiquitous customer surveys -- how and why.
Politics: (or something) Linkedin has a post on how to get hired by Google, or any company.
Science: Wired reports on a person who has made some amazing videos of flocks of birds in flight, and discusses bird flock action. One brief video is included.
Wired also reports on the possibility that astronomers may be able to observe a gas cloud being "eaten" by our galaxy's central black hole.
And Wired has some splendid photos of objects in space.


Image source (public domain)

The best science of 2012, from Nature

One can make a good argument that Nature is the most important science periodical in the world. Among the articles published in it was the famous less than two-page article by James Watson and Francis Crick, announcing the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA. That article includes this priority establishing sentence: "It has not escaped our notice that the specific pairing we have postulated immediately suggests a possible copying mechanism for the genetic material."

Nature has done us a service, by selecting from the developments in 2012. The journal has published several items, as follows:

The most scientifically interesting photos of 2012, including the crystal structure of caffeine, the smallest reptile ever known, and others.

Reports, in Nature, of work reported in other periodicals, but interesting, including:

A study indicating that birds line their nests with cigarette butts as a means of repelling parasites.

The construction of a jellyfish-like entity from rat muscle cells, complete with a video of the entity swimming.

The discovery of some unusual sponges in the Mediterranean, with a video.

A study, indicating that dark matter actually exists. See here for the Wikipedia's article on the subject.

How it has proved possible to communicate with people in a vegetative state.

Articles in Nature, itself, on interesting subjects, such as:

What we have learned from 50 years of studying people with the two halves of their brains separated. (Lots!)

There's a lot more. Thanks for reading. Read Nature!

Baby parrots have unique "names" which function like human names

I was amazed to read some reports on research by a Karl Berg, and his group, from Cornell University, that indicates that baby parrots are given names by their parents, and modify these slightly, so that each parrot has a unique sound sequence that identifies the animal, much like "John Jones, Jr." might identify a human individual.

Here is the report in Science Now, and here in Nature News blog. The reports are readable, and interesting, and both of them include a short video. Science and Nature are the two most important scientific periodicals in English.

Thanks for reading!

Perspectives: Christianity & Science, Mar 2003

Unfortunately, the American Scientific Affiliation is not an organization that is widely known. Too bad. This organization, of and for evangelical scientists, has existed for several decades, and publishes a quarterly journal, Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith. The articles, book reviews, and letters in that publication are posted on-line for public access after a delay of several months.

The March, 2003 issue is available. There are several articles, including the following (articles are in .pdf format):
"Looking to the Birds: A Perspective on the Interpretation of Nature," by David Lahti is hard to classify, but it's a splendid meditation on God and nature. The birds described are African weaverbirds. Lahti quotes from, among others, C. S. Lewis, John Bunyan, Søren Kierkegaard and John Calvin, as well as citing or quoting several scientific sources.

"Miracles, Intelligent Design, and God-of-the-Gaps," by Jack Collins and "The Panda’s Thumb: Design and Optimality from Plato to Endo," by Richard Thornhill, are important contributions to the discussion of Intelligent Design. Thornhill argues that, in ancient times, design was not believed to always result in perfection, hence minimizing one of the arguments against ID.

Carol Hill and Art Hill (unrelated, so far as I know) have an exchange of letters on whether Noah's flood was world-wide or not.

There are other items which should also be of interest.