37
POPSWhy The Loudest are Often the Most Wrong This classic paper by Kruger and Dunning, Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments , examines the psychological reasons for the unfortunately common correlation between ignorance and confidence. We argue that when people are incompetent in the strategies they adopt to achieve success and satisfaction, they suffer a dual burden: Not only do they reach erroneous conclusions and make unfortunate choices, but their incompetence robs them of the ability to realize it. Instead, like Mr. Wheeler, they are left with the mistaken impression that they are doing just fine. As Miller (1993) perceptively observed in the quote that opens this article, and as Charles Darwin (1871) sagely noted over a century ago, "ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge." ( PDF here .)
36
POPSAtheists Need to Chill Michael Shermer makes a point that needs to be made. Atheists need to remember what they stand for , not merely what they are against . Ridicule and contempt have no place in science, and haters should not tarnish its reputation by association. In the words of the greatest consciousness raiser of the 20th century, Martin Luther King, Jr., in his epic "I Have a Dream" speech: "In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline." If atheists do not want theists to prejudge them in a negative light, then they must not do unto theists the same.
35
POPS25 Greatest Science Books of All Time The Origin of Species (1859) Darwin's masterwork is, undeniably, The Origin of Species , in which he introduced his theory of evolution by natural selection. Prior to its publication, the prevailing view was that each species had existed in its current form since the moment of divine creation and that humans were a privileged form of life, above and apart from nature. Darwin's theory knocked us from that pedestal. Wary of a religious backlash, he kept his ideas secret for almost two decades while bolstering them with additional observations and experiments. The result is an avalanche of detail—there seems to be no species he did not contemplate—thankfully delivered in accessible, conversational prose. A century and a half later, Darwin's paean to evolution still begs to be heard: "There is grandeur in this view of life," he wrote, that "from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved."
22
POPSUnintelligent Design At this point, 30 years after the Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman and his late collaborator Amos Tversky started documenting a rash of fallacies in human reasoning, the idea that the human mind would be "perfect in His image" is as outdated (and narcissistic) as the idea that the solar system would revolve around the planet earth. The only theory that can really make sense of these needless imperfections is Darwin's theory of natural selection, which holds that humans (and all other life forms) evolve through a blind process known as descent-with-modification, in which new life forms represent random modifications of earlier life forms -- with no central overseer to guide the process. Such a random process can, over time, lead populations of creatures to become more adapted to their environment, but it is also vulnerable to getting stuck, in the sort of good-enough-but-not-perfect solutions that mathematicians call local maxima.
21
POPSSimple reason helps males evolve more quickly “There’s a health aspect in figuring out differences in gene expression between the sexes,” said Wayne. “To make a male or a female, even in a fly, it’s all about turning things on -- either in different places or different amounts or at different times -- because we all basically have the same starting set of genes.”
20
POPSRare words 'mutate' faster than common ones. I suppose if people don't use a word it is forgotten, or badly remembered. There was a great shift in language in Britain after the Black Plague. Labor became expensive and people who once were 'common folk' acquired money, land, and assumed positions of power. French that was spoken in the royal court, and was considered the 'official' language. This gave us many words describing end products, like beef, veal, and bacon, while words like calf,cow,and pig, which were in common use and concerned things that involved everyday farmers, and workers, The two dialects combining were a significant element in the evolution of the English language, because of the way it changed the frequency of word use.
19
POPSEvolution:24 myths and misconceptions It doesn't matter if people do not understand evolution "Survival of the fittest" justifies "everyone for themselves" Evolution is limitlessly creative Evolution cannot explain traits such as homosexuality Creationism provides a coherent alternative to evolution Creationist myths: Evolution must be wrong because the Bible is inerrant Accepting evolution undermines morality Evolutionary theory leads to racism and genocide Religion and evolution are incompatible Half a wing is no use to anyone Evolutionary science is not predictive Evolution cannot be disproved so is not science Evolution is just so unlikely to produce complex life forms Evolution is an entirely random process Mutations can only destroy information, not create it Darwin is the ultimate authority on evolution The bacterial flagellum is irreducibly complex Yet more creationist misconceptions Evolution violates the second law of thermodynamics
19
POPSHumans are endangered while ignorant of truth and reality. There are a number of links,which are to different fields. Some information be fact, some can be philosophical, or speculative, but it will modify any opinion. Any fact doubted should be verified but these days people are learning to do that as a matter of course. If we're going to get out of this hole, we n eed a bigger ladder.
17
POPSWhat Evolution Left Behind On Humans Very interesting reading! Are you one of the 8% with an extra rib? Did you know about the Male Uterus? Or that some people still have a neck rib? Well worth reading the rest of the article.
16
POPSDarwin's entire works go online I love seeing amazing resources like this being made available online! I know bookchick clipped the pilot site for this a while back, but now all of Darwin's works are up.
16
POPSEvolution: 24 myths and misconceptions So here is New Scientist's guide to some of the most common myths and misconceptions about evolution.Everything is an adaptation produced by natural selection Natural selection is the only means of evolution Natural selection leads to ever-greater complexity Evolution produces creatures perfectly adapted to their environment Evolution always promotes the survival of species It doesn't matter if people do not understand evolution "Survival of the fittest" justifies "everyone for themselves" Evolution is limitlessly creative Evolution cannot explain traits such as homosexuality Creationism provides a coherent alternative to evolution
15
POPSWill the Clash of Faiths Go on Forever? Religious conflict rages on, despite claims we live in a "secular age" -- two authors explore the clash of beliefs. This article reviews: Divided by Faith: Religious Conflict and the Practice of Toleration in Early Modern Europe by Benjamin J. Kaplan God's Crucible: Islam and the Making of Europe, 570-1215 by David Levering Lewis
15
POPSThe Gay Animal Kingdom Didn't god make these animals too? So much for the "abomination" theory. But then, which is true, real life facts, or a bible written by 1st century goat herders?
15
POPSHow Darwin won the evolution race Thoughts of money or women might have filled lesser heads. Alfred Russel Wallace was made of different stuff, however. He began thinking about disease and famine; about how they kept human populations in check; and about recent discoveries indicating that the earth's age was vast. How might these waves of death, repeated over aeons, influence the make-up of different species, he wondered?
Most Pops
see Most Pops
3
Clips
Latest Pops
Latest Comments
Tags
Print
Save
Turn on live update