Sorry to all for the late posting of this week’s roundup. I returned home late last night to find that we are behind on our bills and as a consequence we have been left with no internet connection (and only terrestrial TV!). Looks like I’ll be getting to know the staff at Starbucks over the next couple of days.
This week’s roundup includes, as ever, a diversity of article and media posts from throughout the blogosphere. Read up on MPs’ responses to the Libel Reform Campaign, a collection of essays by and about the late, great Carl Sagan, and the scientific discoveries and controversies of 2009. Also, as usual I have included a handful of pithier articles that took my interest this week, which I suppose I have no real reason for thinking will take yours, but here’s to hoping.
Libel Reform: Which MPs Are Doing Their Jobs?
2010 will see the formal appeal hearing of the Singh v BCA case, which as most of you will know has been a catalyst for the Libel Reform campaign, which I strongly urge you to sign up to if you have not done so already. Rebecca of Skepchick has been busy writing to MPs and urging them to do the same. You can read their responses and find out how each political party is shaping up on the issue overall, here.
[Via Skepchick]
Dolphins Proven to be Smarter Than Chimps and Second to Humans in Intelligence
Dolphins have reportedly been found to be more intelligent than chimpanzees. Not only this, but according to one teacher of ethics at Loyola Marymount University, the extent of their intelligence is such that it is morally wrong for us to kill or captivate them. I am unsure of how he has distinguished the level of intelligence at which to draw the moral line, but it does remind me of an interesting point made by Professor Richard Dawkins that was something along the lines of ‘the evolution of human ethics has led us to give our differences ever-less reverence. It is perhaps a natural progression that this may one day extend to all animals, as we are after all, all related.’
[Via Derren Brown Blog]
Can An Atheist Unity Convention Happen?
Activist Margaret Downey recently suggested (not for the first time) at an annual meeting of atheist group leaders, that an Atheist Unity Convention, to which representatives of all Atheist organisations would be invited to attend, would be an invaluable instrument for furthering the movement; an area that is of great importance to me and which does not, I feel, get enough mention. Is Downey’s dream doable? Perhaps not. Professor Richard Dawkins can often be heard to say that organising Atheists is comparable to herding cats, and this is why.
[Via Friendly Atheist]
An Inspiring Collection of Carl Sagan Essays Now Online
The late, great Carl Sagan was and is an inspiration to so many. I was too young to watch ‘Cosmos’ when it was first aired, but although the special effects may be a little dated, the subject matter remains incredible. Now, an inspiring collection of articles by and about Sagan are available for all to read in one handy location.
[Via James Randi Educational Foundation]
I Feel Sorry For This Kid
Unfortunately not an altogether unusual occurrence; the other day a child was pulled out of a school trip to a museum at the request of his creationist parents, who also explained in their letter to the school that their child’s ‘Rock and Minerals’ essay would conform to the teachings of the Bible rather than his textbooks, and so may not [need to be] five pages long.
[Via Pharyngula]
The Year in Science
Last year would have been an unbearable one for creationist, television-watching UK residents. As 2009 marked the anniversaries of Charles Darwin’s birth and best known publication (separate anniversaries; he was clever but come on!), you could hardly channel surf without retaining information on the theory of evolution. But 2009 brought about its own scientific breakthroughs and controversies too. Listen here, to an hour long discussion between Chris Mooney and Lawrence Krauss on the scientific discoveries and science policy issues to arise from the past year.
[Via Richard Dawkins]
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