The inimitable Thony C. corrects PZ Myers’ abysmal knowledge of history: The three periods of ‘lift’ that he identifies were anything but periods of secular thought. Contrary to the popular claims about logos replacing mythos in ancient Greece and this being the reason for the birth of Greek science, if you actually look at the… Continue reading History for Squid Lovers
Tara Smith is all over this: Seriously. I’m not even sure what to do with this. From the wording of the abstract, it very much appears that the authors are Christians–so are they saying that Jesus could not have miraculously cured a bacterial infection, but he could have done so for flu? Or that the… Continue reading Biblical Fever = Influenza?
I am reminded of Charles Darwin’s comment about his close friendship with his fellow magistrate and constant dining companion, Brodie Innes, the vicar of Downe. Darwin said that on one memorable occasion they found themselves in agreement and spent the rest of the meal in astonished silence, convinced that the other was very ill! From… Continue reading Quote for the Week…
Sixty years ago today Pope Pius XII issued the first and to date only papal encyclical treating a scientific theory. Humani Generis adopted the Catholic Church’s position that the evolutionary origin of the human body was a legitimate area of scientific study, provided one reserved a special status for the human soul, as directly created… Continue reading On This Day . . .
Hesiod and the ‘mythographers’ had developed the method to understand the stories of the gods, but we know of no one before Herodotos who had tried to gather memories and documents together on such a scale to tell a connected story about the past. It was a very brave undertaking: the Persian Wars had finished… Continue reading Book Notes
