MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'dawkins'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:11:27 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4152155&cid=t_137732_136_f&fid=35302&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FWhitePebble%2F%7E3%2FcP50FqKtDSk%2F Image by PhOtOnQuAnTiQuE via Flickr I have assigned myself the task of listening to Bill Bryson‘s A Short History of Nearly Everything by the time of next Saturday night’s lecture at the Mercantile.This book sits currently (in my mental bookcase if not my physical bookcase) with Richard Dawkins and my fancy anniversary illustrated copy of The Origin of the Species. It continues my fascination with discovering how the world works. That is why I loved math: it was like suddenly being let in on the secrets of the universe. The fundamental theorem of calculus describes the whole universe. Book Crush: At Home by Bill Bryson (omnivoracious.com) Bill Bryson’s *At Home* (marginalrevolution.com) The Poetry of Science: Richard Dawkins and Neil deGrasse Tyson (3quarksdaily.com) ... white pebble blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4152155 Tue, 09 Nov 2010 01:22:56 +0100 4152155 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2778414&cid=t_137732_90_f&fid=36413&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dcscience.net%2F%3Fp%3D2165 Being interested in science communication, I was pleased when the BMJ asked me to review Unscientific America , by Chris Monney and Sheril Kirshenbaum. The BMJ provides a link that allows you access to the whole review. They have made very few changes from the submitted version, which is reproduced below (with live links in the text. I very soon discovered that the book had already caused ructions in the USA, as a result of its advocacy of appeasement of religious groups. In particular there was all out war with P.Z.Myers, whose very popular blog, Phayngula. documented the battle in detail). It is an American book through and through, and in the USA the biggest threat to reason comes from the far-right religious fundamentalists who preach young-earth creationism. It is said that 46% of U... DC's goodscience blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2778414 Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:08:19 +0100 2778414 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2442730&cid=t_137732_149_f&fid=35784&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FTheChemBlog%2F%7E3%2FDRGvr7wYy-Y%2F 3quarksdaily is having a contest for the best science writer in the internets and, being the type of person who looks for external gratification, I discovered someone nominated a post of mine in the comments section. I was delighted! Hooray for me, I thought. TODAY, however, their comments tell a very different story, indeed. One of gross puritanical bullshit. My post was un-nominated. Most likely because I’m on the cutting edge of science writing, producing a product that is nothing short of gonzo science journalism. As you know, I’m no stranger to not winning anything because I make real people hate the shit out of me and so I’d normally dismiss this outright, but the assholes that read 3quarks are the ones that drive BMWs, drink Starbucks out of their own cups and sit ... The Chem Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2442730 Fri, 29 May 2009 15:41:05 +0100 2442730 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2312614&cid=t_137732_107_f&fid=36672&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencebase.com%2Fscience-blog%2Fthe-dawkins-delusion.html On sibling site Sciencetext.com I talk tech, which often includes warning people about spams and scams and, of course phishing. So, it is with some embarrassment that I confess to being slightly caught off guard by a new twitter follower with the handle @richard_dawkins. He followed me first, a fact revealed by the excellent Topify service which emails you new followers and lets you reply to that email to follow them back. It was the weekend, I was busily adding science twitter types to my scientwist list and without double checking added what turns out to be a fake Richard Dawkins to the list (now removed, of course). Actually, the tweets from the fake Dicky, look quite interesting but the bio points to a web page that is simply an Amazon associate frontpage selling his various books so t... Sciencebase Science Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2312614 Mon, 30 Mar 2009 12:00:54 +0100 2312614 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2232798&cid=t_137732_87_f&fid=35052&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FWomensBioethicsBlog%2F%7E3%2FUQBQSqBTwq0%2Fare-you-possibilitarian-or-possibilian.html Tired of the blather between Dawkins and the Discovery Institute? A refreshing and amusing voice in the debate on is-there-God-or-an-afterlife, is neuroscientist and author David Eagleman, who explains that science has taught him that 1) there are so many possibilities out there, 2) that there is a new movement, Possibilitians, who are not certain about anything, 3) the bigger point is that we really don’t know what is going on, and 4) Science teaches you not to commit yourself to anything if there is not enough evidence.In his book, Sum: Forty Tales From the Afterlives, he imagines a variety of scenarios; here is an excerpt:"In the afterlife you discover that God understands the complexities of life. She had originally submitted to peer pressure when She structured Her universe like all... Women's Bioethics Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2232798 Wed, 04 Mar 2009 17:19:21 +0100 2232798 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2178778&cid=t_137732_88_f&fid=38203&url=http%3A%2F%2Fprecordialthump.medbrains.net%2F2009%2F02%2F11%2Fhappy-darwin-day%2F February 12th 2009 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of my favourite medical dropout, Charles Darwin. Darwin Day is a way of celebrating the great man’s contribution to science (The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online) and, more generally, the importance of science to humanity. “Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge; it is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science.” - Charles Darwin Be sure to have a celebratory bowl of primordial soup (!) while you watch Richard Dawkins‘ uncut interview with Randolph Nesse on evolutionary medicine (from  “The Genius of Charles Darwin“): [There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed... AEQUANIMITAS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2178778 Thu, 12 Feb 2009 01:22:58 +0100 2178778 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2073787&cid=t_137732_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F01%2Fdawkins-yearning-for-humanchimp-hybrid.html I am not sure why some materialists are so fervently anti human exceptionalism. I suspect they believe that by humbling us into believing our lives are no more important than that of animals, it would undermine Judeo/Christiam moral philosophy in general and theism in particular. Some too, I think, wish to have us sacrifice ourselves to "save the planet," in pursuit of the neo- nature worship that seems to be growing.This desire leads some materialists to yearn for scientists to find (or create) a human/chimpanzee hybrid that could interbreed with both species, and thereby "break the species" barrier. James Hughes yearned for such a hybrid to be manufactured through genetic engineering in Citizen Cyborg, because he wrote, it would prove humans are not special and undermine what he calls "h... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2073787 Fri, 02 Jan 2009 20:49:00 +0100 2073787 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1943275&cid=t_137732_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F11%2Frichard-dawkins-clear-thinking-oasis-is.html Biologist/atheist polemicist Richard Dawkins, whose WEB site is self-described as "a clear thinking oasis," seems to be having trouble in that department of late. First, in an interview with Ben Stein in Expelled, he claimed that it is an "intriguing possibility" that life on earth might have been "seeded" on the earth by space aliens, prompting me at the time to have some fun and accuse Dawkins of being a Raelian, since the dogma of that science cult is precisely the same as his "intriguing possibility." Now, Dawkins has, like some very strict religious fundamentalists, decried Harry Potter as being against his religion (of science). From the story: Richard Dawkins, the evolutionary biologist and "God Delusion" polemicist, recently offered a frightening glimpse of what might be called the... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1943275 Fri, 07 Nov 2008 21:38:00 +0100 1943275 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1696846&cid=t_137732_105_f&fid=36987&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FIvorKovicMd%2F%7E3%2F361198780%2F I started reading The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing and so far I think it is great. This book is actually a collection of pieces by the very best scientists and science writers selected by Richard Dawkins. I recommend it to anyone who finds science interesting and if you don’t find science interesting, listen to what Richard himself has to say to you in this short video. (Source: Ivor Kovic, M.D.) Ivor Kovic, M.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1696846 Sun, 10 Aug 2008 16:37:19 +0100 1696846 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1494471&cid=t_137732_85_f&fid=36194&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftesstermulo.com%2F2008%2F06%2F04%2Fthe-doubter%2F “Let me tell you why you’re here. You’re here because you know something. What you know you can’t explain, but you feel it. You’ve felt it your entire life, that there’s something wrong with the world. You don’t know what it is, but it’s there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad.” - Morpheus, The Matrix In as much as I believe that the topic of faith should not be shielded from the crucible of human reason, I’ve intently avoided talking or arguing about faith or the lack of it, except with a few trusted friends. From experience, I know it only ignites a series of heated arguments that almost always leads to exchange of below-the-belt comments and holier-than-thou/superiority-inferiority attitudes. I suspect that if th... Prudence and Madness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1494471 Wed, 04 Jun 2008 12:24:57 +0100 1494471 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1383696&cid=t_137732_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F04%2Fthin-skinned-richard-dawkins-cant-take.html Ha! I had some fun at the expense of Dr. Richard "a free thinking oasis" Dawkins the other day, accusing him here at SHS of being a Raelian because he states in Expelled that it is an "intriguing possibility" that life here was seeded by space aliens.Well, today Dawkins had a tantrum in the LA Times about some of the flack he has been receiving--and get the last paragraph: Everybody understood that this was an argument against group selection. Nobody twisted it to trumpet to the world, "See? Maynard Smith believes in Group Selection after all, and he thinks it happens in Haystacks, ho ho ho!" Creationists, by contrast, never miss a trick. When I have raised the science-fiction olive branch to try to argue against them, they have twisted it--most recently in a movie scheduled to open this w... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1383696 Fri, 18 Apr 2008 19:14:00 +0100 1383696 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1371890&cid=t_137732_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F04%2Fis-richard-dawkins-raelian.html This is rich: Richard Dawkins--whose official website claims modestly to be "a clear thinking oasis"--made an incredible statement in the new movie Expelled, asserting that it is "an intriguing possibility" that space aliens "seeded" life here on Planet Earth. (I haven't seen the movie, but did obtain this partial transcript. The emphasis is mine.) Moderator Ben Stein asks Dawkins how life began: DAWKINS:Nobody knows how it got started. We know the kind of event that it must have been. We know the sort of event that must have happened for the origin of life.BEN STEIN:And what was that?DAWKINS:It was the origin of the first self-replicating molecule.BEN STEIN:Right, and how did that happen?DAWKINS:I told you, we don't know...BEN STEIN:What do you think is the possibility that Intelligent De... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1371890 Tue, 15 Apr 2008 01:23:00 +0100 1371890 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1337058&cid=t_137732_87_f&fid=35052&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FWomensBioethicsBlog%2F%7E5%2F260821868%2FeaGgpGLxLQw%26amp%3Bhl%3Den [Via Orac's Respectful Insolence blog] Orac comments that he can't make up his mind about this YouTube clip, whether is it's a slam on Richard Dawkins or a slam of the creationists' perceptions... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] (Source: Women's Bioethics Blog) Women's Bioethics Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1337058 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 18:08:50 +0100 1337058 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4060730&cid=t_137732_109_f&fid=34859&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.davemsw.com%2Farchives%2F2008%2F01%2Femotion_defines_morality_culture_sets_priorities.php "Man will become better when you show him what he is like." - Anton Chekhov Our modern culture highly values our rationality. Genius, seemingly defined as those with great accomplishment, is highly celebrated by our culture, if not by income, at least by notoriety. Our emotionality, on the other hand, seems to get attributed with causing many of the problems our culture finds criminal. Rage is said to have led to many murders, domestic abuse, child abuse and greed to theft and fraud for a couple of examples. Combining genius and emotional disturbance however seems to characterize those that gain infamy in the history books. Hitler and Stalin come to mind. We are part rational, part emotional. From my clinical experience, we are unable to separate the two effectively. In other words, it ... Ψ Dare To Dream... blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4060730 Mon, 21 Jan 2008 14:03:59 +0100 4060730 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1018996&cid=t_137732_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2F182889832%2F Conclusion, he writes that - "Flexibility is the hallmark of human evolution...In other mammals, exploration, play and flexibility of behavior are qualities of juveniles, only rarely of adults. We retain not only the anatomical stamp stamp of childhood, but its mental flexibility as well...Humans are learning animals" He then relates this story from T.H. White's novel The Once and Future King - God, he recounts, created all animals as embryos and called each before his throne, offering them whatever additions to their anatomy they desired. All opted for specialized adult features-the lion for claws and sharp teeth, the deer for antlers and hoofs. The human embryo stepped forth last and said: Please God, I think that you made me in the shape which I now have for reasons best know... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1018996 Sun, 11 Nov 2007 00:42:51 +0100 1018996 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=982916&cid=t_137732_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2F175450066%2F An anonymous reader of Andrew Sullivan's blog writes a superb comment, reproduced here: "One thing Watson and others forget is that the brain is highly malleable based on environment. Although he is the father of DNA he knows very little about neuroplasticity and neurogenesis. Previously it was thought that the human brain was 'hardwired' after a certain age. This is not true. Not only is not true, but the human mind is capable of adaptation but actual neuron growth even late in life. Ten years ago this was thought impossible. Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity proves that a nurturing social and family setting shifts IQ, perspective, and emotional IQ. The so-called bell curve isn't genetic. Oppressed Tibetans and Chinese ethnic minorities -whose test scores soar in the United States an... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=982916 Fri, 26 Oct 2007 17:05:16 +0100 982916