Killing Your Sacred Cows since 1992

Cuz you're a science nerd:

http://vimeo.com/1431471

ganked from my friend StacyCat69

I don't usually do this, because I assume that interesting links and articles are viral, and you'll end up seeing them passed around your FL anyway, but I've run across a lot of good stuff (some serious, some cool, some silly) the last few weeks I wanted to share in case you hadn't:

-Fat Positive artistic nudes (Not Safe for Work, obviously). I really like the set with the mesh dress, especially:
http://www.adipositivity.com/

-Eddie Izzard imagines Darth Vader at the Death Star Canteen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp69rg6Hdlo
(If the link doesn't work, just google Eddie Izzard and "death star canteen")

-Fat patients do better after heart attacks than normal weight patients, but health "experts" still keep pushing weight loss. BFB's critique:
http://www.bigfatblog.com/fat-helps-heart-attack-dont-be-fat

-The link between being fat and having high blood pressure gets weaker, but health "experts" still keep pushing the idea that fat equals death!
http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2007/07/truth-comes-hard.html

-Super cool article about why individual bugs aren't too bright, but swarms are smart:
http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0707/feature5/

-The New "Seven Wonders of the World":
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/07/photogalleries/seven-wonders/index.html

-Kate Harding does a great job articulating some things I've thought for a long time about why not all fat people are compulsive and/or binge eaters but why fat compulsive/binge eaters often have trouble getting appropriate help:
http://kateharding.net/2007/07/10/so-close-and-yet-so-far/

I've been listening to "The God Delusion" as a book on CD, and I found the part where he talked about Einstein's "god" to be quite interesting. It would seem that many science-y types have a sense of wonder about the way the universe is put together, and they sometimes refer to the wonders of nature as "god" or their sense of wonder as their "religion." However, Einstein clearly didn't believe in a personal god. I think a lot of my friends who are agnostic/non-believers with a strong science background probably have beliefs very similar to Einstein's version of "god/religion".

Some interesting Einstein quotes on this page:

http://www.2think.org/einstein.shtml

I always thought the British were a little more sensible about religious frenzies, the scientific method, not letting religion muck about with teaching science. So, it's too bad to hear that creationists nonsense is getting taught in schools over there. Luckily, scientists there are fighting back.

(link found via pharyngula)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=382694&in_page_id=1770

"Leading scientists have launched an unprecedented attack on the teaching of creationist theories in Tony Blair's flagship academies. Britain's most prestigious scientific body, the Royal Society, said children were being confused by the teaching of the Bible's creation story in science lessons.

It follows a recent revival in creationist thinking, most notably in three schools supported by multi-millionaire car dealer and evangelical Christian Sir Peter Vardy. In a statement issued today, the Royal Society defends Darwin's theory of evolution as the best explanation for life on earth.

It accuses the Government of failing in its duty to ensure pupils at state schools, including the academies, learn the value of genuine science."

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On a related note, with craziness about "Intelligent Design" in the curriculum abounding in several states recently, it makes me extra-proud to live in an area that has chosen a book about evolution, "Beak of the Finch," as the community read for this year. It'll probably be one of the next books I pick up to read for my "50 books in '06."

http://www.ypsilibrary.org/events/ann_arbor_ypsilanti_reads_2006.shtml