Keepon Keepin' On

I want this robot. It also has very good taste in music. More>>

Science Commons

How cool is this? MIT's Science Commons project brings scientific research to everyone by attempting to streamline and free up information previously caught up in data limbo. Sharing research data can be a long and frustrating process which has probably retarded the development of any number of scientific discoveries. Sharing is awesome. More>>

I'm Not!

Freeing up all the Python content and placing it on Youtube was a very successful strategy. You should buy everything associated with Python. I command thee!

Jehova! Jehova! Jehova! More>>

There's Probably No Elune: Now stop Worrying and Enjoy Azeroth

I play World of Warcraft. This is hardly a unique phenomena, and most estimates show around 10 million people play the game. That is a pretty damn large slice of humanity.

Each one of those 10 million subscribers is effectively a deity for a very small number of followers, namely the amount of player characters or "toons" that person has created. Each of these beings are under the direct control of a very specialized supreme being.

My main player character is a level 80 Shadow Priest named Miach, and all in all he leads a rather quiet life. He whiles away most of his day happily chipping away at veins of titanium between flights on his huge green proto drake.

Unfortunately, his god has other plans for him. Miach's god wants him to obtain a new robe to show the other gods and their followers how well his god can provide for him.

Obtaining this robe, however, will require the slaughter of a variety of living, or at least undead, beings. These conflicts are initiated mostly to obtain relics, clothing, or weaponry which allow the bearer the power to be more effective at said relic hunting.

This circle of conflict is powered by deities who are obsessed with the sartorial status of their subjects, and will put them through endless cycles of death and rebirth. Callously inflicting death without a thought on the horror their followers are experiencing.

Miach receives no thanks for his service to his deity, just a small reprieve until his next cycle of slaughter, death, and rebirth.

This account is certainly not an attack on WoW, as I love the game dearly. But if you put the mechanics of a video game "player" and a "real world" deity together the similarities are very similar.

I think that there is probably no god, but if there was he would make a crappy raid leader. More>>

The List: 5 Fantastic Animated Depictions of Evolution

Darwin's revolutionary idea is perhaps the most elegant scientific process we have ever discovered. Is there any fantasy that is more interesting than the familial connection between whales and hippos?

The elegance is highlighted even more when the process is put in animated form. A word of warning as these aren't the most accurate representations in the world, but I'm willing to forgive a lot to see Moe Sizlak devolving.


5.Matt Lloyd's Hand Drawn Evolution

Hand drawn evolution from Matt Lloyd on Vimeo

Matt Lloyd has created a really ingenious paper animation. Simple and cool, Lloyd deftly creates the bird's path.


4. Evolution in 4 Minutes From Godbestaatniet2005


I don't know very much about the creator of this video, the words were all in Hollish or something. A very bizarre animation style, sort of a mix between stop motion and real photography, gotta love the Dutch.


3. Walking with Dinosaurs


Wickedly cool 5 minute sequence from Walking with Dinosaurs. This is probably the most scientifically accurate of the five.


2. Guinness Evolution



Guinness's award winning commercial proves the link between the development of our species and the most delicious beverage ever created.


1. The Evolution of Homer


It just goes to show you that The Simpsons are light years ahead of most things on television. I really like the homer rat.

More>>

Whiskey Osmosis

It's always easier to demonstrate a scientific process with whiskey. More>>

The List: The 7 Greatest Fictional Skeptics

Most of us interested in science or skepticism are also huge pop culture nerds. In the vast murky stew of our cultural landscape there are quite a few excellent skeptical archetypes.



7. Adrian Monk - Monk


Adrian Monk solves crimes not with gun play, but with a rational and methodical attention to detail. Despite his many quirks, and full blown obsessive compulsive disorder, Monk is able solve crimes his more credulous and careless peers.

He is also terrified of milk.



6. Velma Dace Dinkley - Scooby Doo


Despite the fact that her foes were usually in costumes, and no one seemed to notice the talking dog, Velma would never jump to any conclusions paranormal conclusions.

Sadly Velma was fired for fashioning Scrappy Doo's skin into a new ascot for Fred.



5. Encyclopedia Brown - Encyclopedia Brown Series


A boy genius who solves mysteries with his considerable intellect and ability to see through con games. Donald J. Sobol's creation taught children to think critically, instead of glorifying martial heroics.



4. William of Baskerville - The Name of the Rose


Umberto Eco's meticulous Franciscan friar is a man out of time. Searching for empirical evidence in an era reliant upon faith and portents William epitomizes Occam's Razor.

3. Hercule Poirot - Agatha Christie's Poirot Series


The great Belgian former police detective Hercule Poirot uses his "little grey cells" to suss out tiny clues to seemingly impossible situations. Blunt and crafty, but always a gentleman, Poirot was possibly the first psychological profiler.

He also sported a superb mustache in his David Suchet incarnation.

2. Cadfael ap Meilyr ap Dafydd - Cadfael

Yet another monk who challenges the conventions of his day. Cadfael is shrewd and intelligence with no lack of street smarts. Sir Derek Jacobi's portrayal of Cadfael with a myriad of facets, portrayed a rare rational mind in 12th century England.

Later, Cadfael regenerated into Sam Tyler.

1. Lisa Simpson - The Simpsons


I think most of us can empathize with Lisa. It can be very hard to be one of the lone voices of dissent in a sea of fools. Intelligent, talented, and sarcastic, Lisa Simpson is someone all of us want to emulate.

More>>