Posted on March 9, 2017
Bring on the octopi, the squid, and the Cthulhu!
Or...bring on the zebrafish?
Paul Zachary Myers, way way way better known as PZ Myers, is an evolutionary developmental biologist who teaches at the University of Minnesota Morris. He works with zebrafish and has an affection for the tentacled cephalopods - a group of animals that include the octopus, the squid, the cuttlefish, the nautilus, the extinct ammonites, and perhaps even the fictional Lovecraftian monster Cthulhu!
Why is PZ Myers known outside of his university and the world's evolutionary developmental biologists?
He writes a blog, called Pharyngula, and his confrontational style and unapologetic liberal views reached a much larger audience. As a matter of fact, in 2006 Nature magazine rated his blog #1 of all blogs written by scientists, based on popularity!
PZ Myers has also published books and won awards by humanist organizations and spoken at conferences.
Myers's confrontational style means that he gets involved in a lot of ... well, controversies! Some of them have been about intelligent design, which is supposed to be science. Religious beliefs and faith can be discussed - even debated - but generally fall outside of the realm of science. But some religious believers try to make science agree with their own pre-conceived ideas, based on their own or others' understanding of their holy book or other revelations. Needless to say, science doesn't work that way.
The claims of intelligent design are fairly complex to explain - let alone to argue against / refute / disprove / debunk. But here is a semi-simple explanation of why intelligent design is not science.
Here are some PZ quotes:
And here are a few of MY favorite cephalopods:
Also on this date:
Anniversary of a Total Solar Eclipse that Ended the Day Before It Began
Nametag Day
Plan ahead:
And here are my Pinterest boards for:
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