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On 09.12.08 psiloiordinary wrote these pithy words:
Where do you sign up?

http://bcseweb.org.uk/
On 09.12.08 moneduloides wrote these pithy words:
Thanks for the link. I wasn’t aware the UK had an NCSE-like body.
On 09.12.08 psiloiordinary wrote these pithy words:
Body is a strong word

We are all volunteers and just muck in – spread the word!

Psi
On 10.15.08 Dorothea Salo wrote these pithy words:
This is lovely. Well done!
On 10.15.08 moneduloides wrote these pithy words:
Thank you very much, Dorothea. Congrats on the win!
On 11.13.08 khalid wrote these pithy words:
Im 7 years old and i want to learn to pray
On 11.13.08 moneduloides wrote these pithy words:
Khalid, people pray in many different ways. Honestly, I am not the right person to ask about any of them.
On 11.20.08 Henrik wrote these pithy words:
Hey! It seems we finally succeeded in turning 4SH into an all-out archaeology carnival! Yay!

(I’m ready to be flamed by all you anthro-guys: Bring it on!)

btw, thx for the link
On 11.23.08 This week’s blog carnivals « Archaeoastronomy wrote these pithy words:
[...] the 53rd edition of Four Stone Hearth at Moneduloides. That’s a new blog to me. Mind you that’s true of many blogs. I shall [...]
On 11.24.08 Three Carnivals « Neuroanthropology wrote these pithy words:
[...] Psy… on Neuroplasticity on the ra…Hillary on How your brain is not like a…4 Stone Hearth | mon… on Katherine MacKinnon, Capuchins…4 Stone Hearth | mon… on [...]
On 12.10.08 Jim wrote these pithy words:
A peek at your little peak seems to see a little valley instead.
On 12.10.08 moneduloides wrote these pithy words:
I’m terrible with poetry… Come again?
On 12.10.08 Jim wrote these pithy words:
a terrible attempt at cute commentry. I have no idea what your picture is showing, are those small bones?
On 12.10.08 moneduloides wrote these pithy words:
It is a CT scan of a baboon; the measured portion is an ossified ligament.
On 12.17.08 Blake Stacey wrote these pithy words:
Oooh, human evolutionary anatomy. . . that’s a subject I’ve definitely wished I had a more comprehensive understanding of. Thanks for the recommendation!
On 12.17.08 Peter S wrote these pithy words:
This post is fascinating to me from both an academic and personal standpoint. I’m an undergraduate focusing on paleoanthropology, and am also a sufferer of plantar fasciitis. The condition has severely limited my ability to perform any sort of distance runs, especially on hard surfaces. Without fail, by the time I reach the 1.5 mile mark on a run on a track or roadway, I start experiencing horrible pain in the arch of my foot. On occasion, I have ran through the pain for another 3 or 4 miles. This leaves me at the end of the run with a numb foot, and excruciating shin splints.

I am definitely going to look into this outpatient procedure, and perhaps I have an area of interest to delve into for my own research!
On 12.17.08 moneduloides wrote these pithy words:
I’m glad you enjoyed it!

May I suggest using an erg instead of running? At least, until you are able to get the issue taken care of. I find that doing a good 6-10k on the erg is much more life-threateningly exhausting than a run, and it shouldn’t bother your plantar fascia one bit!
On 12.17.08 Laelaps wrote these pithy words:
Thanks for the recommendations. I’ve been meaning to pick up these books for a while now, and now I have all the more reason too. I found Tim White’s Human Osteology, 2nd ed. to be pretty helpful, too.
On 12.17.08 moneduloides wrote these pithy words:
Yes, I have read/referenced that text many a time. It is a bit more now focused than evolution focused, but it is certainly THE text to have when it comes to human osteology. The illustrations are stunning; Folkens and White are a great team.
On 12.17.08 whomever1 wrote these pithy words:
My daughter recently applied for graduate school in the Anthro Dept of UCLA, and was amused to see their Xmas wreath of bones.
On 12.18.08 Adam Rutherford wrote these pithy words:
I was taught by Leslie Aiello and Christopher Dean at uni, and those guys are master communicators, particularly Aiello. It was a real pleasure to go to their lectures.
Chris Stringer’s The Complete World of Human Evolution is my favourite in this field.
On 12.20.08 Greg Clarke wrote these pithy words:
Thanks. The gibbons do look cool walking. Strangely and fleetingly reminiscent of some ‘gestures’ of human walking I’ve seen.

I recently listened to Daniel Lieberman talking (on Australian radio) about the distinctive ability of humans to run bipedally and how that might have evolved and influenced or been influenced by our skeletal and muscular development.

I think Daniel said humans are the only primates that run, so I suppose we can’t expect a study of gibbons running to provide measurements or insights.
On 12.20.08 Daniel Lende wrote these pithy words:
Wow, that’s quite some photo. I was wondering if something like that would creep out onto the Net…

Anyway, I wanted to highlight the call for submissions for The Best of Anthropology Blogging 2008. I hope to show all the great work that anthro bloggers are doing, and create something inclusive. Here are more details:
http://neuroanthropology.net/2008/12/19/best-of-anthropology-blogging-2008-call-for-submissions/

Happy Holidays,
Daniel
On 12.20.08 moneduloides wrote these pithy words:
This would probably be a better question for the author of this article than for me. I will say, though, that the argument of running being a major factor in influencing the trajectory of human evolution is tenuous at best.
On 12.22.08 Evie wrote these pithy words:
Thanks for this extensive, and well-written blog on my recent ‘gibbon’ work. As for running, gibbons do actually run (so humans are not the only bipedally running primates), although this run does only rarely include an aerial phase (no feet on ground). For a full explanation on this topic, see my previous article in J Exp Biol (Vereecke et al., 2006).
On 12.24.08 Wednesday Round Up #43 « Neuroanthropology wrote these pithy words:
[...] brain tumor that contained a foot and other partially formed appendages. For the graphic photo, see Moneduloides. Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)Evolution of the Human mind.David Brooks [...]
On 12.27.08 René Castelein wrote these pithy words:
Copngratulations! A very concise summary of our data, even I can understand it.
On 12.27.08 moneduloides wrote these pithy words:
Thank you for producing such great research, Dr. Castelein.
On 12.27.08 moneduloides wrote these pithy words:
Thank you for producing such great research, Dr. Vereecke.
On 12.28.08 Evolution and Medicine. Cancer and adaptive immune responses as evolutions ‘within’. « Laika’s MedLibLog wrote these pithy words:
[...] Evolution and Medicine. Cancer and adaptive immune responses as evolutions ‘within’. 29 12 2008 I had almost finished my submission for the Grand Round when I took a look at the site of the host, Moneduloides*, to find that this edition had “the interface of evolution and medicine” a… [...]
On 12.29.08 Peter S wrote these pithy words:
Thank you for your suggestion. Is an Erg an indoor rowing machine? If so, I have never tried one before, but I’ll definitely give it a shot.
On 12.30.08 laika wrote these pithy words:
Thanks for this great edition of Grand Round. Hope that it will really inspire others to read more about this interesting, but perhaps somewhat theoretical, subject.

By the way your blogpost is a typical example of devolution or backward evolution, the evolution into more “primitive” forms, ..the previous round being 5.14. Goddit all mixed up, little crow?
Sorry, only joking, don’t feel hurt, please.
On 12.30.08 moneduloides wrote these pithy words:
Edit: Fixed the edition number.
On 12.30.08 Walter Jessen wrote these pithy words:
Great edition moneduloides! A nice number of articles for such a challenging theme.
On 12.30.08 moneduloides wrote these pithy words:
Thanks Walter. Sadly, I didn’t decide on the theme until a bit late in the game; there were quite a few top-notch bloggers who wanted to submit but simply didn’t have the time due to holidays and the quick deadline.

Anyway, I like the outcome.
On 12.30.08 moneduloides wrote these pithy words:
Yes. It’s common name, however, is “death.” At least, this was the case when I did crew…
On 12.30.08 precordialthump wrote these pithy words:
Great Grand Rounds topic! It was somewhat ironic as I had intended writing an evolutionary medicine post to highlight the 200th anniversary of the big man’s birthday anyway… Well done and Happy New Year.
On 12.30.08 Peter S wrote these pithy words:
I think I’ll be picking up all 3 of these books to supplement my studies. Too bad I didn’t send this list to my family so they could have bought the books for me!
On 12.30.08 Instapundit » Blog Archive » THE LATEST Grand Rounds is up! wrote these pithy words:
[...] THE LATEST Grand Rounds is up! [...]
On 12.30.08 Grand Round 5.15 at Moneduloides. At the interface of evolution and medicine. « Laika’s MedLibLog wrote these pithy words:
[...] Grand Round 5.15 at Moneduloides. At the interface of evolution and medicine. 30 12 2008 The theme for the old year/new year Grand Round was not an easy one: “At the interface of evol… [...]
On 12.30.08 Robin wrote these pithy words:
Love the theme, and great submissions. Can’t wait to read them all.
On 12.30.08 Four Stone Hearth the New Year edition « Testimony of the spade wrote these pithy words:
[...] Do you know AIS? Do you walk on two legs? If the answer is no and yes then this post is for you! Moneduloides discusses human bipedal locomotion and AIS. (Of course the post is interesting for those knowing AIS as well). [...]
On 12.31.08 AEQUANIMITAS » Blog Archive » Meander over to Moneduloides… wrote these pithy words:
[...] is the magnificent Moneduloides and the theme is an inspired one (in my unbiased opinion): “At the interface of Evolution and Medicine“. You’ll discover a link there to “Nothing in medicine makes sense [...]
On 12.31.08 Round Up of the Best of Anthro 2008 « Neuroanthropology wrote these pithy words:
[...] God’s love, and low bone mineral density Pray five times a day, and your body will show it Best: It gets worse after the middle ages: Bone disease and the Medieval period (Part I) Osteoarthritis from biomechanical stress and from disease – joint disease is the most frequently [...]
On 12.31.08 The “Best of Anthro 2008″ Prizes « Neuroanthropology wrote these pithy words:
[...] Demonstration of Osteoarthritis It gets worse after the middle ages: Bone disease and the Medieval period (Part I) [...]
On 12.31.08 Round Up of the Best of Anthro 2008 « Neuroanthropology wrote these pithy words:
[...] Popular: Prayer, God’s love, and low bone mineral density Pray five times a day, and your body will show it Best: It gets worse after the middle ages: Bone [...]
On 01.04.09 Os prémios para os melhores posts em blogs de antropologia em 2008 « Comunidade Imaginada wrote these pithy words:
[...] Demonstration of Osteoarthritis It gets worse after the middle ages: Bone disease and the Medieval period (Part I) [...]
On 01.06.09 surrealia wrote these pithy words:
With so much new research on human fascia, in particular the recognition that it contracts, a new wave of manual therapies that require no incision or steroids is proving quite effective for conditions like plantar fascitis. I am a clinical massage therapist and see many clients who have plantar fascitis not because of overuse, but because of underuse. In these cases, lengthening the soleus and gastrocs, their common tendon, and the fascia that spreads from here into the foot is often sufficient to initiate healing. If the client keeps up with the self care I recommend, that first step in the morning becomes their most satisfying.
On 01.07.09 Rebecca wrote these pithy words:
As a scientist and substitute teacher, if I was ever put into a situation that required that I teach creationism, I would also teach “the big purple cow in the sky”. If teaching things without any scientific basis is OK, then a world created by a purple cow is as defend-able as world created by god. Teaching creationism opens up the science classroom to any crackpot idea that an individual may dream up, even if the person was having a Red-Bull manic phase. Furthermore, it undermines the basis of science, which is collecting evidence to support theories. We might as well skip the evidence collection phase altogether, if we’re going to forgo supporting facts in our theories. (I hate to use the word theory in this context, since I believe the crux of the populist problem with the theory of evolution is not with “evolution”, rather it is with “theory”. “Theory” in the context of science is strongly supported and accepted as true, whereas in everyday language, the word “theory” does not carry much heft.
On 01.07.09 The Relevance of Anthropology – Part 2 on the Best of Anthro Blogging 2008 « Neuroanthropology wrote these pithy words:
[...] ago? (John Hawks) 500K SNP Europe-wide study of genetic structure (Dienekes’ Anthropology Blog) It gets worse after the middle ages: Bone disease and the Medieval period (Part I) (moneduloides) Philosophers Discover Lost Tribe in Jungles of Free Will (Savage Minds) Prayer, [...]
On 01.08.09 Bjørn Østman wrote these pithy words:
Klein demonstrates the idea of natural selection not favoring protective mechanisms due to its overwhelming occurrence in older individuals to be simply untrue. Males of a variety of species, including many that have been studied in the order Primates, lack an upper limit to their reproductive age. In fact, in certain species the older males tend to father most of the offspring.

Males in a variety of species, but not including humans, right? Or does Klein demonstrate this in humans? It looks to me like there is indeed a strong anti-correlation between male human age and, say, “yearly output.” There may be some very old men who become fathers, but if that number is much less than the number of young men becoming fathers, then would that be enough selection for cancer resistance?
On 01.08.09 moneduloides wrote these pithy words:
Klein doesn’t really go very far into this topic of selection due to reproductive age (only a paragraph or so). I believe he included it to illustrate our evolutionary history (Which is why he mentions Primates), and thus the selective pressures that have shaped our genotype.
On 01.08.09 A Respiratory Carnival! « Respiratory Therapy 101: Just Keep Breathing wrote these pithy words:
[...] This could actually work. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the idea of a blog carnival, check out the most recent issues of two popular blog carnivals that I frequently read: Change of Shift and Grand Rounds. [...]
On 01.09.09 T wrote these pithy words:
As someone with scoliosis that’s just troublesome enough without being severe, I found this post fascinating and enjoyable. Thank you! Terrific work!
On 01.10.09 Joe Dunckley wrote these pithy words:
Nice post — thanks.

However, I too am skeptical of the claim that Klein has demonstrated the upper-limit idea to be untrue. It may well be that during much of human history older males were having the kids (I’m going to assume that nobody made the obvious mistake, and that the statement means kids were being born to older males, rather than that older males had had more kids ), but for much of human history, men in their thirties counted as “older males”.

Also, the five (six?) categories of anti-cancer surveillance look a little bizarre to me.

But since the paper is closed access, I can’t really say.
On 01.11.09 Bjørn Østman wrote these pithy words:
How about fixing your email address as well?
On 01.11.09 moneduloides wrote these pithy words:
Fixed.
On 01.15.09 it’s carnival time again « Testimony of the spade wrote these pithy words:
[...] carnival time again Four Stone Hearth # 58 is up and running at Moneduloides, as always lots of great stuff to read and ponder on. Check it [...]
On 01.15.09 Laelaps wrote these pithy words:
This reminds me of the extrapolation program in the horror book The Relic; you put DNA from two creatures in and it gives you the “intermediate” form. As Darwin himself said, though, picking to living creatures and trying to extrapolate back to something intermediate between both is not a sure recipe for success. Chimpanzees are definitely informative for considerations of human evolution, but given that their fossil record is essentially empty, we can’t be sure that they’re really as “unchanged” as we think. Hybridizing a human and chimpanzee would support our overall similarity, but it wouldn’t definitely reveal what our common ancestors was like.
On 01.15.09 Greg Laden wrote these pithy words:
Nice job!
On 01.15.09 moneduloides wrote these pithy words:
… and yet a great number of paleoanthropologists consistently claim it does. It’s sad, really.
On 01.16.09 Four Stone Effort « Neuroanthropology wrote these pithy words:
[...] on Links to Consciousness: Consci…Stephanie West Allen on Wednesday Round Up #46Four Stone Hearth (5… on The Relevance of Anthropology …Timothy on Our Blessed Lady of the C…Links J13 [...]
On 01.16.09 Carnival of Feminists No 70 - Philobiblon wrote these pithy words:
[...] when you’ve done that, you might also find the Four Stone Heath carnival (anthropology) of interest. Stumble it! Digg reddit Del.icio.us Posted in Carnival of [...]
On 01.19.09 Bjørn Østman wrote these pithy words:
I find that rather comical, while I can of course see your (friend’s) dilemma. Is he the only one at SUNYSB? How good are youyour friends at putting a lid on it [expression?]?
On 01.21.09 moneduloides wrote these pithy words:
Heh, no. Engnor is certainly not the only neurosurgeon at SUNYSB. In fact, there is another neurosurg there that I admire greatly.

Also, I’m quite good at “putting a lid on it.” However, I’m not sure if anybody is good enough to keep the lid on for eight years…
On 01.23.09 Owen Wiltshire wrote these pithy words:
hey thanks a lot! great coverage, and I really appreciate what you say about submitting what we think other people will like.

I’d also love to engage myself in a study of WOW – its been years since I played, and today I popped my head into future shop only to see the new expansion. Unfortunately I have a bloody thesis to write so I had to leave WOW behind.

Thanks for the great writeup.

Sincerely,
Owen.
On 01.23.09 What is anthropology? A Carnival of Answers. « another anthro blog wrote these pithy words:
[...] Check out the 58th edition of Four Stone Hearth at Moneduloides. [...]
On 01.23.09 What is anthropology? A Carnival of Answers. « another anthro blog wrote these pithy words:
[...] only that, but the author is a poet, (and on open access, i love it!) Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)a proposal [...]
On 01.23.09 What is anthropology? A Carnival of Answers. « another anthro blog wrote these pithy words:
[...] Check out the 58th edition of Four Stone Hearth at Moneduloides. [...]
On 01.25.09 Four Stone Hearth Blog Carnival « Moore Groups blog wrote these pithy words:
[...] current 4SH Carnival is up at Moneduloides, the next will be at A very remote period indeed, followed by Middle Savagery and then Moore Group [...]
On 02.02.09 Fran wrote these pithy words:
Ouch.
On 02.06.09 Jo wrote these pithy words:
1. The reason agriculture and the industrial revolution had such a detrimental impact on human health is precisely because the environmental factors that ’shaped’ humans (via selective pressures) where changed dramatically. The question is, whether 6 – 10,0000 years of cereal grains (or a hundred years of refined sucrose, HFCS and veg oil) is enough time to allow a significant enough genetic change in humans to render the modern diet/lifestyle more advantageous than our hunter-gatherer originated lifestyle (which was the norm for 100’s of 1000’s of years).

It’s a shame you didn’t research bone disease in paleolithic remains prior to agriculture, the sudden appearance of bone/joint disease in the neolithic is staggering. Go back further to paleo skeletons and you get a height increase of 6 inches, dense disease free bones and perfect teeth! If ingesting drugs can alter gene expression, why can’t radical changes in diet? -or for that matter, lifestyle?

2. Hunter gatherer lifestyles have been documented time and time again as requiring less of a workload than agricultural based societies, the mean working time 4 hours a day to aquire all that is needed. It is only since the advent of farming that humans have had to break their backs to get enough low-density nutrition to survive.

3. “it seems so much more likely that the prevalence of chronic degenerative diseases in modern times is a product of a higher mean age due to medical advances that are a direct result of these revolutions”

In hunter gatherer societies that still exist, those that live to an old age have very low rates of degenerative disease, much lower than in ‘civilized’ countries. They retain excellent mental ability and physical stamina until they die. They dont die of degenerative disease. Also, the point of health care is not just about preventing death but increasing health why we are alive, and these populations dont know diabetes, cancer, neurological disease, skin disorders, inflammatory conditions etc. They only know injury from trauma and infectious disease. In other words, they’re extremely healthy. Now what do all these little populations have in common that we don’t have? They are under the same environmental conditions that their genes have been under for many many thousands of years. They didnt have an agricultural or industrial revolution.
On 02.13.09 Irradiatus wrote these pithy words:
Very interesting article.

One thing I’m having a hard time seeing is what exactly you mean by “propaganda.” What I mean is – from a practical standpoint – what exactly should us scientists/bloggers who are working to disseminate science do that we are not doing?

Personally, I agree with your sentiments when it comes to many normal scientists – they often don’t have the will (and more often the skill) to really bring their science to the public. In fact, many of us do not want them to try, because of the negative effects of having bad communicators (but great scientists) interface with the public.

In fact, I view science bloggers as the leading edge right now of knowledge dissemination. I mean, sure there are many many boiler plate Darwin articles out right now, but there are just as many that really take the science of evolution down to the people.

I think the success this is having is more than evident (if for no other reason than many of our nations teachers now use us science bloggers as sources of cool and current cutting-edge info to facilitate classes).

So to get back to my main question – I’m confused as to what you think our deficit is – what is it we’re not doing? How is our view “warped”?

I hope none of this comes across as being overly critical – it’s a great post and intellectually stimulating.
On 02.14.09 moneduloides wrote these pithy words:
What I am getting at when I write the word ‘propaganda’ is the (what I believe to be) necessity of our focusing not simply on intellectual superiority when it comes to battles such as that of creationism vs. evolution. Time and time again I see us simply wishing the opposing side would listen to logic and evidence, and time and time again we see that it has marginal effect. So, when I say ‘propaganda’ I mean that we need to step beyond simply relying on dissemination of fact by the strategies we have relied on in the past. We MUST admit that there is a war (Which is not the same as saying scientists are divided on the theory of evolution), and we must focus our resources on something like an advertising campaign of sorts. Think if there were some catch phrase like “Got milk?”, but for evolutionary biology.

Our culture thrives on clips. We need to come to grips with the fact that the American people won’t sit down and read/watch/listen to a long drawn out argument between creationism and evolution.
On 02.20.09 J. Ogilvie wrote these pithy words:
The genetics of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis had been identified. These finding have been presented at the Scoliosis Research Society in 2008 and will soon appear in peer reviewed literature. Further work on the molecular pathogenesis may provide innovative treatment modes.
On 02.23.09 Bjørn Østman wrote these pithy words:
New International Version is usually good at translating thew other versions for me, but in this case it’s equally obscure:

“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.”
On 03.01.09 Biochemical Soul » Carnival of Evolution #9 - Moneduloides wrote these pithy words:
[...] The next edition of the Carnival of Evolution is now live over at Moneduloides! [...]
On 03.01.09 Irradiatus wrote these pithy words:
Great edition!! I love all the commentary.
All the posts were wonderful. I particularly enjoyed the one on Anna’s Bones and especially the one on paleonostalgia (it’s a general idea I’d thought about before, but never seen in put so succinctly).
Kudos!
P.S. To those of you included, be sure to link back to this carnival so we can all spread the evolutionary love around!
On 03.02.09 Carnival of Evolution #9 wrote these pithy words:
[...] 2009 • No comments yet The Darwin bicentennial is over but the beat goes on. Dig it over at moneduloides. SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “Carnival of Evolution #9″, url: [...]
On 03.02.09 Anna wrote these pithy words:
Great post!!
I found a lot of websites I hadn’t come across yet
super.
On 03.02.09 Carnival of Evolution « Anna’s Bones wrote these pithy words:
[...] 2, 2009 in Evolution Check out the 9th edition of Carnival of Evolution over on Moneduloides’ website. Breaking Eve has been features alongside many other blogs [...]
On 03.03.09 Tony Wildish wrote these pithy words:
This is an interesting topic, and I’ve thought about it a lot since I found this article. Thank you for posting it.

Apart from the need to cut down on the jargon and use language that most people can actually understand, I think the biggest problems with scientists communicating to the public at large are relevance and credibility.

Most people won’t think about something they don’t care about, so if you or I have a message we want to get across, we have to make it relevant. That’s just marketing, but scientists don’t do that very well, it seems. Making it relevant means making it personal, and that’s anathema to the normal method of presenting scientific results. If people can’t see how it affects them, personally, they won’t care.

As for credibility, that’s another thing scientists often lack, for largely the same reason. Credibility is more about trust than qualifications. It’s always easy to find two ‘equally qualified’ people with opposing views to sit on the chat-shows, the one who carries the day will be the one who seems more credible. That means the one who sounds most convincing to the audience. Again, it’s marketing. “Why should we trust the scientist, whom we can’t understand, when there’s this guy who sounds credible and is saying the opposite?”

Scientists concentrate on being accurate and correct in their statements, but unless they are both relevant and credible with it, they won’t get the message across.
On 03.04.09 Happenings in the Blogosphere wrote these pithy words:
[...] Carnivals! I have been reading through the Carnival of Evolution # 9. It is being hosted at Moneduloides; and one post in particular caught my attention. It has to do [...]
On 03.05.09 Biochemical Soul » Carnival of the Blue 22 - Malaria, Bedbugs, Sea Lice & Sunsets wrote these pithy words:
[...] if you have yet to make check them out, be sure to check out Carnival of Evolution #9 at Moneduloides, and Circus of the Spineless #36 at Invertebrate [...]
On 03.10.09 Michael Dowd wrote these pithy words:
Thanks for mentioning me! I assure you that Richard Dawkins would not have allowed me to reprint a letter to his daughter as Appendix A in my book, nor would five Nobel laureates and other leading scientists, including renowned skeptics like Michael Shermer, have publicly endorsed it, if it were anything like you characterize. There is nothing in my book, or in my programs, that is remotely-ID. But I DO recognize the legitimacy and metaphorical importance of religious language. If you care to, see here:

PRAISE FROM SCIENCE LEADERS
http://thankgodforevolution.com/node/1460

RESPONSE FROM RELIGIOUS LEADERS (ACROSS THE SPECTRUM)
http://thankgodforevolution.com/node/1532

THE SILLY DEBATE OVER GOD’S EXISTENCE
http://thankgodforevolution.com/node/1745

Co-evolutionarily,

~ Michael
On 03.10.09 Michael Dowd wrote these pithy words:
PS. Here are some past blog posts of mine, and interviews, that will give you a much more accurate understanding of “Religion 2.0″ or “Evolution Theology” than the Telegraph piece.

FOR THE NON-RELIGIOUS AND ANTI-RELIGIOUS
http://thankgodforevolution.com/node/1531

Also, if you come to my program, here’s my promise: if on a scale of 1-10 (1 meaning it’s the worst crap you’ve ever heard and you disagree with everything; 10 meaning it’s the best program you’ve ever attended and you agree with everything), if it’s not at least and 8, I’ll buy you a drink afterwards.

Best,

~ Michael
On 03.10.09 moneduloides wrote these pithy words:
Simply renaming the universe “God” doesn’t make fairytale reality. The Bible tells stories of homophobic, war-mongering intervening God whose commandments are to be, according to The Bible’s very words, taken literally. Taking The Bible to be a metaphor is to deny it contains any more objective truth than the Harry Potter series, in which case there really is no reason to rename the universe “God.” The word ‘universe’ does just fine.

I’ll have to agree with PZ on this one:

“The message is too often that we shouldn’t accept the conclusions drawn from evidence because they are verifiable, testable, objective pieces of reality, but because they will make you feel better, because they will justify your life, and because they glorify God. It’s all backwards; God and Christianity are assumed and unquestioned, and what the reader is asked to do is find the right rationalization to reconcile evolution with Jesus.”

In spite of all of this, I wouldn’t mind hearing your justification for considering yourself a Christian.
On 03.10.09 Michael Dowd wrote these pithy words:
I’m not promoting any fairytales. And I’d be the first one to agree with you that the Bible full of horrific stuff. Indeed, I have been encouraging people to read or listen to Michael Earl’s “Bible Stories Your Parents Never Taught You” and “The Ultimate Terrorist” for years. I link to both from here: http://thankgodforevolution.com/node/1701

You and I and PZ share the same evidential scientific worldview, I assure you. I am an evolutionary humanist, a religious naturalist. I hold no supernatural or otherworldly beliefs whatsoever. I see science as “authoritative”, not ancient myth-filled scriptures. I don’t need to “justify” calling myself a Christian. I am a pentecostal, evangelical naturalist. If you care to know how I publicly define this, see here:

CHRISTIAN NATURALISM: http://thankgodforevolution.com/node/1716

HOW AND WHY I AM A PENTECOSTAL EVANGELICAL: http://thankgodforevolution.com/node/1634

Religions evolve, and so do religionists. Theologians have always reinterpreted religious language and concepts in light of the best understandings of the nature of reality available to them. What I and other Evolution Theology, or Religion 2.0, leaders are doing today is really no different than what Augustine or Aquinas or Calvin or Tillich did in their day.

I wrote Thank God for Evolution mostly to help religious believers from different traditions move toward an evidential worldview without having to abandon their tradition to do so. The book itself emerged out of field-testing the ideas contained within TGFE with religious and non-religious audiences across the theological and philosophical spectrum. Since April 2002, my wife, Connie Barlow, a science writer, and I have delivered Sunday sermons, evening programs, and multi-day workshops in more than 600 churches, convents, monasteries, and spiritual centers across the continent, including liberal and conservative Roman Catholic, Protestant, Evangelical, Unitarian Universalist, Unity, Religious Science, Quaker, Mennonite, and Buddhist groups. We have also presented audience-appropriate versions of this message in nearly a hundred secular settings, including colleges, high schools, grade schools, nature centers, and public libraries.

Few things are more important, it seems to us, at least here in America, than for millions (and eventually hundreds of millions) of religious folk, over the next few decades, to come to embrace a science-based understanding of the world. Why? Because it matters what we think about evolution–and not just theologically. It matters politically; it matters personally. Indeed, I would argue that nothing matters more! Trying to understand reality without an evolutionary worldview is like trying to understand infection without microscopes or the structure of the universe without telescopes. It’s not merely difficult; it’s impossible. Without realistic answers to life’s biggest questions, religious and non-religious people alike will think poorly and vote short-sightedly and self-destructively on issues as diverse as the economy, health care, global warming, and terrorism. (TGFE, chapters 9-10, 14-17)

Here’s something that I think many humanists and atheists have yet to fully realize…

Until churches in America teach and preach the evolutionary history of the universe enthusiastically, in ways that expand and enrich faith (trust), the battle over teaching evolutionary science in public schools will never end. One of the goals of my book is to assist the devoutly religious in letting go of attachment to literal interpretations of their otherworldly, supernatural myths in order to wholeheartedly embrace an evidential, empirical worldview. Surely, this turn needs to happen in order for radically diverse religious people to cooperate in service of a just and sustainable future, wouldn’t you agree?

Whoever believes that we can achieve a healthy future for planet Earth and its diverse species without billions of religious people being committed to it is seriously out of touch with reality.

Those who might initially be put off by the religious language in my book and presentations (including some radio and TV interviews) should know that my wife, Connie Barlow, also an evolutionary humanist and long-time atheist science writer, worked with me very closely throughout the writing and editing process. She ghost-wrote the science sections of chapters 2, 5, 9 and 10, as I mention in my Acknowledgments. I challenge those who claim that I am offering questionable science, or distorting science, to cite where exactly. Which page(s)? Which paragraph(s)? I can afford to sound so arrogant on this point because know from experience that they will not be able to do so.

As I mentioned in my first response, Richard Dawkins graciously allowed me to include a letter he wrote to his daughter Juliet as an appendix in my book. That letter was previously published as the last chapter in his A Devil’s Chaplain. There, Richard highlights the difference between believing something based on measurable evidence versus believing something based on private revelation, scripture, authority, or tradition. That religious people might, likewise, come to value this distinction is a central theme of my book.

Like I offered above, if you and actually experience my program, not only am I certain you’ll love virtually all of it, but I’m also fairly certain that you will wish me well in my evolutionary evangelistic ministry.

We’re on the same side. You and PZ just don’t realize it yet. See Shermer’s comment at the beginning of this post: http://thankgodforevolution.com/node/1460
On 03.10.09 Michael Dowd wrote these pithy words:
I’ve tried twice to post a response but for some reason was unable to. I’ll hold off and assume that it is awaiting moderation. If some other reason (too long, perhaps?) please do let me know.

Best,

~ M
On 03.10.09 Michael Dowd wrote these pithy words:
HERE IS SOMETHING THAT I THINK MANY HUMANISTS AND ATHEISTS HAVE YET TO FULLY REALIZE…

Until churches in America teach and preach the evolutionary history of the universe enthusiastically, in truly inspiring ways, the battle over teaching evolutionary science in public schools will never end. One of the goals of my book is to assist the devoutly religious in letting go of attachment to literal interpretations of their otherworldly, supernatural myths in order to wholeheartedly embrace an evidential, empirical worldview. Surely, this turn needs to happen in order for radically diverse religious people to cooperate in service of a just and sustainable future, wouldn’t you agree?

Whoever believes that we can achieve a healthy future for planet Earth and its diverse species without billions of religious people being committed to it is seriously out of touch with reality.

Those who might initially be put off by the religious language in my book and presentations (including some radio and TV interviews) should know that my wife, Connie Barlow, also an evolutionary humanist and long-time atheist science writer, worked with me very closely throughout the writing and editing process. She ghost-wrote the science sections of chapters 2, 5, 9 and 10, as I mention in my Acknowledgments. I challenge those who claim that I am offering questionable science, or distorting science, to cite where exactly. Which page(s)? Which paragraph(s)? I can afford to sound so arrogant on this point because know from experience that they will not be able to do so.

As I mentioned in my first response, Richard Dawkins graciously allowed me to include a letter he wrote to his daughter Juliet as an appendix in my book. That letter was previously published as the last chapter in his A Devil’s Chaplain. There, Richard highlights the difference between believing something based on measurable evidence versus believing something based on private revelation, scripture, authority, or tradition. That religious people might, likewise, come to value this distinction is a central theme of my book.

Like I offered above, if you and actually experience my program, not only am I certain you’ll love virtually all of it, but I’m also fairly certain that you will wish me well in my evolutionary evangelistic ministry.

We’re on the same side. You just don’t realize it yet. See Shermer’s comment at the beginning of this post: http://thankgodforevolution.com/node/1460
On 03.10.09 moneduloides wrote these pithy words:
“As an evolutionary Pentecostal, an evolutionary evangelical—an evolutionary Christian—I cherish the very same doctrines and teachings that other Pentecostal and evangelical Christians cherish. But rather than interpreting the core elements of my faith as unnatural and otherworldly, as I used to, and as many Christians still do, I now interpret these concepts in natural, undeniably real ways.”
- You

So, please explain to me the ways in which you interpret the following verses in natural, undeniably real ways:

“But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house; and they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.” Lot went out of the door to the men, shut the door after him, and said, “I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. Behold, I have two daughters who have not known man; let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please; only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.”
- Genesis 19:4-8

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s foes will be those of his own household.”
- Matthew 10:34-35

It’s not enough to say that you agree that the Bible is horrific, at least for me. I need to hear how it is you give legitimacy to the Bible through “natural, undeniably real was,” which includes the horrific parts.
On 03.10.09 Michael Dowd wrote these pithy words:
I can only assume that you A) merely skimmed but did not actually read what I wrote above, or B) you have already decided that I’m an ID flake (or some kind of religious nut), so you can only hear what I’m saying through your interpretive filters.

I am not interested in defending myself from your attacks, nor do I need to have you acknowledge the legitimacy of my approach.

Please do check out http://www.ReasonWorks.com I promise that you will LOVE Michael Earl’s “Bible Stories Your Parents Never Taught You” and “The Ultimate Terrorist”. (Earl is an atheist, of course.) The three passages you quote above are lame compared to the passages Earl cites.

Best,

~ Michael

Mike Earl’s server seems to be having trouble. You can also access him here: http://nonfictionaudiobooks.suite101.com/article.cfm/bible_stores_your_parents_never_taught_you
On 03.10.09 Michael Dowd wrote these pithy words:
I argued above that few things are more important than assisting devoutly religious in letting go of attachment to literal interpretations of their otherworldly, supernatural myths in order to wholeheartedly embrace an evidential, empirical worldview. I also argued that anyone who believes that we can achieve a healthy future for planet Earth and its diverse species without billions of religious people being committed to it is seriously out of touch with reality.

Do you agree with these two claims?

If so, and if you know of anyone WITHIN the religious traditions doing a better job along these lines than I am, please let me know.

Richard and PZ and Dan and Sam and Christopher (and you) are doing fabulous and important work. But you all are not even trying to do what I am doing. You will reach many I will never reach. And I will reach many that you all never will. Given how much our world is crying out for ecological and evolutionary integrity, and how little time we may have to make major changes, it seems to me that both approaches are necessary.

Best,

~ Michael
On 03.10.09 Michael Dowd wrote these pithy words:
The best way to get a sense of what I offer, and why for 7 years my wife and I have traveled North America non-stop teaching and preaching a mainstream view of evolution, would be for you to bring a friend, family member, or co-worker of yours to my program – someone who has not yet fully embraced a science-based worldview. I’m completely confident that you will love my program; virtually all humanists and atheists do. But I’m also confident that whoever you bring, no matter how religious they are, will also find great value in the evening. Who knows, it may even be transformational for them.

If someone you care about does not yet have an evolutionary worldview, I invite you to bring them to my presentation on Thursday night at 7pm at Northminster Presbyterian Church. 1570 Chambers Rd, St Louis / http://NminsterStL.org

It’s free.

Best,

~ Michael
On 03.11.09 AC wrote these pithy words:
I am Turkish scientist in the USA. I am so depressed by these news. There are those of us from Turkey who are outraged by this. People say other countries especially USA is no better in terms of people not believing evolution. Maybe… But they certainly do better in terms of civil rights and freedom of speech.

Secularity was the top reason I was proud of my country. And to see this slipping away is painful. This is certainly not the Turkey Ataturk had envisioned… But worse, it’s not even the Turkey I grew up in (and I only recently turned 30) or even the Turkey of my parents’ generation… I had a very good education, and grew up in a secular environment which contributed to me becoming the successful (female STEM) scientist I am today.

How quickly things change.. And what a shame…
On 03.11.09 moneduloides wrote these pithy words:
AC, I would love to hear your story. I admit I don’t know as much about Turkey as I should, and hearing the personal story of an expat scientist would be an amazing opportunity.

Shoot me an e-mail if you’re interested.
On 03.13.09 mnemosyne wrote these pithy words:
At Metu as the most prestigious university of Turkey, professors and students protested the censorship.In `68 the students of the university wrote `revolution`(DEVRIM in turkish) on the concrete seats of the big stadium in the campus with an ineffaceable dye formulated by the chemistry students.In `09 the professors and the students come together on the first letter `D` and the world become `EVRIM` (evolution in english) and they made a press statement.If you want to see the photo of this protest,this link can help. http://haber.sol.org.tr/mansetler/mansetsag/11406.html
On 03.18.09 Bjørn Østman wrote these pithy words:
For example, he said, dogs can develop new traits from one generation to the next, but they remain dogs.

Wow, the semantics are killing me! A change in traits from one generation to the next is… isn’t that… I do believe that is what is called evolution? But Ham says development? I wonder if this is going to confused all the poor home-schooled kids so much that not only evolutionary biology, but also developmental biology, is going to be off-limits in college?

But seriously, what we call both great danes and chihuahuas dogs is a matter of semantics, and have no bearing on biology. Under some species definitions they are one species, but under other they might be different species. They may all be able to interbreed (but do we know?) and yet they clearly inhabit different niches. Dachshunds couldn’t do the job of shepherds, who couldn’t do the job of beagles, who couldn’t do the job of huskies, etc. etc. That alone is enough to designate them as different species.
On 03.19.09 jane wrote these pithy words:
Dowd, why do you not answer the questions put to you? These are such simple questions- ‘what do you think of X in the bible?’, instead of standing up and actually having a real discussion you only get defensive and accuse the questioner of attacking you. Why not answer the question? Then you point everyone towards your web links over and over again like a traveling salesman. If you are right why can’t you answer the simple question?

I find it beyond absurd that you think there is any chance of ecological preservation and maintaining diversity of species with billions of people on the earth. Dear dear me, don’t you understand that the sheer volume of humans running around has created massive, now unstopable destruction of natural resources to the point where we now have reached a peak in arable land and are sliding backwards, we can’t even feed the billions we have at present, and we are bringing down hundreds of species a year just trying.
Christianity won’t stop human over-population because religious people seem to believe that we can multiply indefinitely for some reason.
Now instead of getting upset and throwing a wobbly, what do you think of this? And let’s see if you can answer this one cause this is what people care about – what evidence and/or what reason do you have for believing there is a god?
thanks for your discourse.
On 03.19.09 Ed Darrell wrote these pithy words:
A fossil bed is a tomb, if we stretch it a bit? Hey for that matter, so is a classroom a kind of tomb, if we’re not careful and terribly unlucky.

4SH #63 is due on March 25, at Millard Fillmore’s Bathtub. Time to submit entries!
On 03.20.09 Crystal D. wrote these pithy words:
The pope just seriously needs to realize that bibles don’t wrap around penises very well…
On 03.20.09 moneduloides wrote these pithy words:
I would have to disagree. Have you ever seen the tissue paper bibles with the gilded edges?

It’s almost as if wrapping them around penises was what they were designed for. Of course, pain killers and triple antibiotic is a must, as the paper cuts can become a bit distracting…
On 03.23.09 the chiggler wrote these pithy words:
If you head on over to the Pharyngula site you can read about the Popeye taking to task African witch doctors for their promotion of superstitious beliefs. This from a man whose church is built on superstition and which sanctions exorcism. Obviously you have to give up sex and irony to go poping,
On 03.27.09 lovy1966 wrote these pithy words:
quoi que tu dises l’évolutionnisme est une théorie!! dépassée!!
On 04.10.09 Brian wrote these pithy words:
This seems to be an abandoned topic here but since it still lives on in search engines of the world I have found it and would like to comment. I can not speak for Michael Dowd but only what his book and talks have meant to me.

Does MD teach ID or Creationism? Certainly not as those terms are most commonly used. What he teaches is a way for people who have come from a faith based perspective to embrace evolution. I would hazard to guess that the version of evolution that he teaches encompasses a much broader range of topics than most would consider as evolution. From the beginning explosion that was the big bang, the evolution of stars and planets and galaxies, molecules and more complex molecules, early life, humankind. Then he goes on to teach about how societies have evolved and continue to evolve, from families, clans, nation states, democracies.

Rev Dowd speaks of the Bible as myth. Important myth though. He sees religious documents as written by those with a limited view of reality. A view that came before microscopes and telescopes and before computers. Many of the doctrines of these books were based on beliefs that are simply not compatible with our current knowledge.

From what I see of the replies to this post and what I know of Rev Dowd. You are all sending the same message. The words may be different so as to identify with differing audiences, but the message is the same.

Peace and Be Well,
Brian
On 04.11.09 Fasciitis Treatment wrote these pithy words:
[...] Plantar fasciitis: Observing a new cure Plantar fasciitis is a quite common, very painful foot problem caused by repeated tension on the plantar aponeurosis. Mail this post [...]
On 05.04.09 ema wrote these pithy words:
Oh, my, I wish you had not pointed out this stupidity; neurons exploding left and right.

You said pretty much all that needed to be said, but I just want to add one thing. Since RU-486 was FDA-approved (as a political condition of its approval, in fact) the drug has never been available for sale at pharmacies. It’s illegal for pharmacies to stock it and for pharmacists to sell it.

Still, the lack of professionalism and the ignorance of politicians who vote on health/drug bills without even bothering to read up on the basics is astonishing.
On 05.04.09 Uncle B wrote these pithy words:
Until we prove life from Mars or outer space, the Old Book and its teachigs will persist, they are,m after all, the blocks on which we build our civilization, the basis for how far we are now, and hopefully how far we can get, before some obvious “facts” are refuted, and let go by the wayside. Expect oa long slow relinquishing of old truths as newer ones are proven beyond doubt, and even then, some back tracking and fundamentalism for security and the comfort found in old shoes, old recipes, and old traditions – we are, after all, Humans!
On 05.05.09 Grand Rounds 5:33 | Nursing Handover wrote these pithy words:
[...] Moneduloides is a new blog to me, with archives reaching back to last year. The submitted post questions a Missouri amendment giving pharmacists (working in pharmacies that receive public funding) discretion in providing emergency contraception. “It is abundantly obvious this amendment is nothing more than Emery’s attempt at forcing his religious beliefs on others.” [...]
On 05.18.09 John Gay wrote these pithy words:
You are el retardo
On 05.25.09 lauren spragg wrote these pithy words:
people out there help these animals and give money to help them
On 09.23.09 Grand Rounds 5.14 Holiday Edition | Highlight HEALTH wrote these pithy words:
[...] For people wishing to buy educational books this season, specifically those with a simple interest in human evolution, Moneduloides makes some recommendations, wishing all of us a A Very, Merry, Human Evolutionary Christmas. [...]
On 12.06.09 Greymain wrote these pithy words:
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On 01.18.10 Ali wrote these pithy words:
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On 02.07.10 Avi wrote these pithy words:
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