When I was a kid all the books on Iran & Iraq would note that the difference between the two nations wasn’t just a letter. Kind of funny now that the American government is wondering about Iran’s role in looking the other way as Al Qaeda crossed its territory. Randall has a long post ruminating […]

In The science of the text (see below) a reader correctly observes that: “The Quran is the word of God, and that’s why Muslims believe in it 100%” I have pointed this out before to suggest that there are axiomatic problems with deviating too much from the text of the Koran. But note this from […]

Internet Infidels has a piece up titled ‘Predicting Modern Science: Epicurus vs. Mohammed‘. A debate between those who argue that the Koran predicts many of the discoveries of modern science and those who reject this assertion serves as the background. When I was a child the book The Bible, the Qu’ran and Science: The Holy […]

A report on Yahoo that the Democratic National Convention does not have enough toilets for the media. Cited reporter, Jim Drinkard. Gotta be a joke. Posted by scottm at 08:54 AM

In the comments section of the recent post on the evolution of language Michael Farris states: My own working theory is that language evolved mostly visuo-gesturally (as in natural sign languages) perhaps with simultaneous vocalizations and the vocalizations took over as the hands became needed for more and more everyday tasks. This theory is of […]

Milla Jovovich, the Russian actress of Fifth Element fame, is starring in not one but three separate films about experiments gone awry creating either “vampires” or “zombies”; Resident evil, Resident evil 2, and Ultraviolet. Quick question for all readers, when was the last time you saw science or scientists in movies as the only answer […]

Imagine going throught he process of genetic screening in preparation for an IVF procedure and a test for deafness is purposely withheld from your because the advocates for the deaf hold the position that deafness is not a disability. Meet Karen Coveler the mother of a newly born deaf child and a doctoral candidate in […]

While we in the West are debating the use of stem-cells in research and pondering the ethics of Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis, the Chinese research effort is moving in unexpected directions. Nine Japanese with damaged spinal cords underwent cell transplants in China with cells taken from aborted fetuses, Japan Spinal Cord Foundation officials said Thursday.The transplants […]

An anthropologist is now proposing that language arose as a way to pacify and reassure babies during our evolutionary past. Human infants are particularly underdveloped and mothers would need to put them down to get about their daily activities, and talking was a way to keep them calm. The implication here is that since language […]

I haven’t kept close track of the NFL since for the past 4-5 years, but I was surprised a few years ago to notice that Robert Smith of the Vikings had retired. He gained 5.2 years per carry his last year. So what happened? I guessed he did the math, at 28 he was already […]

Planning a cross-country trip, and I just noticed that Jiwire has fewer wi-fi hotspots listed in Michigan than Imbler. Now, that doesn’t totally surprise me even taking into account the population differential (10 million vs. 3.5). But, out of curiousity I did the following: took the population of the state, divided it by the number […]

What are the acceptable boundaries for the premise of a reality TV show? How much do newly pushed boundaries in TV standards influence the acceptance in society of the underlying TV concept. Judge for yourself. The TV executives who brought us live sex on Big Brother are planning an even more depraved reality show – […]

Some Indian immigrants to the US are now returning to India and bringing US culture with them. This New York Times article reports: Others have been drawn back by the tug of family and the almost atavistic pull of roots, or pushed by diminishing job opportunities in Silicon Valley and tightening Americans visa regulations. Many […]

How much control do you have over your genes? Emerging trends would seem to indicate that whatever control you currently possess is being steadily eroded. Recall the case of John Moore who sued the The University of California because following a treatment for a rare cancer a university affiliated physician repeatedly induced Mr. Moore to […]

Alex Tabarrok over at Marginal Revolution has an interesting post on this story about a group of disabled students suing for more time to complete their MCAT tests. Alex notes: Do you remember the episode on ER where a patient was rushed into the hospital with severe head trauma and Doctor Green had to go […]

The biggest problem with teleological history is that it leads to sloppy thinking. It causes the historian to torture the facts as he has them so that they will fit into the Procrustean bed of the March of History that he is thinking of. From the WWII until very recently, the story of anti-Semitism was […]

Straight guys find a way to turn everything into a competition….- slob on Straight Plan for the Gay Man Posted by razib at 11:47 AM

I just realized something. Years back I read that the diversity of sects and movements increases the closer you get to the “center” of the Muslim world. Here you can see a map of Sunni-Shia distribution. Note that at the antipodes there seem to be few Shia. In fact, the frequency of Sunnis seems to […]

One thing I’ve noted is that there is a lot of data out there on religion in America, but pronouncements by many in the public eye seem decoupled from the reality. For example, from the American Religious Identification Survey: Looking at patterns of religious change from this perspective, the evidence points as much to the […]

This week’s Spectator magazine (UK) has a lead article by Anthony Browne, a well known London Times journalist, arguing that: “Islam really does want to conquer the world. That’s because Muslims, unlike many Christians, actually believe they are right, and that their religion is the path to salvation for all”. Nothing very surprising here, at […]