Home » category » Education

“What Darwin Got Wrong”: Taking down the father of evolution

A new book dares to attack the theory of evolution by using — surprise! — science

By Thomas Rogers

Salon.com, Feb. 23, 2010 |

At this point, the idea of somebody publishing an attack on Charles Darwin isn’t exactly surprising. The 19th-century naturalist, and the man behind the theory of evolution, has never been a particularly popular figure among conservative Christians, and, these days, the anti-Darwin movement is a cottage industry. In the last year, which marked the bicentennial of Darwin’s birth and 150 years since the publication of “The Origin of the Species,” the man was even subjected to the peculiar indignity of an assault by former “Growing Pains” star Kirk Cameron.

But unlike most of these attacks, “What Darwin Got Wrong,” a new book by Jerry Fodor, a professor of philosophy and cognitive sciences at Rutgers University, and Massimo Piattelli-Palmarini, a professor of cognitive science at the University of Arizona, comes not from the religious right, but from two atheist academics with — surprise — a nuanced argument about the shortcomings of Darwin’s theories. Their book details (in very technical language) how recent discoveries in genetics have thrown into question many of our perceived truths about natural selection, and why these have the potential to undermine much of what we know about evolution and biology.

Salon spoke to Fodor over the phone from his home, about the problems with Darwin’s ideas, bloggers’ “obscene” comments on his work, and why Darwinism might be as unreliable as creationism. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by CNP Webmaster as Education, Evolutionary Biology, Recent Posts, Science on February 24, 2010 - י' אדר תש"ע at 3:11 pm

Comments Off

  MSNBC.com

Popping a couple of pain pills helped Laurie J. Besden study night after night. They helped her pass the Pennsylvania bar exam. They helped her get more done in a day than many of her colleagues. Then they helped her land in jail.

Besden doesn’t seem like any drug addict you’d picture. She’s smart, motivated — and an overachiever. But she’s one of an alarming number of women who have turned to prescription pills to get ahead — or even just to keep up.

Almost 6 percent of American women, that’s 7.5 million adult women, report using prescription medicines for a boost of energy, a dose of calm or other non-medical reasons, according to the latest numbers from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

While street drug use has been declining in recent years, prescription drug abuse has been up since the 1990s. The trend has been most striking in women because unlike with most drugs, which are more commonly abused by men, women are just as likely to abuse prescription drugs, says Susan R.B. Weiss, chief of NIDA’s Science Policy Branch.

Blame what some are calling the superwoman syndrome. Overworked, overwhelmed and overscheduled women juggling families, friends and careers are turning to stimulants, painkillers and anti-anxiety meds to help launch them through endless to-do lists.

“Women load their lives with so much that they get in over their heads, and some turn to prescription pills to cope,” says Talia Witkowski, a psychologist in Los Angeles.

Witkowski, 30, began abusing her prescription attention deficit hyperactivity disorder drugs in high school, and has been clean for three years.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by CNP Webmaster as Education, Health Sciences, Women's Health on February 24, 2010 - י' אדר תש"ע at 11:34 am

Comments Off

Archaeologist Discovers Jerusalem City Wall from Tenth Century B.C.E.

ScienceDaily (Feb. 22, 2010) — A section of an ancient city wall of Jerusalem from the tenth century B.C.E. — possibly built by King Solomon — has been revealed in archaeological excavations directed by Dr. Eilat Mazar and conducted under the auspices of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The section of the city wall revealed, 70 meters long and six meters high, is located in the area known as the Ophel, between the City of David and the southern wall of the Temple Mount.

Uncovered in the city wall complex are: an inner gatehouse for access into the royal quarter of the city, a royal structure adjacent to the gatehouse, and a corner tower that overlooks a substantial section of the adjacent Kidron valley.

The excavations in the Ophel area were carried out over a three-month period with funding provided by Daniel Mintz and Meredith Berkman, a New York couple interested in Biblical Archeology. The funding supports both completion of the archaeological excavations and processing and analysis of the finds as well as conservation work and preparation of the site for viewing by the public within the Ophel Archaeological Park and the national park around the walls of Jerusalem.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by CNP Webmaster as Education, Judaism, Middle East, Monotheistic Religions, News Articles, Science on February 22, 2010 - ח' אדר תש"ע at 8:09 pm

Comments Off

Scientists irate after top education official questions evolution

By Or Kashti and Zafrir Rinat, Haaretz Correspondent, February 21, 2010

The Education Ministry’s chief scientist sparked a furor among environmental activists and scholars Saturday with remarks questioning the reliability of evolution and global warming theory. The comments from Dr. Gavriel Avital, the latest in a series of written and oral statements casting doubts on the fundamental tenets of modern science, led several environmentalists to call for his dismissal.

“If textbooks state explicitly that human beings’ origins are to be found with monkeys, I would want students to pursue and grapple with other opinions. There are many people who don’t believe the evolutionary account is correct,” Avital said yesterday.

“There are those for whom evolution is a religion and are unwilling to hear about anything else. Part of my responsibility, in light of my position with the Education Ministry, is to examine textbooks and curricula,” he said. “If they keep writing in textbooks that the Earth is growing warmer because of carbon dioxide emissions, I’ll insist that isn’t the case.” Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by CNP Webmaster as Climate Change, Education, Evolutionary Biology, Middle East, Monotheistic Religions, News Articles, Recent Posts on February 22, 2010 - ח' אדר תש"ע at 2:37 pm

Comments Off

Posted by CNP Webmaster as Education, Islam, Middle East Report, News Articles on February 16, 2010 - ב' אדר תש"ע at 11:43 am

Comments Off

Onset of Sexual Activity in Teens Delayed by Theory-Based Abstinence-Only Program

ScienceDaily (Feb. 1, 2010) — A new study weighs in on the controversy over sex education, finding that an abstinence-only intervention for pre-teens was more successful in delaying the onset of sexual activity than a health-promotion control intervention. After two years, one-third of the abstinence-only group reported having sex, compared to one-half of the control group. The study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania appears in the February 1 edition of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

While abstinence-only intervention did not eliminate sexual activity all together, this is the first randomized controlled study to demonstrate that an abstinence-only intervention reduced the percentage of adolescents who reported any sexual intercourse for a long period, in this case two years, following the intervention.

"It is extremely important to find an effective intervention that delays sexual activity; the younger someone is when they have sex for the first time, the less likely they are to use condoms," said lead author John B. Jemmott III, PhD, professor of Communication in Psychiatry and of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine and Annenberg School for Communication. "Abstinence-only interventions may have an important role in delaying sexual activity until a time later in life when the adolescent is more prepared to handle to consequences of sex. This can reduce undesirable consequences of sex, including pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections like HIV/AIDS."

There was a 33 percent reduction in self-reported sexual intercourse from the abstinence-only group, compared to the control group, by the end of the study. Of the students who reported that they were sexually active during the study, there were fewer reports of recent sexual activity from the abstinence-only intervention participants (20.6 percent) compared to the control participants (29.0 percent).

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by CNP Webmaster as Education, Health Sciences, Recent Posts, Science on February 2, 2010 - י"ח שבט תש"ע at 5:10 am

Comments Off

Incubating peace with Israel’s Arab sector

Posted by CNP Webmaster as Business and Commerce, Education, Health Sciences, Middle East Report, Monotheistic Religions, News Articles, Recent Posts, Science and Technology on January 29, 2010 - י"ד שבט תש"ע at 3:13 am

Comments Off

Celebrate Green Zionism this Tu B’Shvat

By Gil Troy, January 28, 2010, for Tu B’shavat 5770

In the ideological wars surrounding Israel, it is always better to celebrate on our terms than try defending against our enemies’ assaults. Our failure to build a proactive strategy around Tu B’Shvat and other moments reflects the epidemic of ignorance in the Jewish world today, and our ceding of the agenda to the Palestinians and their fellow travelers, especially on campus.

Tu B’Shvat, the Jewish Arbor Day, is this Shabbat, January 30. When I was young I preferred Israel’s Independence Day because we received blue-and-white cookies rather than yucky figs and carobs, known by the aggressive Yiddish name "bokser." But educators should distribute blue-and-white cookies along with Israeli fruit because Tu B’Shvat celebrates Israel – and Zionism. The world only recently discovered environmentalism, yet Jews have a deep relationship with nature, while Zionism resonates with the environmental ethic. Tu B’Shvat is our annual opportunity to show just how "green" the "blue and white" sensibility is.
It never ceases to amaze me how frequently we miss opportunities to deepen our connection to Israel and Zionism, naturally, organically. As we brainstorm about re-branding Israel, re-framing Zionism, trying to justify our existence, we often forget the rightness of our case and the richness of our tradition. The Jewish calendar is our friend. It provides us with many moments that tell our story beautifully, express our values vividly, allowing us to celebrate Israel, to renew our Zionism, without fighting anyone, without being defensive.
Tu B’Shvat is particularly welcome because of the growing "green" movement and because it coincides with the anti-Israeli activity in late January and early February that falsely compares democratic Israel with the racist Apartheid regime that once dominated South Africa. While we should refute the Apartheid libel aggressively, we should also use Tu B’Shvat to celebrate Israel, Jewish values, and Zionism. In the ideological wars surrounding Israel, it is always better to celebrate on our terms than try defending against our enemies’ assaults. Our failure to build a proactive strategy around Tu B’Shvat and other moments reflects the epidemic of ignorance in the Jewish world today, and our ceding of the agenda to the Palestinians and their fellow travelers, especially on campus.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by CNP Webmaster as Education, Judaism, Middle East, Opinion, Recent Posts on January 28, 2010 - י"ג שבט תש"ע at 9:04 am

Comments Off

Posted by CNP Webmaster as Education, Judaism, News Articles, Recent Posts on January 28, 2010 - י"ג שבט תש"ע at 3:41 am

Comments Off

Swinging from the coexistence trapeze

By Abigail Klein Leichman, Israel 21C 
January 26, 2010

Just one day "at the circus" leads to remarkable changes in the way Israeli Jewish, Muslim and Christian high school students relate to each other.

Let the games begin: Arab and Jewish children learn to touch and support each other through circus tricks.

It’s not unusual for Jewish students at the progressive Leo Baeck Education Center in Haifa to participate in coexistence projects with peers at nearby Arab schools. But all of Penny Arenson’s 10th-graders were taken by surprise when they discovered that swinging from the flying trapeze offered them a whole new way of connecting with kids from a different culture.

In early December, Arenson took her wary group of 35 students to meet an equally wary group of 10th-graders from Lily Khoury’s class at the Baptist School in Nazareth. Their destination was the Israel Circus School in Kfar Yoshua, about halfway between the two schools.

"It was obvious to all of us that their first meeting had to be there, on neutral ground, centered around a fun activity with very little talking,"

Arenson tells ISRAEL21C. Her students are Jewish, while the Baptist School students are mostly Christian and some Muslim Arabs.

Though Israel’s Galilee region is dotted with side-by-side Jewish and Arab villages, the children seldom have contact and generally don’t speak each other’s language.

"All the kids were wearing name tags in English, Hebrew and Arabic. We divided them into four groups, mixing Jews and Arabs, boys and girls, shy kids and outgoing kids," says Arenson. "Each group did four activities: trapeze, rope climbing, trampoline acrobatics and juggling. At the end, each group put on a performance."

A change in attitudes

When they returned to school, both Arenson and Khoury found a remarkable change in their students’ attitudes: "At the beginning, a lot of the kids in both our classes were very hesitant about the meeting," says Arenson. "They don’t know the ‘other side,’ and it’s scary for them. But when we came back, they all said they loved it. Their fears were annihilated. Even if they won’t all be best friends, some of them are already talking on Facebook."

And that’s after just one session. The Coexistence Circus Project is expected to continue over the course of the entire school year.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by CNP Webmaster as Education, Middle East Report, Monotheistic Religions, News Articles, Recent Posts on January 26, 2010 - י"א שבט תש"ע at 11:39 am

Comments Off

Home » category » Education

---

Copyright © 2010, CN Publications. All Rights Reserved World Wide
Reporting on the Middle East, Science, and Education: Toward a better future through tolerance and mutualism