1. Debating creationism in Louisiana schools

Comment #192047 by blackmath on June 12, 2008 at 11:38 am

I wonder if the right-wing superchurches would mind atheistic views being expressed in their sunday schools on the the basis of non-"viewpoint discrimination"

2. DLD08 - Life: a gene-centric view

Comment #131192 by blackmath on February 22, 2008 at 3:39 am

Really interesting discussion. Venter fascinating as always. I saw Venter give a lecture here in Sydney and he wasn't at all annoying or arrogant, rather he was genuinely passionate about biology and had an infectious love of the subject.
Especially intriguing was the bit about possible contemporary lateral gene transfer via viruses -- anyone know what kinds of virus might be doing this ?
The questions from the audience were mostly crap weren't they ?

One thing Venter said did slightly annoy me: "designing" genomes. I really don't see how anything we do is "by design", in fact I'd suggest that there's absolutely no such thing as design, that what we think of as "design" is actually evolution. Even the most carefully considered action of a human is really the product of a shared evolution of ideas which is computed among our brains. We simulate environments for our "designs" in our brains and this simulation branches off along multiple possibilities, while we enforce fitness functions (design constraints), selecting potential solutions. Even when we eventually obtain, though in-brain simulation, a putative solution to a problem, that prototype must still be tested through trial-and-error in the real world. Sure, experienced "designers" are better at internally simulating real-world environments in which to evolve possible solutions to their problems, but until the real-world testing there's no telling what really works. Therefore all "design" is really a process of in-brain, between-brain memetic evolution.
I edited this text several times and it's still not quite right. None of the ideas expressed by me originated in me, they're all just variations on ideas I got from other people -- including this one.

3. A Bunch of Monkeys

Comment #39523 by blackmath on May 11, 2007 at 3:58 am

You say 'tomayto', I say 'tomaahto'

You say 'nee-ch' I say 'nee-chee'

You say 'ape', I say 'monkey'

You say 'monkey', I say 'baboon'

You say 'baboon', I say 'balloon'

And this planet is run by a bunch of balloons!

4. A Bunch of Monkeys

Comment #38437 by blackmath on May 8, 2007 at 5:12 am

Just to repeat the above:

apes not monkeys

nee-ch not nee-chee