Category Archives: Biology

Frauds, Fakes and Fossils

Posted on February 7, 2012 by

Almost every student of earth sciences knows the hoax perpetuated on poor Dr. Johann Bartholomäus Adam Beringer (1667-1738), often told in textbooks as warning of blind faith and argument from authority in science. However careful study of the still existing “lying … Continue reading →

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Monday blast from the past #11 (on a Tuesday)

Posted on January 17, 2012 by

Who was John Ray?

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More Science than Fiction

Posted on December 17, 2011 by

Science-fiction stories and movies are not only entertainment for a rainy day but also mirrors of the scientific abilities, ambitions, even anxieties of a society. A short overview about tales and movies shows this evolution. The decade of 1950 to … Continue reading →

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Evolution quote: Sirks and Zirkle

Posted on April 25, 2011 by

Reposted from Evolving Thoughts At this point it might be well to insert a fact that has generally been overlooked by the historians of biology. The pre-evolutionary concept of species is generally given as a universally accepted view that species … Continue reading →

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What is systematics and what is taxonomy?

Posted on February 5, 2011 by

Over the past few years there have been increasing numbers of calls for governments to properly fund systematics and taxonomy (and a number of largely molecular-focused biologists insisting they can do the requisite tasks with magic molecule detectors, so don’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Biology, Epistemology, Evolution, General Science, History, Philosophy | 1 Comment

The Ibis in myth, science and palaeontology

Posted on January 6, 2011 by

“Every one has heard of the Ibis, the bird to which the ancient Egyptians paid religious worship; which they brought up in the interior of their temples, which they allowed to stray unharmed trough their cities, and whose murderer, even … Continue reading →

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The greatest show on Earth

Posted on December 30, 2010 by

In antiquity malformations on both men and animals were regarded as warnings from the gods, this old belief still today survives in the word “monster”, from the Latin verb “monere” – meaning “to warn”. Collected first in Cabinets of Curiosities, … Continue reading →

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How many species concepts are there?

Posted on October 21, 2010 by

I make an argument for everything from 27 to 0 at Grrlscientist’s blog at the Guardian.

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On the origins of creativity

Posted on September 25, 2010 by

I’m not a very creative guy. I had an idea back in the 1970s, but I managed not to do anything about it in time for someone else to do something with an almost identical idea. I think I dodged … Continue reading →

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George C. Williams dies

Posted on September 11, 2010 by

Few evolutionary biologists have had the impact within and without their field as has George Williams, who died this week. His groundbreaking Adaptation and Natural Selection in 1966 set off the debate over levels of selection, the ubiquity of natural … Continue reading →

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