Watch the face of man evolve over 6 million years.

I understand that if you watch it backwards it eventually shows you the face of creationist Ken Ham.

Nicely said.

I found this quote apropos in light of Eric Hovind's assertion that Evolutionists believe that man is nothing more than "bags of molecules."

It is not what gives us life that is so important, but rather what we do with the life that we have been given.

E.O. Wilson: "What's dragging us down is religious faith."

Courtesy of International Business Times:

Renowned biologist E. O. Wilson has said we should eliminate religions for the sake of human progress, as they are "dragging us down". 

In an interview with New Scientist, Wilson was speaking about his latest book The Meaning of Human Existence, in which he questions religion, how humanity looks for common cause, our behaviour and our impact on the environment. 

He said his next book, in which he plans to deal with where we are going as a species, looks at how we have been destroying Earth in a way that people have not fully realised "like the death of a thousand cuts". Wilson said we ignore cues from science about the damage we are doing because of our "tribal structure". 

"All the ideologies and religions have their own answers for the big questions, but these are usually bound as a dogma to some kind of tribe. Religions in particular feature supernatural elements that other tribes – other faiths – cannot accept ... And every tribe, no matter how generous, benign, loving and charitable, nonetheless looks down on all other tribes. What's dragging us down is religious faith." 

He said that he is not an atheist or agnostic, instead explains "I'm a scientist".

I would suggest that tribalism played a very important, and possibly necessary role in mankind's rise from prey to predator, and ultimately to becoming the dominant species on the planet.

However I would also argue that what served as a benefit during more primitive times has now become an impediment to our progress toward becoming more enlightened beings.

Today it is not so much our gender, or ethnicity, that builds walls between us but rather our religious faith. Or lack thereof.

Just the other day my daughter and I were musing on the fact that thousands of years ago Italy, Spain, and France, which are geographically only a handful of miles apart, could develop different languages and cultures, while today we are closer to becoming a global community then ever before.

In fact these very words will be read by visitors from as far away as Hong Kong, Belgium, and Germany, and they will both be able to understand what I say, as well as respond to what is written without ever having to leave their house, much less their continent.

In other words thanks to technology we now know more, and understand more, about each other than at any other time in the history of mankind.

The final hurdle to overcome, the wall that still stands in our way, is religion.

Eradicating it, and the antiquated ideas it promotes, should be priority one for all of us.

Well at least I cannot be accused of not doing my part.

After a day spent celebrating who we are, and all that we have achieved, perhaps this video will help to humble us again and put everything into perspective.

Though it may be comforting to believe that our mythologies explain everything that we need to know, only a child clings to that misconception for the feeling of safety that it provides.

The rational adult must stand naked in their ignorance before the mysteries that lay ahead, resolved to the fact that though what they learn may frighten and intimidate them, the knowledge will benefit the future of our species and help to ensure its survival.

Why no Alaskan should EVER be a climate change denier.

Courtesy of Chron: Alaska has been referred to as ground zero for climate change because of its proximity to a vulnerable polar region where effects are accelerated. A report by the National Climate Assessment lists concerns because of disappearing sea ice, glacier melt, permafrost thawing, changes in ocean temperature and chemistry, and strong effects on Alaska Native communities:

 — Alaska has warmed more than twice as fast as the rest of the United States, with a statewide average annual air temperature increasing by 3 degrees and average winter temperature by 6 degrees. Average annual temperatures are projected to rise 2 to 4 degrees more by 2050. If global emissions continue to increase, temperatures this century are projected to increase by 10 to 12 degrees in the north, 8 to 10 degrees in interior Alaska and 6 to 8 degrees elsewhere. 

— Arctic sea ice has declined, with only about half as much present in late summer as was recorded when satellite records began in 1979. Less ice means dark water absorbs more heat, leading to more warming. An open Arctic Ocean makes the region more accessible for marine traffic and oil drilling but increases risks of spills and eliminates habitat for polar bears, walrus and ice-dependent seals. Without protective ice edge along shorelines, coastal communities are vulnerable to erosion from fierce ocean storms. 

— Rapid ice loss from Alaska and British Columbia glaciers, perhaps 20 to 30 percent of what is melting from the Greenland Ice Sheet, contributes to increased ocean levels. Glacier water pouring into the ocean is an important source of organic carbon and other minerals that contribute to high coastal productivity and changes could alter Alaska's rich fisheries. 

— Eighty percent of Alaska is underlain by permafrost, or frozen ground, which can sink if thawed. Sinking ground is projected to add $3.6 billion to $6.1 billion to costs of maintaining public buildings, pipelines, roads, and airports over the next 20 years. Permafrost thaw in rural Alaska will disrupt water supplies and sewage systems. Lakes in the southern two-thirds of Alaska have shrunk in the last 50 years because of permafrost thaw and evaporation from higher temperatures. Wetlands drying and warmer summers have led to more large fires in the last 10 years than in any decade since record-keeping began in the 1940s. Alaska provides breeding habitat for millions or migratory birds and continued drying of Alaska wetlands could affect waterfowl management nationally. Thawing of permafrost increases the release of carbon dioxide and methane through increased decomposition, adding to the warming problem.

I have said this before, but it bears repeating, the Native Alaskans up here have been trying to bring attention to the problem of climate change for over fifty years. 

Sadly it took decades before anybody listened to them. Imagine how much better of we would all be if we had been willing to listen, and actually DO something about it, back then.

"I think for myself."

"Why did it take so long for science to gain hold as a ay of understanding the natural world? It must be because our brain isn't wired to scientifically, or else it would have been the first way we've ever imagined to understand the world rather than inventing goblins and demons. Just look at the history of human culture, and the stuff we invented just to account for what's around us."

There is something truly eloquent about that observation.

When humankind was just starting out it saw the world through the eyes of a child, but as it grew older, it searched for a deeper truth.

Neil deGrasse Tyson: Ego and our cosmic perspective.

I think that Professor Tyson really nails it here.

Ego is really the biggest obstacle to recognizing scientific truth about our origin and the reality of our place in the cosmos.

After all if you believe that everything around you was created simply for your benefit, and that you yourself were created in God's image, why would you want to believe otherwise?

I'm sure you have seen Fundamentalists who get EXTREMELY agitated at the idea that man evolved from a monkey. And correcting them by telling them that man did not evolve directly from the modern chimpanzee but rather that they both share a common ancestor, and in fact also share a common ancestor that once dwelled in the oceans, only agitates them further.

In truth it is a matter of perspective. I once had a friend tell me, back when I used to feel obligated to challenge people's faith on daily basis, that the problem was I was trying to offer them truth in exchange for eternal life. Which in fact was like trying to feed a starving man a breadcrumb when they just knew there was an all you can eat buffet awaiting them over the horizon.

To me the idea of being part of this universe and having the ability to bask in its magnificence while exulting in our increased understanding of it, makes me feel blessed. Not by a God, but simply due to my existence, and the intellect to appreciate it.

I think that if we are going to make progress with our understanding we have to stop being so damn selfish, and recognize that the beauty of our existence is in its connection to everything else, NOT in our toddler like expectation that everything we experience was given to us for being special and unique.

Thoughts?

P.S. By the speaking of Professor Tyson you have to see this awesome new trailer for his upcoming Cosmos series.  Prepare for awesomeness.

An homage to the light that science now shines on the universe around us, and a look back at the darkness from which we emerged.

"It was science that brought us out of the darkness, and showed us what we needed to know. That opened our eyes to reality. That gave us everything the gods denied us."

And yet today science and education are under constant attack. NOT because they are failing to do their jobs, but because they are doing it too well.

We owe it to our children, our country, and our species to constantly learn and discover, so that we may someday truly understand from whence we came, and to where we are going.

Early Thursday morning thought of the day.

You can try to deny it, but you know it's true.