The LOLcats phenomenon taken to one of its logical endpoints, at LOL Theist. Derivative, and not as consistently funny as some of the other LOLcats spinoffs or the original, but a good idea.
See also Jesus of the Week.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
it can b rezurrection tym now plz?
Saturday, September 22, 2007
My crockus is huge!
Findings from neuroscience research are occasionally abused to make claims that go well beyond what the findings support. This morning, I stumbled onto a posting on Language Log (via Metafilter) about a community college instructor named Dan Hodgins who has given at least one talk in which he discussed a brain region called the "crockus". According to what I can gather from the Language Log posts, and other related posts around the Web, Hodgins has been telling educators that the crockus is larger in males than in females, and that this size disparity apparently accounts for the tendency for males to see the big picture but miss the details, and for females to see details but miss the big picture. I'm not sure where idea of the details-versus-big-picture difference come from, or whether it's a real sex difference, but I, like others, am pretty sure that I've never heard of the crockus. I haven't taken a class that dealt with brain physiology for over 10 years, but I know my major (and many minor) brain regions.
Well, others who are more motivated than I have begun to dig into the mystery of the crockus (much of my information here is from a series of follow-up posts on Language Log, here, here, and here). Mark Liberman (one of the Language Log bloggers) got in touch with Hodgins, and learned that the crockus was apparently discovered by a Dr. Alfred Crockus from Boston Medical University Hospital. Unfortunately, Liberman has searched around and it appears that Dr. Crockus does not exist, just like his eponymous brain region. This has not, however, stopped Hodgins from making the same claim about the crockus region again, as noted in a new post on Language Log this morning.
I looked around a bit myself, and have found that Hodgins is apparently real, so this is not a prank that Liberman, along with various colleagues, is playing; Liberman has e-mailed Hodgins and gotten responses that have been vaguely helpful. Hodgins appears on several PDF documents on the Mott Community College website, which collectively give an idea of the various roles he's played there. He's listed as an Early Childhood Education faculty member. Curiously, Hodgins is not listed in the MCC directory, although this could be a personal preference (for example, University of Arkansas professors are given the option to be de-listed partially or fully from the directory). There are references to talks that Hodgins has given, and is scheduled to give (PDF file, >1MB); actually, he's got talks scheduled quite far into the future. And there's even a picture of him on one site.
I cannot speculate on Hodgins' intentions in spreading what appears to be misinformation to a likely highly-credulous audience (i.e., early-childhood educators); pretty brain pictures make for better evidence among those without neuroscience training; see here and here, too). Several folks have speculated that Hodgins may be the victim of someone pulling his leg. (Dr. Crockus!? C'mon!) Whatever the case, one can only hope that Hodgins is stopped before he misinforms again.
In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled for egregious use of neuroscientific data, and let the folks at Mind Hacks know if you've got a candidate for the Dr. Alfred Crockus Award for the Misuse of Neuroscience. And keep your browers pointed toward Language Log to see how this plays out. I think that Liberman will pursue this little episode as long as it has legs, and it should be entertaining.
Saturday, August 26, 2006
gratitude
From Ronald Aronson's beautiful essay at The Philospher's Magazine:
'But there is an alternative to thanking God on the one hand and seeing the universe as a “cosmic lottery” or as absurd on the other. An alternative to being grateful to a deity or to ignoring such feelings altogether. Think of the sun's warmth. After all, the sun is one of those forces that make possible the natural world, plant life, indeed our very existence. It may not mean anything to us personally, but the warmth on our face means, tells us, and gives us a great deal. All of life on Earth has evolved in relation to this source of heat and light, we human beings included. We are because of, and in our own millennial adaptation to, the sun and other fundamental forces. My moment of gratitude was far more than a moment's pleasure. It is a way of acknowledging one of our most intimate if impersonal relationships, with the cosmic and natural forces that make us possible.'
Monday, July 31, 2006
fishy quote
John D. Morris, PhD (in geological engineering!), the president of the Institute for Creation Research (I refuse to link to these fools), commenting on a soon-to-be-open "Creation Museum" in rural (could it be elsewhere?) Kentucky: "Americans just aren't gullible enough to believe that they came from a fish." Well, duh. I came from my mother. And we all know that it's Canadians that come from fish.
The Yahoo! news story about this non-event can be read here.
The most-fun part of all of this is the museum's store, where you can purchase the illustrated Zoo Guide: A Bible-Based Handbook to the Zoo for just $12.99. Is it any wonder that so many children in the USA are so stupid?
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
HOOAH!
Occasionally it's a good idea to visit McSweeney's, especially for the REVIEWS OF NEW FOOD, where I learned of a new energy bar (noted by contributor Tony Antoniadis) invented by our esteemed military. Here's a description, straight from the mouth of the beast (not Tony; the military):"Soldiers demand a higher level of performance. So military nutritionists engineered HOOAH!'s blend of essential nutrients to provide steadier energy without the crash."
The HOOAH! bar exists.
This is no joke. You can buy HOOAH!s on Amazon.com or at your local 7-Eleven, CVS, Wal-Mart (though sadly not at the Wal-Marts here in Wal-Mart's home state just yet - I'm only partly kidding about the "sadly" part ... my desk drawer is currently the home of eight different energy bars or variants thereof), and even at my beloved Wegmans. (More about Wegmans eventually. If you think that your hometown do-it-all grocery store is better, you've got another thing coming. Wegmans rocks.)
Reading about the HOOAH! bar reminded me of Kevin Baker's "We're in the Army Now: The G.O.P.'s Plan to Militarize Our Culture " - from the October, 2003, issue of Harper's Magazine. I was about to get bummed that Harper's hasn't archived it, but then found that Baker has archived it here. In this article, Baker labels the Republicans the "Party of Huah" and paints a portrait of the militarization of USA culture. It's worth a read.
taking some stats
I'm signed up for courses and I'm taking some stats ...
From the University of Oregon Psychology Department. More credit where it's due when I find out more about this lovely video.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
mysterious ways II
Lioness in zoo kills man who invoked god. "A man shouting that God would keep him safe was mauled to death by a lioness ... [an] official said, 'A lioness went straight for him, knocked him down and severed his carotid artery.'"
Thursday, June 01, 2006
mysterious ways
Woman hit by lightning while praying. "Worried about the safety of her family during a stormy Memorial Day trip to the beach, Clara Jean Brown stood in her kitchen and prayed for their safe return as a strong thunderstorm rumbled through Baldwin County, Alabama ... She said 'Amen' and the room was engulfed in a huge ball of fire. The 65-year-old Brown said she is blessed to be alive."
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
hot dog!
The Oscar Meyer Weinermobile TM, which drove by me as I walked to work today. I'm inordinately excited about this. The poor image quality is due to my camera-phone. (Why is camera-phone preferred over phone-camera?)
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