@1 Free concert tomorrow, Sunday, 27 October. 1:30 pm. Salve Regina: Music for the Heavenly Queen. St. Catherine of Sienna. 68th street between First and York. Gregorian Chant, Ave Maris Stella, etc., etc. The music there is good.
@2 Chemists show life on Earth was not a fluke. But “[h]ow life came about from inanimate sets of chemicals is still a mystery.” Link
@3 Tenured professors says, “That’s it. I’m outta here.” Why I Jumped Off The Ivory Tower. Link
@4 Keep the scourge of scientism out of schools. Why evidence-based teaching methods are a bad idea. Link
Please prefix your comments with “@X” to indicate which story you’re commenting on. I should hardly need to say that a link does not necessarily imply endorsement.
@2
Origins research is becoming a big thing, institutes and everything (e.g. http://origins.mcmaster.ca). I attended a seminar on this recently and found it of interest.
@4
The usual confusion between scientism and pseudoscience. Since evidence might be demanded for a charge of pseudoscience it is easier to cry scientism instead. The actual origin of this problem is the attempt to turn the teaching vocation into a profession. This has been going on for about one hundred years and so the history of the change has been lost. A good reference is “Educational Wastelands” by Arthur Bestor. If you are going to demand that it requires years of professional training in education pedagogy, rather than discipline specific training, what better excuse than to invoke science.
Dennett defends Pinker at edge.
http://www.edge.org/conversation/dennett-on-wieseltier-v-pinker-in-the-new-republic