By Using Floor Buttons, Can Dogs Talk?

abstractions, animal behavior, Bunny (dog), Carl Sagan, chimpanzees, confirmation bias, crows, Dogs, emotions, floor buttons, gibberish, humans, language, Life Sciences, marine biologists, Neuroscience & Mind, puppies, Sarah Sloat, Scientific American, sheepadoodle, Stephanie Pappas, Thomas Fudge, TikTok, Washington State, wolves
The latest fad in the “Talk to the animals” arena appears to be a classic in confirmation bias. Source
Read More

Fossil Friday: Fossil Sea Cows and the Abrupt Origin of Sirenia and Desmostylia

Afrotheria, Calvert Marine Museum, common descent, Darwinism, Desmostylia, dugongids, dugongs, elephants, Embrithopoda, Eocene, Evolution, Fossil Friday, fossil record, Ishatherium subathuensis, Jamaica, Lincoln Creek Formation, mammals, manatees, Paleocene, PaleoDB, paleontology, Pezosiren, Proboscidea, protosirenids, science, sea cows, Sirenia, sirenians, Steller’s sea cow, synapomorphies, Tethytheria, Washington State, whales
So, is every thing OK with Darwinism after all? No so fast. Actually, there are some problems that do not square well with a Darwinian scenario. Source
Read More

In Washington State, Assisted Suicide “Protections” Become “Barriers”

assisted suicide, barriers, Death with Dignity Act, guidelines, HB 2419, Medicine, protections, self-administration, University of Washington, Washington State
Razzle-dazzle them. That’s what good carney pitchmen do to sell their wares. So do assisted-suicide advocates. When pitching legalization, they solemnly promise that they have written, Oh, so “protective guidelines” into the legislation to prevent abuse. Then, once the law is safely in place, advocates grouse that the guidelines they touted are “obstacles” or “barriers” that unjustly prevent suffering people from accessing assisted suicide. Eventually, political agitation begins to amend the law to make things, shall we say, more flexible. A Slippery Slope We see this slippery slope process in action in Washington. Assisted suicide has been legal there for several years, and now a bill has been filed to require a university study into alleged “barriers facing Washington’s residents to the Death with Dignity Act,” and to have that…
Read More