I am an atheist, and I care about the way non-religious belief is communicated by atheists to the public. Over the years, I have become increasingly disappointed with the way atheists explain our origins to the public. In the future, I hope that we stop underselling how much science knows about “how we got here.”
Read MoreScience Meets YouTube
Over the last few weeks I have been interested in how new media is changing education. YouTube has become an exciting avenue for a new generation of science educators to build a global audience. In the future, we should be lucky enough to see more and more interesting and exciting educational channels. This post is a list of my favourite at the moment.
Read MoreRethinking Education
The current educational structure is deeply flawed. In an ideal world every student would have a one-on-one tutor. However, for several reasons this is not a feasible teaching structure. But with the development of new computer technologies, it may be possible one day for everyone to have a one-on-one personalized computer tutor. This idea has been called ‘digital Aristotle’, and the basic framework for an educational re-structuring is already in place.
Read MoreA True Environmentalist
Jane Goodall is well-know for her work with chimpanzees in Tanzania. However, her work attempting to protect the environment and conserve all life has been her greatest contribution and gift to our species and planet. Although she will always be known as a famous primatologist, she is also a true environmentalist.
Read MoreGlobal Religiosity
A recent global religiosity and atheism survey was conducted by the Pew Research Center. The results indicate that overall religious belief is declining and atheism is growing. However, most humans on the planet still adhere to a religion and that belief seems to be dependent on a number of predictable variables.
Read MoreCreationism in Public Schools
Creationism is still commonly taught in biology classrooms throughout North America. Several states teach it 'along side' evolution. What role should religion play in public school? And specifically how should biology teachers approach creationist philosophy in class?
Read MorePresidential Candidates on Science
The 2012 American presidential candidates frequently discuss economic and social issues. However, they are very rarely made to discuss the most important scientific issues of the day, despite the fact that our future as a species depends on scientific literacy and competence. In a recent science debate the two candidates discussed their thoughts on major issues like climate change, space flight and internet control.
Read MoreUncomfortable Relationship Between Factual Knowledge and the Human Population
A recent National Science Foundation poll was conducted globally to better understand how factual knowledge is understood around the world. The poll revealed that some basic facts about our world and the universe are simply rejected, or not known by a large percentage of the population. This poll highlights the fact that we need more basic science education throughout public school.
Read MoreEvolution and the Public
Evolution is frequently discussed in major media outlets like TV, newspaper and online. However, the people who write about evolutionary news and research are frequently unqualified to do so. This leads to the public becoming more and more misinformed about what evolution is and what is factual. In the future, major media outlets should allow more people with credible scientific qualifications to write and speak about evolution in the news.
Read MoreThe Discontinuous Mind
Humans are programmed to think discontinuously. As a result we have trouble conceptualizing anything that does not have a clear and easily defined start and end. Evolutionary educators must understand that this is a fundamental reason why evolutionary thought and the theory for evolution in general meets so much skepticism and incredulity. In order to better educate people regarding evolution we must first educate people about the discontinuous mind and how it relates to understanding evolutionary theory.
Read MoreSharing a Divided World
During my undergraduate career I was fully immersed in a four-field approach to anthropological learning. During this experience I found that there is severe division between the four fields that is detrimental to the subject as a whole. In the future anthropologists need to be open to greater collaboration and integration. That will make anthropological undergraduate training less confusing and foster more collaboration at all levels of academia.
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