I must in fact, actually compose some blog posts on my “non-professional” time. Or, I do other work-related things then so that when I am at lab, I have some time to make blog posts. I conclude this because having been to Paris for the (strike and) lab evaluation at the end of last week, and not having Internet access in the evening, I was unable to find a spare moment to compose the slightest post. The phone and Internet are still knocked out at home and look set to be for another week at least, so I’ve come in reluctantly to lab twice this weekend – yesterday to change cells between other Saturday family activities, and today to access the Internet.
Somehow, I need to be online to be inspired.
I was thinking of copying as is, the text I received from Defend Science about the upcoming Darwin Day – this is going to be a blitz, folks! Yes, I shall be lazy and do it. I still have too much on my plate to do better right now, and I do want to compose a proper post for the real occasion as it approaches.
We have some ideas and proposals about how people can take up Darwin Day:
If there isn’t a Darwin Day event in your area (on campus, at the local science center or natural history museum, or as a civic event), organize one! (Click here for some basic suggestions on how to organize a Darwin Day event – it’s not too late!)
If there is a Darwin Day event planned, participate and build for it. If there is a Darwin Day event on your campus, help bring word of it out to the community.
Scientists, students, and others can write Darwin Day editorials, op-ed pieces, and letters to the editor (see below for further ideas and/or models you might find helpful in getting started). These can be submitted for publication in national, local or campus media or on-line. The recent battle over the science standards in Texas has drawn national attention to the continuing attempts of right-wing religious forces to corrupt the teaching of science, and evolution specifically, in public schools. We believe that there is an opportunity to influence this debate through joining the public discourse and celebrating Darwin Day while defending both evolution and science more broadly. We encourage you to consider submitting such a piece to any on-line forum, blog, or bulletin board you feel is appropriate.
We recently participated in the national conference of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB). In response to feedback we received, we have prepared a suggested letter-to-the-editor which appears below and can be downloaded here… Of course many of you will want to write your own, based on your own experience. Please send us a copy of what you submit and let us know if it is published. We will link to it from the web site.
Ideas on how to organize a Darwin Day event:
Those of you who find the idea of organizing an event time consuming or even intimidating might want to consider a small, café style, event or approach a biologist to provide the content for the event – many biology professors would be glad to lead a discussion around this topic, and don’t forget high school biology teachers as sources of knowledge. An evolutionary biologist at a university or research center could be asked to talk about their work or, if they have authored books for broad audiences, to do a book event. If the speaker wants, they can talk about Darwin and his contributions, or you, as the organizer, can do so during an introduction (there are many excellent sources on Darwin, and you can draw from the Defend Science Darwin Day statement.) Find a venue appropriate to what you and the participants are going to do – a café, bookstore, or public lecture hall can usually be reserved for this sort of public interest event. Write a brief announcement for your event and post it broadly both in email/electronic media and print media and on bulletin boards. Don’t forget to ask community organizations and churches to add it to their calendars. Send the announcement to Defend Science and we will post it on our website.
Talking of Darwin, maybe some people might like to comment over here.
Forgive me if this sounds too like an advert, but anyone wishing to participate in Darwin is welcome to use Nature’s free resource, 15 Evolutionary Gems.
I’m looking forward to Darwin day.
I’m getting tooled up for that Blog Swarm thingy you alerted me to. Unfortunately, I have only vague ideas of what I’m going to write. As usual, I’ve over-committed by promising not one, but two blog posts, which given my usual productivity, is going to be pushing it a bit.
Several of the Evolutionary Gems from the Nature resource are perfect topics for lectures in my graduate developmental biology course. I intend to use them as such … if it goes reasonably well, I’ll report back. :-)
Maxine: I’ve gone over to take a look at that discussion, and don’t have time to think about it today. Seems like Bob took a lot of time already and he’s better qualified than me to discuss the merits and flaws of that hypothesis.
Thanks for mentioning the 15 Evolutionary Gems, Maxine. I really should blog about that separately I feel that my contribution to Darwin Day has been made. But soft – what’s that rumbling over the horizon? Your favourite journal of record beginning with N that isn’t Noah’s Favourite will be planning something special, as our 12 Feb issue coincides cannily with the Great Man’s 200th.
Here is a more… diverse …discussion thread entitled Darwin 200: Great expectations.
I’ve blogged about the 15 Evolutionary Whatnots here