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Jan

31

Walcott’s Quarry #42: Mystic Pikaia

Filed Under Walcott's Quarry | 1 Comment

I thought this comic would be a nice bookend to the my weeklong series bashing “Origins: Battle for the Planet”. So who exactly did “win” evolution, again?

Jan

30

Picking Apart “Origins: Battle for the Planet (Part VI)

Filed Under Wacky Science, YouTube | 5 Comments

Above: Welcome to the mega-bug metropolis. This is what the world would have been like if arthropods had “won” evolution. No, we haven’t strayed from the science AT ALL (sarcasm). If you’ve missed them, please read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5! OK.  Yesterday I promised that the conclusion to [...]

Jan

29

Picking Apart “Origins: Battle for the Planet” (Part V)

Filed Under Wacky Science, YouTube | 1 Comment

Above: A Sea Scorpion. If Nautiloids were “the first weapon of mass destruction” and the “jet powered torpedo of the deep, the Sea Scorpion must be some sort of “double-espresso plasma hydrogen bomb cannon of the depths”… If you’re new to this series, don’t forget to read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part [...]

Jan

28

Picking Apart “Origins: Battle for the Planet” (Part IV)

Filed Under Cambrian Period, Wacky Science, YouTube | 3 Comments

Above: Fear the poorly animated Nautiloid. Seriously. It’s the first “weapon of mass destruction,” whatever that’s supposed to mean. If you haven’t already, don’t forget to read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3! In Part 4, we are moving beyond my area of expertise, which centers around the Burgess Shale, and entering the dominion [...]

Jan

27

Picking Apart “Origins: Battle for the Planet” (Part III)

Filed Under Cambrian Period, Wacky Science, YouTube | 2 Comments

Above: Pikaia gracilens, hiding in the mud and desperately clinging to life until it can evolve some defences. At least according to the movie. Don’t forget to read Part 1 and Part 2, if you missed them! After the disaster that was yesterday’s segment, you may be wondering how much lower this movie can sink. [...]

Jan

26

Picking Apart “Origins: Battle for the Planet” (Part II)

Filed Under Cambrian Period, Wacky Science, YouTube | 6 Comments

Above: Desmond Collins. If they’d actually consulted with him, the movie wouldn’t have sucked so much. Check out Part 1 if you missed it! I only scratched the surface of the stupidity contained in this documentary in Part 1.  The first part of the video is largely an introduction.  Part 1 set the stage for [...]

Jan

25

Picking Apart “Origins: Battle for the Planet” (Part I)

Filed Under Cambrian Period, Wacky Science, YouTube | 16 Comments

Above: Mostly naked, completely shaved guy, who frolicks with arthropods and mollusks. You’ll be seeing a lot of him. Most of the time when I watch a science documentary, I don’t notice scientific errors, although they’re often there.  I’m not a scientist, and even in my areas of interest (paleontology and evolution) I’m not an [...]

Jan

24

Walcott’s Quarry #41: When Anachronism Fails

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Just poking fun at the inevitable anachronisms that creep into the comic.

Jan

23

Breaking Story from Newsweek: Darwinism is Dead!

Filed Under Science News, Wacky Science | 1 Comment

Not. Newsweek has published another ill-conceived piece on Evolution, entitled “Was Darwin Wrong?” (thanks to PZ for the heads up).  It’s  written by Sharon Begley, and critiques some of Darwin’s supposed ideas on evolution, failing epically in the process.   This is not the first time Newsweek has faltered, mind you. Remember Lincoln vs. Darwin? [...]

Jan

21

Fresh Meat For the Blogroll

Filed Under housekeeping | 1 Comment

Back when I updated my Blogroll the last time, I promised I’d continue to update it every once in a while, adding 5 blogs at a time to give all my favourite bloggers their own moment to shine. Well, the time has come, and here are the next 5 blogs: Evolving in Kansas – http://evolvinginkansas.blogspot.com/ [...]

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