NCSE Evolution Education Update for 2009/06/26

(by NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch)

Dear Friends of NCSE,

For your summer reading pleasure: new selected content from RNCSE, a
suite of papers from the "In the light of evolution III: Two centuries
of Darwin" symposium, and the winners of Florida Citizens for
Science's cartoon contest. Plus a last-minute chance to run the rapids
with NCSE.

CATCHING UP WITH RNCSE

Selected content from volume 28, number 4, of Reports of the National
Center for Science Education is now available on NCSE's website.
Featured are Brandon Haught's chronicle of the recent fight over the
place of evolution in Florida's state science standards, Leon Retief's
history of creationism in South Africa, and Stephen C. Burnett's "From
the World-Wide Flood to the World Wide Web: Creationism in the Digital
Age," reporting his investigation of what search engines provide about
creationism and evolution. And there are reviews, too: Stephen
Matheson discusses Gordon Glover's Beyond the Firmament and Jason
Rosenhouse assesses Thomas Woodward's Darwin Strikes Back.

If you like what you see, why not subscribe to RNCSE today? The next
issue (volume 29, number 3) features dispatches from Texas by Steven
Schafersman of Texas Citizens for Science, NCSE's Joshua Rosenau, and
Jeremy Mohn, who revealed Don McLeroy's penchant for quote-mining.
There's also a story about the the crowning of the kilosteve -- Steve
#1000 in NCSE's Project Steve -- and a host of reviews, including
Peter Dodson on Donald R. Prothero's Evolution: What the Fossils Say
and Why it Matters, Andrea Bottaro on Kenneth R. Miller's Only a
Theory, and Donald R. Prothero on Jerry Coyne's Why Evolution is True.
Don't miss out -- subscribe now!

For the selected content from RNCSE 28:4, visit:
http://ncseweb.org/rncse/28/4

For subscription information, visit:
http://ncseweb.org/membership

IN THE LIGHT OF EVOLUTION III

A special supplement to the June 16, 2009, issue of Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences entitled "In the light of evolution III:
Two centuries of Darwin" is now freely available. As the editors, John
C. Avise and Francisco J. Ayala, explain in their introduction:

***

In the articles of this Colloquium, leading evolutionary biologists
and science historians reflect on and commemorate the Darwinian
Revolution. The authors of these Proceedings canvass modern research
approaches and current scientific thought on each of the 3 main
categories of selection (natural, artificial, and sexual) that Darwin
addressed during his career. Although his legacy is associated
primarily with the illumination of natural selection in The Origin,
Darwin also contemplated and wrote extensively about what we would now
term artificial selection and sexual selection, as reflected for
example in two books titled, respectively, The Variation of Animals
and Plants Under Domestication (1869) and The Descent of Man and
Selection in Relation to Sex (1871). In a concluding section of these
Proceedings, several science historians comment on Darwin's seminal
contributions. Thus, these Proceedings are organized in 4 parts:
Natural Selection, or Adaptation to Nature; Artificial Selection, or
Adaptation to Human Demands; Sexual Selection, or Adaptation to Mating
Demands; and The Darwinian Legacy, 150 Years Later.

***

Among the authors represented are NCSE Supporters Francisco J. Ayala,
Michael Ruse, and Elliott Sober. Recordings of and slides from a few
of the talks are also freely available. A previous "In the light of
evolution" volume included "Biological design in science classrooms"
by NCSE's Eugenie C. Scott and Nick Matzke.

For "In the light of evolution III," visit:
http://www.pnas.org/content/106/suppl.1.toc

For the recordings and slides, visit:
http://www.nasonline.org/site/PageServer?pagename=SACKLER_Darwin_program

For "Biological design in science classrooms," visit:
http://www.pnas.org/content/104/suppl.1/8669.full

STICK SCIENCE CARTOON WINNERS ANNOUNCED

The winners of the Stick Science cartoon contest, sponsored by Florida
Citizens for Science, were announced on June 19, 2009. "The basic
concept here," as FCFS's Brandon Haught explained in announcing the
contest, "is to draw a cartoon that educates the public about
misconceptions the average person has about science." And lack of
artistic ability was no barrier: "all entries must be drawn using
stick figures. This is about creative ideas, not artistic ability."

The third place winner was Brooke Lundquist of Niceville, Florida; the
second place winner was Benjamin Tichy of Calistoga, California; and
the first place winner was Richard Korzekwa of Los Alamos, New Mexico:
congratulations to all three! Their winning cartoons, along with those
of seven runners-up, can be viewed on the Florida Citizens for Science
website.

The entries were judged by NCSE's executive director Eugenie C. Scott;
Phil Plait, the author of Bad Astronomy and Death from the Skies!;
Carl Zimmer, the author of Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea and
Microcosm: E. coli and the New Science of Life; and Kate Miller, the
founder of the evolution toystore Charlie's Playhouse.

For the announcement of the winners, visit:
http://www.flascience.org/wp/?p=1081

For the original announcement of the contest, visit:
http://www.flascience.org/wp/?p=983

For the winning cartoons, visit:
http://www.flascience.org/wp/?page_id=1066

RUN THE RAPIDS WITH NCSE

Due to a last-minute cancellation, there is a vacant spot on the
upcoming NCSE Grand Canyon raft trip, starting at Marble Canyon,
Arizona, on July 2, spending eight glorious days on the Colorado River
in the company of NCSE's Eugenie C. Scott and geologist Alan Gishlick,
and ending at Lake Mead on July 10. The cost is $2480. Call now!

For information on the trip, visit:
http://ncseweb.org/about/excursions/gcfaq

Thanks for reading! And don't forget to visit NCSE's website --
http://ncseweb.org -- where you can always find the latest news on
evolution education and threats to it.

-- 
Sincerely,

Glenn Branch
Deputy Director
National Center for Science Education, Inc.
420 40th Street, Suite 2
Oakland, CA 94609-2509
510-601-7203 x310
fax: 510-601-7204
800-290-6006
branch@ncseweb.org
http://ncseweb.org

Eugenie C. Scott's Evolution vs. Creationism -- now in its second edition!
http://ncseweb.org/evc

Not in Our Classrooms: Why Intelligent Design Is Wrong for Our Schools
http://ncseweb.org/nioc

NCSE's work is supported by its members. Join today!
http://ncseweb.org/membership