x
"There is much that remains deeply mysterious, and it is not likely that we will ever uncover all the secrets of a universe as vast as ours; but, armed with science, we can at least ask sensible, meaningful questions about it and recognize credible answers when we find them. We don't have to invent wildly implausible stories; we have the joy and excitement of real scientific investigation and discovery to keep our imaginations in line. And in the end that is more exciting than fantasy."x

--- Richard Dawkins

INTERNET ACTIVITY

Evolution

"The contemporary theory of biological evolution is one of the most robust products of scientific inquiry. It is the foundation for research in many areas of biology as well as an essential element of science education. To become informed and responsible citizens in our contemporary technological world, students need to study the theories and empirical evidence central to current scientific understanding."

Statement by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.










Blackboard Class Discussion




Evolution has been a discussion topic in this class for many years. Many students say in the Learning Self-Assessment that this is their favorite topic -- no matter if they are religious or not. For this reason I decided to put together a web page with several interesting links on the topic. Scroll down, look over them -- click on the YouTube or the image of the web page -- and pick what interests you. Note that the whole series of short 8 - 10 minute segments of the History Channel's "Ape to Man" is included. I hope these will not disappear due to copyright problems (one can never be sure when it comes to YouTube), because they are really good. If you watch them, you should watch them in ORDER.

When finished with the reading assignments, and when the Town Hall Meeting opens, start a discussion thread in the bulletin board on Blackboard with a SUBJECT you make up covering the topic. This topic may or may not (you decide) conflict with religion -- no matter what it cannot be avoided. However, if you don't like discussiong whether God exist or not -- that can be avoided. Also this is just one part of the reading assignment for the Town hall discussion aboutr evolution -- the two main reading assignments are located via the links below:

Reading Assignment (click on the link) x x


Reading Assignment (click on the link) x x




(You can also find your own Internet links ON THE TOPIC -- if you do, give the URL in the posting -- and if judged a good source it might be used next semester, as this discussion will be expanded.)




Click in the figure to navigate to the web page...




Common misconception: We evolved from Chimpanzees. Established fact:
We evolved from a common ancestor with the Chimpanzee and Bonobo,
NOT from the Chimpanzees themselves...






Click in the figure to navigate to the online Smithsonian exhibit...






Click in the figure to navigate to the online exhibit...






Click in the figure to navigate to the online exhibit...






Click in the figure to navigate to the online Witte Museum exhibit in San Antonio...




Darwin at the Witte Museum is generously supported by the William Knox Holt Foundation, the Joan and Herb Kelleher
Charitable Foundation, Great Events and Rentals, and the City of San Antonio Office of Cultural Affairs. Darwin is organized by
the American Museum of Natural History, New York (www.amnh.org) in collaboration with The Field Museum, Chicago;
the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, The Museum of Science Boston; The Royal Ontario Museum
and the Natural History Museum of London.






x History Channel - Ape to Man (part 1: Introduction - Neanderthal Man)






Click in the figure to navigate to the web page...





x History Channel - Ape to Man (part 2: Neanderthal Man)











x History Channel - Ape to Man (part 3: Homo erectus)











x History Channel - Ape to Man (part 4: Homeo erectus - Piltdown Man)











x History Channel - Ape to Man (part 5: Piltdown Man -Taung Child)











x History Channel - Ape to Man (part 6: Taung Child, Australopithecus africanus)











x History Channel - Ape to Man (part 7: Australopithecus boisei, and Homo habilis)











x History Channel - Ape to Man (part 8: Lucy, Australopithecus afarensis)





Update on the Brazilian dam fight.
March 04, 2011.







x History Channel - Ape to Man (part 9: Australopithecus afarensis)











x History Channel - Ape to Man (part 10: Homo sapiens and Conclusion)





































We are almost at the end of the "reading assignment", but we can't start this Blackboard discussion without discussing the possibilities of absolutely fantastic ECOLOGICAL environments on planets humankind will visit in the future (unless we destroy our own planet before we have a chance to go...)


The picture below is art from the previous link above, "Art inspired by James Cameron's Avatar". One of the most inspiring parts of the movie Avatar, at least for this former scorpion collector and nighttime biologist, was the night ecology on Pandora.

On Earth, scorpions fluoresce at night, with a ghostly yellow or green light -- when illuminated by ultraviolet "blacklight", very similar to the organisms on Pandora (but on Pandora they do it without the blacklight).

Imagine for a moment how it would be to walk on Pandora at night... then click on the picture and listen to the two music videos... (Never seen Avatar? Here is your chance to see it in about 5 minutes -- without spoiling the movie I think...)



Source

CLICK ON THE PICTURE OF AVATAR AT NIGHT TO CONTINUE TO PAGE 3


Page 3

Page 1






















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