A load of science

If you are into science videos this will interest you. It’s a collection of 100 science lectures given by top scientists.

They are divided into the following groups:

• General,
• Science and engineering,
• Biology and medicine,
• Chemistry,
• Physics and astronomy,
• Earth and environment,
• Technology and computer science,
• Science and the future,
• Science and business, and
• Miscellaneous

Some are several years old – but they look interesting. And they certainly cover a range of interests within science.

Thanks to Shirley Zeilinger for pointing me to 100 More Incredible Lectures From the World’s Top Scientists.

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Richard Dawkins explains his need to make the case for Darwinian theories in his new book The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution. Margaret Atwood talks about on her new novel  The Year of the Flood which meshes together evolutionary and religious ideas about the foundations of the natural world. And Ruth Padel describes some of the family stories of Charles Darwin and his wife.

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Patricia Churchland favours Macs but steven Pinker doesn't!

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“We are skeptical of claims for the ability of random mutation and natural selection to account for the complexity of life. Careful examination of the evidence for Darwinian theory should be encouraged.”

Few of the signatories have signed the statement for scientific reasons – rather their motives have been religious (see Who are the “dissenters from Darwinism”?). However, scientists by their nature are skeptics and should always critically examine evidence. In principle few scientists would disagree with the statement. So why has the Scientific Dissent from Darwin list attracted so little scientific support (see Dissenters from Darwinism in context)?