Adaptation vs Drift at Evolution Ottawa 2012

I've been looking over the program for the First Joint Congress on Evolutionary Biology to be held in Ottawa, Canada next week [Evolution Ottawa].

The talks are divided into sessions with six short presentations per session. Here's the list of sessions with the words "adaptation" or "selection" in the title.

Adaptation 1
Adaptation 2
Adaptation 3
Adaptation 4
Adaptation 5
Adaptation 6
Adaptation 7
Adaptation 8
Adaptation 9
Adaptation 10
Adaptation and Evolutionary Genetics
Sexual Selection and Mating Systems 1
Sexual Selection and Mating Systems 2
Sexual Selection and Mating Systems 3
Sexual Selection and Mating Systems 4
Sexual Selection and Mating Systems 5
Sexual Selection and Mating Systems 6
Sexual Selection and Mating Systems 7
Sexual Selection and Mating Systems 8
Sexual Selection and Mating Systems 9
Sexual Selection and Mating Systems 10
Sexual Selection and Mating Systems 11
Sexual Selection and Mating Systems 12
Sexual Selection and Mating Systems 13
Sexual Selection and Mating Systems 14
Sexual Selection and Mating Systems 15
Mating Systems and Sexual Selection 1
Mating Systems and Sexual Selection 2
Adaptation and Experimental Evolution 1
Adaptation and Experimental Evolution 2
Sexual Selection and Experimental Evolution
Adaptation and Gene Flow
Adaptation and Genomics
Adaptation and Evolutionary Ecolgy 1
Adaptation and Evolutionary Ecolgy 2
Adaptation and Evolutionary Ecolgy 3
Adaptation and Evolutionary Ecolgy 4
Adaptation and Evolutionary Ecolgy 5
Natural Selection in the Wild: from Genotype to Phenotype

Here's the list of sessions with "Random Genetic Drift" or Neutral" in their titles.

Isn't that strange? There are many more neutral alleles than beneficial alleles and random genetic drift is overwhelmingly the most common mechanism of evolution. I guess most evolutionary biologists have a huge bias toward studying adaptation. One can't help but wonder how many studies were abandoned when the investigators discovered that they couldn't prove natural selection was involved.

Why weren't those studies completed and published as examples of random genetic drift?

There are more than one thousand talks being given at this meeting and only five (5) have the word "drift" in their title—and one of those is about education!

---

What's Wrong with Michael Ruse's View of Accommodationism?

Michael Ruse wrote a book called Science and Spirituality: Making Room for Faith in the Age of Science (2010). It's a defense of accommodationism—the position of atheists who maintain that science and religion are compatible because they are different ways of knowing. Ruse is one of the main proponents of Methodological Naturalism, which postulates that science is restricted, or limited, to investigations of the natural world. Since religion deals, by definition, with the supernatural world, it falls outside the domain of science and is, therefore, compatible with science. This leads Ruse to define several criteria of Christianity that are immune to scientific investigation [The Essence of Christianity].

This position used to be overwhelmingly accepted by the majority of scientists and philosophers, especially in America. It has become the standard view of most professional scientific organizations and of The National Center for Science Education (NCSE). It's a convenient way for atheist scientists and religious people who are mostly accepting of science to avoid conflict as they make common cause against the extreme creationists.

But that view is now being challenged and it's no longer acceptable to claim that it represents the only view of science. That's what the good guys did during the Dover trial a few years ago but it wouldn't work today because there are dozens of prominent philosophers of science who would argue against such a limitation of science.

One of them is Peter Slezak of the School of History and Philosophy, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. He recently wrote a review of Ruse's book: Michael Ruse: Science and Spiritutality: Making Room for Faith in the Age of Science (Slezak, 2011).

Much of the conflict depends on definitions and Slezak clearly endorses a much broader view of science than Ruse. Here's how Slezak challenges the view that science has limits.

This is a widely held and obviously appealing line to adopt for those, like Ruse, who are committed to the scientific enterprise and its claims. However, I will suggest that, despite its appearance of open-minded ecumenicalism, the posture faces insuperable intellectual difficulties. In wishing to leave room beyond ‘‘the allowable scope of science’’ (p. 235), Ruse is effectively endorsing a traditional demarcation between science and metaphysics in order to restore respectability to some claims in the latter category. However, this recidivist project does not properly address the hegemonic nature of the scientific enterprise. This conception is expressed in the final remarks of Bertrand Russell’s (1935) book Religion and Science. Aside from questions of value that lie outside the realm of truth and falsehood,

Russell says:

Whatever knowledge is attainable, must be attained by scientific methods; and what science cannot
discover, mankind cannot know (1935, p. 243).

The title of Freud’s (1927, 92) book The Future of an Illusion refers to religion and ends with the exactly the same sentiments: ‘‘an illusion it would be to suppose that what science cannot give us we can get elsewhere’’. These expressions of a positivist conception are less dogmatic than they appear because they may be understood as statements of the openmindedness of science rather than its opposite. That is, ‘‘science’’ doesn’t exclude anything simply because the honorific label is used for anything worth believing. That is, if there are any rational grounds for a proposition, it will become included within the domain of established science. Or, rather, perhaps we should say that it will be included on the spectrum of claims ranging across ‘good, bad and bogus’ to use the sub-title of Gardner’s (1981) book. The point is captured in Laudan’s (1983) account of the ‘‘Demise of the Demarcation Problem’’ since he shows that ‘‘the problem of demarcation … is spurious’’ and the heterogeneity of beliefs and activities means that there are no lines to be drawn (see Special Issue of Science & Education, 2011, volume 20, 5–6). In particular, this means that the claims of religion fall somewhere on the spectrum, arguably nearer the bogus end. However, this means that they are subject to the usual criteria for deciding what is worth believing, which is, in any case, clear enough from the nature of the claims as we will note presently.

Ruse and his allies believe that any attempt to step outside the limits of science constitute a venture into metaphysics and this is not science but something else. Peter Slezak rejects this argument ...

Plantinga (1991, 8) suggests that the question of the clash between faith and reason is ‘‘enormously difficult’’ requiring ‘‘penetrating grasp of the relevant theological and philosophical issues’’ as well as the complex science. However, this is sheer bluff since the arguments don’t depend on any such arcane knowledge. Thus, citing Plantinga, Ruse (p. 183) seeks room for claims alongside and independent of science on the grounds that there are alternative ‘‘world views’’ and, therefore, a choice between two ‘‘metaphysical’’ options— naturalism and theism. The air of reasonableness and even profundity in this stance produces a vacant illusion of explanation but disguises sophistry. First, even if we are to talk this fancy philosophical way with Plantinga, it remains obscure why the Christian theistic ‘‘metaphysics’’ is the only alternative to the ‘‘naturalistic’’ one. One could presumably find or invent many others that would have equal status as alternatives to naturalism by virtue of having nothing to recommend them. Does Plantinga think that Mexican metaphysics based on the theology of Quetzalcoatl deserves equal consideration with his Christian variety?

The very idea that we can transcend what Ruse calls the ‘‘limitations of a science based knowledge’’ (p. 10), or that we have a choice between alternative ‘‘metaphysics’’, is an illusion. There is no alternative to our best theories other than worse ones. Naturalism is just the picture provided by our current science and is, therefore, the best we’ve got. Pretentious philosophical talk of ‘‘metaphysical’’ options can’t change the fact that naturalism is the only game in town since it is simply the totality of our theories in physics, chemistry, biology, neuroscience, geology and so on. Does Christian metaphysics provide a better account of quantum physics, cosmology or the structure of DNA?

Slezak is going to be accused of scientism or, at the very least, naturalism. The accommodationists will claim that the leap to naturalism is overstepping the limits of what science can or cannot claim. That's not true. Science teaches us that the scientific approach works and that most things have a naturalistic explanation. It follows that any claim of a valid a non-naturalistic explanation must have at least as much to recommend it or else it is nothing more than hand-waving.

---

Slezak, P. (2011) Michael Ruse: Science and Spiritutality: Making Room for Faith in the Age of Science Sci & Educ 21:403-413. [DOI 10.1007/s11191-011-9373-0]

Guess Where We're Going Tonight?

I hope Neil Diamond sings Sweet Caroline, we know the actions better than this crowd does! See you at the Air Canada Centre at 8pm!

---

Monday's Molecule #175

If you look closely, you'll see that today's molecule is an unusual variant of a very common cell component. Your task for today is NOT to give this molecule a specific name but rather to describe it in general terms and identify three (3) ways in which it differs from the more common molecules. Finally, you have to tell us where these molecules are found.

Post your answer as a comment. I'll hold off releasing any comments for 24 hours. The first one with the correct answer wins. I will only post mostly correct answers to avoid embarrassment. The winner will be treated to a free lunch with a very famous person, or me.

There could be two winners. If the first correct answer isn't from an undergraduate student then I'll select a second winner from those undergraduates who post the correct answer. You will need to identify yourself as an undergraduate in order to win. (Put "undergraduate" at the bottom of your comment.)

Some past winners are from distant lands so their chances of taking up my offer of a free lunch are slim. (That's why I can afford to do this!)

In order to win you must post your correct name. Anonymous and pseudoanonymous commenters can't win the free lunch.

Winners will have to contact me by email to arrange a lunch date.

Comments are invisible for 24 hours. Comments are now open.

UPDATE: This is a typical bacterial membrane lipid found in archaebacteria (Archaea) and in some gram-negative bacteria. It differs from the glycerophospholipids in eukaryotes and other bacteria in three ways. (1) The backbone molecule (a three carbon glycerol molecule) is sn-glycerol-1-phosphate, a stereoisomer of the more common backbone sn-glycerol-3-phosphate, found in other lipids. (2) The long fatty acid chains are attached to the glycerol moiety by an ether linkage, rather than an ester linkage. (3) The hydrocarbon chains of the fatty acid chains are composed of isoprenoid units methyl units. Today's winner is Raul A. Félix de Sousa (again).

Winners
Nov. 2009: Jason Oakley, Alex Ling
Oct. 17: Bill Chaney, Roger Fan
Oct. 24: DK
Oct. 31: Joseph C. Somody
Nov. 7: Jason Oakley
Nov. 15: Thomas Ferraro, Vipulan Vigneswaran
Nov. 21: Vipulan Vigneswaran (honorary mention to Raul A. Félix de Sousa)
Nov. 28: Philip Rodger
Dec. 5: 凌嘉誠 (Alex Ling)
Dec. 12: Bill Chaney
Dec. 19: Joseph C. Somody
Jan. 9: Dima Klenchin
Jan. 23: David Schuller
Jan. 30: Peter Monaghan
Feb. 7: Thomas Ferraro, Charles Motraghi
Feb. 13: Joseph C. Somody
March 5: Albi Celaj
March 12: Bill Chaney, Raul A. Félix de Sousa
March 19: no winner
March 26: John Runnels, Raul A. Félix de Sousa
April 2: Sean Ridout
April 9: no winner
April 16: Raul A. Félix de Sousa
April 23: Dima Klenchin, Deena Allan
April 30: Sean Ridout
May 7: Matt McFarlane
May 14: no winner
May 21: no winner
May 29: Mike Hamilton, Dmitri Tchigvintsev
June 4: Bill Chaney, Matt McFarlane
June 18: Raul A. Félix de Sousa
June 25: Raul A. Félix de Sousa

---

Do the IDiots Understand Evolution?

David Klinghoffer noted recently that an anthropologist, Richard Leakey, and some lawyer named Jonathan H. Adler seem to be using different meanings of the word "evolution" [For Richard Leakey and So Many Other Darwin Advocates, Evolution Is a Word that Can Mean Anything]. It doesn't seem to matter to Klinghoffer that one of those men is a scientist and the other isn't.

Picking up on the point that evolution is a word that can mean anything, Joshua Youngkin¹ adds his 2 cents [On the Useful Instability of the Word "Evolution"].

David's concern, I think, is that Darwinists use the term "evolution" in various and even conflicting ways in order to occasionally serve less-than-noble purposes. It's almost as if Darwinist usage of the term "evolution" is sometimes meant to keep skeptics and even the public guessing, as if to avoid a fair fight on the evidence about a stable, commonly understood set of propositions. Why would anyone want to do that?

The meanings of the word "evolution" can be found in evolutionary biology textbooks and at many places on the web. You can read two of my contributions at What Is Evolution? and Evolution Is a Fact and a Theory. It seems to me that many evolutionary biologists are making a very serious effort to define their terms.

Some of the IDiots actually get it as I pointed out a few weeks ago [All IDiots Believe in Evolution!]. That was in response to a posting by johnnyb who said ....

So what is one to do? Well, thankfully, our friends the evolutionists have given us a way out. In their zeal to claim consensus on the “fact of evolution,” they have had to steamroll together such a large diversity of opinion into the single term “evolution”, that the word “evolution” no longer has the grand meaning it used to. The only real meaning everyone can agree on is “change in allele frequency over time” – and that is a definition that literally everyone can agree with.

Apparently his fellow IDiots didn't get the memo.

It doesn't take a lot of effort to recognize what evolutionary biologists mean when they use the word "evolution." You have to be really stupid to imagine that they are deliberately using different meanings in in different contexts for the sole purpose of confusing the IDiots. As you can see, the IDiots are quite capable of confusing themselves without our help.

Speaking of deliberate obfuscation ... I wonder why they continue to refer to "Darwinists" when they've been told hundreds of times that this is not a synonym for "evolutionary biologists"? Is that for a "less-than-noble purpose" or is it just because the IDiots are stupid? I think we know the answer to that one.

I have some sympathy for bloggers who are ignorant but I don't like liars. However, the people I really hate are the hypocrites.

---

1. Joshua Youngkin is a lawyer who works for the Discovery Institute. He's probably an expert on the meaning of the word evolution.

Forthcoming this year from De Gruyter

De Gruyter: Papyrology

Literarische Texte der Berliner Papyrussammlung
Zur Neueröffnung des Ägyptischen Museums

[Literary Texts in the Berlin Papyrus Collection]

Ed. by Reiter, Fabian

Series: Berliner Klassiker Texte 10

Aims and Scope
In celebration of the reopening of the permanent exhibition of the Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection at the ‘Neues Museum,’ this volume presents editions of previously unpublished Greek and Latin literary texts of the Berlin papyrus collection. Numerous papyrologists from all over the world present both known and previously unknown literary and semi-literary texts of various genres and specialist fields.

Dokumentarische Texte der Berliner Papyrussammlung

Zur Neueröffnung des Ägyptischen Museums

[Documentary Texts in the Berlin Papyrus Collection]

Ed. by Reiter, Fabian

Series: Berliner Griechische Urkunden 20

Aims and Scope
In celebration of the reopening of the permanent exhibition ofthe Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection at the ‘Neues Museum,’ this volume presents editions of previously unpublished Greek documents of the Berlin papyrus collection. Numerous papyrologists from all over the world provide valuable insights into the administration, everyday life and legal world of Graeco-Roman Egypt.




•

Tsantsanoglou, Kyriakos

Of Golden Manes and Silvery Faces

The Partheneion 1 of Alcman
Series: Trends in Classics - Supplementary Volumes 16

Aims and Scope

Ever since the papyrus containing Alcman’s Partheneion was first published in 1863, classicists have been faced with one of the hardest riddles of their scholarship. Although the language was more or less clear, the meaning of many verses and the character of the poem remained elusive. Therefore it is not surprising that during the century and a half that has elapsed since then, a large bibliography has piled up, disproportionate to the mere 101 surviving verses of the enigmatic poem. This book presents a verse-by-verse commentary to the text with a number of new textual and interpretative proposals based on a detailed inspection of the papyrus. Numerous new readings are made in particular to the Scholia to the Partheneion, greatly elucidating not only questions of interpretation but also problems concerning the composition of the chorus, the number of its members, the identity of the protagonist girls, the social context, as well as questions of performance. The girlish story that lurks in the background but actually forms the framework of the poem now becomes more clear, revealing at the same time the didactic objective of the poet. A new edition of the Partheneion and the Scholia is offered at the end, together with a new translation of the poem.

Azzarello, Giuseppina

Il dossier della "domus divina" in Egitto
Con un contributo di T. M. Hickey

Series: Archiv für Papyrusforschung und verwandte Gebiete - Beihefte 32

Aims and Scope
The private property of the imperial family (domus divina) is a subject of great importance for the study of the Byzantine Empire. A group of texts from the Oxyrhynchites proves to be a fruitful source for the reconstruction of previously uncertain aspects of the administration and extension of imperial domains. The volume presents for the first time the complete papyrological dossier of the domus divina in the area of Oxyrhynchus, and undertakes an analysis of the administrators’ tasks as well as an identification of the estates and their employees.
La proprietà privata della famiglia imperiale (domus divina) è un tema di particolare importanza per lo studio dell'impero bizantino. Un gruppo di testi, provenienti dalla regione dell'Oxyrhynchites si rivela un terreno privilegiato di ricerca per la ricostruzione di aspetti ancora oscuri della gestione e dell'espansione delle proprietà. Il volume propone per la prima volta il dossier papirologico della domus divina nella regione ossirinchita, l'analisi dei compiti degli amministratori, l'individuazione delle località di proprietà imperiale e dei loro lavoratori.

Poethke, Günter / Prignitz, Sebastian / Vaelske, Veit

Aktenbuch des Aurelios Philammon
Prozessberichte, Annona militaris und Magie in BGU IV 1024-1027

["File" of Aurelius Philammon. Reports of Proceedings, Annona militaris and Magic in Berlin Papyri BGU IV 1024-1027]

Series: Archiv für Papyrusforschung und verwandte Gebiete - Beihefte 34

Aims and Scope
In 1904, with only the briefest commentary, Wilhelm Schubart published the text of the best-preserved Egyptian papyrus codex under the title Aus einem Aktenbuche (“From a File”). These papyri include reports of legal proceedings, receipts for provisions requisitioned for the Roman army, an official collection letter, and texts dealing with magic. While the pages containing lists were not included in the initial publication, they are included here with revised editions and commentary about all the texts, thus providing us with crucial insights regarding their interrelationships, and, in particular, about the author of the codex.

M.R.M. Hasitzka, Koptisches Sammelbuch IV

M.R.M. Hasitzka, Koptisches Sammelbuch IV
Mitteilungen aus der Papyrussammlung der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek,
XXIII. Folge, Band 4

Das Buch ist ab jetzt zu einem Ladenpreis von 99,95 Euro im Buchhandel und direkt über den Verlag erhältlich.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Monika Hasitzka
--
Dr. Monika Hasitzka
Koptologin der Papyrussammlung und des Papyrusmuseums
Österreichische Nationalbibliothek
Josefsplatz 1, A-1015 Wien
Tel.: (+43 1) 534 10-428
Fax.: (+43 1) 534 10-395
FN221029v
FBG Handelsgericht Wien
E-mail: monika.hasitzka@onb.ac.at
www.onb.ac.at

M. Vierros, Bilingual Notaries in Hellenistic Egypt.

Bilingual Notaries in Hellenistic Egypt:  A study of Greek as a second language Series: Collectanea Hellenistica    Authors: Marja VIERROS  Abstract:  In the Upper Egyptian town Pathyris nearly twenty bilingual family archives have been found, dating to the second and first centuries BCE. They contain different types of documents, but contracts play an important role. Most of the Greek contracts were written by notaries (agoranomoi), whose native language was Egyptian. This study describes the language contact situation in Hellenistic Egypt in general and in Pathyris in particular. Notarial offices and scribal families in Upper Egypt are also discussed. The main focus of the study is a thorough phonological and morpho-syntactic analysis of the Greek language of the bilingual notaries. With the help of handwriting analysis, we get close to studying idiolects. Some of the notaries had more transfer features from their first language than others. Especially a notary called Hermias used creative strategies to avoid certain Greek structures and his Greek seems to present a learner's interlanguage with first and second language structures intertwining.

CONTENTS

Preface 11 List of Figures and Tables 13 Abbreviations and Glosses 14 Map of Ptolemaic Egypt 16

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION … 17

1.1 Subject and Structure of the Study …  17 

1.2 Material  … 19 

1.2.1 Notarial Corpus  … 19 

1.2.2 Archives of Pathyris  … 21 

1.3 Linguistics and Papyri – Methods and Terminology …  22 

1.4 Earlier Studies  … 25

CHAPTER 2. LINGUISTIC LANDSCAPE OF HELLENISTIC EGYPT  … 29

2.1 Greek and Egyptian 2 … 9 

2.2 The Bilingual Literate Elite  … 35 

2.3 Languages and Ethnicity  … 39

2.3.1 Ethnics  … 40 

2.3.2 Onomastics  … 45 

2.4 Mixed Marriages and Bilingual Families  … 49 

2.5 Conclusion  …  52

CHAPTER 3. LANGUAGE USE IN THE PATHYRITE AREA  … 55

3.1 Historical and Administrative Setting …  56 

3.2 Language Choice …  57 

3.3 Evidence from the Archives  … 60

• 3.3.1  Correspondence of Soldiers  … 60 
• 3.3.2  Archive of Peteharsemtheus, Son of Panobchounis  … 62 
• 3.3.3  Archive of Horos, Son of Nechouthes  … 64 
• 3.3.4  Archive of Dryton, Apollonia and their Descendants  … 66 
• 3.3.5  Archive of Pelaias, Son of Eunous alias Nechouthes  … 68 
• 3.3.6  Lawsuit Archive  … 69 
• 3.3.7  Archives of the Temple and of the Priest Harsiesis,
  Son of Schotes  … 70 

3.4 Conclusion  … 70

CHAPTER 4. NOTARIES AT WORK  … 73

4.1 Agoranomic Documents  … 74 

4.1.1 Formats and Elements …  74 

4.1.2 Name of the Agoranomos  … 76 

4.1.3 Contract Proper  … 77 

4.1.4 Signature of the Notary  … 78

4.1.5 Registration  … 79

• 4.2  Agoranomic Offices in the Thebaid  … 81 
• 4.2.1  Offices and Careers of the Notaries in Krokodilon Polis
  and Pathyris  … 82 
• 4.2.2  The Office in Diospolis Megale  … 86 
• 4.2.3  The Office in the Memnoneia  … 87 
• 4.2.4  The Office in Hermonthis  … 87 
• 4.2.5  Offices with Less Evidence  … 88 
• 4.2.6 Agoranomion Xenikon  … 89 
• 4.3  Authorship – Who Wrote the Agoranomic Documents?  … 90 
• 4.3.1  Hands and Authorship  … 91 
• 4.3.2  Formulaic Differences  … 97 
• 4.3.3  Copies  … 98 
• 4.4  Egyptian Background of the Notaries  … 100 
• 4.4.1  The Family of the Agoranomoi: Asklepiades, Areios,
  Ammonios and Hermias  … 101 
• 4.4.2  Learning the Profession …  104 
• 4.5  Conclusion  … 105 

CHAPTER 5. PHONOLOGY AND RELATED ISSUES  … 107

• 5.1  Vowels 109 5.1.1 /i/, /ẹ/ and /e/ …  110 
• 5.1.2 Front vs. Middle and Back Vowels …  113 
• 5.1.3 Rounded Back Vowels 〈ο〉 ~ 〈ω〉 ~ 〈ου〉  … 114 
• 5.2  Consonants  … 116 
• 5.3  Priests and Priestesses in the Dating Formula: 〈ε〉 ~ 〈ει〉 in
  Prevocalic Position  … 118 

5.4 Iota Adscriptum and Word Final 〈ς〉  … 121 

5.4.1 Prepositional Phrase: Optional Use of the Iota Adscriptum …  123 

5.4.2 Penalty Clause  … 125 

5.4.3 Iota Adscriptum in Verbal Forms  … 126 

5.4.4 Pronouns 127 5.4.5 Iota Adscriptum within a Word …  128

5.4.6 Names and Titles: Absent and Hypercorrect Iota Adscripta
and Word Final Sigmas  … 128 

5.5 Conclusion  … 136

CHAPTER 6. MORPHOSYNTAX – USE OF CASES  … 139

6.1 Phrase Initial Inflection  … 140 

6.1.1 Personal Names as Phrase Initial Elements  … 141 

6.1.2 Pronouns, Articles and Participles as Phrase Initial Elements …  143 

6.1.3 Physical Description  … 145 

6.1.4 Use of the Accusative in a Phrase Final Position  … 146

6.2 Predominant Nominative …  147 

6.2.1 Nominative+Accusative with Infinitive  … 148 

6.2.2 Guardian Clause  … 152 

6.2.3 Participles  … 154

6.3 Price – Accusative or Genitive?  … 155

6.4 Similar Endings in Different Declensions  … 158 

6.4.1 Second and Third Declensions  … 158 

6.4.2 Irregular Inflection: ἡ γυνή 165 

6.4.3 Ending in –-ης  … 167

6.5 Inflection of Names  … 167 

6.6 Conclusion  … 173

CHAPTER 7. SYNTACTIC TRANSFER FROM L1  … 177

7.1 Relative Clause Construction  … 177 

7.1.1 Warranty Clause  … 178 

7.1.2 ... which he himself bought... 191 

7.1.3 Neighbors  … 192

7.2 Filiation and the Definite Article in the Genitive Plural  … 195 

7.2.1 Presentation of the Phenomenon  … 195 

7.2.2 Interpretation  … 200

7.3 Object in Sales – Accusatives and Genitives  … 204 

7.3.1 Alternatives for Presenting the Sold Item in Sale Contracts  … 204 

7.3.2 Confusions between the Accusatives and the Genitives  … 207 

7.3.3 Parts and Shares – Parallels in Demotic …  213 

7.3.4 More Participles in the Same Clause …  215 

7.3.5 Donations and Apostasia  … 220

7.4 Conclusion 221 CHAPTER 8. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS  … 225

APPENDIX A. Corpus Concordances  … 231 

Document Concordance …  232 

Editorial Concordance  … 237 

List of Photographs and Loci Exemplorum …  241

APPENDIX B. Genealogy of the Family of the Agoranomoi …  245 

APPENDIX C. Structure of the Agoranomic Contract and Three Samples  … 247 

APPENDIX D. Document Groups: Scribal Practices and Variation  … 261

Bibliographical Abbreviations  … 265

General Index … 283

A Tribute to Stephen Jay Gould

Stephen Jay Gould died ten years ago on May 20, 2002. Last month there was a conference in Venice, Italy, that celebrated his legacy [Stephen J. Gould's Legacy: Nature, History, Society]. I wish I could have attended because all the main characters were there (Richard Lewontin, Niles Eldredge, Elisabeth Lloyd, and many more).

Ryan Gregory gave a talk on A Gouldian view of the genome and he has posted the video of his presentation (see below). I urge you to watch the whole thing but, if you only have a few minutes, then watch the beginning where Ryan describes the important lessons that Gould taught us.
Read more »

Evolution Ottawa July 6-10 2012

I'll be going to this meeting next month. Let me know if you'll be there and we can arrange to meet for lunch, dinner, beer, or coffee. We'll definitely be doing a poutine run into Quebec and a walk to Byward Market to get beaver tails.

This is the year Canada celebrates it's victory over the USA in the war of 1812. You can thrill to the spectacle of the changing of the guards on Parliament Hill and see the fearsome redcoats up close. Americans (the losers) are welcome! :-)

Welcome to the site of the First Joint Congress on Evolutionary Biology (aka ‘Evolution 2012’), to be held in Ottawa, Canada’s capital city. This landmark event will bring together five of the world’s largest academic societies devoted to the study of ecology and evolutionary biology: the American Society of Naturalists (ASN), the Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution (CSEE) the European Society for Evolutionary Biology (ESEB), the Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE), and the Society of Systematic Biologists (SSB). This event merges the traditional ‘Evolution’ meeting, the joint annual meeting of the ASN, SSE and SSB, with both its European and Canadian counterparts (the biennial ESEB congress and annual CSEE meeting). This will be the first time that these five societies have met together, creating a truly international event that spans the fields of ecology and evolution. The meeting will be the premier showcase in 2012 for the presentation and discussion among peers of the latest, leading-edge research in ecology and evolution, and will also be an important forum for outreach and education.

I'll also be attending two workshops on Friday July 6th.

EVO101
Science educators in the Ottawa area are invited to join evolutionary biologists and other science educators at the First Joint Congress on Evolutionary Biology for “EVO 101”, a one day workshop on evolution and using evolutionary data in the classroom. Come learn about exciting research in the field of evolution and attend sessions featuring hands-on activities designed to facilitate the integration of ecological and evolutionary data into your curriculum.

Workshop to include: Talks by scientists and educators and hands-on activities demonstrating effective and fun ways to teach evolution; FREE teaching resources and other give-aways for participants; an opportunity to meet and chat with professional evolutionary biologists who both study and teach evolution; attendance at the Gould Award Lecture, given by the recipient of the Stephen Jay Gould Prize, awarded annually by the Society for the Study of Evolution to recognize individuals whose sustained and exemplary efforts have advanced public understanding of evolutionary science and its importance in biology, education, and everyday life in the spirit of Stephen Jay Gould.

Communicating Science to Society
Whether you need to learn the basics or fine tune the dark art of science communication, this half day workshop is for you. Come for insider advice from a group of North America’s top science communicators. The session will open with evolutionary ecologist Tom Sherratt talking about his experience with the media and why he does it. The panellists will introduce an area of journalism and discuss their experiences with interviewing researchers. Then the panel discussion will expand on some of the challenges scientists face and the practical communication solutions. Finally a break-out session will allow for an interactive round table letting participants choose a topic of particular interest (how to give an interview, how to pitch a science book to a publisher, 101 for scientists using social media). The workshop will conclude with a networking session between fellow science communicators and the panellists. By the end, delegates can expect to have built a strategy as to how to effectively approach and handle different media opportunities (such as TV, radio, print & social media) and also leave with a handout of useful tips.

Hosts: Peter Calamai (Adjunct Research Professor, Carleton University School of Journalism and Communication; founding member of the Canadian Science Writers' Association) and Richard Webster (Science & Communications Officer for Row to the Pole and Biology Ph.D. candidate, Carleton University)
Speakers:

• Carl Zimmer (NYT columnist & author of A Planet of Viruses and many other best sellers)
• Penny Park (Producer of CBC’s Quirks & Quarks and Discovery Channel’s The Daily Planet. Now Executive Director of the Science Media Centre of Canada)
• Elizabeth Howell Ottawa Business Journal, freelance science journalist and social media expert
• Tim Lougheed Freelance science journalist
• Tom Sherratt Evolutionary ecologist, Carleton University

This second workshop is unusual because there's an actual scientist presenting! :-)

---

Monday's Molecule #174

This is a rather unusual molecule but it's found in many species. You need to identify the molecule AND tell us why it was a significant discovery.

Post your answer as a comment. I'll hold off releasing any comments for 24 hours. The first one with the correct answer wins. I will only post mostly correct answers to avoid embarrassment. The winner will be treated to a free lunch with a very famous person, or me.

There could be two winners. If the first correct answer isn't from an undergraduate student then I'll select a second winner from those undergraduates who post the correct answer. You will need to identify yourself as an undergraduate in order to win. (Put "undergraduate" at the bottom of your comment.)

Some past winners are from distant lands so their chances of taking up my offer of a free lunch are slim. (That's why I can afford to do this!)

In order to win you must post your correct name. Anonymous and pseudoanonymous commenters can't win the free lunch.

Winners will have to contact me by email to arrange a lunch date.

Comments are invisible for 24 hours. Comments are now open.

UPDATE: The molecule is pyrrolysine, an amino acid found in the proteins of some species of archaebacteria many species of bacteria. Pyrrolysine is made from lysyl-tRNA synthesized in the cytoplasm and attached to a specific pyrrolysyl-tRNA by a specific pyrrolysyl tRNA synthetase. Pyrrolysine is subsequently incorporated into protein during translation. It is inserted at a specific codon (UAG) and counts as the 23 amino acid. The 21st amino acid is N-formylmethionine and the 22nd amino acid is selenocysteine. Today's winner is Raul A. Félix de Sousa who responded before I remembered to turn on comment moderation so I had to delete his response.

Winners
Nov. 2009: Jason Oakley, Alex Ling
Oct. 17: Bill Chaney, Roger Fan
Oct. 24: DK
Oct. 31: Joseph C. Somody
Nov. 7: Jason Oakley
Nov. 15: Thomas Ferraro, Vipulan Vigneswaran
Nov. 21: Vipulan Vigneswaran (honorary mention to Raul A. Félix de Sousa)
Nov. 28: Philip Rodger
Dec. 5: 凌嘉誠 (Alex Ling)
Dec. 12: Bill Chaney
Dec. 19: Joseph C. Somody
Jan. 9: Dima Klenchin
Jan. 23: David Schuller
Jan. 30: Peter Monaghan
Feb. 7: Thomas Ferraro, Charles Motraghi
Feb. 13: Joseph C. Somody
March 5: Albi Celaj
March 12: Bill Chaney, Raul A. Félix de Sousa
March 19: no winner
March 26: John Runnels, Raul A. Félix de Sousa
April 2: Sean Ridout
April 9: no winner
April 16: Raul A. Félix de Sousa
April 23: Dima Klenchin, Deena Allan
April 30: Sean Ridout
May 7: Matt McFarlane
May 14: no winner
May 21: no winner
May 29: Mike Hamilton, Dmitri Tchigvintsev
June 4: Bill Chaney, Matt McFarlane
June 18: Raul A. Félix de Sousa

---

More Papyri under the hammer at Sotheby's

Sotheby's: From the Schøyen Collection

(thanks to Malcolm Choat for the link.)

LOT 1
 
HOMER,ﾠ ILIAD,ﾠ INﾠ GREEK,ﾠ EPICﾠ VERSEﾠ INﾠ DACTYLICﾠ HEXAMETERS,ﾠ MANUSCRIPTﾠ ONﾠ PAPYRUSﾠ [EGYPT,ﾠ FIRSTﾠ CENTURYﾠ BC.ﾠ TOﾠ FIRSTﾠ CENTURYﾠ AD.]

sixﾠ fragmentsﾠ (ofﾠ aﾠ papyrusﾠ scroll),ﾠ theﾠ largestﾠ three:ﾠ 95mm.ﾠ byﾠ 105mm.,ﾠ 30mm.ﾠ byﾠ 120mm.ﾠ andﾠ 58mm.ﾠ byﾠ 60mm.,ﾠ withﾠ partsﾠ ofﾠ twoﾠ columnsﾠ withﾠ upﾠ toﾠ 23ﾠ lines,ﾠ inﾠ aﾠ smallﾠ uprightﾠ Greekﾠ literaryﾠ majuscule,ﾠ fromﾠ bookﾠ 16:ﾠ 2-15,ﾠ 32-37,ﾠ 40-43,ﾠ 47-61,ﾠ 75-91ﾠ (theﾠ songﾠ ofﾠ Patroklos,ﾠ theﾠ companionﾠ ofﾠ Achilles),ﾠ someﾠ rubbingﾠ inﾠ placesﾠ andﾠ discolourationﾠ toﾠ edgeﾠ ofﾠ oneﾠ fragment,ﾠ elseﾠ goodﾠ condition,ﾠ mountedﾠ inﾠ perspexﾠ byﾠ Fackelmannﾠ (seeﾠ below),ﾠ inﾠ aﾠ quarterﾠ moroccoﾠ fittedﾠ caseﾠ gilt.

LOT 2
 
THEﾠ ADLERﾠ PAPYRI,ﾠ ANﾠ ARCHIVEﾠ OFﾠ DOCUMENTSﾠ INﾠ GREEKﾠ ANDﾠ DEMOTIC,ﾠ ONﾠ PAPYRUSﾠ [EGYPTﾠ (GEBELEIN),ﾠ 134-89ﾠ BC.]

fifty-threeﾠ singleﾠ sheetﾠ documents,ﾠ theﾠ largestﾠ 560mm.ﾠ byﾠ 210mm.,ﾠ comprisingﾠ (a)ﾠ twenty-threeﾠ inﾠ Greekﾠ diplomaticﾠ cursiveﾠ handsﾠ (7ﾠ complete,ﾠ 15ﾠ nearﾠ completeﾠ andﾠ 1ﾠ fragment),ﾠ 5ﾠ withﾠ remainsﾠ ofﾠ clayﾠ sealsﾠ (2ﾠ partlyﾠ detached);ﾠ (b)ﾠ thirtyﾠ inﾠ Demoticﾠ inﾠ Ptolemaicﾠ diplomaticﾠ cursiveﾠ handsﾠ (1ﾠ complete,ﾠ 13ﾠ nearﾠ completeﾠ andﾠ 16ﾠ fragments);ﾠ overallﾠ inﾠ excellentﾠ condition,ﾠ eachﾠ documentﾠ unrolledﾠ andﾠ mountedﾠ byﾠ theﾠ Britishﾠ Museumﾠ conservatorﾠ forﾠ E.N.ﾠ Adler,ﾠ nowﾠ setﾠ individuallyﾠ withinﾠ glassﾠ inﾠ brownﾠ cloth-coveredﾠ slipcases,ﾠ theﾠ wholeﾠ withinﾠ 12ﾠ brownﾠ cloth-coveredﾠ boxes.


LOT 3
 
THEﾠ 'WYMANﾠ FRAGMENT',ﾠ BIBLE,ﾠ PAUL'Sﾠ EPISTLEﾠ TOﾠ THEﾠ ROMANS,ﾠ INﾠ GREEKﾠ UNCIALS,ﾠ MANUSCRIPTﾠ ONﾠ VELLUMﾠ [EGYPTﾠ (PROBABLYﾠ REGIONﾠ OFﾠ FUSTÂT),ﾠ LATEﾠ THIRDﾠ CENTURY]

Aﾠ fragment,ﾠ 85mm.ﾠ byﾠ 111mm.,ﾠ partﾠ ofﾠ 14ﾠ linesﾠ present,ﾠ inﾠ aﾠ smallﾠ lateﾠ classicalﾠ Greekﾠ uncialﾠ withoutﾠ wordﾠ division,ﾠ upperﾠ marginﾠ aboutﾠ 16mm.ﾠ highﾠ andﾠ lateralﾠ marginﾠ aboutﾠ 22mm.ﾠ wide,ﾠ veryﾠ defective,ﾠ onlyﾠ aboutﾠ 3ﾠ linesﾠ substantiallyﾠ intactﾠ andﾠ othersﾠ withﾠ largeﾠ centralﾠ lacunaﾠ andﾠ otherﾠ lossesﾠ ofﾠ text,ﾠ versoﾠ veryﾠ fadedﾠ andﾠ difficultﾠ toﾠ read,ﾠ dampstainedﾠ andﾠ surfaceﾠ cockled,ﾠ betweenﾠ glass,ﾠ inﾠ aﾠ fittedﾠ redﾠ moroccoﾠ caseﾠ gilt.


LOT 5
 
THEﾠ MARTYRDOMﾠ OFﾠ SAINTﾠ CHAMOUL,ﾠ INﾠ THEﾠ SAHIDICﾠ DIALECTﾠ OFﾠ COPTIC,ﾠ CODEXﾠ ONﾠ PAPYRUSﾠ [UPPERﾠ EGYPT,ﾠ SIXTHﾠ ORﾠ SEVENTHﾠ CENTURY]

2ﾠ largeﾠ pieces,ﾠ fromﾠ differentﾠ leavesﾠ butﾠ placedﾠ adjacentlyﾠ toﾠ formﾠ aﾠ leaf,ﾠ upﾠ toﾠ 190mm.ﾠ byﾠ 200mm.,ﾠ upﾠ toﾠ 18ﾠ lines,ﾠ writtenﾠ inﾠ aﾠ fineﾠ largeﾠ uprightﾠ well-spacedﾠ Copticﾠ uncial,ﾠ someﾠ abbreviationsﾠ forﾠ nominaﾠ sacra,ﾠ edgesﾠ defectiveﾠ onﾠ twoﾠ sides,ﾠ someﾠ cracksﾠ discreetlyﾠ repaired,ﾠ betweenﾠ perspex.


LOT 14
 
GOSPELS,ﾠ INﾠ LATINﾠ UNCIALS,ﾠ MANUSCRIPTﾠ ONﾠ VELLUMﾠ [ITALY,ﾠ SIXTHﾠ CENTURY]

2ﾠ verticalﾠ strips,ﾠ eachﾠ fromﾠ aﾠ fullﾠ columnﾠ height,ﾠ 304mm.ﾠ byﾠ 63mm.ﾠ andﾠ 310ﾠ byﾠ 65mm.,ﾠ left-handﾠ edgesﾠ croppedﾠ andﾠ crenellatedﾠ withﾠ 7ﾠ rectanglesﾠ removedﾠ toﾠ fitﾠ aroundﾠ theﾠ 7ﾠ sewing-stationsﾠ ofﾠ aﾠ binding,ﾠ 26ﾠ well-spacedﾠ linesﾠ ofﾠ aﾠ "regularﾠ statelyﾠ uncial"ﾠ (Lowe),ﾠ theﾠ bowﾠ ofﾠ 'A'ﾠ attenuatedﾠ andﾠ pointed,ﾠ upperﾠ bowﾠ ofﾠ 'B'ﾠ formingﾠ aﾠ smallﾠ triangle,ﾠ theﾠ hastaﾠ ofﾠ 'E'ﾠ high,ﾠ noﾠ wordﾠ division,ﾠ laidﾠ outﾠ 'perﾠ colaﾠ etﾠ commata',ﾠ someﾠ rubbingﾠ andﾠ creasing,ﾠ minorﾠ stains,ﾠ otherﾠ wear,ﾠ betweenﾠ perspex,ﾠ inﾠ aﾠ quarterﾠ redﾠ moroccoﾠ fittedﾠ caseﾠ giltﾠ [byﾠ Nelloﾠ Nanni,ﾠ Newﾠ York],ﾠ includingﾠ theﾠ printedﾠ bookﾠ inﾠ whichﾠ theﾠ piecesﾠ wereﾠ found.

What Kind of People Take Vitamins?

"There's a sucker born every minute."

David Hannum
(frequently attributed to P.T. Barnum)For normal healthy people there's no evidence that vitamin supplements are necessary, or helpful, in any way [Good Food, Bad Food]. Megadoses of vitamins may be harmful [A bad week for the nutritional supplements industry].

So, why would anyone fork out good money for vitamin supplements?

Biochemistry instructors should make sure students understand the difference between science and pseudoscience. That's why I inserted boxes like this one in the latest version of my textbook.

Whatever happened to vitamin B4 and vitamin B8? They are never listed in the textbooks but you’ll often find them sold in stores that cater to the demand for supplements that might make you feel better and live longer.

Vitamin B4 was adenine, the base found in DNA and RNA.We now know that it’s not a vitamin. All species, including humans, can make copious quantities of adenine whenever it’s needed (Sections 18.1 and 18.2). Vitamin B8 was inositol, a precursor of several important lipids (Figure 8.16 and Section 9.12C). It’s no longer considered a vitamin.

If you know anyone who is paying money for vitamin B4 and B8 supplements then here’s your chance to be helpful. Tell them why they’re wasting their money.

---

The 10,000 Mile Diet

This article, Shop locally, eat globally? , appeared in today's edition of our university bulletin. I thought it was worth posting a link because, unfortunately, many of my relatives, friends, and colleagues think you can support a large city by only eating food grown within one hundred miles (161 kilometers).

Pierre Desrochers knows how to serve up controversy. When an acquaintance mentions she follows a 100-mile diet to help the environment, Desrochers calmly asks how much energy it takes to heat an Ontario greenhouse.

When a colleague lauds local food as more nutritious than products shipped thousands of miles, Desrochers politely points out that the diet of a 19th-century German peasant consisted of lentils and peas.

Now, the University of Toronto Mississauga geography professor has published a controversial new book that goes beyond polite mealtime conversation and pits what Desrochers calls the “romanticism” of local eating, or locavorism, against the realities of a global food-supply chain.

Desrochers is the co-author of The Locavore’s Dilemma: In Praise of the 10,000-mile Diet, in which he argues that we should stop obsessing about how many miles our food has travelled to get to our dinner plate.

“Three centuries ago most people were eating local food,” Desrochers says. “Why do we think the world moved away from that? There are significant benefits—particularly, environmental and economical—in collaborating to produce food in the best geographic locations.”

---

Corrigenda to the P.Oxy. Location List

Note the following corrections to the Oxyrhynchus Online online Location List

12:Corn. Dept of Rare Books, Cornell University Library, Ithaca, N.Y. 14850, USA

—These papyri are now part of the University of Michigan Collection, searchable via APIS.

46:Vict. The Library, Victoria University, Toronto 5, Canada

—These papyri are in the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, searchable via APIS (sv Toronto).

Online Imgaes for Distributed Oxyrhynchus Papyri Pt One: Dayton OH United Theological Smeinary

O'Brien Library, United Theological Seminary, Dayton OH

These are the texts were formerly part of the Ambrose Swasey Library, Colgate Rochester 

Crozer Divinity School in 2007

Go here and follow BROWSE

or here, and search for Papyri (also finds vellum)

1. P. Oxy. 1256: List of priests under age. 

2. P. Oxy. 1265: Affidavit of priestly rank.

3. P. Oxy. 1300: Letter of Peter. 

4. P. Oxy. 1351: Leviticus xxvii.

—— P.Oxy.1353 = no. 30 below

5. P. Oxy. 1382: Tale of Sarapis and Syrion. 

6. P. Oxy. 1423: Authorization for the arrest of a slave.  

7. P. Oxy. 1445: Report on unproductive land. 

8. P. Oxy. 1462: Two notifications of cessions. 

9. P. Oxy. 1471: Contract of loan. 

10. P. Oxy. 1494: Christian letter.

11. P. Oxy. 1520: Receipt for poll tax and pig tax. 

12. P. Oxy. 1548: Census return of an inhabitant of Oxyrhynchus. 

13. P. Oxy. 1583: Letter to a friend. 

14. P. Oxy. 1592: Early Christian letter. 

15. P. Oxy. 1601: Homily on spiritual warfare. 

16. P. Oxy. 1638: Division of an inheritance. 

17. P. Oxy. 1669: Letter of Horion to Serenus. 

18. P. Oxy. 1675: Letter to Ischyrion. 

19. P. Oxy. 1691: Lease of 3 arourae at Senokomis by a woman. 

20. P. Oxy. 1707: Sale of a female ass for 600 drachmae. 

21. P. Oxy. 1721: Contract between Platonis and Heras concerning an inheritance.  

22. P. Oxy. 1722: Agreement with a princeps.  

23. P. Oxy. 1733: Account of expenditure.  

24. P. Oxy. 1748: Account of payments for transport.  

25. P. Oxy. 1755: Invitation to dinner at the table of the lord Sarapis.  

26. P. Oxy. 1760: Letter referring to delivery of grain.  

27. P. Oxy. 1768: Letter from Heraclius.   

28. P. Oxy. 1780: St. John's Gospel viii.  

29. P. Oxy. 1784: Constantinopolitan Creed. 

30. P.Oxy.1353: 1 Peter 5:6-12 

31. P.Oxy.1459: Return of Unwanted Land  

32. P.Oxy.1678: Letter, Theon to Mother  

33. P.Oxy.1688: Extension of Lease  

34. P.Oxy.1728: Account of Receipts and Expenditures  

35. P.Oxy.1756: Letter, Sarapion to Father  

36. P.Oxy.1775: Letter, Plutarchus to Theoninus 

E.G. Turner, GMAW to be re-issued.

Reblogged from Brice Jones' The Quaternion

E.G. Turner's Greek Manscripts of the Ancient World is Coming Back in Print!

This is such exciting news. Turner's GMAW is the standard work on paleography still today. It went out of print years ago, and the good used copies that do appear online sell for hundreds of dollars. I am extremely happy to learn of this development. My only hope is that the ICS will make the volume affordable to researchers. One of the directors of the Institute of Classical Studies in London informed me that they are planning a reprint of Eric G. Turner's Greek Manuscripts of the Ancient World (GMAW) and have the images which will be required. They will be keeping me posted about the timeline. Although there is no word yet on a date for publication, the ICS person estimated "6 months to a year." 

Richard Harter 1935 - 2012

I just heard from Dave Greig that Richard Harter died over a month ago [Richard Harter 1935 - 2012]. He was a long time contributor to talk.origins having been there since it was called net.origins in the early 1980s. Richard was a staunch defender of science and evolution and a vocal opponent of stupidity (aka creationism). Here's how he describes the phenomenon that is talk.origns [Evolution, Creationism, and Crackpots].

I discovered the usenet news groups circa 1983. In those days there was no big 8 hierarchy; everything was net.this and net.that. One of the hot groups was net.origins, now talk.origins, the designated dumping grounds for creationism/evolution flame fests.

Some usenet newsgroups are models of decorum, where specialists in sundry topics urbanely discuss their specialties. Some are havens of nattering wherein recipes and small talk are exchanged. Such newsgroups represent usenet at its best as a civilized expression of the electronic personal free press. How boring.

There are newsgroups which are open cockpits wherein all and sundry engage in electonic eye-gouging, leaving bodies scattered about the floor, bodies which miraculously arise to gouge and rabbit punch in return. Much more entertaining. Unfortunately such entertainments pall after a while. The same things are said by the same people endlessly. When one flamer departs he or she is replaced by a clone, another mindless dweeb screaming invective into the electronic night air. There is no content, merely an exchange of prejudices and emotion.

The talk.origins group is, to my taste, a happy combination of meat and sauce. To be sure there are no end of flames. However there is much content also. It all has to do with the subject matter. Talk.origins is supposed to be the arena where creationism and evolution are debated. That happens. However it is a happy hunting grounds for cranks and crackpots who come to be told that they are idiots. They revel in it for, finally, someone is listening to them.

The nifty thing about talk.origins is that you can get a real education by reading the group -- the crackpots are not only told that they are idiots, people cite chapter and verse to show where they are in error. Biologists, archaeologists, paleontologists, and the like post there. There is also a good deal of offbeat humor. For your delectation I have prepared a potpourri of essays and materials drawn from talk.origins.

Richard was born in South Dakota and he moved back there in 2000. He never stopped reminding us that South Dakota actually exists and people actually live there. He died of complications from myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) [Why couldn't I have something simple, like pneumonia].

There's lots more where that came from. Check out Richard Harter's World while it's still active. I especially like his detailed analysis of one of the most difficult problems in all of science: The Seat Stays Up. His summary of everything related to Piltdown Man is a classic.¹

The motto on his web page is appropriate ...

I don't worry about dying.
It's not going to happen in my lifetime.

UPDATE: talk.origins remembers Richard Harter

UPDATE: I'm told that Richard's website will be preserved at Richard Harter's World.

---

1. I hope someone copies it before it disappears.