Daily Archives: March 19, 2017

The new head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, says carbon dioxide is not a primary cause of climate change despite a clear scientific consensus that it is.

Sen. James Inhofe, an Oklahoma Republican, goes even further: He says climate change isnt happening at all, and he once held up a snowball in Congress to prove that global warming isnt real.

But a recent survey showed that most Americans, and most Connecticut residents, accept climate change as a fact. Seventy percent of Americans over 25, and 72 percent of Connecticut residents, agreed with the proposition that global warming is happening.

And if climate change is controversial among todays adults, its likely to be much less controversial among tomorrows: Climate change and similarly controversial topics like evolution are taught as the accepted scientific consensus in Connecticut biology and environmental classes.

And while not every student accepts or should accept the scientific consensus without question, educators say theres seldom much contention in class.

John LaRosa, chair of the science department at Danbury High School, said he hasnt had a student challenge evolution or the reality of climate change since he started at the high school 12 years ago.

Even if they dont believe it, they want to see what science has to offer on the subject, he said.

LaRosa compared studying climate change in science classes to taking a religion course that includes learning about religions different from your own; merely studying one doesnt mean youre required to believe in it, he said.

The state is in the midst of converting school science curriculum to the Next Generation Science Standards, an inquiry-based program created by several states, the National Research Council, the National Science Teachers Association and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Under the standards, teachers will increase the number of lessons on climate change and related environmental topics.

Evolution, meanwhile, is typically covered in biology classes.

Evolution is not taught as a controversial topic, because its not considered controversial in that discipline, said Newtown Assistant Superintendent Jean Evans Davila.

The Advanced Placement biology curriculum, in use at many schools, is designed according to the standards of the College Board. Its course outline lists four Big Ideas, the first of which is that evolution explains the diversity and unity of life.

Evolution is one of the cornerstones of biology, said Scott Werkhoven, the science department chair at Shepaug Valley School. Its one of the central themes that explains how life arose to what we have today and how things are related.

Ive seen that students are receptive to being presented with evidence they were not aware of, he added. Its up to the student, though, to come up with their beliefs.

But if the existence of climate change is widely accepted, its cause is more controversial.

A nationwide study recently published by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication showed that while 70 percent of adults 25 and older accept it as fact, just 59 percent believe its caused mostly by human activity.

Kim Gallo, principal of Shepaug Valley School in Region 12, said students are encouraged to review scientific literature from multiple viewpoints and to examine data released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Students use that information to arrive at their own conclusions but are expected to defend those conclusions with facts.

Students also discuss alternative fuel sources and weigh benefits against costs to see which remedies for climate change make sense to pursue, Gallo added.

In Newtown, teachers discuss the carbon cycle, the natural and human influences on climate change and use the Paris Climate agreement as a way to illustrate how countries can come together to create solutions for global problems. They also focus on how to interpret data, such as correlation and causation.

Theyre thinking as scientists when they approach it, Evans Devila said.

Last year, she said, students did a case study on climate change, researching the issue from scientific, sociological and economic standpoints.

Evas Devila said teachers also have to adhere to state or national standards, which can put boundaries on classroom discussions for certain topics.

This is standards-based age of education, she said.

Like many school districts in the area, Easton, Redding and Region 9 focus on the scientific method more than the political or religious aspects of the issues, said Superintendent Thomas McMorran.

McMorran said educators have to be careful about giving time for expression of viewpoints that conflict with scientific consensus. Students are free to believe what they want, he said, but school programs need to be based in science and religious belief ultimately has no place in the discussion.

The duty of any science program is to teach kids the scientific method of inquiry, he said. When we erode our respect for that process, we are denying the students the benefit of being able to employ critical thinking and make science-based decisions.

kkoerting@newstimes.com; 203-731-3345

See the article here:

Connecticut schools tackle climate change and evolution - Danbury News Times

Christian Post

Conspiracy Theories Emerge About Pokmon GO's Elusive Gen 2 ... Forbes It's been almost exactly a month since Pokmon GO released Gen 2 into the wild, and players are still trying to figure out one of the expansion's biggest ... 'Pokmon GO' Evolution Guide: How to Get Generation 2 Evolution VariantsChristian Post 'Pokmon Go': new steps you must do to get Gen 2 Evolution VariantsBlasting News all 10 news articles »

Continue reading here:

Conspiracy Theories Emerge About Pokmon GO's Elusive Gen 2 ... - Forbes

Some hardline myths about Iran never seem to die. One myth especially pertinent to U.S. policy is that revolutionary regime change in Iran is a significant possibility in the near future and that with a bit more of a push from the outside, the Islamic Republic will collapse and be replaced by something much more to our liking. This illusion was prevalent in much of the George W. Bush administration, which accordingly adhered to a policy of refusing to deal with Iran and instead of trying to isolate it and to inflict economic pain through sanctions. Several years of lack of results in the face of ever-increasing sanctions demonstrated the fecklessness of that policy. The sanctions became useful only when the next U.S. administration began to negotiate with Iran and sanctions were used as a bargaining chip to conclude an agreement that blocks all possible paths to an Iranian nuclear weapon.

The myth often is connected to a faith in exile groups as instruments for quick transition to a completely different type of regime. Many of those hoping for regime change in Iran look in this way to the Mujahedin-e Khalq, a cult-cum-terrorist group that actually has almost no popular support within Iran. Some of the same people had placed a similar faith in Iraqi exile Ahmed Chalabi, whose qualities as a huckster more than as someone who could father a new Iraqi republic became increasingly apparent after the U.S. invasion of 2003.

Today there evidently is another expression of the old myth about Iran, with talk about regime change, among Trump loyalists at the White House and National Security Council staff. According to these individuals, increased pressure and kicks from the outside can bring about positive results in Iran, rather than, as expert analysis both inside and outside the national security bureaucracy explains, merely eliciting hostile responses from a firmly implanted Islamic Republic. It is unclear whether holding of the myth represents genuine misbelief or instead is a rationalization covering other reasons the holders want to maintain Iran as a perpetually isolated bte noire. Either way, the myth leads to damaging and ineffective U.S. policy.

Iran is not at all close to any political upheaval that could be described as a new revolution or a counter-revolution, even with more pressure and pushes from the outside. Iranian politics certainly exhibits plenty of disagreement and controversy, with the possibility of significant policy change coming out of that political competition. Despite the substantial defects in the Iranian political system, there is a political robustness missing from, say, the Arab monarchies on the other side of the Persian Gulf. But most Iranians do not have an appetite for making a new revolution.

Both the regime and the people in Iran have demonstrated an ability to withstand hardship much greater than what U.S. sanctions can inflict. They did so during the extremely costly eight-year Iran-Iraq War, which Iran doggedly continued for some time even after Saddamwho started the warbegan seeking an armistice. Certainly if pressure or punishment from an outside power is involved, both the regime and the people exhibit determined resistance.

There already has been much evolution in the direction and nature of the Islamic Republic during its nearly four decades of existence, although probably not as much as there would have been without the ostracism. The large majority of Iranians today were born since the revolution. Hijabs have inched above hairlines, and domestic life has become looser and freer. Especially for the female half of the population, looking across the Gulf does not instill any ideas about better alternatives.

More important for U.S. and Western interests has been the evolution in Irans external policies. Any hopes within the regime in the immediate aftermath of the revolution for like-minded revolutions elsewhere in the region have long ago been dispelled, as the realization sunk in that such revolutions were unlikely and that Irans system would survive anyway. The most obvious form of Iranian state-conducted international terrorisma campaign of assassinating exiled dissidentseffectively ended years ago, partly because of the regime's desire to have normal and fruitful relations with Europe.

Further evolution of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its policies in the years ahead will correlate directly with the extent to which it has normal political and economic interaction with the rest of the world. Isolation and punishment would strengthen Iranian hardliners arguments that there is neither a possibility of, nor a payoff to be expected from, such interaction. Bolstering of the hardline position in turn would mean diminished prospects for further liberalizing political change in Iran. Conversely, increased commerce, foreign investment, and the economic development that go with them would strengthen the political position of those favoring normality in foreign relations, would increase the Iranian stake in even more peaceful normality, would loosen the grip of those in Iran whose economic and political power depend on isolation, and would increase Iranian exposure to ideas and examples of still more change.

View original post here:

Evolution, Not a New Revolution, in Iran | The National Interest Blog - The National Interest Online (blog)

Free Press sports writers Jeff Seidel and Mark Snyder discuss Sunday's matchup between Michigan and Louisville in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Video by Mark Snyder, DFP.

Michigan Wolverines head coach John Beilein on the bench during the second half of U-M's 92-91 win over Oklahoma State on Friday, March 17, 2017 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis in the NCAA tournament.(Photo: Kirthmon F. Dozier, DFP)Buy Photo

INDIANAPOLIS The player introductions already had started, but Michigan coach John Beilein continued coaching like crazy.

On Friday afternoon, Beilein drew up a play on a white clipboard and showed it to his team, even though some of his players already were being announced.

Nothing unusual about that. Thats typical Beilein, being hyper-attentive to details. He tries to use every last second to prepare, almost oblivious that life exists outside that huddle. This is a guy who wouldnt realize its his birthday, if you didnt tell him.

Then came the surprise.

Beilein did something totally out of character on Friday. He turned around and faced the crowd in Bankers Life Fieldhouse. He flipped his clipboard around, held it up and showed it to his son, Patrick, who was sitting in the stands behind the bench.

It looked like a bunch of scribbles on a white board, but Patrick Beilein recognized it immediately.

He was showing me the first play that they were going to run, Patrick Beilein said this morning.

Let's meet Louisville, Michigan's opponent in the second round of the 2017 NCAA tournament Sunday, March, 19. Wochit

If there is anything that can symbolize how much John Beilein has changed, it was that moment before the Wolverines beat Oklahoma State in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.

Beilein is more relaxed. More aware that life exists off the court. Hes, dare I say, more comfortable?

I think he was just showing it to be fun, Patrick Beilein said. I think that shows how loose he is. He never would have done that in the past. He would be so zoned in. Now, hes still really coaching hard, but hes having fun doing it.

Hold on folks, cause this is about to get seriously fun.

Related:

Took a minute, but plane crash has John Beilein appreciating life

Michigan's John Beilein's blueprint for NCAA openers: Prepare and rest

Sunday, Michigan will play Louisville in a game that features all kinds of plot lines. There have been so many memorable games between Cardinals coach Rick Pitino and Beilein.

The 2013national championship game, when Pitino's Cardinals won, 82-76. The 2005 regional final when Beilein was coaching at West Virginia; another nail-biter that Pitino won.

It's the games coaches never forget.

But even more than the history, there's a story of fathers and their sons.

Pitino's son Richard coaches at Minnesota, a team the Wolverines beat last Saturday in a Big Ten tournament semifinal.

Im sure he is getting a scouting report from his son, John Beilein said.

Michigan Wolverines head coach John Beilein talks with reporters before practicing for their first round NCAA tournament game against Oklahoma State on Thursday March 16, 2017 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.(Photo: Kirthmon F. Dozier, DFP)

Just as John Beilein is getting help from his son, Patrick, who is the coach at Le Moyne College.

As Michigan played Oklahoma State on Friday, Patrick shouted out a couple of play suggestions from the stands. John Beilein used them in the game, and they worked.

It was something I saw on the D, the way they were playing, Patrick Beilein said. They had run it one time in the first half and scored off it. I just didnt understand why he wasnt going back to it. It was something that was so wide open. When they did the run the play, I was like, that shot better go in.

It did.

After the Wolverines scored on a play that Patrick Beilein had suggested John Beilein turned around and looked into the stands.

I looked back at you, but you didnt make eye contact, John Beilein said to his son late Friday night.

I was focusing on the D, dad, Patrick Beilein said.

Patrick Beilein is staying in a hotel room, which is connected to his fathers room in Indianapolis.

Related:

Michigan vs. Louisville scouting report: Who has the edge?

Michigan-Louisville revives memories of 2013 championship loss

Late Friday night, they met for about an hour and talked about the victory over Oklahoma State and Sunday's matchup against Louisville.

He kind of gave me the quick game plan of Louisville, what they are looking for, Patrick Beilein said. Weve had some great battles with Louisville.

Minnesota runs a similar offense to the Cardinals. Which figures: Like father like son, right?

Similar sets, Patrick Beilein said. But not all. Its very similar concepts.

Patrick Beilein went into pure coach-speak, sounding like his father by rattling off several things the Wolverines will have to do to beat Louisville.

They are going to have to make shots over length, Patrick Beilein said. If you can defend a couple of actions, you have to limit them to one possession. They are very long and athletic. When they do shoot it, you cant allow second chance opportunities.

As I said: Like father, like son.

On the other side of this story is Rick Pitino. He saw Michigan play earlier this season in Minnesota, when he was visiting his son.

I was actually at the Michigan-Minnesota game live where Minnesota won in overtime, Rick Pitino said. Their power forward, center, two-guard, whatever they call him, made a shot from 15 feet behind the line to put it into overtime as if it was a layup. So I happen to know Michigan very well.

Michigan Wolverines head coach John Beilein on the bench against Oklahoma State during the first half of U-M's 92-91 win Friday, March 17, 2017 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis in the NCAA tournament.(Photo: Kirthmon F. Dozier, DFP)

Yes, his son Richard has given him a scouting report about Michigan and is said to be on his way to Indy.

He gave me his thoughts on the game, Rick Pitino said. Since the time I've seen them, they've gotten a lot more confident and a lot better. And I think it really stems from the play of their point guard.

Michigan has been on a tremendous run, winning 11 of their past 13 games. The whole team has evolved.

Just as Beilein has evolved and changed. You can see it during games when he smiles. Or during the post-game celebrations, when he gets into water fights with his players. Now, hes taking water in with him into the locker roomand hes dousing them, just as they douse him.

Hes very relaxed, Patrick Beilein said. Ive seen him smile more, over these last few days, whether it was a FaceTime with him after he won the Big Ten tournament championship, until I got to Indy. Hes very relaxed. Hes smiling. He was always so uptight, no matter how many games hes coached at this level, whether its an NCAA game or an exhibition. He takes every one of them serious. Ive seen a change in him, being relaxed, just enjoying the moment.

Maybe, some of it is a byproduct of the plane crash. Maybe.

But there is no question he is more emotional, whether its his voice cracking during pregame speeches or in his smiles after the games, his shirt drenched with water.

Clearly, hes more loose and appreciative.

And he's having as much fun as his team.

Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@seideljeff. To read his recent columns, go tofreep.com/sports/jeff-seidel/.

Read more:

The evolution (and relaxation) of Michigan coach John Beilein - Detroit Free Press

1. The 21st century will be dominated by algorithms, says Yuval Harari. That makes algorithm arguably the single most important concept in our world.

2. Hes almost right. Natural algorithms have ruled every century with life in it. He means unnatural algorithms (which have been called "weaponized math") now matter.

3. Daniel Dennett says, Darwin discovered the fundamental algorithm of evolution. Of course Darwin couldnt have seen natural selection as algorithmic, but technomorphic analogies to our unnatural computers mean were beginning to recognize algorithmic forces.

4. For instance, Gregory Chaitin says, the origin of life is really the origin of software, and DNA is multibillion-year-old software.

5. Algorithms are sequences of step-by-step instructions for complex processes (like recipes, or software). They describe how dumber sub-steps compose complex tasks.

6. Evolutions survival-of-the-fittest algorithm is very loosely survive, replicate with variation, repeat.

7. Out of that dumb process-logic arises all the intelligence and complexity of all living systems. Including what Dennett calls competence without comprehension.

8. Consider termite castles that look like a monumental Gaud church. Termites collectively have the competence to build complex castles without comprehending what theyre doing. Smart-seeming higher-level competence and complexity are caused by following dumb lower-level steps.

9. Here, its worth noting that evolution exists in a different way than gravity (they differ ontologically). Both cause changes in the world, but forces like gravity operate directly via intrinsic physical properties (having simple algebraic relationships), but evolution is a complex algorithmic force (that emerges and operates indirectly, systemically).

10. Algorithmic forces exist and exert their powers in systemic and relational ways; theyre not driven by isolatable and intrinsic traits. They require sequential steps, and are built from iterative if-then-else logic.

11. Another way to say this is that algo-forces are driven by richer information processes than physical forces. In physics a few isolatable numeric variables (like electric charge) capture the relevant phenomena. But abstract (imagined) attributes like fitness in biology cant be measured (and dont exist) in isolation from their context.

12. Evolutions natural algorithm ran for ~4 billion years to generate us. But Hararis human-generated unnatural algorithms (the kinetic logic built into our culture and technology) are now shaping the biosphere (see the anthropocene era).

13. That puts us in the termite role. Were building complex higher-level collective structures that we neither intend nor understand. (Thats why were facing a global marshmallow test, and why mindless market algorithms make musical toilets while people starve.)

14. Evolution and economics are both driven by algo-forces. Theyre both in the productivity selection business, but the currently dominant profit-maximization algorithm often isnt prudent (or survivable).

--

IllustrationbyJulia Suits,The New Yorkercartoonist & author ofThe Extraordinary Catalog of Peculiar Inventions

See the original post here:

The 21st Century's Most Important Idea... & Older Natural Algorithmic Forces - Big Think

As the scraps of life's memories printed photos, newspaper clippings, ticket stubs increasingly become less tangible and more electronic, a longtime hobby has evolved to keep up, with scrapbooking moving into the digital realm.

At its most basic, scrapbooking is as simple as it sounds: assembling scraps of one's life into a book.

But as those scraps printed photos, newspaper clippings, ticket stubs increasingly become less tangible and more electronic, a longtime hobby has evolved to keep up.

For as long as the materials have existed, people have compiled things they wanted to remember.

It's been going on for decades and centuries, I should say. Back to the cave people, documenting their stuff on the walls, said Joanne Coleman, a scrapbooking consultant and instructor.

Since then, of course, modern photography, upgrades in papers, color, tools and other small machines and in the 20th century the Internet have expanded scrapbookers ability to record and preserve history in myriad new ways but some people still stick to the original.

Coleman, as a consultant with scrapbooking company Close to My Heart, teaches classes, sells supplies and frequents crops, scrapbooking get-togethers in which participants bring their photos, their materials and their stories for a day of all-out crafting.

Crops are social events that are more about having fun and relationships, said Coleman, who attends larger crops and hosts them at her home. It is about home and sharing family memories.

Attendees range from teens to grandparents with their children and its not just for women.

There are a handful of men, and there are actually men that are consultants with the company, Coleman said. Sometimes it's a husband and wife that come together, and that gives them something to do together.

The materials also change with the times.

Scrapbooking follows home and fashion trends, she said. All the major companies go to the trade shows to keep up with the new colors, new stripes or chevrons and the new trends.

Local craft stores also offer all the supplies scrapbookers need, some with occasional classes. Pam McVay at Panama Citys Hobby Lobby said though the hobby has been changing over the years, it is not dying.

Yearly planners have become popular now, she said. They decorate and embellish them in the same way as their scrapbooks. They bling them up and personalize them.

For others, digital scrapbooking is a simpler way to file away memories. Marion Ginn of Gulf Breeze is a prolific producer of photo books through digital scrapbooking tool Picaboo. In recent years, she has compiled a monthly book on the Santa Rosa Womans Club's activities, her Winnebago clubs escapades and her family life.

What I do is I take pictures galore, and if we go to a district meeting or something, I'll save the program and a copy of the nametags, special things like that, and I'll scam them onto my computer, Ginn said.

From there, Picaboo makes it simple, offering hundreds of layouts, backgrounds, colors, crops, fonts, stickers and more. For Ginn, the end result is a book multiple sizes are available though the site also offers prints, cards and other personalized items.

You can pretty much do whatever you want on that site, she said. You can make your photo the background of the whole page, you can make it a photo on the page, you can stretch them, make them larger or darker ... It's really user-friendly, and they've got a lot of options that you don't have if you use Walmart or Walgreens.

From there, its just a matter of printing and waiting for the mail to arrive.

Ginn has become so adept with the site, she even went back and made a photo book for each year of her marriage to husband Leo all 52 of them.

She shares her results with the people in her clubs and her family. One recently won her first place in digital scrapbooking at a Crestview arts and crafts fair.

The other thingI like about it is once you've done it, you can share an online version of it, so if someone wanted to order it, they could or if they just want to look at it, they can, she said.

Coleman acknowledged digital options are the right fit for some people but still prefers the old-fashioned way, saying the hobby is all about the people, and that is what will keep it viable into the future.

Kids are online now, she said. They are doing digital photo books online. But they are starting to want more hands-on experiences. Early teens are really enjoying scrapbooking more and more. As they get older, that will continue.

Diana McQuagge is hoping to instill the hobby in her granddaughter. Emily, 8, scrapbooks with McQuagge when she comes to visit.

Shes got Grandmas table half full of coupon book scrapbooking supplies, McQuagge said. We went to a store and got her supplies to do a little book. But shes got her own ideas and she wanted to make a coupon book.

Emily has decorated each page and has multiple categories for all her coupons.

For Coleman, those kinds of interactions are priceless.

The grandmas teaching the grandchildren, that's giving them some together time, she said. I really like seeing that because to me, it's more about the connections and the people sharing their family history with each other and documenting, because we're so into the digital age that this is a fun way to tell about your family and keep those stories going.

The News Herald's Steph Nusbaum contributed to this story.

Here is the original post:

Scrapbooking: The evolution of a hobby - The News Herald

The modern human skull and walking on two legs evolved together, according to a newly published study from the University of Texas at Austin and Stony Brook University. The findings have the potential to solve one of the most fascinating mysteries of human evolution.

A key feature of the human skull can be used to detect the development of bipedalism (walking on two legs) in humans, according to the study published in the latest edition of the Journal of Human Evolution. This connection has long been highly controversial among biologists and archaeologists.

The earliest humans climbed trees and walked on the ground, offering them flexibility of movement and the ability to evade predators. It is widely held that between 6 and 3 million years ago the gradual transition began from climbing trees to walking upright the majority of the time. This switch to exclusively walking on two legs inevitably coincided with significant physical changes, such as longer legs. Homo erectus, around 1.9 millions years ago, had leg and thigh bones very close to those of modern humans, evolved for walking on two legs over long distances.

Humans differ from other primates in that the foramen magnum, the large hole at the base of the skull which the spinal cord passes through, is shifted forward. Many scientists argue that this is down to the evolution of bipedalism the head needing to be balanced directly on top of the spine to aid walking. This connection between the foramen magnum and bipedalism is far from universally accepted, however.

In 1925, Raymond Dart first questioned the connection in his description of Taung child, a 2.8 million-year-old fossil skull of the extinct South African species Australopithecus africanus. Last year, a study by Kent State University biological anthropologist Aidan Ruth further questioned the connection between walking on two legs and the forward shifted foramen magnum.

Gabrielle Russo, an assistant professor at Stony Brook University, and UT Austin anthropologist Chris Kirk have provided convincing evidence in their new study that the forward shifted foramen magnum is not just a feature of humans and their fossil relatives, but bipedal mammals more generally.

This question of how bipedalism influences skull anatomy keeps coming up partly because its difficult to test the various hypotheses if you only focus on primates, Kirk said in a press release. However, when you look at the full range of diversity across mammals, the evidence is compelling that bipedalism and a forward-shifted foramen magnum go hand-in-hand.

Their groundbreaking study sampled the largest number of mammal species to date, as well as deploying new methods to measure aspects of foramen magnum anatomy.

By comparing the position and location of the foramen magnum in 77 mammal species, from primates to rodents, Russo and Kirk make their case that bipedal mammals have a more forward-positioned foramen magnum than even their most closely related quadrupedal relatives.

Weve now shown that the foramen magnum is forward-shifted across multiple bipedal mammalian clades using multiple metrics from the skull, which I think is convincing evidence that were capturing a real phenomenon, Russo said.

Establishing the link between bipedalism and the foramen magnums position is hugely significant. The connection could allow archaeologists to determine much more accurately whether extinct fossil hominids walked on two feet like modern humans, or on four like modern great apes. The specific measurements offered by the study could be applied to future research to provide a map of the evolution of bipedalism. Other researchers should feel confident in making use of our data to interpret the human fossil record, Russo concluded.

Image shows comparison of the positioning of the foramen magnum in a bipedal springhare (left) and its closest quadrupedal relative, the scaly-tailed squirrel (right). Image credit: Russo and Kirk, Journal of Human Evolution

See original here:

Walking On Two Legs Changed Evolution of Human Skulls - New Historian