These listings appear every Wednesday. If you want to let us know about any upcoming science or technology events, you can contact us on [email protected]
Event of the Week
Why Creationism is Wrong and Evolution is Right, The Royal Society
If Steve Jones was called something just a little bit more exciting than Steve Jones, he’d probably be in the Lord Winston or Richard Dawkins league of household names by now. His impeccable books, columns and TV shows blend genetics and evolution with a good dose of history, philosophy and sociology, all leavened with wit, insight and logic. As it is, he remains very well known to those who read popular science, but underappreciated in the wider world.
This time he’s going for the jugular. Why Creationism is Wrong and Evolution is Right is the highly provocative title given to his upcoming talk at the Royal Society on Tuesday. The increasingly noisy argument between rational, scientific thinking and religious fundamentalism has been visited by both Winston and Dawkins on TV recently, not without controversy. But it looks like Jones is going in with battering ram very much set to stun. Already this year, according to Wikipedia, he has suggested that
Creationists should be disallowed from being medical doctors because "all of its (Creationism's) claims fly in the face of the whole of science". In fact, he disputes the claim that anyone who believes in Biblical Creation can be a serious biologist.
This sounds like a debate and a half, though most of the audience will be on Jones’ side. The question is whether he dares take his talk to somewhere like the more ignorant parts of Kansas.
Elsewhere
More highly charged politico-science this week, when the Dana Centre looks at the issue of whaling (tomorrow). But not just the practice of killing whales for food. The marine mammals are also caught and killed for scientific purposes. Sounds pretty horrendous, right? Well, an expert panel are on hand to debate the pros and cons. (And there are pros. Gutting a few whales reveals information on their dietary habits, which in turn helps future conservation efforts.)
Otherwise, it’s a quiet week for London science. Everyone’s decamped up north to the mouth-watering Edinburgh Science Festival.
When and Where?
Why whale?, 7.00, Thursday, Dana Centre, FREE
Why creationism is wrong and evolution is right, 6.30, Tuesday, Royal Society, FREE
Many thanks to Katie, Anne and Anna of Inkycircus for their sterling guest blogging on the previous two Cogitos.
