Darwin Skeptics Separate Mind From Gray Matter

Subconscious works behind the scenes of decisions, judgments

(NEWSER) - After just handling a stranger’s coffee, people make subconscious judgments about personality, psychologists say. Asked to hold a lab assistant’s cup of hot or iced coffee, Yale students associated cold drinkers with selfish personalities, the Times reports. The experiment is part of a body of research that leads to the conclusion that the brain has a mind of its own. More»

Auto-pilot zombies can set free the rest of us, muses philosopher

(NEWSER) - Maybe so many of us love zombie movies because we are, at heart, zombies. That's a view considered by philosopher Alva Noë, who on NPR notes that we seem to be partial to the idea that we aren't really the authors of what we do but function pretty much automatically, driven by a "neural zombie deep within" us. Noë concedes we may be driven by a kind of inner zombie, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. He argues that it's really our own individual expertise, not being brain dead, that drives much of our automatic action, which lets our "real selves" soar. He points to star athletes or accomplished musicians who have become so proficient at what they do that they don't have to consciously think about certain moves. More»

Biologists take the opportunity to show kids science is 'cool'

(NEWSER) - How to celebrate "Darwin Day" in rural America? Very carefully, the New York Times reports: When evolutionary biologists set out on a road trip this weekend to Virginia, Nebraska, Montana, and Iowa to promote science in honor of Charles Darwin's 202nd birthday, one high school principal made sure to send out permission slips (two parents opted out). A museum vice president only publicized the event to teachers, not the community at large. Even so, the intended audience—students—seemed to deem the events a success: One 10th-grader blogged that the scientists "told it like it is." More»

Living space, not competition, spurs evolution: study

(NEWSER) - Room for expansion, not survival of the fittest, is the driving force behind evolution, according to a new study. The researchers—who say their findings cast doubt on one of the cornerstones of Charles Darwin's theories—studied evolutionary patterns over 400 million years and determined that biodiversity soared not when animals were forced to compete, but when animals moved into previously unoccupied areas, the BBC reports. More»

Critics agree Paul Bettany shines, but premise falls mostly flat

(NEWSER) - Critics agree that on paper, Creation has a lot going for it. But they don't think the flick delivers the thrill of Charles Darwin's groundbreaking work:

• "Director Jon Amiel has reduced a crucial moment in science to a Lifetime weepie about a workaholic who needs personal tragedy to wake him up to his wife's virtues," Peter Travers writes in Rolling Stone . The fact that stars Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly are married in real life "adds surprisingly little zest."