Science and Culture Today Discovering Design in Nature
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tools

capuchin monkey
Photo credit: Tiago Falótico, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.

War on Human Exceptionalism Turns to Tool Use

As the academic war on human exceptionalism motors on, researchers’ thinking sometimes shorts out — and they don’t even notice. Read More ›
Homo naledi
Photo: A femur, by John Hawks, Marina Elliott, Peter Schmid, Steven E. Churchill, Darryl J. de Ruiter, Eric M. Roberts, Hannah Hilbert-Wolf, Heather M. Garvin, Scott A. Williams, Lucas K. Delezene, Elen M. Feuerriegel, Patrick Randolph-Quinney, Tracy L. Kivell, Myra F. Laird, Gaokgatlhe Tawane, Jeremy M. DeSilva, Shara E. Bailey, Juliet K. Brophy, Marc R. Meyer, Matthew M. Skinner, Matthew W. Tocheri, Caroline VanSickle, Christopher S. Walker, Timothy L. Campbell, Brian Kuhn, Ashley Kruger, Steven Tucker, Alia Gurtov, Nompumelelo Hlophe, Rick Hunter, Hannah Morris, Becca Peixotto, Maropeng Ramalepa, Dirk van Rooyen, Mathabela Tsikoane, Pedro Boshoff, Paul H.G.M. Dirks, Lee R. Berger, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.

Journal Rejects Claims that Homo naledi Buried Dead, Made Rock Art, Used Fire

Researchers, led by Lee Berger, had claimed in a Netflix documentary that the species buried its dead, used fire, used tools, and made rock art. Read More ›
mind
Photo credit: Damon Carr via Unsplash.

The Human Mind Has No History

There is no good reason to assume that human intelligence evolved from mud to mind via a long slow history. Read More ›
engineering
Photo credit: Ivan Bandura via Unsplash.

Is a New Design-Based Paradigm of Biology Emerging?

Brian Miller reports that optimality is becoming a tool of prediction in biology, with more biologists returning to the use of design-based assumptions. Read More ›
Ngarai_Sianok_sumatran_monkey
Photo credit: Sakurai Midori, CC BY-SA 2.1 JP <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.1/jp/deed.en>, via Wikimedia Commons.

Monkey-Made “Tools” Cast Doubt on High Intelligence in Early Hominids

Macaque monkeys from Lobi Bay, Thailand, have been observed “unintentionally” producing stone tools. Read More ›
capuchin monkey
Photo credit: Tiago Falótico, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.

Monkeys, Not Humans, Likely Made Ancient Brazilian Tools

The stone objects, dated from 50,000 years ago, look like the ones made by capuchin monkeys today. Read More ›
James Tour
origin of life
Photo: James Tour, in a scene from Science Uprising, via Discovery Institute.

James Tour Video Series on the Origin of Life — Assembly of Cellular Components

I suspect this challenge will not be widely heeded. Studying these issues will lead researchers toward a conclusion they simply are not willing to accept. Read More ›
ironwork
Photo: Decorative ironwork, Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, by Jebulon / CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

For Mankind, the Leap from Copper to Iron Was a Landmark Advance

The importance of metals, particularly iron, and the importance of the discovery of metallurgy can hardly be exaggerated. Read More ›
pianist

A Positive, Useful Discussion of Human Exceptionalism … On the Internet? Yes!

Not all humans can be concert pianists. Some humans can’t speak or get out of a wheelchair or remember their daughter’s name anymore. Here we enter into moral and ethical issues. Read More ›
sparrow

News for the Birds — Smart, Gymnastic, Flute-Playing, Surviving

Is it reasonable that two populations would independently hit on an adaptation by chance? Read More ›

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