Speciation is the scientific theory attempting to identify the biological mechanisms by which a single ancestral species of organism differentiates, or "evolves", into more than one descendant species. The term "macro evolution" is often substituted inappropriately for speciation theory, creating the false impression that speciation is nothing more than a logical extrapolation of Darwin's theory of natural selection. But it isn't. As I wrote in my book Counterargument for God, either two members of the same ancestor species eventually spawn offspring of a new species, or members of two different species produce a fertile hybrid species. There doesn't really seem to be a viable third alternative, at least not one that doesn't involve creation by some form of supernatural intelligence. In an effort to clarify my understanding of how speciation theory supposedly worked, I wrote an open letter to biologist Dr. Jerry Coyne, author of the book Why Evolution is True. Apparently, Dr. Coyne couldn't find time to respond. However, his fellow biologist, Dr. Benoit LeBlanc, was kind enough to answer my questions. Dr. LeBlanc confirmed that my "basic understanding of the [speciation] process was sound", but suggested the reason my conclusions were all wrong because I simply don't know enough about biology. No offense intended, he said. None taken, Dr. LeBlanc. But I am still confused. In my analysis of Dr. Coyne's work previously deemed sound, I noted he speculated that speciation only seemed possible when a small breeding population comprised of members of a … [Read more...]
The 2013 Readers’ Favorite awards ceremony
Our journey south for the Miami Book Fair and Readers' Favorite International Book Awards ceremony was a fantastic experience. The timing was also quite fortuitous. Final touches on the whopping new 13,000 square foot location for Nautical Ventures were still underway, so my cousin Hank McDowell and his wife Lauren had time to give us a tour of South Beach and Miami from a local's perspective, culminating with a pleasant dinner on the veranda at the Miami Yacht Club while reminiscing about the foolish days of our youth in Savannah. That alone was well worth the trip. But before I forget, here's a note to future attendees about the book fair: Miami is a coastal city, and on a peninsula. The tropical weather can and does change rapidly, from torrential rain to bright sun and back in short order. In retrospect, carrying a poncho or umbrella would have been prudent at the Miami Book Fair. But as we huddled under the vendor tents, the spontaneous rain shower became a great opportunity to shop for books. During one such interval my wife and I had the leasure of meeting Stephan Earl, author of the children's book Kayla and Eli Discover Jazz. We found Mr. Earl gregarious and engaging. His books are colorful, educational, and entertaining, so we got an autographed copy for my youngest grandson. If you have a preteen kid or grandchild who loves to read, you should check out his website. Miami is also headquarters for M2Hospitality. His client list includes U2, the Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics sports teams, Jeff Gordon, Beyonce and Jay-Z, Leonardo Di … [Read more...]
The worst sort of liberal
What is the worst sort of liberal? A person who says something really terrible, then accuses his most hated political enemy of making the offensive statement. For example, meet liberal Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen. Theoretically, he gets paid big money to express his opinions about politics, not mine. But in a recent column purportedly about Chris Christie and the Tea Party, Cohen wrote about newly-elected mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio: Today’s GOP is not racist, as Harry Belafonte alleged about the tea party, but it is deeply troubled — about the expansion of government, about immigration, about secularism, about the mainstreaming of what used to be the avant-garde. People with conventional views must repress a gag reflex when considering the mayor-elect of New York — a white man married to a black woman and with two biracial children. (Should I mention that Bill de Blasio’s wife, Chirlane McCray, used to be a lesbian?) [emphasis added] This family represents the cultural changes that have enveloped parts — but not all — of America. To cultural conservatives, this doesn’t look like their country at all. Really! What exactly constitutes a "conventional view?" For whom does Mr. Cohen claim to be speaking? The columnist suggested that he had been misunderstood by his usually reliable liberal readers when they called for him to be fired. He even had the audacity to claim that it hurt his feelings to be called a racist. Oh, cry me a river, Mr. Cohen. I believe the applicable expression for him would be hoisted with one's own … [Read more...]
Communication barriers
In the movie Cool Hand Luke, actor Strother Martin famously said, "What we've got here is failure to communicate." I certainly know how that feels. Let me give you a couple of examples, from my distant past... Once upon a time, before I began writing books and novels, I spent almost two decades developing computer software. During the first seven years, I wrote and then supported components for international banking applications, as an employee of Unisys Corporation. Our Finesse banking application had been designed and developed in Atlanta with domestic U.S. financial institutions as our target market, but naturally a major bank in Australia became our first customer. My boss shipped me, the "single guy" on our team, Down Under with the software. I spent the next four months in Perth, helping a small development team customize the product extensively so it would comply with international banking requirements. Lucky me. However, I encountered the communications barrier almost immediately on the trip, during my very first pub crawl, only hours after the fourteen-hour trip from L.A. to Sydney. We had a very serious communication problem there in the bar, even though everybody at my table spoke fluent English. Our misunderstanding happened while a trio of secretaries were plying me with round after round of free beer, saying they wanted to keep me at their table, entertaining them with my American accent from the Deep South. From my own perspective, I was a very lucky man. Three beautiful young women were buying my drinks, in a very … [Read more...]
