The Null Device
2000/4/21
A detailed and informative article on the evolution of creationism: (New Scientist)
[the Kansas State Board of Education] deleted all references to evolution or the big bang, and inserted fundamentalist material. For instance, the original standards defined science as seeking "natural" explanations. That was changed to "logical", which can include supernatural explanations. The revision also says-- incorrectly--that "natural selection . . . does not add new information to the existing genetic code". Willis believes that dinosaurs lived in the US until late in the 19th century, and his school standards ask students to "analyse hypotheses about extinction of dinosaurs" and "show the weaknesses in the reasoning".
Music as shareware? Following Metallica's lawsuit against Napster, a third party has launched a website allowing pirating fans to voluntarily pay royalties.
According to Oxford professor Brian Sykes, 99% of Europe's population is descended from one of seven women who lived in the past 45,000 years. (BBC News)
Four-fingered cartoon characters exported to Japan given a fifth finger -- as not to look like Yakuza members. (BBC News)