Ben, a philosopher of science grad student, writes:

“Darwin sketched the great tree of life and as a philosopher of science and I endeavor to help to complete his project. ‘Metaphysics must flourish, he who understands baboon would do more for metaphysics than Locke’- I believe that by analyzing the universe underneath the lens of evolution we can come to complete Darwin’s project. Darwin, more so than any other great thinker, has provided humanity with an explanation for its existence.”

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Originally published May 12, 2008. Copyright 2008 Carl Zimmer.

Following up on the last post, here’s George Johnson with Stephen Colbert. Where else on TV could someone recreate one of Faraday’s experiments? The new Mr. Wizard?

Originally published May 10, 2008. Copyright 2008 Carl Zimmer.

As long as I can remember, I’ve been a fan of George Johnson’s writing about science. He has always kept focus on the deep mysteries of existence, even while writing in a deliciously clear style. So it was a real pleasure to talk to him on bloggingheads.tv about my own book, Microcosm. Even though we spent lots of time wondering what E. coli tells us about the universal rules of life itself, we still found time to talk about what it’s like to have sex in a Waring blender. Check it out. (And to all those insomniacs–don’t forget, I’ll be on the radio on Coast to Coast AM tonight at 1 am.)

Continue reading “Sex In A Blender: The Microcosm Edition of Bloggingheads” →

From the new issue: “It is a powerful account of the dynamic, complicated and social world we share with this ordinary yet remarkable bug. Evolution and genetics glitter among the pages, as do the lives and experiments of the scientists who have studied them. Microcosm is exciting, original and wholly persuasive of the beauty and utility of looking at the largest of issues from the smallest perspectives.” 

Originally published May 9, 2008. Copyright 2008 Carl Zimmer.

I’ll be talking on Coast to Coast at a slightly less wee-hours time: 1 am on Sunday. 

Originally published May 9, 2008. Copyright 2008 Carl Zimmer.