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I am, therefore I think, I believe.

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 “Speaking words of wisdom, 11B” ~ Weilland Huttner What makes us human is a question that people have been grappling with for centuries. And everyone has a different take on what angle to explore the question from.   Some take the relationship with others approach and look to our capacity to altruism and kindness, or cruelty. Some take the artistic path; our ability to create music, poetry, or other forms of artistic expression. There is also the mythological view- that humans are more special than any other creature on earth, being fully formed- like Athena born from the forehead of Zeus. And finally there are the scientists searching for the first human- giving us such ancestors as “Lucy”, Neanderthals, and Homo erectus, among others. But what makes us so different than other apes? Maybe, as my students say, it’s our big brain. In a very interesting study, the answer of how we got our big brain begins with a bit of gene that was copied too many times, (I bet there isn’t...
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Slap me some skin, brother. 2/26/22

 Teachers, what is your go to when teaching evolution or natural selection? I think most of us at some point use the example of the peppered moths. That is a good example, but I have recently become aware of what I consider to be an even better one. Skin. The news of ‘wear sunscreen to prevent skin cancer’, and ‘get outside to get your vitamin D’ is widespread, but did you know that it is rooted in the evolution of skin color? I didn’t, until I read a paper and watched a lecture by Nina Jablonski.   Her research was partially inspired by a photography project by Angelica Dass called Humanae ( https://angelicadass.com/public-speaking/ted-the-beauty-of-human-skin-in-every-color-vancouver-canada/ ). Skin color is not a set of colors with discrete boundaries between each race. In fact, I would say race doesn’t really exist.   Skin color is a continuum of shades and tones and so completely beautiful you might need a tissue.          ...
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