- Nine lost treasures – and why science wants them back.
- Biology doesn’t support gay marriage bans.
- A collection of biographies/essays by indian women in science, recounting their experiences in male-dominated world. (From Praveen.)
- The geek social fallacies of sex.
They’re not all lost.For example, there are damascus steel swords around, and studies have been made of their material. It seems that Vanadium and other “impurities” in the ore from where the steel was extracted played an important role in the metal’s qualities. http://tms.org/pubs/journals/JOM/9809/Verhoeven-9809.html
Regarding the gay marriage and biology link, I will definitely be bringing those points up the next time I find myself debating a bigot.
Presumably, 999/1000 gays have as unambiguous genes and naughty bits as 999/1000 straights. It’s not the bits they have that get so many people into frothy self rightiousness, it’s the naughty bits they are attracted to. I don’t think the biology argument will carry much weight with the frothies.
The biology blog really reminded me of the old King Missile song “Gay/Not Gay”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiPyMciRWQQ
Probably that’s just me though.
While I think there’s some valuable info in the sex article, my favorite thing about it is the realization that kinkier/more partners does not necessarily equal better or deeper or somehow more intellectually fulfilled than “vanilla” sex.
I have never had much of an opinion, positive or negative, regarding people who enjoy kinky sex or polyamory or open relationships. I have, however, become quite tired of being berated by people who are in favor of any or all of these because I am not interested in engaging in them.
I understand that this attitude probably is borne our of defensiveness – I have been in situations where I assume I will be judged and therefore I tend to want to “strike first” – but it is nonetheless tiresome to have someone lecturing me about how a wide range of sexual interests and expression are fine and great, provided that it isn’t what the person doing the lecturing considers boring or uninteresting.