Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 23/09/2026We just ran a piece by Dan Phelps, Williamstown secret deal may get a free fire station for the Ark suggesting that the proprietors of the Ark Park in Kentucky may have discovered a new mechanism (I almost wrote scheme) for extracting funds from the government. pandasthumb.org/archives/202... 101
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 06/09/20262nd place in the Panda's Thumb Photography Contest, by Al Denelsbeck. I posted the winner on July 29. The artifact on the right picture, which is shown in more detail on the Thumb, may be due to aliasing. See "alt" for more. The insect is *not* a mantis. pandasthumb.org/archives/202... 021
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 06/09/2026John Harshman's picture of a common potoo, third place in the Panda's Thumb Photography Contest. Look closely; it is a bird. pandasthumb.org/archives/202... 000
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 06/09/2026Article in Panda's Thumb by Joe Felsenstein, commenting on a weird claim by Eric Hedin, in which he "imagine[s] that" evolution cannot occur, so life must be an Idea in the mind of God. pandasthumb.org/archives/202...pandasthumb.orgIs evolution defied because life is an 100
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 06/09/2026Splendid pictures of ichneumonid wasps by Malcolm Schongalla. Honorable Mention in Panda's Thumb Photography Contest. Wasps are on the same log, laying eggs on horntail larvae, which the wasp larvae will eat. Darwin found it disturbing. pandasthumb.org/archives/202... 000
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 06/09/2026Latest post on The Panda's Thumb. Includes data showing that Ham's Ark Park has never lived up to its, um, expectations. Instead of addressing the fact, Ham notes that Enquirer's circulation is down. His, by contrast, was never up. pandasthumb.org/archives/202...pandasthumb.orgKen Ham's attack on the press 100
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 04/08/2026Can We Keep One Small Corner of America Technology-Free? www.nytimes.com/2026/08/02/o... Tl;dr. But I think the same of soccer. A bad call is no different from a bad bounce; they happen. OK, allow a couple of challenges a game or a half, but let the umps umpire and the officials officiate.nytimes.comOpinion | Can We Keep One Small Corner of America Technology-Free?Baseball isn’t supposed to be perfect. 010
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 02/08/2026Joe Felsenstein shows how Lamarck, the first evolutionary biologist, is misrepresented and misunderstood by creationists, in this post in The Panda's Thumb on Lamarck's 282nd birthday. pandasthumb.org/archives/202...pandasthumb.orgAn unhappy birthday: Lamarck is misrepresented 000
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 29/07/2026A piece by Daniel Phelps cross-posted from the blog Righting America, with a commentary by William Trollinger - shows how Kentucky taxpayers were taken for a ride, and not in an ark. The ark in the photo seems to be in drydock. pandasthumb.org/archives/202... 000
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 29/07/2026Gert Korthof (biologist and proprietor of wasdarwinwrong.com) has won the XVI-th Panda's Thumb Photography Contest with this photo of a spider in its web, supplemented by 2 shots of a web illuminated by sunlight. The origin of the color is a mystery, at least to me. pandasthumb.org/archives/202... 010
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 15/07/2026Oy. I suspect that Braterman is right that Vought and Miller are likely behind it all. They are in some ways scarier than Trump, in that they have a clear agenda and will not chicken out. 3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily...3quarksdaily.comTrump's Religious Liberty Commission and the dismantling of the Constitution - 3 Quarks Dailyby Paul Braterman 000
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 08/07/2026Panda's Thumb. Urophora cardui. A tomato I saw growing in a thistle (read the post!). And please do not forget the Panda's Thumb Photo Contest. Entries close next Monday at noon, MDT. pandasthumb.org/archives/202... 000
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 05/07/2026Latest article on Panda's Thumb: "David Coppege makes it clear a refresher course is needed," by Joe Felsenstein. Coppege thinks he debunks natural selection. Yes, really. pandasthumb.org/archives/202... CC BY-SA 3.0. 130
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 01/07/2026The XVII-th Panda's Thumb Photography Contest. We accept photographs related to nature, science, engineering, and so on, from the smallest to the largest. Before you enter (and I hope you will) pls click the link and read the rules. pandasthumb.org/archives/202...pandasthumb.orgPhotography Contest XVII 001
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 21/03/2026Panda's Thumb: Glenn Branch of NCSE reviewed "Evolution Is Wrong: A Radical Approach to the Origin & Transformation of Life," by Erich von Däniken, under the title, "He's Saying It Was Aliens ... But It Wasn't Aliens." Mr. Branch was not impressed. pandasthumb.org/archives/202... 010
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 16/03/2026Today is National Panda Day! pandasthumb.org/archives/202... 000
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 12/02/2026My post linking to some Darwin Day, as well as Religion and Science Weekend, festivities includes a nice picture of Darwin at age 6. pandasthumb.org/archives/202... 000
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 11/02/2026I can't resist either. From a NYT newsletter: "Propose single payer health care and call it 'Trumpcare.' The ID card is gold with his face and signature on it. He won’t be able to resist."— A comment by Kenneth from Alabama 010
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 07/02/2026Thom Hartmann interviews Mikey Weinstein, president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. White Christian nationalism - chaplains may not mention Alex Pretti but Charlie Kirk is lionized. www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org/2026/02/mrff...militaryreligiousfreedom.orgMRFF’s Mikey Weinstein on The Thom Hartmann Program — VA Chaplains Can’t Mention Alex Pretti; Troops Pressured to See “Melania”“We are at the point now where you actually have to do something. You can’t just sit back, circulate blood, reflect light, and breathe!” — MRFF Founder and President Mikey Weinstein on The Thom Hartma... 100
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 03/02/2026Clever idea: Help Minneapolis Get a Nobel Peace Prize. Too late for this year, and doubt they have "standing," but professors may nominate for Peace Prize. actionnetwork.org/petitions/su...actionnetwork.orgHelp Minneapolis Get a Nobel Peace PrizeStudents protest against ICE during a walkout at the University of Minnesota, on January 26, 2026 (Brandon Bell / Getty Images) The editors of The Nation are formally nominating the city of Minneapo... 000
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 14/01/2026Good article by Yale student Zachary Clifton notes that Trump endowment tax hurts universities that developed "the most important scientific breakthroughs, including mRNA vaccine technology, MRI machines, pacemakers, and insulin therapy for patients with diabetes." www.thenation.com/article/soci...thenation.comTrump’s New Endowment Tax Is Already Reshaping Higher EducationThe “Big, Beautiful Bill” added additional taxes on a small set of universities. Now budget cuts have hit campuses across the Ivy League and elsewhere. 010
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 12/01/2026Thank God for small mercies. Original reporting by Cassis Tingley suggests that closing NCAR for telling the truth about climate change is only second degree murder, not first. coloradosun.com/2026/01/12/d...coloradosun.comDid Project 2025 call for closing Boulder's NCAR research center?No. While Project 2025 called for targeting “climate alarmism,” it did not propose eliminating the National Center for Atmospheric Research. 000
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 02/01/2026Just ran a short piece, Measles at the Ark, by Dan Phelps, on Panda's Thumb. An unvaccinated person with measles visited the Ark Park, and authorities are warning the public. Phelps is "sad" that "anti-science" is putting people in real danger. So I am I. pandasthumb.org/archives/202... 020
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 26/12/2025No, but it shows the silliness of the concept cultural appropriation. 000
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 25/12/2025I well remember when Uncle gave the green light to "supplement" manufacturers but was unaware that it had given the same consideration to "organic" food. Quotation marks used advisedly. Love seems to be a columnist for Skeptical Inquirer and well qualified. skepticalinquirer.org/2025/12/orga...skepticalinquirer.orgOrganic Is the Wellness Industry of Agriculture | Skeptical InquirerThe organic farming and food industry is based on clean-food ideology, chemophobia, and the fantasy that “natural” is a scientific argument. It is born from ... 020
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 21/12/2025Bit rambling, but he asks, "So which do you think is worse — Trump dismantling NCAR because he can’t stand science or Trump’s dismantling one of the world’s premier climate research institutions simply to show [Colo Gov] Polis who’s boss?" Or that they do not think about or care about consequences?coloradosun.comLittwin: Trump takes revenge on Colorado in defense of election grifter Tina Peters, and the whole world suffersOnce Polis refused to pardon Peters, Trump’s budget honcho Russell Vought took down NCAR, Boulder’s crown jewel of climate research 020
Reposted by Matt YoungJerry Coyne @evolutionistrue.bsky.social · 14/12/2025The hero is a Muslim with no firearms training. Kudos to him. 0123
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 02/12/2025I am sorry, but you have no religious (or any other) right to put other people's health in danger. For a medical school to agree to equate religious exemptions to medical exemptions is an outrage; religion should not be privileged over public health. coloradosun.com/2025/12/02/c...coloradosun.comCU-Anschutz agrees to pay $10 million in lawsuit over COVID vaccine mandate, group saysThe University of Colorado Anschutz has agreed to pay $10 million to settle a lawsuit over religious exemptions to its COVID vaccine mandate. 030
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 01/12/2025Splendid pic, but wondering why the secondary bow is white while the primary is sharp. Normally you see a white bow when the droplets are so small that diffraction exceeds dispersion. But why is the primary so sharp and the secondary white? Anyone know? 010
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 30/11/2025My biweekly photograph on Panda's Thumb -- a tiny (few millimeters) unidentified spider about to lunch on a box elder bug, Boisea trivittata. pandasthumb.org/archives/202... I include in the post a dorsal view of a box elder bug from several years ago. 020
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 26/11/2025William Trollinger gets it exactly right: rightingamerica.net/whitewashing... The Pilgrims sailed to obtain religious freedom for themselves, not you and me; see e.g. www.thenation.com/article/soci... and ignore the slightly inflammatory (tho accurate) head.rightingamerica.netWhitewashing History: PragerU’s Thanksgivingby William Trollinger “The First Thanksgiving- 1621” Painting by Karen Rinaldo. Image via Plymouth400Inc. PragerU is not a university. It is not an accredited educational institution. I… 100
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 25/11/2025Yes, and repeal the ill-named Tabor Amendment (Taxpayers' Bill of Rights). But I wd suggest several brackets below $500K, not one at $500K. Typical rich guy, Gov Polis will probably not support a fair income tax but wd rather "borrow" from PERA. coloradosun.com/2025/11/25/o...coloradosun.comOpinion: Colorado’s continued billion-dollar struggle with state budget is reason we need to shift to graduated income taxVoters deserve chance to rethink our state spending and change Colorado Constitution to change tax structure. 100
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 24/11/2025Post run on Panda's Thumb by Joe Felsenstein about what appears to be a completely unqualified academic who changed his mind (gasp!) and now rejects "Darwinism." pandasthumb.org/archives/202... 000
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 24/11/2025My discussion of this book on evolution of organisms adapted to living in cities & towns. Author argues that cities & towns worldwide will ultimately have nearly identical floras & faunas. If they have gained a foothold, may we then plant exotic species deliberately? pandasthumb.org/archives/202... 052
Reposted by Matt YoungProf Gavin Yamey MD MPH @gavinyamey.bsky.social · 22/11/2025When Bill Cassidy voted to confirm the world’s most extreme, dangerous anti-vaxx activist as HHS Secretary, he voted to dismantle the US vaccination system. Now Bill has got the sads cuz RFK Jr’s actions are hurting & killing American kids, including in Bill’s own state. Who could have predicted? 512740
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 16/11/2025Cannot agree more with Nicolais, but Boebert and especially MTG are unfortunately the lunatic fringe of the lunatic fringe. If the Gop abandons him, Trump may become more unhinged or resign and give us Vance when what we will need is a Ford. coloradosun.com/2025/11/16/b...coloradosun.comNicolais: Boebert bucks Trump over Epstein files, and should be applaudedDespite extraordinary pressure — including a White House meeting — the Colorado congresswoman held firm on her decision to sign the discharge petition. 020
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 13/11/2025A nice shot of the aurora the other night by Vivian Dullien, which I posted on Panda's Thumb yesterday. Taken with her cell phone. pandasthumb.org/archives/202... 010
Reposted by Matt YoungMatt Shipman (he/him) @shiplives.bsky.social · 11/11/2025It is readily apparent that most lawmakers in the United States have never been poor; do not know any poor people; have never actually had a conversation with a poor person; and have no clear understanding of how poverty actually affects people’s health and opportunities. 317643
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 11/11/2025Interesting photograph by a Panda's Thumb regular, Al Denelsbeck. Not to mention 2 excellent puns in the comments section. pandasthumb.org/archives/202... Denelsbeck is a professional photographer who posts here: wading-in.net 010
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 09/11/2025My book report on Mitch Cruzan's book "Looking down the Tree," about human origins, on Panda's Thumb here: pandasthumb.org/archives/202... You may also find Prof Cruzan's preview to his book here: pandasthumb.org/archives/202... 000
Reposted by Matt YoungGlenn Branch @glennbranch.bsky.social · 05/11/2025Paul Braterman (@paulbraterman.bsky.social) illuminatingly discusses "Evolution and Creationism in the Age of Trump" for 3 Quarks Daily.3quarksdaily.comEvolution and Creationism in the age of Trump - 3 Quarks Dailyby Paul Braterman 111
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 04/11/2025From Bosley Crowther's 1964 review of Seven Days in May, which was shown on TCM tonight: "The idea [of a military coup] may seem a bit far‐fetched. Coups d’etat happen elsewhere, not here." What might he write today?nytimes.comGOD BLESS AMERICA; ‘Seven Days in May’ a Stirring Film (Published 1964) 001
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 03/11/2025I just ran an appreciation of Veritasium's video, Something Weird Happens When You Simulate Lifeless Molecules, on The Panda's Thumb, here: pandasthumb.org/archives/202... What's weird is that you get (simulated) life. 010
Reposted by Matt YoungNational Center for Science Education @ncse.bsky.social · 24/10/2025We're celebrating a birthday today! Happy 80th to NCSE's first executive director, Eugenie Scott! 🧁 ncse.ngo/happy-80th-birthday-geniencse.ngoHappy 80th birthday, Genie! | National Center for Science Education 0185
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 16/10/2025Joe Felsenstein just posted this link pandasthumb.org/archives/202... to a YouTube video featuring Jason (The Failures of Mathematical Anti-Evolutionism) Rosenhouse, a math professor at James Madison University. Felsenstein calls it, "A demolition of creationist information theory."youtu.beMathematician Debunks Creationist Information TheoryYouTube video by Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 052
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 15/10/2025From one of our Panda's Thumb Photography Contests a year or so ago, an Honorable Mention, "Aragonite Frostwork," by Alan Rice, posted the other day on PT. pandasthumb.org/archives/202... 000
Reposted by Matt YoungGlenn Branch @glennbranch.bsky.social · 11/10/2025Lexicographic enshrinement for Eugenie C. Scott's coinage "Gish Gallop"! @eugeniescott.bsky.socialmerriam-webster.comGish gallopGish gallop (sometimes gish gallop or Gish/gish galloping) refers to a rhetorical technique or strategy by which a debater puts forth too many false arguments for their opponent to be able to refute i... 0126
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 10/10/2025Just ran on Panda's Thumb: "Building Bridges [between Science and Religion] That Can Bear Scientific Scrutiny," by Jamie Jensen, a biology prof at BYU and self-described member of a "conservative Christian religion." Lots of good insight, good comments. pandasthumb.org/archives/202... 010
Matt Young @opticist.bsky.social · 10/10/2025The Colorado Sun this morning. No further comment necessary: Former Republican election official buys Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems coloradosun.com/2025/10/09/d...coloradosun.comFormer Republican election official buys Denver-based Dominion Voting SystemsThe newly formed company, Liberty Vote, also vowed to follow the executive order Trump signed last spring seeking sweeping changes to election policies that multiple judges have put on hold for violat... 021