A healthy dose of reality, with no superstition, and absolutely . . .

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Making science and critical thinking so simple you can understand and so interesting you'll want to.

by Charles Darwin

I have Charles Darwin's seminal book, On the Origin of Species, in PDF format, compatible with virtually every computer. Give me your first name and email address, and I'll email you a link to a FREE, downloadable copy. You may read it on your own computer screen, print it, or even let your computer read it to you aloud for your pleasure. It's a fascinating book.

In addition, I'll send you a short email once or twice a month -- or less often -- when I make significant changes or additions to the No Bull Website. Just click the graphic below for your gifts.

(We'll never share your name or email address, and you can easily discontinue the Updates any time you choose.)

Update

June 7, 2007

The purpose of this newsletter is to provide information to people who want it.

This is the online version of your free No Bull Update from the No Bull Website at www.NoBull.ws , bringing you a healthy dose of reality, with no superstition, and absolutely no bull. No Bull makes science and critical thinking so simple you can understand it and so interesting you'll want to. No Bull Update is emailed on an irregular basis to those who ask for it. If you prefer the online version, you may read it here. I have to keep the email version a little plainer to avoid the ubiquitous spam traps. Sometimes they get caught anyway.

What's Up?

I have been unable to keep No Bull updated and fresh for the past few months, and I apologize sincerely. I don't expect this lapse to happen again in the foreseeable future. However, at my age and state of health, it's impossible to be certain. For this reason, I'm making arrangements to have this work continued even if I should become unable to do it. In such a case, I am confident my replacement will keep making No Bull better all the time.

No, I don't have any fatal disease that I know of; and I don't plan to stop breathing any time soon. I hope to stick around for quite a few more years and write at least one article a month for a long time. Sometimes probably more than one. I'm also finding other sources of articles to use occasionally, but it's difficult to find the kind and quality that I need. I want to bring you mostly science articles, simple enough for a fifteen-year-old, yet interesting enough for everybody.

With that in mind, let me repeat the request I've made before. If you can write good articles about science or critical thinking, please consider submitting some of them to No Bull for publication. Since I have virtually no formal training or credentials, I'm especially interested in articles by people who do have them. But that's not a requirement. The only requirement is to write about a subject related to science or critical thinking in an accurate, simple, and interesting way. Articles on other subjects may also be considered, if they relate in any way to No Bull's goals.

What's New?

Valerie Tarico

Valerie Tarico, Ph.D.

I am proud to have a new article by Valerie Tarico, Ph.D., who is being published in No Bull for the first time. She's a psychologist and freelance writer in Seattle, Washington, and author of The Dark Side: How Evangelical Teachings Corrupt Love and Truth. Her article here is a great one entitled "Is Science 'Merely Another Religion?'" She obviously knows her subjects and writes with a clear style that I think you'll like as much as I do. I sincerely hope she'll write more for me as often as she can. And I hope that's pretty often.

Also, I've added several new articles and updated some old ones since the last Update. Be sure to read "Creationism, Creation Science, Intelligent Design, or Evolution: What's the Difference? And Who Cares Anyway?" I wrote this article with the long name, which briefly discusses each of the four related topics to show which one is science and exactly why the other three are not. This is NOT a matter of opinion, as some assert. There's a simple, but accurate, way to tell the difference.

This is the first of a series of articles I plan to write this year, to explain how the millions of species of plants, animals, and other living organisms on earth all descended from one (or a very few) common ancestors at least 3.5 billion years ago. Think about that a minute, and you'll realize the mold growing on the old bread crust in the back of your refrigerator is a family of your very distant cousins. Yes, they're my cousins too, of course. Say "Hi" to them for me next time you open the refrigerator door.

In the series, I'll talk first about Darwin's theory of natural selection, which is probably the most important driving force behind evolution. Which is it really? Is it a real fact, or is it "just a theory?" If you remember what a scientific theory is, then you'll understand when I say it is both a fact and a theory.

Briefly, I'll mention things like sexual selection, genes and mutations, "jumping genes," punctuated equilibrium, predation, parasitology, evolutionary arms races, and other principles that can change one kind of creature into many different kinds. Don't worry. It can seem complicated, but I'll keep it simple. And it's a lot more interesting than you think! It's absolutely fascinating!

Videos of Interest

I've created a new page for embedded videos from YouTube and other sites. These videos are some I have discovered, or that somebody has told me about; and I believe they'll be interesting and informative to my readers. There are only two videos embedded on it now, but I'll be adding more very quickly. I know many of you will enjoy this, but I also know many videos are removed as often as web pages change. We'll see how well this works. Please email me if a video is not what you expect, so I can correct the situation.

What's Coming Soon?

You'll notice extensive changes to the home page already. Paul Huxley in England has begun helping me with the artistic stuff. I wish I had talent like his, but I don't. With his help, I believe No Bull has become better looking and more interesting already; and I intend to keep on improving it. Look for the humor and irony in a few of his illustrations. Some of them, you may not even notice until about the third time you look.

Thanks for your help, Paul. With you doing the art and Perry Spiller of New Zealand proofing as much as practical before I publish, we'll turn No Bull into a really great operation.

An article about once a month for the next several months about subjects like those described above that make evolution work.

I intend to re-write the Scientific Method page within the next month or two. I want to add a few more things, including some caveats, and make it a little easier to read. Discovery and learning should be exciting, and the scientific method is the best way humans have discovered to generate new knowledge. It's both powerful and wonderful, and -- most importantly -- it's self correcting. How many things can make that claim? Since the article is already pretty long, I'll probably break it into two parts.

Feedback to No Bull

Is there something specific you'd like to see on No Bull that isn't here already? Email me. I will reply. I can't promise anything else until I hear what you want, but but I'll do the best I can to accommodate a reasonable request.

I'd love to have both your suggestions and constructive criticisms. If you like what you see on No Bull, or if you don't, please let me know. Use the link near the bottom of any page on the website to email me with your comments, or just send them to Bill@NoBull.ws .

General Information About No Bull

You may subscribe to the free No Bull Update by sending a blank email from your main email address to subscribe@nobull.ws . Then, as a subscriber to this newsletter, you'll be eligible to download a copy of Charles Darwin's pivotal book, On the Origin of Species, from the Free Gift link on any page of the No Bull Website.

To unsubscribe any time you choose, send a blank email to unsubscribe@nobull.ws . It's that simple. But please don't. I want to keep all the friends and subscribers I can.

To change your email address, just subscribe from your new one. There's no need to unsubscribe from your old one if you're going to stop using it. I'll automatically stop sending to it after three consecutive bounces.

If your email bounces three times in a row for any reason, your subscription will be cancelled automatically. This doesn't mean I don't want you on the list. It only means your email box keeps rejecting the Update. If this occurs, please just re-subscribe. Or subscribe with a different email address. But check your spam folder first. Spam traps are never perfect, and some of them tag our emails from time to time. AOL and Yahoo seem to be the worst about this.

You are encouraged, however, to forward copies of this newsletter to any of your friends, family, and associates whom you believe will appreciate it. Please tell them you did it, though, so they won't accuse me of spamming them. Thanks.