Irreducible Complexity

Irreducible complexity is an argument by proponents of intelligent design that certain biological systems are too complex to have evolved from simpler, or ‘less complete’ predecessors, through natural selection acting upon a series of advantageous naturally occurring, chance mutations. The argument is central to intelligent design, and is rejected by the scientific community at large, which overwhelmingly regards intelligent design as pseudoscience. Irreducible complexity is one of two main arguments (both discredited) used by intelligent design proponents, the other being specified complexity (which singles out patterns that are both specified and complex as markers of design by an intelligent agent).

Lehigh University biochemistry professor Michael Behe, the originator of the term ‘irreducible complexity,’ defines an irreducibly complex system as one ‘composed of several well-matched, interacting parts that contribute to the basic function, wherein the removal of any one of the parts causes the system to effectively cease functioning.’ Evolutionary biologists have shown that such systems can evolve, and that Behe’s examples constitute an argument from ignorance. It asserts that a proposition is true because it has not yet been proven false, it is ‘generally accepted’ (or vice versa). This represents a type of false dichotomy in that it excludes a third option, which is that there is insufficient investigation and therefore insufficient information to prove the proposition satisfactorily to be either true or false. In the 2005 ‘Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District trial’ (the first direct challenge brought in federal courts testing a public school district policy that required the teaching of intelligent design), Behe gave testimony on the subject of irreducible complexity. The court found that ‘Professor Behe’s claim for irreducible complexity has been refuted in peer-reviewed research papers and has been rejected by the scientific community at large.’

Teach the Controversy

‘Teach the Controversy‘ is the name of a campaign by the Discovery Institute (a conservative Christian think tank based in Seattle) to promote a variant of traditional creationism, intelligent design, while attempting to discredit evolution in US public high school science courses. The central claim is that fairness and equal time requires educating students with a ‘critical analysis of evolution’ where ‘the full range of scientific views,’ evolution’s ‘unresolved issues,’ and the ‘scientific weaknesses of evolutionary theory’ will be presented and evaluated alongside intelligent design concepts like irreducible complexity. The overall goal of the movement is to ‘defeat [the] materialist world view’ represented by the theory of evolution and replace it with ‘a science consonant with Christian and theistic convictions.’

The scientific community and science education organizations have replied that there is no scientific controversy regarding the validity of evolution and that the controversy exists solely in terms of religion and politics. A federal court, along with the majority of scientific organizations, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science, say the Institute has manufactured the controversy they want to teach by promoting a false perception that evolution is ‘a theory in crisis’ due to it being the subject of purported wide controversy and debate within the scientific community. A 2005 ruling in ‘Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District,’ concluded that intelligent design is not science and ‘cannot uncouple itself from its creationist, and thus religious, antecedents.’ The Dover ruling also characterized ‘teaching the controversy’ as part of a religious ploy.

Lies My Teacher Told Me

‘Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong’ is a 1995 book by sociologist James Loewen. It critically examines twelve American history textbooks and concludes that textbook authors propagate factually false, Eurocentric, and mythologized views of history. In addition to critiquing the dominant historical themes presented in textbooks, Loewen presents a number of his own historical themes that he says are ignored by traditional history textbooks. A newly revised and updated hardcover edition was released in 2008.

Loewen criticizes modern American history textbooks for containing inaccurate depictions of historical figures and events such as Christopher Columbus, the lies and inaccuracies in the history books regarding the dealings between the Europeans and the Native Americans, and their often deceptive and inaccurate teachings told about America’s commerce in slavery. He further criticizes the texts for a tendency to avoid controversy and for their ‘bland’ and simplistic style. He proposes that when American history textbooks elevate American historical figures to the status of heroes, they unintentionally give students the impression that these figures are part of an unattainable past. In other words, the history-as-myth method teaches students that America’s greatest days have already passed. Loewen asserts that the muting of past clashes and tragedies makes history boring to students, especially groups excluded from the positive histories.

Doritos

Doritos is a brand of seasoned tortilla chips founded by Arch West and produced since 1964 by Frito-Lay (a division of PepsiCo). The original product was made at the Casa de Fritos location at Disneyland in Anaheim. Using unused tortillas, the company-owned restaurant cut them up and fried them and added basic seasoning. Arch West was the Vice President of Marketing of Frito-Lay at the time, and noticed the popularity. He made a deal with Alex Foods in 1964, the provider of many items for Casa de Fritos at Disneyland, and produced the chips for a short time regionally, before it was overwhelmed by the volume, and Frito-Lay moved the production in-house to its Tulsa plant. ‘Doritos’ were first available in 1966, the first tortilla chip to be launched nationally in the United States.

Government Simulation

A government simulation is a game that attempts to simulate the government and politics of all or part of a nation. These games may include geopolitical situations (involving the formation and execution of foreign policy), the creation of domestic political policies, or the simulation of political campaigns. They differ from the genre of classical wargames due to their discouragement or abstraction of military or action elements. Beyond entertainment, these games have practical applications in training and education of government personnel. Training simulations have been created for subjects such as managing law enforcement policies (such as racial profiling), the simulation of a military officer’s career, and hospital responses to emergency situations.

Games based on geopolitics and elections existed long before the emergence of personal computers and their ability to quickly process large amounts of statistical data. One of the earliest such games was ‘The Game of Politics,’ created by Oswald Lord in 1935 which remained in print until 1960. In 1954, the board game ‘Diplomacy’ was created, which differs from other wargames in that it features a ‘negotiation’ phase during which players reach agreements with other players, and then execute military moves simultaneously. National politics has remained a vital area of board gaming, with products such as the 1986 board game ‘Die Macher’ featuring elections in Germany, and ‘Wreck the Nation’ which satirizes the politics of the United States under the Bush administration.

Bill, the Galactic Hero

Bill, the Galactic Hero is a satirical science fiction novel by Harry Harrison, first published in 1965. Harrison reports having been approached by a Vietnam veteran who described Bill as ‘the only book that’s true about the military.’ Harrison introduced a new euphemism, ‘bowb,’ in the series to cover the vulgarity necessary to render military life accurately. It is used extensively in Bill, the Galactic Hero. Bill is a farmboy on a small backward agricultural planet who is drugged, hypnotized, then shanghaied into the Space Troopers and sent to recruit training under a fanged instructor named Deathwish Drang. After surviving boot camp, he is transferred to active duty as a fuse tender on the flagship of the space fleet in battle with the Chingers, a small reptillian race. Injured and with the fleet almost destroyed, he fires off a shot witnessed by the admiralty and is proclaimed a hero.

Six sequels were published, from 1989 to 1992: The first, ‘Bill, the Galactic Hero On the Planet of Robot Slaves’ (1989), is by Harry Harrison. The sequels were penned by other writers and edited by Harrison. Harry Harrison expressed his own disappointment in the series in an interview with Brian Ireland, ‘They have a thing in the States called ‘share cropping’ where you have a series or character, and you have other writers do work with it [...] I never wanted to do it, I’m not interested. But one of the packagers said, coming back to this thing I said about the pornography of violence: Harry, why don’t we do a ‘Bill, the Galactic Hero’ series and actually do some anti-war propaganda instead of all pro war. So they eventually talked me into it. ‘The second one — ‘Bill, the Galactic Hero on the planet of Robot Slaves’ — I did myself, that was a lot of fun. If they could all be like that. But no, no. We all make mistakes. I’m a professional writer. I earn a living at it. These are the only ones where I did it wrong.’

The Stainless Steel Rat

James Bolivar DiGriz, alias ‘Slippery Jim’ and ‘The Stainless Steel Rat,’ is the fictional hero of a series of humorous science fiction novels written by Harry Harrison. He is a futuristic con man, thief and all-round rascal. He is charming and quick-witted, a master of disguise and martial arts, an accomplished bank robber, an expert on breaking and entering, and (perhaps most usefully) a skilled liar. A master of self-rationalization, the Rat frequently justifies his crimes by arguing that he is providing society with entertainment; and besides which, he only steals from institutions which have insurance coverage. He displays a strong morality, albeit in a much more restricted sense than is traditional. (For example, he will happily steal, but deplores killing.) The character was introduced in Harrison’s short story, ‘The Stainless Steel Rat,’ which was first published in 1957 in ‘Astounding’ magazine. Like other characters created by Harrison, the Rat is a speaker of Esperanto and advocates atheism.

From the original publisher’s blurb: ‘…We must be as stealthy as rats in the wainscoting of their society. It was easier in the old days, of course, and society had more rats when the rules were looser, just as old wooden buildings have more rats than concrete buildings. But there are rats in the building now as well. Now that society is all ferrocrete and stainless steel there are fewer gaps in the joints. It takes a very smart rat indeed to find these openings. Only a stainless steel rat can be at home in this environment…’

Judge Dredd

‘Judge Dredd’ is a comics character whose strip in the British science fiction anthology ’2000 AD’ is the magazine’s longest running, having been featured there since its second issue in 1977. Dredd is an American law enforcement officer in a violent city of the future where uniformed Judges combine the powers of police, judge, jury, and executioner. Dredd and his fellow Judges are empowered to arrest, sentence, and even execute criminals on the spot. The character was created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra, although editor Pat Mills also deserves some credit for early development. The series explores issues such as the police state, authoritarianism and the rule of law.

Big Dave

Big Dave is an infamous character created and written by Grant Morrison and Mark Millar, with artwork by Steve Parkhouse, for ’2000 AD,’ a British science fiction comic. The character was created for ‘The Summer Offensive,’ an experiment in which the magazine was handed over to Millar, Morrison, and John Smith for eight weeks. Big Dave first appeared in prog (issue) 842 in his first story which featured Saddam Hussein trying to take over the world and turn everyone into ‘poofs’ with the aid of some scary aliens. Big Dave, ‘the hardest man in Manchester,’ manages to stop Saddam’s plan with the help of Terry Waite, English humanitarian. This story proved controversial, but the next story surpassed it. It featured the British Royal Family as robots plus The Princess of Wales and The Duchess of York as a pair of horny drunks. The story ends with Dave in bed with both royals. A third had Dave leading a minibus full of disabled children to the football world cup final where they defeat a German team managed by Adolf Hitler.

Both Morrison and Millar appeared happy with such controversy but the character did split ’2000 AD’ fans’ opinion down the middle, with some praising it as the best series the comic had ever run, while others thought it was nothing more than puerile rubbish.

Tharg the Mighty

The Mighty Tharg is a recurrent character in science fiction comic ’2000 AD,’ one of only two characters to appear in nearly every issue of the comic (the other being Judge Dredd). The main Tharg-free period in ’2000 AD’ was when the men from Vector 13 staged a takeover (in prog [issue] 1014), while Tharg was away dealing with a crisis. Other than a spate of strips in the early 1980s, Tharg rarely appears in stories, but instead purports to be the comic’s editor. Stories involving Tharg have been written by such notable writers as Alan Moore. Tharg is an alien from the fictional planet ‘Quaxxann,’ supposedly in orbit around the real-life star Betelgeuse (but he works in a British publisher’s office), with green skin and a ‘rosette of Sirius’ on his forehead. His favorite food is said to be polystyrene cups. Tharg writes the comic’s introduction, answers letters, and doles out prizes to readers (for artwork or story suggestions) – winners could choose payment either in pounds sterling or in ‘galactic groats.’ Tharg speaks mostly in English, but with various pithy Betelgusian aphorisms thrown in for color. In one episode, a Tharg suit in the comic’s office was explained as a skin that Tharg had shed.

On occasion the comic runs short humorous strips featuring Tharg. The plots of these often concern: His conflict with ‘the thrill suckers,’ a plague of psychic pests which attempt (inevitably unsuccessfully) to steal the comic’s ‘thrill power’; His abuse of the ‘droids’ (robots which reportedly write and draw the comic, depicted as mechanical caricatures of the actual staff), who work long hours for little reward, and are summarily disintegrated should Tharg become displeased with them; His unbridled egotism; and his Battles against The Dictators of Zrag, rulers of the dull cube-shaped planet Zrag. This trio of incompetent alien warlords hope to usurp Tharg’s position and use the comic’s powers to revitalize their planet. Tharg uses the Dictators as convenient scapegoats whom he can blame for printing errors and plot holes.

2000 AD

2000 AD is a weekly British science fiction-oriented comic. As a comics anthology it serializes a number of separate stories each issue (known as ‘progs’) and was first published by IPC Magazines in 1977. It has changed hands a number of times over the years; in 2000 it was bought by Rebellion Developments. It is most noted for its Judge Dredd stories, and has been contributed to by a number of artists and writers who became renowned in the field internationally, such as Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison, Bryan Talbot, Brian Bolland, and Mike McMahon. ’2000 AD’ has been successful launchpad for UK talent into the larger American comics market, and has also been the source of a number of film licences. Unlike earlier weekly titles, ’2000 AD’ was based on a 6 page strip format. This gave the writers greater opportunity to develop character and meant that the artists had greater scope in designing the layout.

A long-running joke is that the editor of 2000 AD is Tharg the Mighty, a green extraterrestrial from Betelgeuse who terms his readers ‘Earthlets.’ Tharg uses other unique alien expressions and even appears in his own comic strips. Readers sometimes play along with this: for example, in prog 200 a pair of readers wrote to Tharg claiming that they preferred to be called ‘Terrans’; the resulting controversy ended in Tharg’s accepting a challenge for a duel at a galactic location. Another running joke is Tharg’s supposed use of robots to draw and write the strips — some of which bear a marked resemblance to actual writers and artists. A fictional reason for Tharg to use mechanical assistance was given when the robots ‘went on strike’ (reflecting real-life industrial action that occasionally halted IPC’s comics production during the 1970s and 1980s). Tharg wrote and drew a whole issue himself, but when he ran it through the quality-control ‘Thrill-meter,’ the device melted down on extreme overload. The offending issue had to be taken away, by blindfolded security guards, to a lead-lined vault where there was no danger of anyone seeing it accidentally.

Commandant Lassard

Commandant Eric Lassard is the fictional head of the Metropolitan Police Academy in the 1984 film ‘Police Academy,’ as well as its six sequels. He is portrayed by actor George Gaynes (b. 1917). He is initially not into the politics of the police department. When Police Chief Hurst and Lieutenant Harris are denouncing the new female mayor’s policy change to remove race and gender as barriers from academy admissions, he plays along with them, but quickly dismisses their comments once they’ve left the room. In ‘Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol,’ however, he initiated a program known as Citizens on Patrol (COP), which is a community outreach course. Lassard is also rather eccentric. He is rarely seen without his many goldfish, frequently travels by golfcart, and tends to destroy things while golfing in his office. He also often loses track of his thoughts, either by beginning to pace and proceeding to walk several yards away from the group he is addressing, or by repeating the word ‘very’ an abundance of times (‘Have a very, very, very good day’ or ‘This is very, very… very bad’) The commandant is a skilled billiards player, once clearing an entire table in a single turn. Comdt. Lassard’s younger brother, Captain Pete Lassard (played by Howard Hesseman) is head of a precinct that has one of the worst crime rates in the city until the a group of Eric’s graduates eventually snag a gang that’s been terrorizing the streets. A nephew (possibly Pete’s son), Nick Lassard, is with the Miami Police, but leaves to join Eric in ‘Police Academy 6.’

Lassard nearly loses his job three times in the series: In ‘Police Academy 3: Back in Training,’ his recruits are pitted against the state’s other police academy in a competition to decide which school will be closed due to budget cuts. In ‘Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach,’ Lassard reaches the mandatory retirement age for police officers. He flies with his contingent to Miami Beach, Florida to be honored as Police Officer of the Decade at the National Police Chief’s Convention. While in Miami, he inadvertently foils a jewel thief’s escape, earning him and his men and women medals from the city of Miami. As a result, the mandatory retirement age is waived for him, and he is allowed to serve until he decides to retire himself. In ‘Police Academy 6: City Under Siege,’ the criminal mastermind who has begun to seize control of the city frames Lassard for a jewel heist. The Commandant is taken off active duty pending an investigation, which ultimately clears him.

Glass Candy

Glass Candy is an American electronic music duo from Portland, Oregon, formed in 1996. The band consists of Ida No (vocals) and producer Johnny Jewel (synthesizers, guitar, general production). They have released a number of albums since the early 2000s, their most recent being the compilation album ‘Deep Gems’ (2008). Glass Candy is set to release their third studio album, ‘Body Work,’ in summer 2012. While the band’s early catalog blends elements of No Wave and glam rock, their later work incorporates Italo disco. The band is known for evolving through the years since their original collaboration, and experimenting with various musical genres. No’s vocals have been likened to ’60s German singer Nico and ‘a frightened Debbie Harry or a pissed-off Lene Lovich in a haunted disco.’

Jewel has cited Marilyn Monroe films, 1980s cop show soundtracks, ‘Goblin,’ and John Carpenter soundtracks as inspirational. All music tracks are produced by basic analog equipment, without computers. The group has also said that stores could appropriately file their music ‘between Olivia Newton-John, Suicide, and Schoolly D.’ No describes their early work as ‘droney and weird.’ Nonetheless, their early releases show a heavy glam and New Wave influence, as evidenced in their self-released first three singles, ‘Brittle Women’ (1999), ‘Metal Gods’ (2001), and a cover of Josie Cotton’s ‘Johnny Are You Queer’ (2002). Their debut studio album, ‘Love Love Love,’ was issued in 2003 by Troubleman records. Jewel founded the label, Italians Do It Better, with Mike Simonetti as a subsidiary of Troubleman. In 2007, Glass Candy released their second studio album ‘B/E/A/T/B/O/X’ on Italians Do It Better.

Record Store Day

Record Store Day is an internationally celebrated day observed the third Saturday of April each year. Its purpose, as conceived by independent record store employee Chris Brown, is to celebrate the art of music. The day brings together fans, artists, and thousands of independent record stores across the world. Record Store Day was officially founded in 2007 by Eric Levin, Michael Kurtz, Carrie Colliton, Amy Dorfman, Don Van Cleave, and Brian Poehner and is now celebrated globally with hundreds of recording and other artists participating in the day by making special appearances, performances, meet and greets with their fans, the holding of art exhibits, and the issuing of special vinyl and CD releases, along with other promotional products to mark the occasion. Past Record Store Day ‘Ambassadors’ include: Metallica (2008), Jesse Hughes of Eagles of Death Metal (2009), Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age (2010), Ozzy Osbourne (2011), and Iggy Pop (2012).

The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends

The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends is a collaborative studio album by The Flaming Lips. Recorded throughout 2011 and 2012, the album was released as a limited edition on vinyl for Record Store Day on April 21, 2012. Four songs from the album were previously released on collaborative EPs in 2011. Following their last full-length album, 2009′s ‘Embryonic,’ the band produced several EPs with other artists including Neon Indian, Lightning Bolt, Prefuse 73, and Yoko Ono. Four tracks from these sessions appear on the album. The remaining seven songs were recorded at different times and locations, and are exclusive to the LP. The Erykah Badu version of Roberta Flack’s ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,’ was a result of Lips frontman Wayne Coyne’s unsolicited calls to the singer. Badu was initially opposed to covering the well-known 1972 song, but Coyne was able to convince her. Other pairings resulted from the iniative of other artists, such as Kesha, who had expressed interest in working with the Flaming Lips while visiting the band’s hometown, Oklahoma City. She contacted Coyne by text message on his birthday. Her track, ’2012 (You Must Be Upgraded),’ was recorded in Kesha’s home studio in Nashville.

Mainstream artists such as Kesha and Coldplay’s Chris Martin share space with more experimental artists such as Lightning Bolt and Prefuse 73. The band released the double LP in vinyl form in a 10,000 unit run. Each disc has a unique pattern. Coyne has stated that he has requested and been given blood samples from some of the album’s collaborators. Coyne claims to have blood from Kesha and Neon Indian’s Alan Palomo. He plans to place small amounts of the blood sandwiched into the vinyl of limited editions of the records, and make these available to ‘interested rich Flaming Lips people.’