May Evo Meetup

We will discuss evolution. Not politics, and a quick segue from evolution to politics does not count as discussing evolution. Evolution is one of the most vital and interesting branches of science, and there is a great deal to discuss. Also, there are many popular misconceptions about evolution and what it is and how it works, and dispelling some of the popular errors would be a good point of discussion.

The intersection of science and politics is a valid subject after 7:00, when the Flying Spaghetti Monster (https://www.meetup.com/freedomofreligion-63/) arrives and magically transforms the Meetup from evo to FSM (https://www.meetup.com/freedomofreligion-63/).

Even among people who accept the fact of evolution, there is a lot of confusion and misunderstanding. There are people, for instance, who still conceptualize evolution as a kind of Scala Natura working by Lamarkian principles; some people think that evolution can have an end, such as working toward more hair, body fat, and shorter, less slender extremities in order to survive an ice age, rather than those being the result of a long-term average slight improvement of survivability over populations; or thinking that evolution can cause changes in individuals (as in the X-Men). If anyone is relatively new to the concepts of evolution, I would like us to discuss these or other concepts that might aid in his or her understanding of this field of science.

Here are some interesting articles on evolution:

Feathered dinosaurs (http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2012/04/04/the-one-ton-turkey-further-adventures-in-slow-cooked-science/)

The evolution of flu viruses (http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2012/05/02/behold-the-forbidden-flu-a-loom-explainer/) (evolution denial is not only stupid, it can kill)

Cancer and evolution (http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2012/05/11/cancer-evolution-at-tedmed/) (evolution denial is not only stupid, it can kill) [Here is the Q&A to the video on cancer and evolution (http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=TcrfyeBmExs)]

Lest you think your hands unique (http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2012/04/27/a-multitude-of-hands-my-new-essay-in-national-geographic/)....