The Tawny Frogmouth Chick of Wisdom Speaks

"Sigh."

Creationism In Our Classrooms

I personally don't think that creationism should be taught alongside evolution. The obvious point is that creationism is not science; it's religion. The reason evolution can be taught in our biology classes is because we've been able to back it up with scientific evidence, whereas creationism simply is.

Some might say that both ideas should be taught so students can choose what they want to believe on their own. However, that is entirely unnecessary. The text book isn't forcing you to accept evolution, but is simply putting it out there. Just because a kid sees it in their science book doesn't mean they're going to up and go start renouncing their religion in front of their parents. They can go put them in a private school if they care so much.

The Toilet of Wisdom Speaks

"Come, brother. Let us become one."

Global Warming: Hoax or Fact?

Despite both sides being awfully backed by extremist environmentalists and, as Mr. Basinger would put it, "hippies", I'm going to have to side with those slightly smart-looking scientists that said global warming is not a direct result of human activity, but rather is all a part of a cycle that has been going on for the past bajillion years.

It's true that the start of the Industrial Revolution did add tons of unnecessary carbon dioxide into the air. However, I don't think we can entirely credit ourselves for causing these giant glaciers in the Antarctic to melt away. The scientists in that super fun video we watched pointed out that carbon dioxide levels would rise almost a hundred years after temperatures spiked. From this we can assume that the two are loosely correlated. In fact, there was a stage of cooling during the middle of the 20th century, which, if we were going by Al Gore's theory, should have been a time of climate warming.

I mean, yeah, it'd be nice if we could reduce our CO2 emissions. However, I don't think it should cost people their jobs. Our economy is already in enough of a rut; we don't want more people that believe their job is secure until retirement to get the pink slip for something that might not even help the environment that much.

Rant Drugs Rant Rant

I was thinking about writing a blog on how wonderfully horrible a president Bush was, but I'd rather not waste my time on something so obvious. Instead, I'm going to share my thoughts on why marijuana should be legalized. Then you're, like, "Omigosh! Jen does weed ALL DAY LONG." No, my silly little tamale. That is certainly not the case. I just happen to be well-informed. Maybe.

Anyway, my first reason is money. Think about it; drug dealers are arrested for selling the stuff. So where do they go? Jail. And, of course, we are the ones paying for their court & attorney fees, their health care, and to be in prison. All with our taxes. Not only that, but the government could put taxes on marijuana if pharmacies were allowed to provide it. Maybe they could spend it on something useful like educating the youth on drugs and treating those with addiction problems.

One thing that I don't really understand is why things like tobacco and alcohol are perfectly fine as long as you are of age, while marijuana isn't. Marijuana has adverse affects on your mental and physical condition, but so does alcohol! Obviously just like alcohol, marijuana should be age restricted and be prohibited in certain public areas. It's probably easier for a high schooler to acquire drugs than alcohol. Perhaps we did something right when we legalized and regulated alcohol?

Lastly, whether marijuana is legal or not, people use it and will continue to use it. People should have the freedom to use marijuana as long as they aren't violating the rights of others under the influence.

I didn't bring this up in class [because I forgot], but I was wondering why the U.S. government refuses to allow the growing of hemp here. Hemp can be used to make anything! Paper, clothes, cars, fuel. You name it. If I've been told correctly, it's not strong enough to have any noticeable effects or make you high. We're in the age of "going green", aren't we? Why aren't we making use of industrial hemp that could not only help the environment, but the economy as well?

Deductive Logic

Syllogisms, Modus Ponens, and Modus Tollens are all examples of deductive logic.

Syllogisms
All CORE students are lazy.
Erika is a CORE student.
Erika is lazy.

A syllogism consists of the major premise, the minor premise, and the conclusion. Each of the premises has one term in common with the conclusion. Here, the "formula" a=b, b=c, therefore c=a can be used to describe Erika; a being All CORE students, b being lazy, and c being Erika.

Modus Ponens
If I do my homework, I'll pass biology.
I do my homework.
Therefore, I'll pass biology.

Modus Ponens can be summarized by:

If p, then q
p
Therefore, q
Like cause and effect, q will happen if p happens.

Modus Tollens
If I eat that donut on the table, I'll feel fat.
I don't feel fat.
Therefore, I didn't eat that donut on the table.

Modus Tollens can be summarized by:
If p, then q
not q
Therefore, not p
If premise p is true, then premise q is also true. Premise q us false, therefore premise p must be false. Unlike Modus Ponens, the second and third statements in Modus Tollens are negated.