S  A  C  R  E  D      B  O  V  I  N  E  S The  Ironies  of  Misplaced Assumptions  in  Biology

Welcome. This website presents my perspectives on unchallenged commonplaces about biology -- here, playfully dubbed "Sacred Bovines." Douglas Allchin These essays (& presentations) reflect my background in evolutionary biology, history & philosophy of science, and over 3 decades in science education. We have much to learn. it seems, about the nature of science -- and how to teach about it. Misplaced views about science are widespread. Yet they shape how we make personal decisions and frame joint policy in our society. Most persons go blithely ahead, unaware and heedless of the consequences. We can benefit from opportunities to reflect on our unchallenged assumptions. They spur creativity and foster insight -- and deeper knowledge. Serious business. But they can also amuse. There can be sheer joy in enriching the mind. Andy Warhol -- in his stunning graphics of soup cans and pop idols -- helped awaken us to images that surround us in plain sight, and thus see the extra-ordinary in the ordinary. Jasper Johns -- in his paintings of the American flag and other cultural symbols -- likewise alerted us to the power of such familiar icons. I hope to nudge perceptions and provoke reflections in similar ways here, by focusing on our stereotypes, or sometimes "myth-conceptions," of science. Ironies abound, all worth appreciating. Maybe the plain and simple is not so plain and simple. But readers, beware: in some circles, I am known as a troublemaker. You are invited to stir "trouble" with me.

now available from Oxford University Press The Way of Science Monsters and Marvels On Genius & Happenstance in Scientific Discovery Marxism and Cell Biology Deciphering How Cells Make Energy: An Acid Test The Dogma of the Scientific Method The Counter-roll in Science [March, 2020] Making Science Happen Ahead of the Curve From Snakebites to Serpentariums Science Without Shiny Labs Science & Complexity The Messy Story of the Most Beautiful Experiment in Biology Is an Apple Living? Kettlewell's Peppered Moths, A Study in Black and White [JCST version] Darwin, Evolution & Society Was Darwin a Social Darwinist? Social Un-Darwinism A More Fitting Analogy The Domesticated Gene [Download presentation] Making Mistakes A Comedy of Scientific Errors Nobel Ideals and Noble Errors Celebrating Darwin's Errors Does the Evidence Speak for Itself?: Archibald Garrrod & Inborn Errors of Metabolism Is Science Self-correcting? What Counts as Science Science Beyond Scientists Skepticism and the Architecture of Trust Science Con-Artists [Download presentation] Global Warming: Scam, Fraud, or Hoax? Alternative Facts and Fake News or text with full references [ presentation/visuals ] The Covid Conundrum [August, 2020] Naturalizing Cultural Values Male, Female, and/or –? Monsters and the Tyranny of Normality To Be Human Genes 'R' Us Skin Color and the Nature of Science Purpose in Nature How the Tiger Changed its Stripes [Visuals] [Oct., 2019] Myth-conceptions of Scientists Penicillin & Chance [1995 version] William Harvey and Capillaries Mending Mendelism The Tragic Hero of Childbed Fever Role Models and Real People [May, 2020] The "Unenvironment" Out of Balance The Politics of Biodiversity Speak From Leopold's "Land Ethic" to Ecological Hubris Values, Biology & Society Organisms, Modified, Genetically Crazy about Vitamins Teaching Biology First Among Errors Listening to Whales Contextualizing Creationists Teaching Respect for Life [version from NABT symposium] Hooks, Lines and Sinkers Hands-Off Dissection? Close to Nature Acknowledgments: My deep appreciation to Ann MacKenzie, Bill Leonard and Bill McComas -- and to the National Association of Biology Teachers -- for supporting the publication of this column in American Biology Teacher.