deerstalker
http://nerdist.com/epic-rap-battles-of-history-pits-charles-darwin-against-pokemons-ash-ketchum/
How many minds have caused the type of monumental change in how we think about the planet and our place on it as Charles Darwin’s? His brilliant theory of evolution wasn’t just controversial when his seminal work, On the Origin of Species, was published in 1859, it is still being argued and fought over today, by politicians debating how much protection to give the environment, by school boards deciding how, or if, to teach it to our children, and by people with strong religious beliefs whose very faith is questioned by his ideas.
So when Epic Rap Battles of History decided to place Charles Darwin into their lyrical arena, who did they put up against him? Did they choose someone like the pope? Or a politician who has made a career out of denying science? No, they choose Pokemon‘s Ash Ketchum.
Yeah, we…we aren’t exactly sure why either. Evolution, maybe?
Obviously they both have a kind of mastery over animals, one literal and one figurative, but they don’t seem like natural enemies, the way say Darwin would be with a creationist like Ben Carson. Or how Ketchum might be with PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk.
But don’t think the strangeness of this battle of wits meant the two went easy on one another, because this was a vicious fight, one that even included Ketchum mocking the deaths of Darwins kids.
Oof, you’d think we would have evolved past such low blows by now.
We got Darwin winning this one since, as always, he has science on his side — as well as the slightly better rhymes — but who do you have as the champ? Duke it out with us in the comments below and tell us who you think threw the knockout blow.
Images: Epic Rap Battles of History
How many minds have caused the type of monumental change in how we think about the planet and our place on it as Charles Darwin’s? His brilliant theory of evolution wasn’t just controversial when his seminal work, On the Origin of Species, was published in 1859, it is still being argued and fought over today, by politicians debating how much protection to give the environment, by school boards deciding how, or if, to teach it to our children, and by people with strong religious beliefs whose very faith is questioned by his ideas.
So when Epic Rap Battles of History decided to place Charles Darwin into their lyrical arena, who did they put up against him? Did they choose someone like the pope? Or a politician who has made a career out of denying science? No, they choose Pokemon‘s Ash Ketchum.
Yeah, we…we aren’t exactly sure why either. Evolution, maybe?
Obviously they both have a kind of mastery over animals, one literal and one figurative, but they don’t seem like natural enemies, the way say Darwin would be with a creationist like Ben Carson. Or how Ketchum might be with PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk.
But don’t think the strangeness of this battle of wits meant the two went easy on one another, because this was a vicious fight, one that even included Ketchum mocking the deaths of Darwins kids.
Oof, you’d think we would have evolved past such low blows by now.
We got Darwin winning this one since, as always, he has science on his side — as well as the slightly better rhymes — but who do you have as the champ? Duke it out with us in the comments below and tell us who you think threw the knockout blow.
Images: Epic Rap Battles of History
The differences in smoking habits between black and white folks in this country may lead to lower lung cancer screening rates for blacks, according to new research.
For this study, researchers reviewed federal government data from 1965 to 2012 and found that blacks are less likely than whites to start smoking in their late teens, but also less likely to quit as they get older. The study also found black smokers use fewer cigarettes a day than white smokers. These racial differences result in contradictory, yet important differences in lifetime cigarette exposure, said the Yale School of Public Health team performing the study.
Though blacks tend to continue smoking into their later years, the fact that they tend to smoke fewer cigarettes means they have fewer average “pack-years,” calculated by multiplying the number of packs smoked per day by years of smoking, the researchers said.
Pack-years is one way to determine eligibility for lung cancer screening. While black smokers may have fewer pack-years, they may have a longer exposure to smoking. That means it’s possible fewer at-risk black smokers would be targeted for lung cancer screening, even though they face a similar, possibly higher risk of death from tobacco-related diseases, researchers said.
“Racial differences in smoking initiation, cessation, and intensity give rise to substantial differences in risk for tobacco-related diseases,” said the study’s author Theodore Holford, a professor of public health at Yale in New Haven, Connecticut.
Though more research is needed, “this study shows that commonly used measures may give rise to disparities in access to lifesaving interventions,” Holford said.
Read more at www.blackhealthmatters.com…
Black Health Matters (BHM) is the leading patient and consumer-focused health information website for African Americans. BHM connects health information seekers to the highest quality health content on the web, shared via social media and disseminated at BHM community-based health events. Committed to making African American families healthier, BHM imparts expert advice on disease management while promoting healthier lifestyles. The result is a compelling health content experience that resonates within the cultural context of the user’s life.
Since Donald Trump’s presidential election victory last week, there’s been much discussion and preparation in regards to the fates of minorities given the Presidential Elect[?]’s controversial and bigoted platform.
Whether it’s the election, Ferguson, Flint, Orlando, or DAPL, one of the most infuriating things I hear from people, and by people I mean white people, is that there needs to be more dialogue, more education, more love.
If only there were more people out there teaching and educating then tragedies like #Orlando or #Ferguson or #Baltimore wouldn’t be a reality.
Why is that infuriating? Because there are people who have dedicated their lives, doing that very work. In fact you’re reading one of their pieces right now.
Myself, my NOC colleagues, and others put ourselves on the line, sharing our firsthand experiences, history, facts, wisdom, compassion, and sometimes delivering well deserved ass-kickings because we know the score. We speak out on these issues each day and provide a face to said issues so that many of you will be aware that they are real and not simply abstract political hypotheticals.
The political is personal. And trust, it can and will get far worse.
While some do listen to understand with open hearts and open minds, far more dismiss us. Or mislabel us as being too sensitive, playing the race card, pushing an agenda or whatever privileged bigoted excuse they can to silence us.
Some of us have been met with threats and even violence for simply speaking our truths.
This is why the NOC and similar spaces are so desperately needed. This is why analyses and marginalized perspectives in media, especially speculative fiction is so desperately needed. The Original X-Man, First Class, Brother Malcolm said it best:
So when Trumps of the world rise to power, Rome burns, Nero and myself are strumming up our fiddles, you can’t say you weren’t warned.
