Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: disrespect and ignorance towards ASPECT RATIOS.

I know it makes me sound like an elitist, but I’m simply not watching anything that’s been edited so poorly, regardless of the content. I don’t want to see photos taken with your thumb on the lens, watch video recorded with the lens cap on, nor check out something that’s just out-of-focus altogether – same diff. Is it wrong that I find it just a little bit insulting that I’m supposed to ignore random funhouse-mirror freak-out special effects?

I can only think of a few explanations for this behavior: the editor either isn’t aware of aspect ratio issues, doesn’t know how to correct them, or thinks things look fine as-is. All those cases scream, “I’m not someone who should be tasked with making videos”.

Sentence structure (syntax) has nothing to do with the alphabet.  There is no natural human language whose syntax depends at all on an alphabet.  Moreover, there are numerous examples of languages (say, the Chinese languages) that have no alphabet, but whose syntax can still be described.

Alphabets are arbitrary ways of encoding the sounds of language in static, visual form.  What’s worse, alphabets are invented by humans as a tool for recording language. It’s a dangerous analogy to make to suggest that evolution is invented by people.

Let me hazard another analogy in the same form as the quote above “Teaching science without teaching evolution is like teaching calculus without Roman numerals.”

Although the intent is noble, and the video is otherwise one of the best I’ve seen for conveying fundamental importance of evolution to science, the rampant misinformation people have about linguistics is always disappointing.

(For the people at home playing “irony bingo”: syntax is an evolved capacity of the human mind, whereas alphabets are intelligently designed…)

I hate these stupid debates, because they skirt the core issue: forced schooling is immoral whether a creationist or an evolutionist does it. The politicization of the educational industry has been a massive mistake.

Unfair. You can’t expect Miss America contestants to understand how they have evolved up from lower life forms. Because they haven’t.

The contestants might be pretty smart, but they still have to pander to the troglodyte judges.

Consider having a programmer look for the connection between who submits what links, and what then gets posted later on.  To find good posters via software.

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What a toy maker  thinks science means to girls: http://www.wildscience.net/girls.html (via @Damien)