Happy Evolution Weekend
Clay Farris Naff: It would ease Darwin’s oft-troubled mind to know that his ideas have not only vaulted science into the Third Great Age of Discovery but helped draw religion out of its embattled us-versus-the-heathen past and to the dawn of a new age of tolerant universalism. (The Huffington Post)

Five of the Reasons Evolution Is Important
Steven Newton: On Darwin’s 201st birthday, take a moment to reflect on the importance of evolution. (The Huffington Post)

The Science of Gullibility
Why are we so gullible? I asked that question of Ricky Jay, that master of sleight of hand and student of cons and con men through the ages. For one thing, he says, the smarter we are, or the smarter we think we are, the easier we are taken. (Morley Safer, The Daily Beast)

Have Scientists Found Evidence of Dark Matter?
“Either we had a statistical fluctuation in our background or it could be that these two events are evidence of dark matter, but there weren’t enough of them to be sure. We can’t rule them out as being a signal, but we can’t conclude that they are a signal,” said Professor Jodi Cooley from Southern Methodist University, who led the research. (Doreen Walton, BBC News)

Moral Answers
In a well-meaning attempt to be tolerant of other cultures and religions we often blithely subvert our values and morality, says Sam Harris, the outspoken critic of blind religious faith. We do this because we think that questions about good and evil or right and wrong cannot be answered definitively. But they can, he told a rapt audience at the Technology, Entertainment, and Design conference—and they should. (Kim Zetter, Epicenter, Wired.com)

Thanks, TED
Here are 10 big ideas from TED2010. (Richard Galant and John Sutter, CNN)

Church of England’s Ruling Body Calls on Church Leaders to Emphasize Compatibility of God and Science
The motion was passed 241 to two, with two abstentions. Peter Capon’s motion has come in response to what many in the Church perceive as a growing pressure on the public to choose between the merits of either religion or science. (BBC News)

BOOKS
Maimonides, Spinoza, and Us
Based on his extensive knowledge of Jewish tradition, modern orthodox Rabbi Marc Angel argues that rabbinic Judaism has always valued reason and intellectual curiosity. Faith and observance of God’s commandments are important, but not at the expense of using one’s mind. (Charlotte Gordon, The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles)

TELEVISION
Bones
I watch not only because Booth and Brennan are a reincarnation of the chemistry between The X-Files Sully and Mulder, but also because of their ongoing faith vs. science debate. Booth plays the religion guy, who can intuit the emotions of others, and take regular leaps of faith, while Bones is the super-rational, brilliant scientist, who has a hard time talking about love without reducing it to brain chemistry. (Donna Freitas, Idol Chatter, Beliefnet)