We have been neglectful for the last 5 months, but here we are back again. Once again, the SCQ is seeking general submissions, where any submission that makes its way to our pages is a contender, The one that we receive before the end of August that we happen to like the best will be our victor. These pieces can be anything, serious, not serious, funny, not funny, pretty, not pretty, etc. And the prize… Well, a really pretty dinosaur book, by award winner artist Christopher Wormell. Again, send in your good stuff to tscq@interchange.ubc.ca.
The Science Creative Quarterly
From archive
PROJECT STEVE: 889 STEVES FIGHT BACK AGAINST ANTI-EVOLUTION PROPOGANDA
As many scientists and science educators are aware, the Discovery Institute, a conservative Christian think tank based in Seattle, Washington, maintains a list of signatories — the Institute calls them scientists, and calls the list “A Scientific Dissent From Darwinism” — under the following claim: “We are skeptical of claims for the ability of random mutation and natural selection to account for the complexity of life. Careful examination of the evidence for Darwinian theory should be encouraged.” In short, it’s a list of people with advanced science degrees that think evolution isn’t true.[1] Not to be outdone, the National Center…
CONSTANT
Dark matter of my heart – you can bruise and bully, but still the impulse to take care rises like the universe that throws up its hands, and never brings them back down again. Their ascent speeds until fingers fly apart, manicured fireworks – and my heart, too, is reeling out in many universes: a field of flowers blooming in fast-forward, and the pollen blowing to France, and no replacing the eggshells of our unspoken words, and no end but some cosmic burnout. At last we’ll care too much, be overstretched, throw up our hands knowing full well our arms…
EXPLAINING OUR WORLD: SCIENCE VS. CREATIONISM
The Coccyx, or Tail Bone Science: Our predecessors had tails, and we retain these bones because our gluteus maximus and other muscles need something to anchor them. The coccyx also serves as a shock absorber when we fall on our rump. Creationism: Ironic that science would use such a tall tale to explain a short one. Ha! Ha! But seriously folks. There’s no such thing. Science just likes to slip dirty words, like that c-word it just used, into our everyday language as part of their War on Traditional Family Values. – – – Male Nipples Science: They serve no…
MY FAVOURITE BIRD IS A SMALL-MOUTHED SALAMANDER
It is early on a rainy March morning. My daughter, Klara, and I stand together – holding hands in the midst of a circle of people we do not know. Rain drips off the tip of her nose and she catches it with her tongue as she waits for the formalities to end and the fun to begin. The formalities in this case consist of everybody in the circle introducing themselves, but for a six year old ready to romp in the woods this small act might as well be measured on a geologic time scale rather than passing minutes.…
HOW DO I LOVE THEE BRAIN, LET ME COUNT THE WAYS
How do I love thee brain? Let me count the ways. I love thy neurons which communicate with the rest of my body. I love thy neocortex for allowing my senses to work. My soul reaches out to you. I love you to your cerebellum for integrating my senses with movement. I love your river-like blueness and your ideal grace. – – – This piece was composed during the May 14th session of the Science Creative Literacy Symposia. During this day, students were given a tour of various human organ systems, and allowed a chance to explore them with microscopes.…
BRAIN, HOW DO I LOVE THEE?
How do I love you? Let me count the ways. You are working tirelessly, never ceasing to stop. Working day after day, your cerebellum is always on top. You let me feel, smell, see, hear, and taste. You tell my body to kill the germs when I eat an icky paste. Your hormones are always on time, telling me when to go. Until I reach a washroom, where I can release the flow. How glad I’m not in the past as an ancient Egyptian where you’d be pulled through my nose without any medication. I believe you know how much…
A LETTER TO MY BRAIN
Dear Brain, How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. You help me write this very loving poem to you like the moon helping the water make tides. You also help me learn how you work, like a toddler learning the ABC’s. Finally, you allow me to understand that I actually exist on Earth. Sincerely, Lucas
HOW DO I LOVE THEE HEART?
How do I love thee heart? Let me count the ways. I love the way you beat when you smell bacon. I love you so much that I will never swallow any gum so I won’t form a ring around you. So I can see your beautiful veins every day. You are like my fins on a dolphin. You are my kitty to my cat. You are the lemon to my ade. Together, we make the best lemonade ever. I love it how you keep my arteries flowing with fresh blue/red blood. I love it how you keep my veins…