PZ Myers

Paul Zachary "PZ" Myers (born March 9, 1957) is an American biology professor at the University of Minnesota, Morris (UMM) and the keeper of the science blog Pharyngula. He is currently an associate professor of biology at UMM, works with zebrafish in the field of evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo), and also cultivates an interest in cephalopods. He is a public critic of intelligent design (ID) and creationism and an activist in the American Creation-evolution controversy. A self-avowed "godless liberal"^[1] and outspoken atheist, he is a vocal skeptic of all forms of religion, superstition, spirituality and pseudoscience. He is quoted as having "nothing but contempt for ID".^[2]

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Background

Myers was born March 9, 1957, the eldest of six children in Kent, Washington. He was named "Paul Zachary", after his grandfather, but preferred the initials PZ to being called "Little Paul." He claims to have been a "science geek" from an early age, gaining an interest in zoology and marine biology from studying the insides of fish while on fishing trips with his father.

Myers was raised as a Christian. Prior to his confirmation, Myers experienced a change of heart: "I started thinking, you know, I don't believe a word of this".^[2] Now an atheist, Myers comments widely on his blog about atheism and religion, and is particularly scathing and critical of evangelicalism.^{[citation needed]}

Education

In 1975, Myers set off to DePauw University in Indiana on a full scholarship. However, he returned the next year after his father suffered a heart attack. He then attended University of Washington in 1979 to receive a Bachelor of Science in zoology. He drifted away from this field toward evolutionary developmental biology and obtained a PhD in Biology from the University of Oregon.

Post-graduate career

Myers has taught and researched at the University of Oregon, the University of Utah and Temple University. He is currently an associate professor of biology at the University of Minnesota's Morris, Minnesota, campus. He is a member of Minnesota Citizens for Science Education.

Internet involvement

Myers was an early convert to Internet technology. On user groups, forums and Web sites such as talk.origins, he became involved in scientific debates, particularly those surrounding the growing creationist movement in the United States. He was a founding member of The Panda's Thumb, and in June 2002 he created his own Web site and blog, Pharyngula.org.

Pharyngula.org

Main article: Pharyngula (blog)

Pharyngula is Myers' personal weblog, promoted as "Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal"^[1]. The topics Myers covers are eclectic, delving into the non-scientific as well as scientific. It has become particularly well-known for criticism of intelligent design creationism and has been ranked as the third-most-read blog maintained by a Minnesotan. Pharyngula won the 2005 Koufax Award for Best Expert Blog. The science journal Nature listed Pharyngula as the top-ranked blog written by a scientist.^[3]

According to Alexa.com, Pharyngula.org was started on June 19, 2002.^[4] It started out as an experiment in writing instruction for a class. Students were required to submit mini-essays to be published online. After the project was finished, Myers still had the web-publishing software, and started to use it himself. The blog is named after his favourite stage in embryonic development, the pharyngula stage. Pharyngula moved to hosting at ScienceBlogs, a project of Seed Magazine, in 2005.

On Pharyngula, Myers has often criticized the Discovery Institute, Answers in Genesis, and other creationist websites, as well as offering criticisms of Intelligent Design, asserting that its claims are pseudoscientific. Other posts on Pharyngula cover a broad variety of topics that interest Myers. These include cephalopods; science; religion; local, national and international politics, particularly those involving science and/or education; superstition; and evolutionary developmental biology.

Stuart Pivar controversy

Myers reviewed Stuart Pivar's book Lifecode, which argues that self-organization at the embryonic and fetal determines the development and final structure of organisms.^{[5] [6] [7]} Myers reviewed the book negatively, stating that the diagrams and ideas in the book arose from Pivar's imagination and had no basis in actual evidence. After some discussion in the comments threads of Pharyngula, Pivar sued Myers for libel.^[5][7] Within a week Pivar withdrew the lawsuit, stating that "the real issue got sidelined" and that his problem was more with Seed Media Group.^[8]

See also

• Pharyngula (blog)
• Creation-evolution controversy

References