Evolution

Is fiction good for us? We spend huge chunks of our lives immersed in novels, films, TV shows, and other forms of fiction. Some see this as a positive thing, arguing that made-up stories cultivate our mental and moral development. But others have argued that fiction is mentally and ethically corrosive. It's an ancient question: Does fiction build the morality of individuals and societies, or does it break it down? This controversy has been flaring up — sometimes literally, in the form of book burnings — ever since Plato tried to ban fiction from his ideal republic.

President Obama's remarks on marriage equality were a refreshing change from election-year politics as usual, though not necessarily a surprise. I believe that most Democrats already knew that the president accepted gay marriage. Should he be blamed for taking so long to admit it? Not at all. Candidates are almost required to play these sorts of games when seeking election. They tiptoe around hot-button social issues, pretend to love sports, or hunting, or even (in Sarah Palin's case)

It was hard to suppress the cynicism after President Obama announced the outcome of his much-hyped "evolution" on same-sex marriage last week. He had "just concluded," he told ABC's Robin Roberts, that "same-sex couples should be able to get married. " Just? That was the position he'd held in 1996, when he was running for the Illinois Legislature from one of Chicago's most liberal neighborhoods. Once he became a candidate for national office — the US Senate in 2004 and the White House four years later — Obama reversed course, insisting that "marriage is something sanctified between a...

It was hard to suppress the cynicism after President Obama announced the outcome of his much-hyped "evolution" on same-sex marriage last week. He had "just concluded," he told ABC's Robin Roberts, that "same-sex couples should be able to get married. " Just? That was the position he'd held in 1996, when he was running for the Illinois Legislature from one of Chicago's most liberal neighborhoods. Once he became a candidate for national office — the US Senate in 2004 and the White House four years later — Obama reversed course, insisting that "marriage is something sanctified between a...

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Educated as a geologist in her native Hungary, Eniko Farkas knows, understands, and firmly believes in the science behind evolution. Still, she was caught off guard last year when a visitor to the Museum of the Earth, where she volunteers, angrily confronted her, denouncing evolution and insisting the museum teach creationism instead. "I had a difficult time getting out of the situation," said Farkas, a retired Cornell University librarian who has volunteered at the museum for the past seven years.

WATERVILLE, Maine - A school district in Somerset County is being urged by an Athens school board director to drop evolution from its high-school science curriculums. Matthew Linkletter says evolution is an unprovable theory that should not be taught as fact. The state disagrees. A spokesman for the Department of Education says evolution is based on proven science, and its teaching in science classes is mandated by the Maine Learning Results program. Directors of School Administrative District 59 will take up Linkletter's arguments when they meet May 19. The...

WASHINGTON - Science fiction writers have suggested a future Earth populated by a blend of all races into a common human form. In real life, the reverse seems to be happening. People are evolving more rapidly than in the distant past, with residents of various continents becoming increasingly different from one another, researchers say. "I was raised with the belief that modern humans showed up 40,000 to 50,000 years ago and haven't changed," Henry C. Harpending, an anthropologist at the University of Utah said in a telephone interview.

ATLANTA -- A trial opened yesterday over whether a warning sticker in suburban Atlanta biology textbooks that says evolution is "a theory, not a fact" violates the separation of church and state by promoting religion. The case is one of several battles that have been waged in recent years in the Bible Belt over what role evolution should play in science books. Cobb County schools put the disclaimers in biology textbooks two years ago after more than 2,000 parents complained that the books presented evolution as fact without mentioning rival ideas...

TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Kansas state Board of Education yesterday repealed science guidelines questioning evolution. The new guidelines reflect mainstream scientific views of evolution and represent a political defeat for advocates of "intelligent design," who had helped write the standards that are being jettisoned. The intelligent design concept holds that life is so complex that it must have been created by a higher authority. The state has had five sets of standards in eight years, each doomed by the seesawing fortunes of socially conservative Republicans and...

WASHINGTON -- Americans are divided on whether humans and other living things evolved over time or have existed in their present form since the beginning of time, according to a new poll. But people on both sides of that argument think students should hear about various theories. Nearly two-thirds of those in a Pew Research Center poll, 64 percent, said they think "creationism" should be taught alongside "evolution," a finding likely to spark more controversy about what is taught in schools.

On Wednesday , after years of claiming that his view was "evolving," President Obama announced his support for same-sex marriage. Oddly, the catalyst for that decision was probably his opponent for the presidency, Mitt Romney. Social issues weren't expected to intrude on a campaign supposed to be all about the economy. But last week, Romney's openly gay foreign policy spokesman, Richard Grenell, resigned, implying that social conservatives had driven him out of the job, which thrust the issue into the campaign and led to Vice President Joe Biden's saying on "Meet the Press" that he supported...

President Barack Obama's evolution on gay marriage unfolded at a Darwinian pace, like that of the giant tortoise. For more than a year — eons in politics — he danced up to the edge of endorsing it, always stopping short, still "evolving. " Until very recently, much of the betting was on Obama taking a pass on the touchy issue until after the election. Why pick that fight now? On Wednesday, he picked it. Obama gave a heads-up to a spiritual adviser, among others, and staked his position in a TV interview as the first president to declare himself in favor of same-sex...

 PICK OF THE DAY Selvage operation In our hands, perforated aluminum is not a work of art. In the talented hands of Nancy Selvage, the material is used to create sculptures that explore the function and importance of light. Check out her work at the Boston Sculptors Gallery. Wed-Sun noon-6 p.m. through May 20 (reception May 4 from 5-8 p.m.). Free. Boston Sculptors Gallery, 486 Harrison Ave., Boston. 617-482-7781. www.bostonsculptors.com WEDNESDAY To Coyne a phrase Jerry Coyne will talk about the evidence for evolution, why Americans resist the...

SEATTLE - Starbucks Corp. is pushing beyond coffee with the opening of the first Evolution Fresh Inc. juice store, the company said Monday. Starbucks, which is looking for new businesses for growth, purchased the California-based juice maker in November for $30 million. Evolution Fresh had been selling its juices in grocery stores such as Whole Foods groceries. The first Evolution Fresh store is in Bellevue, Wash. Aside from juices, Starbucks says Evolution Fresh shops will have wraps, soups, salads, vegetarian and vegan options, and other offerings.

In a May 2007 debate, the Republican presidential candidates were asked: Who on stage does not believe in evolution? Three of the 10 candidates — Sam Brownback, Mike Huckabee, and Tom Tancredo — raised their hands. In this election, while the issue has not been raised in debates, one candidate, Rick Santorum, actually has a history on the issue. One new Public Policy Polling poll of Republican voters in Mississippi and Alabama noted that Santorum is leading among those who "don't believe in evolution.

BIOPIC J. EDGAR (2011) Leonardo DiCaprio and Clint Eastwood team to craft a portrait not just of J. Edgar Hoover, FBI heavyweight, but of the evolution of law enforcement, and of one man's evolution from crusading to controlling, committed to corrupt. And then, of course, there's the repression, personified here by Armie Hammer ("The Social Network") as Clyde Tolson, Hoover's right hand. DiCaprio's performance is impressively studied, pushing him past the baby-faced limitations that hampered his Howard Hughes portrayal in "The Aviator.

Four songs into her new album, "The Evolution ," Ciara asks a listener "How come you're not moving?" It seems an odd query, as it's likely that any dancers within earshot of the irresistible fuzz-synth grooves on the Neptunes-produced "I Proceed " will be shaking their tail feathers until they come off. This joyous ode to breaking it down on the dance floor will be catnip for fans who loved predecessors like "1, 2 Step " and "Hotline ,"...

In a May 2007 debate, the Republican presidential candidates were asked: Who on stage does not believe in evolution? Three of the 10 candidates — Sam Brownback, Mike Huckabee, and Tom Tancredo — raised their hands. In this election, while the issue has not been raised in debates, one candidate, Rick Santorum, actually has a history on the issue. One new Public Policy Polling poll of Republican voters in Mississippi and Alabama noted that Santorum is leading among those who "don't believe in evolution.

This week's new DVD releases include a couple that are arriving with surprisingly low profiles, never mind those in-your-face images of high-caliber weaponry on the covers. In "London Boulevard" (2011), Oscar-winning screenwriter William Monahan ("The Departed") makes his directing debut with a British gangster yarn about a humbled ex-con (Colin Farrell) reinventing himself as a bodyguard for a fragile actress (Keira Knightley). A current trailer tries to sell the movie as a mix of Guy Ritchie and "Get Shorty," but the affair is far more somber than that.

Gary Marcus isn't the first guy to feel his rock star oats after pulling an all-night Guitar Hero marathon. Odds are good, however, he is the world's only clinically arrhythmic scientist moved by Foghat's "Slow Ride" to spend a year and a half learning to play guitar. Marcus's personal quest is the hook in "Guitar Zero," but the book is a much broader inquiry into the nature of musicality and the ways we acquire it. The author, a professor of developmental psychology at NYU, is just the man for the job. An expert in the fields of language, evolution, and cognitive development and, by...