trentmkelly/rationalwiki huggingface dataset:
Spacetime

{{sources needed}}{{Physics}}
'''Spacetime''' is a [[Mathematics|mathematical]] model in which the three dimensions of space are combined with a fourth dimension of time into a single continuum or a {{wpl|vector space}} called Minkowski space. Doing so enables us to treat space and time in the same way, and thus greatly simplifies a number of theories in physics, especially the [[theory of relativity]].

In classical physics, it was believed that time was a universal constant and thus independent of motion through space. Special relativity demonstrated that time actually varies with motion, since as we approach the [[speed of light]], our time slows down relative to a stationary observer. General relativity demonstrated that [[Law of Universal Gravitation|gravitational]] fields can have a similar impact upon time. Both theories can be more simply expressed with the notion of the change in the rate of time as being due to its bending into space. Without treating space and time as part of the same continuum, such a formulation is impossible.

In relativistic mechanics, the vector space conception of spacetime is hugely helpful in understanding certain predictions of the theory, such as time dilation. Velocity in space and the passage of time collectively form the gradient with respect time of the vector space, and everything in the universe is moving at the same four-dimensional velocity (the [[speed of light]]) within that space. Time dilation simply means that more velocity in the three space dimensions requires a correspondingly reduced velocity in the time dimension.

{{stub|Physics}}
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Time]]
[[Category:Cosmology]]

Categories: Physics, Science, Time, Cosmology
Spider-Man fallacy

{{logicnav}}
The '''Spider-Man fallacy''' is sometimes committed by [[Biblical literalism|Biblical literalists]], and goes roughly like this:

*Literalist: '"[[Sodom and Gomorrah]] have been found by [[archaeologist]]s! This means the [[Bible]] is true!"
*Non-literalist: "[[New York City|New York]] really exists, but that doesn't mean Spider-Man is real."

From this it can be inferred that, since knowledge is power, it comes with great responsibility.<ref>''Spider-Man''. 
Dir. Sam M. Raimi. Perf. Tobey Maguire, William Dafoe and Kristen Dunst. Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment, 2002. Film.
 Stan Lee. Unless it was [[FDR]]. Or [[Voltaire]].</ref>

==Origin==
It was bitten by a radioacti... no hang on, um... It seems to have bubbled up through the lower depths of the netosphere in about 2007, being mentioned in a blog on [[Social networking websites#MySpace|Myspace]].<ref>[http://www.myspace.com/anotherheathenhammer/blog/325969786 Potential Forum Discussion II: the Spiderman Fallacy]</ref> However, it was on Myspace, so nobody read it. It turns up next in 2010 as an entry in Urban Dictionary<ref>[http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=The%20Spiderman%20Fallacy ''Urban Dictionary'''s Spiderman Fallacy entry]</ref> (a reliable source if ever there was one) and in 2012 was being discussed in [[Christian]] blogs. One article, hosted by the ''Christian Post'',<ref>[http://blogs.christianpost.com/confident-christian/jesus-and-the-spiderman-fallacy-14877/ Jesus and the Spiderman Fallacy]</ref> attacks an [[atheism|atheist]] for using the argument by using such time-honored [[Christian apologetics|apologetic]] [[Logical fallacy|nuggets]] as [[Appeal to tradition|Luke was]] [[Appeal to authority|''"a top notch historian"'']],<ref>[http://infidels.org/library/modern/richard_carrier/improbable/disproof.html#7.3 Hear that sound?] It's every [https://adversusapologetica.wordpress.com/2015/01/05/when-do-contemporary-sources-matter/ non-apologist scholar] of ancient history spontaneously 
[[Rolfing]]
 ROFL'ing.</ref> that the [[New Testament]] and Spider-Man [[Non sequitur|''"are of two different genres"'']], and it trots out the usual suspects of [[Fundamentalist Christianity|apologist scholars]] in support of these views. To no one's surprise, the article ends up with the equally tired claim that rejection of the New Testament is just based on an [[Methodological naturalism|"anti-supernaturalist"]] [[Philosophical naturalism|bias]].

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{logfal}}

[[Category:Informal fallacies]]

Categories: Informal fallacies
Spirochaete

{{Sources needed}}[[File:SpirochaetesDetailRedCellsScale.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Nonidentified spirochaetes in blood smear of human subject]]
A '''Spirochaete''' is any member of the [[phylum]] '''Spirochaetes''' (literally "Spiral hairs"), a group of distinctive, Gram-negative [[bacteria]], which possess long, helically coiled cells. Spirochetes are chemoheterotrophic, and reach lengths between 5 and 250 µm and diameters around 0.1-0.6 µm.

Spirochetes are also different from many bacterial phyla in the way that they have [[flagella]] that lie between the cell membrane and outer membrane, running lengthwise.  These special flagella are termed ''axial filaments'', and their movement causes the spirochaete to twist, thus allowing it to move forward or backward, much in the same manner a screw moves forward or backward when turned.

One of the most important spirochaete genera (in relation to [[human]]s, at least) is the [[genus]] ''Treponema'', which contains two important disease-causing species, ''Treponema pallida'', the pathogen of [[syphilis]], and ''Treponema pertenue'', the pathogen of yaws.<ref>''[https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/yaws Yaws]''. (2021, May 17). World Health Organization.</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{evonav}}
{{stub|evolution}}

[[Category:EvoWiki ports]]
[[Category:Evolution]]
[[Category:Microbiology]]

Categories: EvoWiki ports, Evolution, Microbiology
Sponge

[[File:Aplysina archeri (Stove-pipe Sponge-pink variation).jpg|right|thumb|200px|Oo er, missus.]]{{biology}}
A '''sponge''' is an [[animal]] of the phylum '''Porifera''' that lives in 
 a pineapple under
 the sea. They feel very spongy.{{fact|joke}} They are sessile filter feeders that can reproduce both sexually and asexually, and lack developed nervous, digestive, or circulatory systems but often have {{wpl|sponge spicule|spicules}} to keep them together and protect them from predators. They may in fact have been the first animals, with an [[evolution]]ary history possibly going back 640 million years.<ref>[https://earthsky.org/earth/first-animal-was-likely-sea-sponge/ First animal was likely sea sponge], ''EarthSky'' 25 February 2016</ref> Of course, they haven't stayed stagnant for those 640 million years, as while some sponges still have simple vaselike structures known as ascons, other sponges known as leucons have remarkably complex bodies for filtering water.<ref>[https://pageencyclopediaofanimallife.weebly.com/phylum-porifera.html Porifera], ''Ralph Page's Animal Encyclopedia''</ref>

==Types of sponges==
[[File:048 Stromatoporoid wall 5.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A [[fossil]] of a stromatoporoid.]]
* {{wpl|Demosponges||,}} the most common type of sponge today. They have spicules made of the protein {{wpl|spongin||.}}
* {{wpl|Hexactinellid|Hexactinellids}} or "glass sponges" have spicules made of silica. They can be remarkably long-lived, with a potential lifespan of 15,000 years.<ref>[https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Scolymastra_joubini  Hexactinellid sponge (Scolymastra joubini) longevity, ageing, and life history], ''HAGR''</ref>
* {{wpl|Calcareous sponges}} have spicules made of calcium carbonate. 
* {{wpl|Stromatoporoidea||,}} which went extinct a long time ago in the [[Devonian]]. They are known for their layered skeletons without any spicules and were important reef builders for their time.<ref>[https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/online-exhibits/stromatoporoids/ Stromatoporoids], ''UC Museum of Paleontology''</ref>

== Significance to the evolution of multicellular life ==
This [[experiment]] showcases a glimpse into the evolution of multicellular organisms from unicellular ones.
First get a sponge, and chop it up into several small pieces. These pieces are then forced through a sieve so fine it separates the individual cells that make up the animal. Then, view it through a microscope to see the individual cells clumping together. After waiting for a while, the cells will clump to form the original multicellular organism.<ref name=life>[http://tolweb.org/treehouses/?treehouse_id=4291 The Life of a Sponge], colugo11, ''Tree of Life''</ref> This does not work with [[goat]]s.{{nofact}}

Furthermore, if you were to do the same experiment, but mix up the cells of different species of sponges, the sponges would all assemble into their separate [[species]].<ref name=life />

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

{{evonav}}
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Evolution]]
[[Category:Paleontology]]

Categories: Animals, Evolution, Paleontology
St. George Jackson Mivart

[[File:St George Jackson Mivart.jpg|right|thumb|165px|Georgie boy.]]
{{Evolution}}
'''St. George Jackson Mivart''' {{lived|1827|1900}} was an [[England|English]] [[biologist]]. He is most well known for his criticism of natural selection in his book of ''On the Genesis of Species'' published in 1871.

==Biography==
He devoted himself to medical and biological studies. He was Vice-President of the Zoological Society twice (1869 and 1882); Fellow of the Linnean Society from 1862, Secretary from 1874–80, and Vice-President in 1892. In 1867 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society for his work "On the Appendicular skeleton of the Primates".

==Evolution==

As a biologist Mivart accepted [[evolution]], but was a [[non-Darwinian]]. He became a critic of Darwin's views on [[natural selection]] and instead advocated [[saltationism]] and [[Lamarck]]ian evolution. He published his book ''On the Genesis of Species'' in 1871, which was a criticism of natural selection. 

In the sixth edition of ''Origin of Species'', [[Charles Darwin]] responded to the criticism of Mivart. In response Mivart wrote a negative review of Darwin's book ''Descent of Man'' in the Quarterly Review, and after this both Darwin and Mivart broke communication with each other.

Though admitting [[evolution]] in general, Mivart denied its applicability to the human intellect (a view also shared by [[Alfred Russel Wallace]]). His views as to the relationship between human nature and intellect and animal nature in general were given in ''Nature and Thought'' (1882) and in the ''Origin of Human Reason'' (1889).

Mivart was a [[Roman Catholic]] and is sometimes described as a [[theistic evolution]]ist.

==Selected publications==
*''On the Genesis of Species'' (1871)
*''Man and apes: an exposition of structural resemblances and differences bearing upon questions of affinity and origin'' (1873)
*''Nature and Thought'' (1882)
*''Origin of Human Reason'' (1889)

==See also==
*[[Edward Drinker Cope]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
*Bowler, Peter J. (2003). ''Evolution: The History of an Idea''. University of California Press.
*Bowler, Peter J. (1983). ''The Eclipse of Darwinism: anti-Darwinian evolutionary theories in the decades around 1900''. Johns Hopkins University Press.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mivart, St. George Jackson}}
[[Category:Evolution]]
[[Category:Biologists]]
[[Category:British people]]

Categories: Evolution, Biologists, British people
Stanislav Grof

[[File:Stanislav grof01.jpg|left|thumb|165px|Grof in 2007.]]{{pseudoscience}}
'''Stanislav Grof''' (1931-) is [[Czech Republic|Czech]] [[psychiatrist]]. He promotes a therapeutic practice that consists of getting a patient high, (initially with [[LSD]] then with hyperventilation / holotropic breathwork when LSD became illegal), and attributing [[Mysticism|mystical]] significance to the experience.<ref>http://citizeninitiative.com/grof_therapy_and_maps.htm</ref> The process, combined with the forking over of large sums of money, allegedly heals the patient from trauma. For a Grofian, the emphasis is on prenatal or birth trauma if there is no obvious reason for the patient's psychological problems. Which is clutching at straws, really. The hyperventilation is intended to produce an altered state of consciousness which activates the mind's natural "holotropic" healing process, holotropic meaning "moving towards wholeness". This is pretty much the thinking behind high-dose [[Psychedelic drug|psychedelic]] therapy, as opposed to low-dose talk therapy. Other breathwork practitioners may assume it's all about [[Reincarnation|past lives]].      

Holotropic breathwork was practiced in a medical setting until it became illegal in the [[United Kingdom|UK]]; it is now practiced under the guise of [[self-help]] workshops.<ref>http://www.stanislavgrof.com/pdf/akashic%20field%20evidence.pdf</ref>

Grof talks about [[shaman]]s a lot and humbly regards his own work as a [[paradigm shift]] in science akin to those of [[Newton]] and [[Galileo]].

[[Ervin Laszlo]] is his BFF.

[[Carl Sagan]] is on record as having been interested in his work at one point.<ref>http://www.skepticink.com/incredulous/2012/11/09/carl-sagans-stumbles/</ref>

==Publications==
*''Healing Our Deepest Wounds: The Holotropic Paradigm Shift'' (Stream of Experience Productions, 2012)
*"Beyond the Brain: Birth, Death, and Transcendence in Psychotherapy" (State University of New York,1985)

==External links==
*[http://www.stanislavgrof.com Official website]

*[http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A3L5ML11390IL6/ref=pdp_new_read_full_review_link?ie=UTF8&page=1&sort_by=MostRecentReview#R93YN1VTGE33U Book Review]

*[http://www.citizeninitiative.com/against_grof_therapy.htm Neglected Papers Against Grof Therapy]

*[http://mortentolboll.weebly.com/a-critique-of-stanislav-grof-and-holotropic-breathwork.html A Critique of Stanislav Grof and Holotropic Breathwork]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grof, Stanislav}}

[[Category:Drugs]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience promoters]]
[[Category:Living people]]

Categories: Drugs, Pseudoscience promoters, Living people
Stanley Coren

[[File:Stanley Coren.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Stanley Coren]]{{psychology}}
'''Stanley Coren''' (1942-) is an [[United States|American]] professor of [[psychology]] and a researcher of [[neuroscience|neuropsychology]]. As far as is known, he is fine in these areas and made genuine contributions to studying sensory processing, the effects and causes of left-handedness, and consequences of [[sleep]] deprivation. However, his actual claim to fame came in the 1990s when he [[Ultracrepidarian|fancied himself an animal behaviorist]] and wrote ''The [[Intelligence]] of [[Dog]]s'', which attempted to analyze dog intelligence and rank the intelligence of different breeds of dogs.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170217171533/http://www.stanleycoren.com/bio.htm "Biography," Stanley Coren's homepage, as saved Feb. 17, 2017.]</ref> 

Despite his popularity, his "research methods" and method of determining dog "intelligence" were deeply flawed and a great example of [[junk science]].<ref>http://www.kateconnick.com/library/corenintell.html</ref> For one, he equates dog obedience with "intelligence", which is in-and-of-itself a very controversial proposal. Even worse is that much of his research consisted of interviewing just 200 obedience judges and [[Anecdotal evidence|asking them their opinion]] on which breeds were the most trainable. That's it. Furthermore, he doesn't even really try to quantify dog intelligence when it comes to instinctive intelligence, despite that supposedly being one of the three parts of dog intelligence. 

Unfortunately, his ranking list of breeds remains popular for its [[Silver bullet|simplicity]] and probably the fact that it's the first result on [[Google]] when looking up dog intelligence by breed.

==References==
{{reflist|80%}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coren, Stanley}}
[[Category:Authors]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience promoters]]
{{stub|psychology}}

Categories: Authors, Living people, Pseudoscience, Pseudoscience promoters
State action doctrine

{{constnav}}
'''State action doctrine''' is the American legal concept that the protections of the [[United States Constitution|Constitution]] — such as the [[Fourteenth Amendment|Fourteenth]] and [[First Amendment|First Amendments]] — only apply with any real strength to the coercive power of the state against the individual, rather than the coercive power of the individual against the individual.  

Thus, private discrimination is not actionable under the Fourteenth Amendment: in the absence of federal and state statutory law to the contrary, private restaurants in America could serve only African American clientèle, or only white clientèle, and not run afoul of any Constitutional provision whatsoever.  This limitation — a holdover from American law during the Reconstruction following the Civil War — has survived for nearly 150 years, and shows no sign of being weakened significantly<ref>The Civil Rights Cases, 109 U.S. 3, for weakening of the state action doctrine, see e.g. Shelley v. Kraemer, 334 U.S. 1 (holding that judicial enforcement of a racially restrictive covenant qualifies as significant state action, which must be struck down therein).</ref> (the [[Civil Rights Act]] of 1964 got around this by prohibiting racial discrimination under the [[Commerce Clause]] of the Constitution).

Similarly, the First Amendment does not generally protect [[freedom of Speech|speech]] from being curtailed by a private institution of which the speaker is a member. By way of example, an American citizen could not be criminally prosecuted, or statutorily barred, from making non-threatening racist statements. However, the same citizen could legally be terminated from his profession for the same. When they are employed by public institutions, however, the protections generally still apply.

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{stub|law}}

[[Category:United States law]]
[[Category:United States politics]]

Categories: United States law, United States politics
State of the Union (comic strip)

{{sources needed}}
{{media}}{{DISPLAYTITLE:''State of the Union'' (comic strip)}}
{{hatnote|Not to be confused with the annual speech that the [[President of the United States]] is required to deliver to [[Congress]].}}

'''''State of the Union''''' was an [[American]] daily newspaper comic strip distributed by Creators Syndicate that ran from September 2004 until May 2010, when the company "retired" the strip.   What was this strip like?  Well, if the talky milieu of ''[[Mallard Fillmore]]'' can be seen as appealing to the typical [[Fox News]] viewer, the more overtly [[racist]], violence-tinged [[agitprop]] themes of many ''State of the Union'' strips would probably appeal to readers of [[WorldNetDaily]] or [[Stormfront]] who think that Fox News is too soft.

For example, the last strip, which was a rerun of an earlier strip, is set in a graveyard at night. [[Barack Obama]] has dug up the remains of [[Ronald Reagan]], who is shown lying in a casket marked "[[Reaganomics]]". An aura surrounds Reagan's head, reminiscent of iconic artwork showing [[Mary (mother of Jesus)|Mary]] and the baby [[Jesus]] with auras around their heads.  Obama stands over Reagan, in his right hand holding a stake in the form of the word "TAXES" to the cadaver's chest.  He is about to give the stake a hard whack with a large wooden mallet.  By the strained look on his face, Obama is either taking extremely careful aim at the stake, or is taking a massive crap in his pants. Gee. Gotta wonder why Creators Syndicate would retire something like that.

The strip's artist Carl Moore has claimed to have been a [[liberal]] when he was a college student during the [[Vietnam War]]. He says he became a [[right wing]]er when he saw war protesters attacking police on TV.  Obviously, he has never contemplated the effects of [[anarchist]]s and [[agent provocateur]]s on peace protests.  Or the fact that TV news cameras are always pointed at the troublemakers in any crowd. Or the more numeous times when protesters were attacked ''by'' police, such as at the 1968 Democratic National Convention (where the police went so far as to attack a sitting congressman who was not part of the protest).

==External links==
*[https://archive.is/dCose ''State of the Union,''] archived from the original by Creators Syndicate, shows the "Obama driving a nail called taxes into Reagan's cadaver in a coffin labeled "Reganomics" cartoon.

[[Category:Cartoons and comics]]

Categories: Cartoons and comics
Steady state economy

{{Economics}}
The Center for the Advancement of Steady State Economies defines the '''steady state economy''' as an economy with stable or mildly fluctuating size.<ref>http://www.steadystate.org/discover/definition</ref> The term typically refers to a national economy, but it can also be applied to a local, regional, or global economy. An economy can reach a steady state after a period of growth or after a period of downsizing or degrowth. To be [[Sustainability|sustainable]], a steady state economy may not exceed ecological limits. 

[[John Maynard Keynes]], the most influential economist of the 20<sup>th</sup> century, also considered the day when society could focus on ends (happiness and well-being, for example) rather than means (economic growth and individual pursuit of profit).

The sustainable scale is the key characteristic of a steady state economy. Scale is simply a measure of the size of one object relative to another. In this case, we are concerned with the size of the human economy relative to the ecosystems that contain it. Sustainability is achieved when the human economy fits within the capacity provided by [[Earth]]'s ecosystems. Economic activity degrades ecosystems,

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{stub|economics}}

[[Category:Economics]]

Categories: Economics
Step Canyon

{{significantly problematic}}{{crenav}}{{expand}}{{needs sources}}
'''Step Canyon''' (known to [[young Earth creationist]]s as the "'''Little [[Grand Canyon]]'''") is a canyon on the foothills of Mt St Helens in [[Washington State]], formed by a mudslide in 1982 after an earthquake. 

==Creationist abuse==
Step canyon was formed "catastrophically" in a matter of minutes. It is thus used by creationists as an analogous - albeit significantly smaller - canyon to the Grand Canyon, so they can argue that the G.C. could have been formed in a similar way.<ref>[http://vimeopro.com/icr/thats-a-fact/video/35065101 Little Grand Canyon] - video from the [[Institute for Creation Research]].</ref>

==The facts==
{{cquote|[T]here are no comparisons to Step Canyon (What YECers like to call the “Little Grand Canyon”) and the (real) Grand Canyon. Step Canyon goes through fields of unconsolidated pyroclastic flow deposits that is subject to easy erosion from the wet Pacific Northwest climate and there is a 2000 foot elevation drop within 1 mile, further adding to the erosion.|||Lance Wilson|on a [[Panda's Thumb]] comments page.<ref>[http://pandasthumb.org/archives/2007/06/adam-and-steve.html#comment-120921 Comment, from ''Adam and Steve Steve in the Garden of Eden'']</ref>}}

To put this in layman's terms, the Step Canyon was formed from weakened rock that was much more vulnerable to erosion, as well as having a very nearby drain-off point. The Grand Canyon on the other hand, is formed of an entirely different rock and has a runoff point much, much further away.<ref>http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/icr-visit/bartelt1.html A Visit to the Institute for Creation Research</ref> Because of the massive differences between them, comparing the two is exceedingly stupid.

==See also==
*[[PRATT]]

==References==
{{reflist|1|90%}}
{{crebox}}

[[Category:Geology]]

Categories: Geology