Who you callin’ stupid?…
In a blow to a scientific consensus (“evolutionary materialism”) that has held for decades– and to the careers of the Cavemen starring in GEICO commercials– recent research suggests that the traditional conception of Neanderthals being “stupider” than Homo Sapiens may in fact be misleading. As Science Daily and ScienceBlogs report, “early stone tool technologies developed by our species, Homo Sapiens, were no more efficient than those used by Neanderthals.”
As we get back in touch with our humility, we might wish a thrilling birthday to Edgar Rice Burroughs, the creator of Tarzan; he was born on this date in 1875. While he’s best known for the Ape Man, Burroughs also wrote popular science fiction and fantasy stories involving Earthly adventurers transported to various planets (notably Barsoom, Burroughs’ fictional name for Mars, and Amtor, his fictional name for Venus), lost islands, and into the interior of the hollow earth in his Pellucidar stories, as well as westerns and historical romances. Indeed, the Burroughs crater on Mars is named in Burroughs’ honor. (And further on the naming front: In 1919 Burroughs purchased a large ranch north of Los Angeles, California which he named “Tarzana.” The citizens of the community that sprang up around the ranch voted to adopt that name when their town was incorporated in 1928.)
Happy Labor Day! And Happy First Day of Ramamdan, the Islamic month of fasting, during which Muslims neither eat nor drink from sunrise to sunset, a lesson for the observant in patience and humility.
And on a sadder note, RIP Geoffrey Perkins, legendary comedy writer and producer; he died Friday in an auto accident in London. Perkins was until recently the head of comedy for BBC TV. Earlier in his career he produced the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy radio series, and was a writer, director, and producer of many comedy shows including Spitting Image, The Royle Family, The Fast Show. Perkins also invented the game “Mornington Crescent.” The world will be a less joyful place without him.
Geoffrey Perkins
Read Perkins’ obituary here.