Paul Zachary Myers (born March 9, 1957) is an American biologist and activist who founded and writes the Pharyngula science and atheism blog. He is associate professor of biology at the University of Minnesota Morris (UMM) where he works in the field of developmental biology. He is a critic of intelligent design, the creationist movement, and pseudoscience.
In 2006 the journal Nature listed Myers's Pharyngula as the top-ranked blog by a scientist based on popularity. Myers received the American Humanist Association's 2009 Humanist of the Year award and the International Humanist Award in 2011. The asteroid 153298 Paulmyers is named in his honor.
Early life and education Paul Zachary Myers was born March 9, 1957, in Kent, Washington. 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.
Growing up, Myers attended an Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) church.Myers, PZ (June 2, 2013). "An atheist goes to church — 1stLC." Prior to his confirmation, Myers says, "I started thinking, you know, I don't believe a word of this." Now an atheist, Myers comments on his blog about science, education, atheism and religion.
Myers graduated from Kent-Meridian High School in 1975 and subsequently attended DePauw University in Indiana on a full scholarship. However, he returned home the next year after his father suffered a heart attack. He then graduated from the University of Washington in 1979 with Bachelor of Science in zoology. Myers drifted away from this field toward evolutionary developmental biology and obtained a PhD in biology from the University of Oregon."About PZ Myers
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 campus,PZ Myers Biology Faculty from University of Minnesota Morris where he teaches developmental biology. He is a member of Minnesota Citizens for Science Education, and cultivates an interest in cephalopods.
Myers has been active on the internet. He was involved in scientific debates on USENET surrounding the growing creationist movement. He was a founding member of The Panda's Thumb blog. In June 2002, he started his website Pharyngula.org, which morphed into a blog now hosted by ScienceBlogs, Pharyngula, Science Blogs and Freethought Blogs., About >> Pharyngula, Freethought Blogs In 2006 the journal Nature listed Myers's Pharyngula as the top-ranked blog by a scientist based on popularity. In 2008, an asteroid was named after him, 153298 Paulmyers, in honor of this work.
A self-styled "godless liberal"Tagline on Pharyngula: "Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal." and outspoken atheist, he is a vocal critic of all forms of religion, superstition, supernaturalism, spirituality and pseudoscience. He is quoted as having "nothing but contempt" for intelligent design, arguing that it is "fundamentally dishonest". In 2009 Myers was named the American Humanist Association's "Humanist of the Year".
Myers's book, The Happy Atheist, was published by Random House in August 2013. It is largely a compilation of previous blog posts.Branch, Glenn (August 8, 2013). "Godless chronicles: Glenn Branch goes for a dip in the antitheologic.". Nature. Vol 500, p 149. Voice for its audiobook version was provided by noted atheist and science communicator Aron Ra. Fellow blogger Greg Laden celebrates "the level of refinement of his writing" and writes that "these essays actually have a different feel to them".
In April 2015, Atheist Ireland issued an official announcement, apologizing that they had given Myers public platforms to speak and that now it is "publicly dissociating itself from the hurtful and dehumanising, hateful and violent, unjust and defamatory rhetoric of the atheist blogger PZ Myers... We believe his behaviour is unjust to individuals, increases prejudice against atheists, and is harmful to the promotion of an ethical society based on empathy, fairness, justice and integrity.".
In 2017, Myers, who formerly considered himself one of the "New Atheists", disassociated himself from the New Atheist label. Describing the label as being applied "against our protests, because we were all aware that there was nothing new about it. Maybe we were more aggressive, or maybe suddenly people were listening to us, but really, it was the same old atheism with a fancy artisan label". Myers prefers to be simply referred to as an atheist.
Pharyngula Pharyngula is Myers's personal weblog, promoted as "Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal.", Pharyngula, Freethought Blogs The topics Myers covers are eclectic, delving into the non-scientific as well as scientific. While Pharyngula includes many articles discussing breaking science news and research, the blog has become particularly well known for ridicule of intelligent design and of attempts to insert it into science education. In 2006, the science journal Nature listed Pharyngula as the top-ranked blog written by a scientist.
Myers started Pharyngula.org on June 19, 2002 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 favorite stage in embryonic development, the pharyngula stage. Pharyngula moved to hosting at ScienceBlogs, a project of Seed Magazine, in 2005.
It was hosted on ScienceBlogs (2005–2011, in full, and 2011–present, in part) and on FreeThoughtBlogs (2011–present). In 2006, the science journal Nature listed it as the top-ranked blog written by a scientist based on popularity. In 2009, Hemant Mehta ranked Pharyngula the most popular atheist blog, based on subscriber levels and other factors.
History According to Alexa Internet, Pharyngula.org was started on June 19, 2002Alexa Internet, Related info for pharyngula.org; accessed September 3, 2006. as an experiment in writing instruction for a class. Students were required to submit miniessays to be published online. After the project was finished, Myers still had the webpublishing software, and started to use it personally. The blog is named after his favorite stage in embryonic development, the pharyngula stage. Pharyngula moved to hosting at ScienceBlogs in 2005.
In 2007, Myers reviewed Stuart Pivar's book Lifecode, which argues that self-organization at the embryonic and fetal stages determines the development and final structure of organisms. 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. Within a week Pivar withdrew the lawsuit, stating that "the real issue got sidelined" and that his problem was more with Seed Media Group.
In August 2011, Myers and others founded a new blog network, FreethoughtBlogs, to host Pharyngula and other blogs in the atheist/secular field.Freethoughtblogs: The official announcement According to Myers, the move was made as an "acceptable compromise" between him and National Geographic, who at that time would be "taking a more active role in hosting the ScienceBlogs stable" and therefore "bringing their standards & practices, which are different from the more freewheeling policies of Seed Media [and would cause] a culture clash". Myers stated that "NatGeo and I have worked out an acceptable compromise. This site on Freethoughtblogs [...is not] in any way associated with National Geographic" and that he would only cross-post to his original site on ScienceBlogs "whatever I write that I feel is compatible with the more conservative ethos of National Geographic."Inaugural Pharyngula post on Freethoughtblogs As such, since August 2011, the complete Pharyngula has appeared on FreethoughtBlogs, and a limited selection of those posts – the more science-focused ones – are cross-posted to the ScienceBlogs-hosted version.
In September 2012, Myers announced that blogger and environmentalist Chris Clarke would become Pharyngula's co-author. Clarke left the blog in August 2013, partly because of the perceived unpleasantness of Pharyngula commenters
Content Myers often criticizes intelligent design, creationism and pseudoscientific movements, and posts on subjects such as science, religion, politics, superstition, and education. His experience in evolutionary developmental biology and as a teacher provides depth to the subjects of science and education. One theme that arises regularly is that of cephalopods, creatures that Myers finds quite fascinating.
In particular Myers frequently offers specific criticisms of creationism, including intelligent design as well as the Discovery Institute, Answers in Genesis, and other groups that promote pseudoscientific ideas. For example, in February and March 2007, he focused many of his posts on creationist neurosurgeon Michael Egnor, who had recently joined the Discovery Institute. In addition to Myers's criticisms of Egnor's arguments on evolution and Intelligent Design, Myers criticized the Discovery Institute's reliance on someone whose expertise wasn't relevant to evolution.Dr Michael Egnor challenges evolution! , Pharyngula, 2007-01-18.
In early April 2007, Myers participated in an April Fool's Day joke arranged by The Panda's Thumb which manufactured a website spoofing the Discovery Institute's page on which "Egnor" admitted that his association with the Discovery Institute was itself an April Fool's joke. This elaborate prank succeeded in fooling many of his readers, while others succeeded in spotting jokes in the design of the false Discovery Institute page and concluded that this admission was itself the prank."We should have known better—Egnor fooled us all", Pharyngula, 2007-04-01. He made a point the following day that he perceived it as getting exceedingly difficult to believe some creationists were for real (cf. Poe's Law) and highlighted a quote by Stephen Meyer."It's April 2nd!", Pharyngula, 2007-04-02."The Silliest Thing Yet, or Sheer Genius?", Panda's Thumb, 2007-04-02.
Memes Myers has voiced the position that many of the responses to Richard Dawkins's The God Delusion are what he calls "Courtier's Replies". Replying to critics who felt that Dawkins ignored sophisticated versions of modern theology, Myers compared them to courtiers fawning on the legendary emperor who had no clothes:
In other words, critics complain about Dawkins not studying aspects of theology that are irrelevant to whether or not God exists in the same way as scholarly writings about imperial fashion are irrelevant when the emperor is naked. Dawkins himself quoted the Courtier's Reply in a debate with Alister McGrath. He also referenced the Courtier's Reply in the preface to The God Delusion's 2007 paperback edition. See also