From ea499a291eb1a354b5c0bef0b1b4950e5ea99eed Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Chad Dougherty Date: Sat, 1 Feb 2025 18:53:28 -0500 Subject: [PATCH 1/8] add Charles Turner Black History Month blog post Signed-off-by: Chad Dougherty --- ...-black-history-spotlight-charles-turner.md | 51 +++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 51 insertions(+) create mode 100644 _posts/2025-02-01-black-history-spotlight-charles-turner.md diff --git a/_posts/2025-02-01-black-history-spotlight-charles-turner.md b/_posts/2025-02-01-black-history-spotlight-charles-turner.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..f91149890 --- /dev/null +++ b/_posts/2025-02-01-black-history-spotlight-charles-turner.md @@ -0,0 +1,51 @@ +--- +layout: post +title: "US-RSE Black History Month Spotlight - Charles Henry Turner" +tags: [dei, black-history] +author: Chad Dougherty +--- + +US-RSE's [DEI working group (DEI-WG)](https://us-rse.org/wg/dei/) is proud to +help US-RSE celebrate and participate in Black History Month. Each week during +Black History Month, the US-RSE will spotlight Black/African Americans who have +been involved in computing, science, engineering, and/or math, and have +inspired our members through their accomplishments in their careers and their +personal stories. + +## This week's Black History Month spotlight features Charles Henry Turner + +{% include image.html +url="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/94/Charles_Henry_Turner_at_Sumner_High_School%2C_St._Louis%2C_Mo._Aug._9%2C_1921.jpg/330px-Charles_Henry_Turner_at_Sumner_High_School%2C_St._Louis%2C_Mo._Aug._9%2C_1921.jpg" +description="C. H. Turner, August 9, 1921; a gelatin silver print of Charles Henry Turner at Sumner High School, St. Louis, Missouri. 15 x 10 cm. From the W. E. B. Du Bois Papers" +style="float:right; padding:1em; max-width:350px" %} + +Recently, while reading Lars Chittka's 2022 book, [_The Mind of a Bee_](https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691180472/the-mind-of-a-bee), I became intruiged by the story of zoologist [Charles Henry Turner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Henry_Turner_(zoologist)). In recognition of Black History Month (and coincidentally Turner's birthday), I'd like to share a short summary of what I learned about this outstanding Black American scientist. + +Charles Henry Turner was born in Cincinatti, Ohio in 1867, just two years after the end of the US Civil War. Turner excelled in school and was valedictorian of his graduating class at Woodard High School. He earned a B.S. in Biology from the University of Cincinatti in 1891 and then went on to become the first African American to earn a graduate degree from that same University when he earned his M.S. in Biology in 1892. In 1907, he earned his Ph.D. in Zoology, _magna cum laude_, likely being the first African American to earn a doctorate from the University of Chicago and certainly among only a tiny handful of Black people to have done so anywhere in the US at that time.[^nih] + +After receiving his doctorate, Turner faced problems finding a job in academia. He was considered for a professorship at the University of Chicago, but the professor who invited him to apply died and, according to sociologist and civil rights activist W. E. B. Du Bois, his replacement refused to hire a Black scientist.[^knowable] At the Tuskegee Institute, Turner was turned down because president Booker T. Washington reportedly could not afford to pay the salaries of both Turner and another famous Black American scientist, George Washington Carver.[^okstate] Turner consequently worked as a high school teacher for the remainder of his career, spending most of it at Sumner High School in St. Louis, Missouri. He continued to pursue his research and publication throughout his career, even while teaching high school. I was amazed to learn that Turner used bees as teaching tools to demonstrate principles of complex behavior even in his high school biology classes. One of my favorite notes suggesting his effectiveness in this regard comes from one of his students:[^okstate] +>"The bees appeared at the table at all three meals. Then Dr. Turner put jam only at breakfast daily. They still came to each meal but found no jam at noon and night. Soon they stopped coming. This shows they have some idea of time." + +Turner's work spanned such diverse areas as comparative neuroanatomy in both vertebrates and invertebrates, arthropod taxonomy, insect and spider behavior, audition in moths, leaf morphology in grapevines, and even civil rights.[^nih] The extent of his scientific works are too large to do justice to here, and fortunately extensive accounts do exist.[^pubmed] Some of his notable academic publications include:[^okstate] +* 1892: "_Psychological notes upon the gallery spider_", making Turner the first African American Psychologist and the first African American Comparative Psychologist +* 1892: "_A few characteristics of the avian brain_", establishing Turner as the first African American to publish in in the journal _Science_ +* 1910: "_Experiments on color-vision of the honey bee_", providing conclusive evidence that honey bees can see color +* 1911: "_Experiments on the pattern vision of the honey bee_", providing conclusive evidence that honey bees can see patterns +* 1914: "_Auditory Powers of the catocala moths: An experimental field study_", providing conclusive evidence that insects can hear airborne sounds +* 1914: "_An experimental study of the auditory powers of the giant silkworm moths, Saturniidae_", considered to be the first classical conditioning experiment with insects + +In addition to his scientific work, Turner also wrote on the social and educational issues of his day. In 1897, he published, "_Reason for Teaching Biology in Negro Schools_", which was the first of a series of papers discussing the importance of education for both Caucasian and African American children. Turner was a leader in the civil rights movement in St. Louis and was instrumental in developing social services for African Americans in the St. Louis area.[^okstate] + +The philosophy of animal intelligence and cognition has a long and complex history, stretching back to the time of Aristotle, with varying levels of acceptance of the idea that animals can be considered autonomous, sentient beings.[^nautilus] Recent research has provided new physical evidence supporting the arguments that many animals (and certainly a far wider range of species than we have ever even considered before) are indeed sentient, and have individual personalities and cognitive capabilities traditionally attributed only to humans and our immediate relatives.[^quanta][^psychtoday] Indeed, many of the scientists involved in these research efforts have cited Turner's work as pioneering.[^knowable] + +Sadly, Turner died in 1923 at the relatively young age of 56 from an acute case of myocarditis which could've been exacerbated by his heavy teaching workload and relatively low pay. I cannot help but wonder how much more impact he could have had on the state of science education, and particularly Black science education, and the burgeoning field of animal cognition if he had lived longer and been able to continue his work. + +### References + +[^nih]: [Charles Henry Turner and the cognitive behavior of bees](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8550279/) +[^okstate]: [Charles Henry Turner](https://cas.okstate.edu/psychology/psychology_museum_resource_center/special_exhibits/african-american_pioneers_in_psychology/turner_charles.html) +[^knowable]: [Charles Henry Turner's insights into animal behavior were a century ahead of their time](https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/living-world/2023/rediscovering-legacy-charles-henry-turner) +[^psychtoday]: [The Current State of the Science of Insect Sentience](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/animal-emotions/202405/the-current-state-of-the-science-of-insect-sentience) +[^nautilus]: [The New Science of Animal Minds](https://nautil.us/the-new-science-of-animal-minds-713384/) +[^quanta]: [Insects and Other Animals Have Consciousness, Experts Declare](https://www.quantamagazine.org/insects-and-other-animals-have-consciousness-experts-declare-20240419/) +[^pubmed]: [Charles H. Turner, pioneer in animal cognition](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33122372/) \ No newline at end of file From 2d6496f4624b7fe4315b35539839c93f770b8b23 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Chad Dougherty Date: Sat, 1 Feb 2025 19:02:48 -0500 Subject: [PATCH 2/8] fix dumb typos Signed-off-by: Chad Dougherty --- _posts/2025-02-01-black-history-spotlight-charles-turner.md | 4 ++-- 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-) diff --git a/_posts/2025-02-01-black-history-spotlight-charles-turner.md b/_posts/2025-02-01-black-history-spotlight-charles-turner.md index f91149890..5a29eca85 100644 --- a/_posts/2025-02-01-black-history-spotlight-charles-turner.md +++ b/_posts/2025-02-01-black-history-spotlight-charles-turner.md @@ -19,9 +19,9 @@ url="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/94/Charles_Henry_Tur description="C. H. Turner, August 9, 1921; a gelatin silver print of Charles Henry Turner at Sumner High School, St. Louis, Missouri. 15 x 10 cm. From the W. E. B. Du Bois Papers" style="float:right; padding:1em; max-width:350px" %} -Recently, while reading Lars Chittka's 2022 book, [_The Mind of a Bee_](https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691180472/the-mind-of-a-bee), I became intruiged by the story of zoologist [Charles Henry Turner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Henry_Turner_(zoologist)). In recognition of Black History Month (and coincidentally Turner's birthday), I'd like to share a short summary of what I learned about this outstanding Black American scientist. +Recently, while reading Lars Chittka's 2022 book, [_The Mind of a Bee_](https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691180472/the-mind-of-a-bee), I became intrigued by the story of zoologist [Charles Henry Turner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Henry_Turner_(zoologist)). In recognition of Black History Month (and coincidentally Turner's birthday), I'd like to share a short summary of what I learned about this outstanding Black American scientist. -Charles Henry Turner was born in Cincinatti, Ohio in 1867, just two years after the end of the US Civil War. Turner excelled in school and was valedictorian of his graduating class at Woodard High School. He earned a B.S. in Biology from the University of Cincinatti in 1891 and then went on to become the first African American to earn a graduate degree from that same University when he earned his M.S. in Biology in 1892. In 1907, he earned his Ph.D. in Zoology, _magna cum laude_, likely being the first African American to earn a doctorate from the University of Chicago and certainly among only a tiny handful of Black people to have done so anywhere in the US at that time.[^nih] +Charles Henry Turner was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1867, just two years after the end of the US Civil War. Turner excelled in school and was valedictorian of his graduating class at Woodard High School. He earned a B.S. in Biology from the University of Cincinnati in 1891 and then went on to become the first African American to earn a graduate degree from that same University when he earned his M.S. in Biology in 1892. In 1907, he earned his Ph.D. in Zoology, _magna cum laude_, likely being the first African American to earn a doctorate from the University of Chicago and certainly among only a tiny handful of Black people to have done so anywhere in the US at that time.[^nih] After receiving his doctorate, Turner faced problems finding a job in academia. He was considered for a professorship at the University of Chicago, but the professor who invited him to apply died and, according to sociologist and civil rights activist W. E. B. Du Bois, his replacement refused to hire a Black scientist.[^knowable] At the Tuskegee Institute, Turner was turned down because president Booker T. Washington reportedly could not afford to pay the salaries of both Turner and another famous Black American scientist, George Washington Carver.[^okstate] Turner consequently worked as a high school teacher for the remainder of his career, spending most of it at Sumner High School in St. Louis, Missouri. He continued to pursue his research and publication throughout his career, even while teaching high school. I was amazed to learn that Turner used bees as teaching tools to demonstrate principles of complex behavior even in his high school biology classes. One of my favorite notes suggesting his effectiveness in this regard comes from one of his students:[^okstate] >"The bees appeared at the table at all three meals. Then Dr. Turner put jam only at breakfast daily. They still came to each meal but found no jam at noon and night. Soon they stopped coming. This shows they have some idea of time." From 97ddcd88a892d313967ccef4e0ff500ab0cdb15b Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Chad Dougherty Date: Sat, 1 Feb 2025 19:25:07 -0500 Subject: [PATCH 3/8] minor wording changes Signed-off-by: Chad Dougherty --- _posts/2025-02-01-black-history-spotlight-charles-turner.md | 4 ++-- 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-) diff --git a/_posts/2025-02-01-black-history-spotlight-charles-turner.md b/_posts/2025-02-01-black-history-spotlight-charles-turner.md index 5a29eca85..8aca463fd 100644 --- a/_posts/2025-02-01-black-history-spotlight-charles-turner.md +++ b/_posts/2025-02-01-black-history-spotlight-charles-turner.md @@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ style="float:right; padding:1em; max-width:350px" %} Recently, while reading Lars Chittka's 2022 book, [_The Mind of a Bee_](https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691180472/the-mind-of-a-bee), I became intrigued by the story of zoologist [Charles Henry Turner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Henry_Turner_(zoologist)). In recognition of Black History Month (and coincidentally Turner's birthday), I'd like to share a short summary of what I learned about this outstanding Black American scientist. -Charles Henry Turner was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1867, just two years after the end of the US Civil War. Turner excelled in school and was valedictorian of his graduating class at Woodard High School. He earned a B.S. in Biology from the University of Cincinnati in 1891 and then went on to become the first African American to earn a graduate degree from that same University when he earned his M.S. in Biology in 1892. In 1907, he earned his Ph.D. in Zoology, _magna cum laude_, likely being the first African American to earn a doctorate from the University of Chicago and certainly among only a tiny handful of Black people to have done so anywhere in the US at that time.[^nih] +Charles Henry Turner was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1867, just two years after the end of the Civil War. Turner excelled in school and was valedictorian of his graduating class at Woodard High School. He earned a B.S. in Biology from the University of Cincinnati in 1891 and then went on to become the first African American to earn a graduate degree from that same University when he earned his M.S. in Biology in 1892. In 1907, he earned his Ph.D. in Zoology, _magna cum laude_, likely being the first African American to earn a doctorate from the University of Chicago and certainly among only a tiny handful of Black people to have done so anywhere in the United States at that time.[^nih] After receiving his doctorate, Turner faced problems finding a job in academia. He was considered for a professorship at the University of Chicago, but the professor who invited him to apply died and, according to sociologist and civil rights activist W. E. B. Du Bois, his replacement refused to hire a Black scientist.[^knowable] At the Tuskegee Institute, Turner was turned down because president Booker T. Washington reportedly could not afford to pay the salaries of both Turner and another famous Black American scientist, George Washington Carver.[^okstate] Turner consequently worked as a high school teacher for the remainder of his career, spending most of it at Sumner High School in St. Louis, Missouri. He continued to pursue his research and publication throughout his career, even while teaching high school. I was amazed to learn that Turner used bees as teaching tools to demonstrate principles of complex behavior even in his high school biology classes. One of my favorite notes suggesting his effectiveness in this regard comes from one of his students:[^okstate] >"The bees appeared at the table at all three meals. Then Dr. Turner put jam only at breakfast daily. They still came to each meal but found no jam at noon and night. Soon they stopped coming. This shows they have some idea of time." @@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ In addition to his scientific work, Turner also wrote on the social and educatio The philosophy of animal intelligence and cognition has a long and complex history, stretching back to the time of Aristotle, with varying levels of acceptance of the idea that animals can be considered autonomous, sentient beings.[^nautilus] Recent research has provided new physical evidence supporting the arguments that many animals (and certainly a far wider range of species than we have ever even considered before) are indeed sentient, and have individual personalities and cognitive capabilities traditionally attributed only to humans and our immediate relatives.[^quanta][^psychtoday] Indeed, many of the scientists involved in these research efforts have cited Turner's work as pioneering.[^knowable] -Sadly, Turner died in 1923 at the relatively young age of 56 from an acute case of myocarditis which could've been exacerbated by his heavy teaching workload and relatively low pay. I cannot help but wonder how much more impact he could have had on the state of science education, and particularly Black science education, and the burgeoning field of animal cognition if he had lived longer and been able to continue his work. +Sadly, Turner died in 1923 at the relatively young age of 56 from an acute case of myocarditis which could've been exacerbated by his heavy teaching workload and relatively low pay. I cannot help but wonder how much more impact he could have had on the state of science education, particularly Black science education, and the burgeoning field of animal cognition if he had lived longer and been able to continue his work. ### References From 7505ad2c4fe4b642f6803b9eed56dfe4e4d904a4 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Chad Dougherty Date: Sat, 1 Feb 2025 19:43:32 -0500 Subject: [PATCH 4/8] wrap ridiculously long lines Signed-off-by: Chad Dougherty --- ...-black-history-spotlight-charles-turner.md | 102 +++++++++++++++--- 1 file changed, 86 insertions(+), 16 deletions(-) diff --git a/_posts/2025-02-01-black-history-spotlight-charles-turner.md b/_posts/2025-02-01-black-history-spotlight-charles-turner.md index 8aca463fd..d2ee14ca8 100644 --- a/_posts/2025-02-01-black-history-spotlight-charles-turner.md +++ b/_posts/2025-02-01-black-history-spotlight-charles-turner.md @@ -16,29 +16,99 @@ personal stories. {% include image.html url="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/94/Charles_Henry_Turner_at_Sumner_High_School%2C_St._Louis%2C_Mo._Aug._9%2C_1921.jpg/330px-Charles_Henry_Turner_at_Sumner_High_School%2C_St._Louis%2C_Mo._Aug._9%2C_1921.jpg" -description="C. H. Turner, August 9, 1921; a gelatin silver print of Charles Henry Turner at Sumner High School, St. Louis, Missouri. 15 x 10 cm. From the W. E. B. Du Bois Papers" +description="C. H. Turner, August 9, 1921; a gelatin silver print of +Charles Henry Turner at Sumner High School, St. Louis, Missouri. 15 x +10 cm. From the W. E. B. Du Bois Papers" style="float:right; padding:1em; max-width:350px" %} -Recently, while reading Lars Chittka's 2022 book, [_The Mind of a Bee_](https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691180472/the-mind-of-a-bee), I became intrigued by the story of zoologist [Charles Henry Turner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Henry_Turner_(zoologist)). In recognition of Black History Month (and coincidentally Turner's birthday), I'd like to share a short summary of what I learned about this outstanding Black American scientist. +Recently, while reading Lars Chittka's 2022 book, [_The Mind of a +Bee_](https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691180472/the-mind-of-a-bee), +I became intrigued by the story of zoologist [Charles Henry +Turner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Henry_Turner_(zoologist)). +In recognition of Black History Month (and coincidentally Turner's +birthday), I'd like to share a short summary of what I learned about +this outstanding Black American scientist. -Charles Henry Turner was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1867, just two years after the end of the Civil War. Turner excelled in school and was valedictorian of his graduating class at Woodard High School. He earned a B.S. in Biology from the University of Cincinnati in 1891 and then went on to become the first African American to earn a graduate degree from that same University when he earned his M.S. in Biology in 1892. In 1907, he earned his Ph.D. in Zoology, _magna cum laude_, likely being the first African American to earn a doctorate from the University of Chicago and certainly among only a tiny handful of Black people to have done so anywhere in the United States at that time.[^nih] +Charles Henry Turner was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1867, just two +years after the end of the Civil War. Turner excelled in school and was +valedictorian of his graduating class at Woodard High School. He earned +a B.S. in Biology from the University of Cincinnati in 1891 and then +went on to become the first African American to earn a graduate degree +from that same University when he earned his M.S. in Biology in 1892. +In 1907, he earned his Ph.D. in Zoology, _magna cum laude_, likely being +the first African American to earn a doctorate from the University of +Chicago and certainly among only a tiny handful of Black people to have +done so anywhere in the United States at that time.[^nih] -After receiving his doctorate, Turner faced problems finding a job in academia. He was considered for a professorship at the University of Chicago, but the professor who invited him to apply died and, according to sociologist and civil rights activist W. E. B. Du Bois, his replacement refused to hire a Black scientist.[^knowable] At the Tuskegee Institute, Turner was turned down because president Booker T. Washington reportedly could not afford to pay the salaries of both Turner and another famous Black American scientist, George Washington Carver.[^okstate] Turner consequently worked as a high school teacher for the remainder of his career, spending most of it at Sumner High School in St. Louis, Missouri. He continued to pursue his research and publication throughout his career, even while teaching high school. I was amazed to learn that Turner used bees as teaching tools to demonstrate principles of complex behavior even in his high school biology classes. One of my favorite notes suggesting his effectiveness in this regard comes from one of his students:[^okstate] ->"The bees appeared at the table at all three meals. Then Dr. Turner put jam only at breakfast daily. They still came to each meal but found no jam at noon and night. Soon they stopped coming. This shows they have some idea of time." +After receiving his doctorate, Turner faced problems finding a job in +academia. He was considered for a professorship at the University of +Chicago, but the professor who invited him to apply died and, according +to sociologist and civil rights activist W. E. B. Du Bois, his replacement +refused to hire a Black scientist.[^knowable] At the Tuskegee Institute, +Turner was turned down because president Booker T. Washington reportedly +could not afford to pay the salaries of both Turner and another famous +Black American scientist, George Washington Carver.[^okstate] Turner +consequently worked as a high school teacher for the remainder of his +career, spending most of it at Sumner High School in St. Louis, Missouri. +He continued to pursue his research and publication throughout his career, +even while teaching high school. I was amazed to learn that Turner used +bees as teaching tools to demonstrate principles of complex behavior even +in his high school biology classes. One of my favorite notes suggesting +his effectiveness in this regard comes from one of his students:[^okstate] +>"The bees appeared at the table at all three meals. Then Dr. Turner put +jam only at breakfast daily. They still came to each meal but found no +jam at noon and night. Soon they stopped coming. This shows they have +some idea of time." -Turner's work spanned such diverse areas as comparative neuroanatomy in both vertebrates and invertebrates, arthropod taxonomy, insect and spider behavior, audition in moths, leaf morphology in grapevines, and even civil rights.[^nih] The extent of his scientific works are too large to do justice to here, and fortunately extensive accounts do exist.[^pubmed] Some of his notable academic publications include:[^okstate] -* 1892: "_Psychological notes upon the gallery spider_", making Turner the first African American Psychologist and the first African American Comparative Psychologist -* 1892: "_A few characteristics of the avian brain_", establishing Turner as the first African American to publish in in the journal _Science_ -* 1910: "_Experiments on color-vision of the honey bee_", providing conclusive evidence that honey bees can see color -* 1911: "_Experiments on the pattern vision of the honey bee_", providing conclusive evidence that honey bees can see patterns -* 1914: "_Auditory Powers of the catocala moths: An experimental field study_", providing conclusive evidence that insects can hear airborne sounds -* 1914: "_An experimental study of the auditory powers of the giant silkworm moths, Saturniidae_", considered to be the first classical conditioning experiment with insects +Turner's work spanned such diverse areas as comparative neuroanatomy in +both vertebrates and invertebrates, arthropod taxonomy, insect and spider +behavior, audition in moths, leaf morphology in grapevines, and even +civil rights.[^nih] The extent of his scientific works is too large to +do justice to here, and fortunately extensive accounts do exist.[^pubmed] +Some of his notable academic publications include:[^okstate] -In addition to his scientific work, Turner also wrote on the social and educational issues of his day. In 1897, he published, "_Reason for Teaching Biology in Negro Schools_", which was the first of a series of papers discussing the importance of education for both Caucasian and African American children. Turner was a leader in the civil rights movement in St. Louis and was instrumental in developing social services for African Americans in the St. Louis area.[^okstate] +* 1892: "_Psychological notes upon the gallery spider_", making Turner +the first African American Psychologist and the first African American +Comparative Psychologist +* 1892: "_A few characteristics of the avian brain_", establishing Turner +as the first African American to publish in in the journal _Science_ +* 1910: "_Experiments on color-vision of the honey bee_", providing +conclusive evidence that honey bees can see color +* 1911: "_Experiments on the pattern vision of the honey bee_", providing +conclusive evidence that honey bees can see patterns +* 1914: "_Auditory Powers of the catocala moths: An experimental field +study_", providing conclusive evidence that insects can hear airborne +sounds +* 1914: "_An experimental study of the auditory powers of the giant +silkworm moths, Saturniidae_", considered to be the first classical +conditioning experiment with insects -The philosophy of animal intelligence and cognition has a long and complex history, stretching back to the time of Aristotle, with varying levels of acceptance of the idea that animals can be considered autonomous, sentient beings.[^nautilus] Recent research has provided new physical evidence supporting the arguments that many animals (and certainly a far wider range of species than we have ever even considered before) are indeed sentient, and have individual personalities and cognitive capabilities traditionally attributed only to humans and our immediate relatives.[^quanta][^psychtoday] Indeed, many of the scientists involved in these research efforts have cited Turner's work as pioneering.[^knowable] +In addition to his scientific work, Turner also wrote on the social and +educational issues of his day. In 1897, he published, "_Reason for +Teaching Biology in Negro Schools_", which was the first of a series +of papers discussing the importance of education for both Caucasian +and African American children. Turner was a leader in the civil rights +movement in St. Louis and was instrumental in developing social services +for African Americans in the St. Louis area.[^okstate] -Sadly, Turner died in 1923 at the relatively young age of 56 from an acute case of myocarditis which could've been exacerbated by his heavy teaching workload and relatively low pay. I cannot help but wonder how much more impact he could have had on the state of science education, particularly Black science education, and the burgeoning field of animal cognition if he had lived longer and been able to continue his work. +The philosophy of animal intelligence and cognition has a long and complex +history, stretching back to the time of Aristotle, with varying levels +of acceptance of the idea that animals can be considered autonomous, +sentient beings.[^nautilus] Recent research has provided new physical +evidence supporting the arguments that many animals (and certainly a +far wider range of species than we have ever even considered before) +are indeed sentient, and have individual personalities and cognitive +capabilities traditionally attributed only to humans and our immediate +relatives.[^quanta][^psychtoday] Indeed, many of the scientists +involved in these research efforts have cited Turner's work as +pioneering.[^knowable] + +Sadly, Turner died in 1923 at the relatively young age of 56 from an +acute case of myocarditis which could've been exacerbated by his heavy +teaching workload and relatively low pay. I cannot help but wonder how +much more impact he could have had on the state of science education, +particularly Black science education, and the burgeoning field of animal +cognition if he had lived longer and been able to continue his work. ### References @@ -48,4 +118,4 @@ Sadly, Turner died in 1923 at the relatively young age of 56 from an acute case [^psychtoday]: [The Current State of the Science of Insect Sentience](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/animal-emotions/202405/the-current-state-of-the-science-of-insect-sentience) [^nautilus]: [The New Science of Animal Minds](https://nautil.us/the-new-science-of-animal-minds-713384/) [^quanta]: [Insects and Other Animals Have Consciousness, Experts Declare](https://www.quantamagazine.org/insects-and-other-animals-have-consciousness-experts-declare-20240419/) -[^pubmed]: [Charles H. Turner, pioneer in animal cognition](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33122372/) \ No newline at end of file +[^pubmed]: [Charles H. Turner, pioneer in animal cognition](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33122372/) From e24a2345046ea6057c69018f30124dad702e2c1f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Chad Dougherty Date: Sun, 2 Feb 2025 12:21:53 -0500 Subject: [PATCH 5/8] fix missing NCWIT Interrupting Bias resource links refer to the copies in the wayback machine instead Signed-off-by: Chad Dougherty --- _posts/2021-10-04-sharing-materials-from-ncwit-talk.md | 4 ++-- 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-) diff --git a/_posts/2021-10-04-sharing-materials-from-ncwit-talk.md b/_posts/2021-10-04-sharing-materials-from-ncwit-talk.md index 16fde2101..eb5f06294 100644 --- a/_posts/2021-10-04-sharing-materials-from-ncwit-talk.md +++ b/_posts/2021-10-04-sharing-materials-from-ncwit-talk.md @@ -27,8 +27,8 @@ to help you deal with problematic statements, like "Women need to learn to be more confident." The guide provides questions to ask and comments to add that can prevent these problematic statements from derailing a discussion. Two more guides we'd like to highlight are aimed specifically at interrupting bias -[in industry](https://ncwit.org/resource/biasindustry/) -and [in academic settings](https://ncwit.org/resource/biasacademic/). +[in industry](https://web.archive.org/web/20240918183150/https://ncwit.org/web/20240918183150/https://ncwit.org/resource/biasindustry/) +and [in academic settings](https://web.archive.org/web/20240920195042/https://ncwit.org/web/20240920195042/https://ncwit.org/resource/biasacademic/). The DEI working group is building a collection of resources like these so that we can learn from organizations like NCWIT From ea19e5d57a5655dcd12801748c73b7657d75dd9d Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Chad Dougherty Date: Sun, 2 Feb 2025 12:30:00 -0500 Subject: [PATCH 6/8] fix URL rewriting blunder from the browser nav bar Signed-off-by: Chad Dougherty --- _posts/2021-10-04-sharing-materials-from-ncwit-talk.md | 4 ++-- 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-) diff --git a/_posts/2021-10-04-sharing-materials-from-ncwit-talk.md b/_posts/2021-10-04-sharing-materials-from-ncwit-talk.md index eb5f06294..fdbc71662 100644 --- a/_posts/2021-10-04-sharing-materials-from-ncwit-talk.md +++ b/_posts/2021-10-04-sharing-materials-from-ncwit-talk.md @@ -27,8 +27,8 @@ to help you deal with problematic statements, like "Women need to learn to be more confident." The guide provides questions to ask and comments to add that can prevent these problematic statements from derailing a discussion. Two more guides we'd like to highlight are aimed specifically at interrupting bias -[in industry](https://web.archive.org/web/20240918183150/https://ncwit.org/web/20240918183150/https://ncwit.org/resource/biasindustry/) -and [in academic settings](https://web.archive.org/web/20240920195042/https://ncwit.org/web/20240920195042/https://ncwit.org/resource/biasacademic/). +[in industry](https://web.archive.org/web/20240918183150/https://ncwit.org/resource/biasindustry/) +and [in academic settings](https://web.archive.org/web/20240920195042/https://ncwit.org/resource/biasacademic/). The DEI working group is building a collection of resources like these so that we can learn from organizations like NCWIT From fd948eca60653626451f9b53778a1cacdb1e674b Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Chad Dougherty Date: Mon, 3 Feb 2025 13:08:20 -0500 Subject: [PATCH 7/8] rename Charles Turner post to reflect date Signed-off-by: Chad Dougherty --- ....md => 2025-02-03-black-history-spotlight-charles-turner.md} | 0 assets/css/reboot.css | 2 +- 2 files changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) rename _posts/{2025-02-01-black-history-spotlight-charles-turner.md => 2025-02-03-black-history-spotlight-charles-turner.md} (100%) diff --git a/_posts/2025-02-01-black-history-spotlight-charles-turner.md b/_posts/2025-02-03-black-history-spotlight-charles-turner.md similarity index 100% rename from _posts/2025-02-01-black-history-spotlight-charles-turner.md rename to _posts/2025-02-03-black-history-spotlight-charles-turner.md diff --git a/assets/css/reboot.css b/assets/css/reboot.css index cd01fbb2f..43f6dfa20 100644 --- a/assets/css/reboot.css +++ b/assets/css/reboot.css @@ -3857,7 +3857,7 @@ body:hover .visually-hidden a, body:hover .visually-hidden input, body:hover .vi } .footnotes ol, .footnotes li, .footnotes p { margin-bottom: 0; - font-size: .75em; + font-size: .9em; } a.reversefootnote { color: #7a8288; From b86eb40be9b4c59a25ac32ca0c64bf26294da506 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Chad Dougherty Date: Wed, 5 Feb 2025 09:18:58 -0500 Subject: [PATCH 8/8] rename file Signed-off-by: Chad Dougherty --- ... => 2025-02-10-black-history-spotlight-charles-turner.md} | 5 ++--- 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-) rename _posts/{2025-02-03-black-history-spotlight-charles-turner.md => 2025-02-10-black-history-spotlight-charles-turner.md} (97%) diff --git a/_posts/2025-02-03-black-history-spotlight-charles-turner.md b/_posts/2025-02-10-black-history-spotlight-charles-turner.md similarity index 97% rename from _posts/2025-02-03-black-history-spotlight-charles-turner.md rename to _posts/2025-02-10-black-history-spotlight-charles-turner.md index d2ee14ca8..70f5c0229 100644 --- a/_posts/2025-02-03-black-history-spotlight-charles-turner.md +++ b/_posts/2025-02-10-black-history-spotlight-charles-turner.md @@ -25,9 +25,8 @@ Recently, while reading Lars Chittka's 2022 book, [_The Mind of a Bee_](https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691180472/the-mind-of-a-bee), I became intrigued by the story of zoologist [Charles Henry Turner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Henry_Turner_(zoologist)). -In recognition of Black History Month (and coincidentally Turner's -birthday), I'd like to share a short summary of what I learned about -this outstanding Black American scientist. +In recognition of Black History Month, I'd like to share a short summary +of what I learned about this outstanding Black American scientist. Charles Henry Turner was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1867, just two years after the end of the Civil War. Turner excelled in school and was