Scroll down to read this post.

 

Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. I keep the website clean from pop-ups and annoying demands. Instead, I depend entirely on my readers to support me. Though this means I am sacrificing some income, it also means that I remain entirely independent from outside pressure. By depending solely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, no one can threaten me with censorship. You don't like what I write, you can simply go elsewhere.

 

You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are five ways of doing so:

 

1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.

 

2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
 

3. A Paypal Donation:

4. A Paypal subscription:


5. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
 
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652

 

You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above. And if you buy the books through the ebookit links, I get a larger cut and I get it sooner.


A Southern California high school has banned frog dissections in biology classrooms, using software instead

A Southern California high school has banned frog dissections in biology classrooms, switching to software instead.

Next, virtual surgeries on humans: you just make believe the doctor operates on you. It is certainly more humane than forcing someone to actually use a scalpel on a real body!

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
 

"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

2 comments

  • Blair Ivey

    When I took high school biology the highlight of the year were the dissections: a frog and the biggest damn earthworm I’ve ever seen. It was neat to actually see and put hands on the things we’ed only previously seen on books. Software, no matter how fancy, isn’t going to be any more ‘real’ than illustrations in a book. I wonder if the software lets students put electricity to the nerve and make the leg jump.

    My favorite quote from the article: “Proponents of virtual dissection programs say they are more humane and safer than touching animals preserved with formaldehyde”

    More humane than what? The animal’s already dead.

  • jwing

    When I was in medical school we had gross anatomy lab with donated human cadavers (one for every two students). We also had what was called “dog lab” where old hound dogs, that would have been euthanized, were surgically prepped and anesthetized and had their chests opened in order for us to study a living circulatory system and the effect of drugs on it. (The canine circulatory system is very similiar to ours). Students had a choice to opt out of the dog lab but not out of the human agross amatomy course. PETA was protesting this type of course at the time and it was controversial.
    Persoanally, I went to the dog lab and found it very helpful but somewhat disturbing and upsetting, as I am a dog owner/lover. While vivisection has been invaluable in the past to further medical science’s understanding of the human condition, it was more a lesson in getting greasy and covered in formalyn (formmaldehyde), which is considered a possible carcinogen. I spent hours with a scalpel digging through human fat trying to find a particular artery or nerve and smelling of it for days. It was more a lesson in fine eye hand coordination and that time could better have been spent with my face in a book. Also, a preserved human body is very different in color, texture and elasticity from a living body and while the anatomy is right, unless on is going into surgery, it is not that iimportant for a first year medical student.

Readers: the rules for commenting!

 

No registration is required. I welcome all opinions, even those that strongly criticize my commentary.

 

However, name-calling and obscenities will not be tolerated. First time offenders who are new to the site will be warned. Second time offenders or first time offenders who have been here awhile will be suspended for a week. After that, I will ban you. Period.

 

Note also that first time commenters as well as any comment with more than one link will be placed in moderation for my approval. Be patient, I will get to it.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *