Archive for the ‘Speaking of Science’ Category
A Scienticity Reading List
A friend asked me for some recommendations for popular science books she might read. Here is one such list. It is 16 titles I culled from the "Top-Rated Books" [link] in the Scienticity Book-Note Collection of books that I have read and found enjoyable, informative, and memorable. Most of the notes in the links are […]
In: All, Books, Personal Notebook, Speaking of Science
On Not Finishing Kaku's "Physics of the Impossible"
I read a lot of popular-science books. You know I do this partly to support the Science Booknotes and Science Book Challenge projects at Scienticity. I often remark to myself how thoroughly I enjoyed a book that I chose arbitrarily at my library, maybe because the title appealed to me or the book spine was […]
In: All, Books, Explaining Things, Speaking of Science
Android Wallpaper & Eye for Science Images (Again)
I'm still inspired by joining up images from the "Eye for Science" project database with smartphones, and today I implemented another way to make it easy and quick way to turn an image you like into smartphone wallpaper. All I've done is add a QR Code to the image page, i.e., the page you get […]
In: All, It's Only Rocket Science, Speaking of Science
"Eye for Science" and Android Wallpaper
You may recall my mentioning Scienticity's "Eye for Science" project, a Flickr group to which members contribute interesting and provocative images that tell a story about science or nature or something related, which images we then try to get in front of others to provide a brief science moment. One way we do this is […]
In: All, Eureka!, Personal Notebook, Speaking of Science
Scienticity for Laughs
I enjoy meeting new people in the same of scienticity; I try for one new person a day. Today I made the acquaintance of Irish comedian Dara OBriain (thanks to BoingBoing). He doesn't know me yet but I've enjoyed watching him on YouTube and now Dara and I will demonstrate that a good scientific outlook […]
In: All, Laughing Matters, Snake Oil--Cheap!, Speaking of Science
Endangered Species Act Less Endangered
More signs today of a return to policy supported by science rather than science perverted to the will of policy. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced that the two departments are revoking an eleventh-hour Bush administration rule that undermined Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections. Their decision requires […]
In: All, Current Events, It's Only Rocket Science, Speaking of Science
Sanchez on Warren
This is a portion of what Mary Sanchez wrote in the The Kansas City Star ("Rick Warren needs to evolve", 29 December 2008): [Rick Warren] rejects the theory of evolution, and he believes that to be homosexual is to have embraced a life of sin. Are those mainstream views? If so, there must be two […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity, Speaking of Science
Ars Volunteer II
Ars Hermeneutica and I are looking for a very special volunteer, just the right person to double our full-time volunteer staff. I intend this to be a volunteer-to-hire position since our top priority will be to bring some projects to the money-bearing stage sooner rather than later so that we can pay ourselves and hire […]
In: All, Personal Notebook, Speaking of Science
Another Year, Another Report
Here I am with another reason why I've not been writing so much here; it's the usual: I've been toying with your affections and writing elsewhere. This time I was working on the first ever annual report for Ars Hermeneutica, to celebrate our first full month (now two months) of tax-exempt status. The report is […]
In: All, Speaking of Science, Writing
In the Public Interest
Our story thus far: Ars Hermeneutica, Limited is the nonprofit company that Isaac and I formed on 15 November, 2004 (the official date when the Articles of Incorporation were filed and stamped by the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation, at 11:11 AM to be precise). We formed the company for the purposes of pursing […]
In: All, Reflections, Speaking of Science
Bad Science & Bad Religion
The times when I agree with something Deepak Chopra says are rare enough that this seemed worth noting: I was trained as a scientist, but you don't need that to realize how badly the waters are muddied between religion, science, and politics these days. When John F. Kennedy ran for President in 1960, there were […]
In: All, Common-Place Book, Speaking of Science
Waxman Reports: Bush Abortion Misguidance
This is the latest update from Rep. Henry Waxman's office's keeping an eye on the Bush Administration's shenanigans in manipulating science to suit their own policy agenda. A new study released by Rep. Henry A. Waxman finds that federally funded pregnancy resource centers often mislead pregnant teens about the medical risks of abortion, telling investigators […]
Lies, Damned Lies, and White House Statistics
I've mentioned that I get occasional statements from Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) through the House Government Reform Committee, Minority Office. The following is the complete text of one that I got dated 28 April 2006. It's an interesting and rather petty example of the lengths to which the White House will go to manipulate facts […]
Don't Need No Science Advisor
Sometimes Bob Park, who writes What's New (for physicists and others), is just too funny for words (except his own) — at least to his fellow physicists who, it must be admited, are not reallly noted for their outrageous senses of humor. Anyway, from today's edition (Friday, 14 April 2006): DOE: SECRETARY OF ENERGY BODMAN […]
In: All, Laughing Matters, Speaking of Science
Aliens Removing Human Brains?
SOME 3.7 million people claim to have been abducted by aliens. Only 11 per cent of Americans believe in evolution. Type "Flat Earth Society" into the Google search engine on the internet and you will have a choice of 466,000 sites. How did we get this stupid? One explanation is that the aliens doing all […]
In: All, Common-Place Book, Speaking of Science
Supporting Imperial Fashion
Isaac and I rarely watch TV anymore; there just doesn't seem much point to it really. Now I think there's even less point, since apparently Driftglass watches all those tedious Sunday-morning talking-heads programs and then summarizes ("Sunday Morning Comin' Down…Redux") the results (far better than the TV Guide ever could) — at least he did […]
In: All, Common-Place Book, Speaking of Science, Splenetics
Bon Voyage Voyager
Bob Park, who writes What's New for the American Physical Society (my professional organization), isn't too happy with the new priorities for NASA's budget. Neither am I for that matter, although my reasons are somewhat different. Nevertheless, I agree with him: SPACE: VOYAGER 1 REACHES THE LIMIT OF BUSH’S ATTENTION SPAN. It’s been traveling for […]
In: All, It's Only Rocket Science, Speaking of Science, Splenetics
Science & Mystery
Science feeds on mystery. As my colleague Matt Ridley has put it: “Most scientists are bored by what they have already discovered. It is ignorance that drives them on.” Science mines ignorance. Mystery — that which we don’t yet know; that which we don’t yet understand — is the mother lode that scientists seek out. […]
In: All, Common-Place Book, Speaking of Science
Go Beavers!
My favorite moment in sci vs. fi history was when the JPL [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, operated by Caltech] launched the Cassini space probe of [sic*] Saturn in 1997. Soon after, the JPL phone rang; attorneys for clothes designer Oleg Cassini were demanding to know how JPL had the effrontery to name a space probe after […]
In: All, Common-Place Book, Speaking of Science
Philip Morrison, 1915–2005
Philip Morrison, physicist and public educator of science, died on 22 April 2005 at the age of 89. He was, among other things, Professor Emeritus at MIT. I've been thinking about this for a couple of weeks now — I wanted to say something, because Morrison topped my short list of scientists who understood how […]