A number of my students in CFB/PHY 3333 [1] decided to write research papers about the hCG Diet. I was particularly interested in their papers because an acquaintance of mine told me last year that they had decided to try the diet. At the time, I did not know what […]
This was a good week for prime examples of propaganda and pseudoscience. Let’s get started. 49 Cherry-Picked Questionable Authorities Can’t Be Wrong There was some recent buzz about “49 authorities” who sent a letter [1] to NASA’s chief and asked the agency to stop promoting the idea of human-induced climate […]
While driving through the University Park neighborhood the other day, I saw the new Romney campaign sign on a lawn (see left). Seeing the sign for the first time made me realize that an old pet peeve of mine – lack of punctuation in signs – was still peeving me. […]
I’ve been sick all week. The moment I arrived in Michigan for the MCTP Second SPring Symposium on the Higgs Boson, I started getting a scratchy throat and running a fever. By the time I made it to my hotel and made the round trip the the nearby CVS for […]
American Airlines is planning to run an anti-vaccination message from the Australian Vaccination Network, AVN. AVN is a mis-leadingly named organization that promotes the discredited link between vaccines and autism, among other anti-scientific nonsense. They claim there is scientific debate about the dangers of vaccines (there is no such debate) […]
I doubt that this product contains no genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Humans have been breeding plants according to their useful functions – cold-weather resistance, nutrition, disease-resistance – for thousands of years. It was only when Gregor Mendel illuminated the laws of genetics that we learned how to control this in […]
The University of Michigan’s Marine Hydrodynamics Laboratory contains a “Physical Model Basin” for testing various ship designs. It can hold 750,000 gallons of water and its testing systems can supporting motion up to 22 ft/s.
After my American Airlines flight finally departed Dallas last Sunday (after a two-hour weather delay) we swooped around the path of a massive storm system. You can see here one of the anvil-shaped clouds forming out of the lower cloud layer.
A child infected with measles, a disease easily prevented with a simple vaccination. From http://www.flickr.com/photos/julien_harneis/4140374881/ Please find below the letter I just sent to American Airlines pertaining to the claim by the Australian Vaccination Network (AVN) press release claiming that AA will give them a platform for their anti-vaccination message. […]
Preface: Many thanks to Profs. John Cotton, Randy Scalise, Ron Wetherington, and John Wise for their tireless efforts to promote science. Their perspectives on the scientific method, and the issues I outline below, have been a tremendous influence on my thinking and writing about this subject. I also thank Profs. […]
19:08: Conclusion of screening and talk. 19:07: ignoring the teaching of evolution is typical; it avoids the clashes with parents. 19:04: Q: Are there statistics on the teachers and their views? A: No, that information is not easily accessible – it might be considered an invasion of privacy. Here is, […]
Jodi cleans mint from the garden in preparation for making a fresh batch of limeade. Freshly colored eggs. The backyard. A drain near the green belt. Wild flowers near the green belt.