Three pin pricks from a vaccination injection before you become sexually active, or the risk of contracting a cancer that will require drugs, radiation, or surgery to control? What would you choose, for yourself or your child? The FUD over the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine has been high, so […]
science
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I saw an article from National Geographic entitled “How much do you really know about science?” The article contains a quiz to test your science knowledge. However, the author of this article makes a typically fatal mistake: mistaking facts about the natural world obtained through the scientific process with the […]
People talk about getting cancer like they talk about winning the state lottery. Winning the state lottery is, by design, an extremely improbable event. Unlike the state lottery, most of us stand a fair chance of getting cancer at least one time in our lives. And unlike for winners of […]
Author’s Note (2013/12/6): A commenter noted I was off by 10 in my extremely conservative upper limit on the mass of zinc present in a lozenge. However, that estimate was so conservative as to be ludicrous – it’s not based on homeopathy, which Zicam claims to use to prepare their […]
Since January, I have been embarked on a data-driven lifestyle. What does this mean? It means that I have been meticulously tracking my levels of activity during the day using a Fitbit device [1]. I have been keeping careful track of my eating habits using Loseit [2]. I have also […]
Finding Parallel Worlds In the series “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” a well-crafted transporter modification is capable of hurling the crew of the station into a “mirror universe.” Everyone who exists in the known universe also exists in the mirror universe, but there they are not the same people. Major […]
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 […]
The following are statements from Presidential Candidate Rick Santorum, juxtaposed with images of the scientific evidence. See how long you can keep your brain from hemorrhaging. These statements were made at the Colorado Energy Summit on Monday, Feb. 6. “We were put on this Earth as creatures of God to have […]
[Author’s Note: After writing and posting this, the Broncos went on to face the New England Patriots in their final playoff game (the 18th of the Broncos’ season). The Broncos lost SPECTACULARLY, 10-45. This makes their record of wins/losses now to be 9/9, exactly 50% . . . the coin […]
Me and a lot of my friends and family members are doing a lot of traveling during these holidays. A lot of us bring electronics with us to entertain during the tedious flights. As a scientist, I want to make the lives of flight attendants easier by being well-behaved, but […]
Fresh from the Texas Freedom Network (TFN), here are their favorite anti-science quotes of the year: http://tfninsider.org/2011/12/26/2011-in-quotes-the-war-on-science/. By “favorite,” I of course mean the quotes that probably ensaddened the staff at TFN. TFN ” . . . is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization of more than 50,000 religious and community leaders. […]