Let me just give a big shout out to our Texas-sized Governor, who just set back public impressions of the Texas science curriculum about 75 years. Oh, and also thanks to our highest-ranking public official for saying that Texas public schools are in violation of several supreme court rulings that […]
science
57 posts
Science is sometimes very helpful when trying to sort informed political candidates from uninformed ones; uninformed or misinformed candidates are likely to make bad decisions when it comes to crafting policy. America deserves the most qualified policy makers. Today, Gov. Rick Perry got some press for his statement on Climate […]
I was so busy this summer I forgot to shamelessly mention here that I was interviewed for a WFAA (DFW ABC affiliate) story on the importance of Helium to the nation, and the dangers of a shortage of Helium due to a lack of a national helium policy. Helium is […]
Just heard a great story on Car Talk. On the segment, “Stump the Chumps,” they revisited a caller who asked them the best way to get rid of a fly nest/hatch in his car [1]. The Car Talk guys had recommended a bug bomb. Well, after looking at all the […]
Ask and ye shall receive. As I got in the shower this morning, NPR ran an interview with NOAA meteorologist Martin Hoerling [1] [2]. The conversation was about the implications of “Snowpocalypse” vs. the current heat wave. He spoke exactly to the issue of mistaking weather for climate, and how […]
Snowpocalypse. We all remember the fun that popular media outlets like Fox News had with that one. The U.S. experienced a few weeks of anomalously cold temperatures and suddenly pundits and flapping heads were declaring the end of global warming. Yeah, that was fun. Good times. Where are the flapping […]
About a year ago, I made the following prediction [1] about European temperatures in the wake of the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland [2]: So I make a prediction, as a very amateur climate science armchair guy. I predict that Europe will experience unusually cold temperatures in the next year. […]
I hear a lot of interesting things when I play the “fly-on-the-wall scientist.” Most statements uttered casually between friends can be tested scientifically; at the very least, research has already been done and one only needs to dig a little to find out whether the statement is true. There are […]
This weekend, Jodi and I traveled to Wisconsin to celebrate the 3rd birthday of our twin nephews. Over a delicious bowl of guacamole, I engaged in a conversation with a couple who were friends with my sister-in-law (the mother of the twins). We quickly came to the recent Republican plan […]
In his collection of essays, Profiles of the Future, Arthur C. Clark famously penned three “laws of prediction.” The third of these is the most widely quoted, and simply states that “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” [1] While in Fry’s tonight, Jodi and I happened by some […]
I don’t have a lot of time to say too much – in fact, I’ve planned a rather informative look back on my seminar trip that I’ll write later – but I can say this: what an incredible month this has been. I have learned a terrific amount about over […]
I saw a USA Today article linked from Slashdot that reports on findings that Americans may not know enough science to make informed decisions [1]. When I clicked on that link, the USA Today article had embedded in it a link to a “true/false” question quiz about science, designed by […]