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 […]
science
60 posts
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 […]
This has been an interesting year for the Nobel Prize. Recognizing contributions to the world in areas like chemistry, physics, biology, literature, and even peace, the prize is awarded once per year to up to two lucky individuals in a given field. This year, the prize in physics was awarded […]
Tomorrow night, NOVA will air the next in its series of science news magazines, “ScienceNOW”. The topics will be: the importance of sleep, and the Large Hadron Collider. I’d encourage everybody to watch this, especially those in physics and most especially those working on or near the LHC. Why? Well, […]
Since the big one, there have been few bangs as spectacular. In our frigid modern universe, two are still quite phenomenal. The first are gamma ray bursts, intense explosions that occur all the time and are largely believed to be the result of a massive rotating star experiencing a total […]
A friend of mine recently sent me a summary of a relevant portion of H.R. 2641, the FY2008 House Energy and Water Appropriations bill. In the more common tongue, this is the budget proposal from Congress for the Department of Energy, an agency that funds much of the U.S. basic […]
Tonight on “Humankind”, David Freudberg inteviewed Helen Thomas, the feisty and sharp White House reporter. At one point, expressing her frustration with the state of willingness of the American People, said that she wished that less math was being taught in school, in favor of more civics and history. This […]
For the past five months, my professional life has been a roller-coaster ride. My research is now a constant source of stress, as deadlines rapidly approach and MANY questions need to be answered. Adding to this is a broader concern about the future of my own field in this country. […]
I read somewhere recently (or heard somewhere recently?) that most scientists don’t have the scientific method posted anywhere on the walls of their office or lab. I was struck by that fact, until I stopped and said, “Hey, stupid – you don’t have it on your wall, either!”. This morning, […]
My good pal Mandeep sent me a lovely blog article from “Jim Burklo, minister at the Sausalito Presbyterian Church”:http://tcpc.blogs.com/musings/2005/08/beyond_the_fish.html. Jim talks about how intelligent design is a discredit to both science and religion. Well, Jim puts it best so let me just quote him: But [intelligent design] isn’t a “theory” […]
It’s sad. I know it was a busy day on the Hill, but every day is a busy day on the Hill. So when I read that “only three U.S. Senators from the Senate Commerce subcommittee on global climate change attended hearings where the new head of the National Academies […]