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The Return Of Karl Popper: Is Social Science Really Different Than Natural Science?

Social Scientist have contended for much of the last century that we cannot approach the study...

Earthquake Rocks the World Off Axis

The recent earthquake in Chile was so big, it altered the earths rotation.  So if you notice...

PMC-BioPhysics: A New Open Access Journal

“I am very pleased to be working with PhysMath Central as I believe open access is the future...

No Ontology without Epistemology: Of God and Mathematicians

On the Big Ideas Blog there is a post about the different types of reasoning, Analytic vs. Synthetic...

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Nicholas HortonRSS Feed of this column.

I'm a graduate student in mathematics at Portland State University. My areas of study are Quantum Game theory and Mathematical Biology with a focus in Evolution. Outside of Math, my science interests... Read More »

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Did Jared Diamond Lie?

Did Jared Diamond Lie?

Jul 24 2009 | comment(s)

Two New Guinea men, Henep Isum Mandingo and Hup Daniel Wemp, have filed a $10 million defamation  suit against the New Yorker and Jared Diamond for a story the New Yorker printed called “Annals of Anthropology: Vengeance Is Ours: What can tribal societies tell us about our need to get even?“, that recounts a series of revenge killings committed by Wemp:
Altruism Is The Best Defense

Altruism Is The Best Defense

Jul 01 2009 | comment(s)

This is a review of a recent article, cooperation in Defense against a predator,  in the Journal of Theoretical Biology by Jozsef Garay of the Research Group of Theoretical Biology and Ecology of Hungarian Academy of Sciences.  Here’s the abstract:

The origin and the evolutionary stability of cooperation between unrelated indivi

Cancer Research, Grants, and the Topology of Funding

Cancer Research, Grants, and the Topology of Funding

Jun 30 2009 | comment(s)


John Hawks reviews an article in the NY times, by Gina Kolata, on Grants for Cancer Research.  Here’s an excerpt from the original article:

Yet the fight against cancer is going slower than most had hoped, with only small changes in the death rate in the almost 40 years since it began.

One major impediment, scientists agree, is the grant system itself. It has become a sort of jobs program, a way to keep research laboratories going year after year with the understanding that the focus will be on small projects unlikely to take significant steps
toward curing cancer.

66th Four Stone Hearth: Anthropological Party Time!

66th Four Stone Hearth: Anthropological Party Time!

May 08 2009 | comment(s)


The 66th Four Stone Hearth, a fortnightly collection of anthropology blogging is being hosted over at Aardvarcheology.  including a monster of a study on African population genetics.

Excerpt:

The scientists’ first step was to collect DNA from a diverse set of
Africans. Africa is the most culturally and linguistically diverse
place on Earth, so it was important to take a wide sample of
individuals from all corners of the continent. In total, they collected

Swine Flu Psychology

Swine Flu Psychology

Apr 30 2009 | comment(s)

Stanford Psychologist, Marcel Selathe, is looking for volunteers for a study on the way people are responding to the spread of Swine Flu.

As you have heard in the news, there has been an outbreak of swine flu in Mexico and the United States. There is a possibility that this situation might develop into a pandemic if the virus continues to spread around the globe. The news media report excessively about this threat, and while health officials urge people to stay calm, there is an increased level of anxiety in the population.
My response is to eat more bacon.
Oak Toe ... Pretty or Ugly?

Oak Toe ... Pretty or Ugly?

Apr 27 2009 | comment(s)

I can't decide if this image from the Panda's Thumb is pretty or creepy looking?