Science & Society

How the history of science is like a fantasy novel

Not long ago, I read J.R.R. Tolkien's mythopoeia masterpiece, The Silmarillion (his creation myth for the world of The Lord of the Rings). Upon finishing it, I immediately picked up Sparks of Life, a history of the spontaneous generation debates. As I ...

Blog Post - Adam Retchless - Apr 4 2010 - 8:57am

South Dakota Exempted From Laws Of Science

South Dakota Exempted From Laws of Science The South Dakota Legislature thinks that scientific laws are made up by people to suit agendas. Accordingly, they have invented some agendist stuff to make a political declaration that climate change is a myth.  ...

Article - Patrick Lockerby - Apr 5 2010 - 1:05am

50 Excellent Science Blogs Anyone Can Appreciate

Any time a 'best science sites' list is created by someone outside the usual self-congratulatory, self-indulgent clique it's worth taking a look, namely because in this instance I found 5 terrific sites I had never heard of before.  I won� ...

Blog Post - Hank Campbell - Apr 7 2010 - 1:39am

USA and Russia START Again, But is a New Nuclear Treaty Worth Anything?

The United States and Russia are scheduled to sign a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) this Thursday in Prague. The previous treaty expired on 5 December 2009, making the absence of any treaty potentially more dangerous than signing one designed ...

Blog Post - Richard Mankiewicz - Apr 7 2010 - 8:54am

Bias is bad for science

The New York Times recently published an article about bias against women and minorities in science fields (and schooling). I’ve written about this before, in my regular blog, and that was about a study from 2004. We’re not getting much better at this — o ...

Blog Post - Barry Leiba - Apr 8 2010 - 2:02pm

When Science Finally Catches Up To ESPN

(I recently discovered this series of entries about fixing science journalism, begun in February.  Because I just joined up, I wasn't able to add my two cents.  So I thought I'd add it now, since, hey, who couldn't use two cents?  My apolog ...

Article - David Sloan - Apr 9 2010 - 9:47am

A nice profile of a local researcher

Decisive Advantage by Chris Potter in the Pittsburgh City Paper. If I had a kid who might want to go into research for a living, I'd want them to read this story. It gives some insight into what is actually involved in doing research, even though it ...

Blog Post - Adam Retchless - Apr 10 2010 - 9:21am

Join A Godless Hive of Drink Soaked Liberal Empiricists

If you live in London, then you could do worse than join a Westminster Skeptics night out getting paralytic about science. Westminster Skeptics promote an evidence-based approach and critical thinking in the areas of policy, media, and legal reform. They h ...

Blog Post - Richard Mankiewicz - Apr 10 2010 - 11:14am

63 Years Old Solo Balloonist Reaches North Pole

63 Years Old Solo Balloonist Reaches North Pole Jean-Louis Etienne has made the first solo balloon voyage to the North Pole, traveling 3,130 kilometers- 1,945 miles- in five days from Norway to the tundra of eastern Siberia. Jean-Louis Etienne has always ...

Article - Patrick Lockerby - Apr 11 2010 - 5:26am

The World Needs to Embrace Science

One of my top 5 favorite TED talks from TED 2010, Michael Specter speaks about how society needs to embrace science. We shouldn't place more importance on ideology than scientific data, on politics over common sense. When we fight scientific progress ...

Blog Post - Andrea Kuszewski - Apr 12 2010 - 5:37pm