Science & Society

A prediction based on common sense and recent history. In light of Japan's struggle with the Fukushima "nuclear disaster" (Which was triggered by a enormous earthquake and tsunami) Germany has…

Most of us seek out like-minded individuals who will reinforce our worldview. As I remind my students, we hold no beliefs we think are incorrect. After all, if we thought we were wrong, we wouldn't…

Henry Ford - Quote: "History Is Bunk" It isn't an urban myth: Henry Ford really did say: "History is bunk." It is somewhat ironic that Henry Ford's words - "history is bunk" - are now a part of the…

In defiance of recent efforts to institute mandatory health insurance in the U.S., even for otherwise healthy people, studies using similar current government programs like Medicare show that while…

Press conferneces-- are they relevant anymore?  Long a staple of science news, the idea of a massive real-world press conference, with news embargoed until the big event, is a heavily criticized…

The National Science Foundation is under some mainstream criticism due to budget and waste concerns highlighted by Senate watchdog Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Oklahoma (see Shrimp On A Treadmill - The NSF…

In a report sure to send left-wing science blogging into a tizzy, an analysis by Sen. Tom Coburn, M.D., Republican from Oklahoma (naturally, because Republicans hate science if they object to obscure…

Constitutional Football I'm not particularly interested in football - aka soccer.  Nor am I at all interested in what footballers get up to on or off the pitch.  However, I am greatly…

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists doesn't like births outside expensive hospitals and recently issued a statement disapproving of the practice.   Regardless,  mothers…

In the movies, aliens and evil empires want to kill us.  Despite their advanced technology, they end up landing ground troops to do so.  Worse, the forces of evil-- alien or human-- tend to…