Science & Society

Citizen Science Family Leads To Discovery Of A Lost Bug

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in citizen science was certainly not on the minds of 6-year-old Alyson Yates and her mom, Kate, when they stepped out into their back yard one day to scout for ladybugs. ...

Article - Matthew T. Dearing - Sep 8 2009 - 9:55am

District 9: Private World Government and Our Future

The 2009 movie District 9 is a metaphor for what might be an evolved version of the world federalist government we have today.  Some time before the 1990s, conflicts were mainly fought between nationalized groups.  However the private province of war has t ...

Blog Post - Eric Bock Hyde - Sep 14 2009 - 11:38pm

Science!= Hard?

I ran into an interesting linguistic stumbling block.  I'll call it the "It's science, so it must be hard" frame of mind.  I wrote to some friends and family about this project, saying: I'm launching a satellite for fun, to make mu ...

Article - Project Calliope - Sep 8 2009 - 3:01pm

Ideas And Ideologies

There is little doubt that, in modern times, scientific knowledge is at a peak from any other period in human history.   However, there are also other factors that need to be considered.  50.3% of Americans believe in angels while 49.7 % believe in aliens. ...

Article - Gerhard Adam - Sep 8 2009 - 7:09pm

Would You Let A Trainee Operate On You If It Could Be Done Quicker? Apparently, Yes

One of the biggest concerns about president Obama's government health insurance plan is that both quality and waiting lists will suffer in return for broader access.    It turns out patients in the UK, where they already have government-run health car ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 9 2009 - 10:35am

There's Little Science-Based Evidence In The Health Care Debate Because There's Little In Health Care

In case you haven't heard, there's a debate about health care reform going on- today we find out that a campaign promise, no fines if you choose not to use government health care, is off the table if you are middle class.   That's only going ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Sep 14 2009 - 7:41pm

The Science Of Scotch

If I could do it all over again, I would forget genomics and specialize in the chemistry of Scotch. You may scoff, dear reader, but there are employment opportunities out there (not to mention alcoholic fringe benefits), such as the Scotch Whisky Research ...

Article - Michael White - Sep 9 2009 - 9:03pm

Funding Success

I'm in that awkward lull between proposals and actual cash in hand.  I call it freelancer hell.  But since I'm thinking about money, time for a look at how to fund success. My own success record for funded projects is 100%.  When people pay me (a ...

Blog Post - Alex "Sandy" Antunes - Sep 11 2009 - 12:29pm

Technological Optimism- Robotic Cars

What is it about technology that makes people so optimistic?  Despite the claims of technological progress it seems that no one considers technological transitions and the impact of failures.  Instead the future is a rosy hue of nothing but perfection. A r ...

Blog Post - Gerhard Adam - Sep 11 2009 - 3:55pm

Sunday Science Book Club Revival

The monthly book club here at Adaptive Complexity has been on hiatus for the summer, and its revival is long overdue. Join me here on the second Sunday of each month to discuss a great (hopefully) science read. I don't limit my book reviews to Sundays ...

Article - Michael White - Sep 13 2009 - 10:53am