Understanding the Voynich Manuscript #1 Tom, Dick and Harry explain a statistical method. The mysterious Voynich Manuscript. A simple analysis of a sufficiently large text can reveal much about the topic of that text, if the language is known. If the text, as in the case of the Voynich Manuscript, is written in an unknown script, then the same simple analytical method can point the way to the underlying language, or language group.
Understanding Climate : #3 - Tilting At SeasonsThe tilt of the earth's axis gives us our seasons.But not in an obvious way.Understanding climate science requires a cross-disciplinary approach. This is the second part of the mainly astronomical section. In part 2, I introduced the idea of, in a manner of speaking, building a model of our earth-moon-sun system. Here I continue with a discussion of seasons and their primary astronomical causes.
The Fallacy Of The AverageA fallacy is a pattern of logical reasoning which appears on its surface to be a pattern of sound reasoning. The fallacy of the average is based on the false notion that the effect of a thing averaged out on a large scale is equivalent to an effect of the same thing on a small scale.A drop of rain falling anywhere in the Pacific is self-evidently insignificant as a matter of scale.But what if that single drop of rain falls into the mains supply circuit of a radio?
Understanding Climate : #2 - Earth Air Water FireClimate science is a cross-disciplinary study. I have listed some of the disciplines in Understanding Climate : #1 - Components Of Climate and have hinted at others in Mother Earth Cycles To Work. In this article I shall introduce some astronomical scale inputs to our global climate system. I shall be developing the ideas in what I hope will be easily digested chunks. This is the first chunk of the astronomy section.
Understanding Climate : #1 - Components Of ClimateThe difference between weather and climateWeather is what you see every day: whatever the sky is doing, that is your local weather. Sun, rain, hail, snow, thunder and lightning - all these are weather. Fluffy white clouds, thunderheads, tornados, hurricanes - all are weather.Wherever you live in the world you can pretty much guess what sort of weather you will get season by season and what weather you won't get. The range of your local weather throughout the year doesn't change much from year to year. If you live in one region, snow may be common - in another region snow may be unheard of.
The Real Scuttlebutt On Sailing SlangThere are plenty of sites around the web which will give you the origins and meanings of nautical slang. Mostly the wrong ones. Etymology is a science: you can't just make stuff up.What's the scuttlebutt?
What Is Science?Some time ago I was visiting a college in Pakistan. I thought I was just there as an observer. My mistake. I was introduced to a physics class with final words that filled my soul with dread: " ... from England who is going to give a talk on the topic What is science? ".Now, when you are put on the spot like that, what do you do? Well - it's science, so you can't just make stuff up. You have to tell it like it is. Fortunately, my bottom line for what constitutes science is all a matter of questions and answers. Purely from memory, here is my little talk.What is science?
Don't Say CheeseFollowing a thorough scientific assessment of the risks involved in an experiment in the effects of gravity on round cheeses, a 200 year long experiment has been brought to a premature close.Said a spokesmouthpiece for Tewkesbury Borough Council:"We did some sums on the back of an envelope and it looks like all those cheeses rolling down the hill are creating a local gravitational anomaly. It's sucking in people from the other side of the world."The council claims that the following picture in their press release shows architectural distortions due to local gravitational anomalies.
Mother Earth Cycles To WorkAnthropogenic global warming.AGWHuman-caused warming.Call it what you will: is it real?In short: can humans modify Earth's climate?There are two major views on this question:1 - human emissions of CO2 cause global warming.2 - global warming is part of a natural cycle.I suggest that neither view is sufficiently correct because the underlying suppositions and simplifications are false.The Earth's dynamic systems are many. They are complex in and of themselves. They do not act in isolation, but interact amongst themselves.Accordingly, one might ask:
The Place Where Forever EndsThe idea of living forever has held great fascination for many great minds, but just like the pursuit of a perpetual motion machine it is an impossible dream, and for the same reasons.Image source: Wikemedia, public domain.Here are some basic logical requirements of living forever. In order to live forever one must first be alive.
Climate Crook : Scam! Scam! Scam!Followers of my blog will no doubt guess that this article is about Godfrey Bloom - he of the famous quote:"There appears to be a woeful lack of candour and commonsense in modern day politicians."I have already written something of his own Woeful Lack Of Candour.This is a follow-up.
A Classic Waste Of BreathAn argument that a thing is natural, therefore not a cause of concern, is used greatly in modern times, most especially in connection with the arguments over whether or not we puny humans can interfere with natural environmental cycles. Such arguments can look good on the face of things.The naturalistic argument goes back at least to Ancient Greece. In the art of misleading an audience with a seemingly open-and-shut case it really is a classic.
Godfrey Bloom Demands Re-evaluation Of IPCC Re-evaluationGodfrey Bloom MEP bemoans the fact that: "There appears to be a woeful lack of candour and commonsense in modern day politicians."
