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.
UK Parliament Debates Climate Science ReportIf somebody is in favor of making our planet a better place to live, you can bet your life that somebody with a louder voice is against it. Demonstrating that, at least in political attitudes to science, there really is 'nothing new under the sun', I present highlights of a UK Parliament debate on the undesirability of pollution controls.-----------------
Cherry Picking At The Tree Of KnowledgeThe fruit of the cherry is easily spoiled: rough handling, bird pecks, insect bites, mold - all can render the cherry unappealing or inedible.The cherry picker is trained to pick only the best cherries: the ones that will appeal most to consumers.Fruit pickers, tree surgeons and others often use a hydraulic lift to reach into high work areas. These lifts can let the operator reach exactly the right spot - exactly the right cherry, in a manner of speaking.By extension, the machine is called a cherry-picker.By analogy, anyone who selects only the data that appeals to them and supports their personal view or theory is called a cherry picker.
Key To The Past, Key To The FutureThis article is a brief overview and history of geochronology.There are many things in nature that tend to grow in layers. Over the course of over 1,000 years, studies of layered objects have combined to show us that nature's laws of layering can be applied in a cross-disciplinary manner.
Naked Beauty On Paradise IslandDid you notice that I posted this article under 'geology'. That's because it's about geology. You know - rocks and fossils. This article is also about one of the last unspoiled regions on Earth - Antarctica. So sorry to disappoint.
Why Anchors Don't WorkFrom earliest times to today, from boat safety pamphlet to engineering treatise on marine architecture: all are agreed that the anchor does the work of keeping a boat or ship from moving.It doesn't. It can't.Machines can do work, but an anchor is not a machine.A vessel on any body of water is subjected to wind and water forces tending to move it. In order for it to remain in a well defined geographical area the vessel must in some way oppose those forces. The notion that any anchor, however designed, can somehow cancel those forces is false according to the laws of thermodynamics.
Glaciers, Drumlins and Ripple MoraineA drumlin is an elongated, streamlined, teardrop-shaped hill formed by glacial action. Its long axis is parallel with the presumed longitudinal flow of a former glacier, with the tail pointing away from the glacier foot. Drumlins often occur in clusters - drumlin fields - with their long axes in approximate alignment.
Climate Change Debate Ends In Global AccordI would so love to see that headline for real; wouldn't you?I can just imagine some of the big names on both sides of the debate coming together for a meeting in a Berlin beer cellar, perhaps the famous Kuhfurz Klimakeller. After a few beers, a heated debate and a modicum of fisticuffs they conclude their cordial get-together with a joint news release. The news release spells out the scientific points on which both sides are agreed. It is issued at 03:00 am local time. It is picked up rapidly by the British hapless haploid tabloids and misreported at 05:00 gmt to an eagerly awaiting world:
IPCC Seeks Independent Review Committee For 5th ReportThe IPCC has started work on the preparation of its Fifth Assessment Report (AR5). They are currently looking for experts who can act as authors: http://www.ipcc.ch/The IPCC is also seeking to establish an independent review committee:While embarking on the preparation of its Fifth Assessment Report it was the intention of the IPCC that an independent committee of distinguished experts evaluate means by which IPCC procedures must be implemented fully and that they should also examine any changes in procedure that may be required.
Glacier Sticks Out Tongue - Scientists Say Aaaah!Ice tongues are a fascinating area of study.They have much to teach us about the life cycles of glaciers.
Let's Start Using Our (Si) Brainsscientists have sequenced the human genome -- the blueprint for all of the proteins in biology -- but how can we understand what these proteins do and how they work?...
CRACICE Team's Cracked Ice Study Goes Crack!A team of scientists has been studying two cracks in an ice tongue to see if they would meet. During that study the tongue was rammed by a giant iceberg. The team studying the development of two major cracks in the Mertz Glacier Tongue has captured a sequence of satellite images showing how a giant iceberg, B-9B, rammed the tongue they were studying and broke it off.
Pitfalls Of Science JournalismHow do we fix it so that journalists can again be the 'trusted guides' they used to be?If you are going to write about science and want the public to trust what you are saying to them then you need to understand three simple facts. fact #1 Many scientists lack basic language skills
