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Understanding The Voynich Manuscript #4

Understanding The Voynich Manuscript #4 If not Latin, then what? Please see the links at...

Understanding the Voynich Manuscript #3

Understanding the Voynich Manuscript #3 Plants and the moon. For thousands of years, people...

Understanding the Voynich Manuscript #2

Understanding the Voynich Manuscript #2 An i for an i ? Not nymphs: women! There are...

Understanding The Voynich Manuscript #1

Understanding the Voynich Manuscript #1 Tom, Dick and Harry explain a statistical method. ...

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Patrick LockerbyRSS Feed of this column.

Retired engineer, 73 years young. Computer builder and programmer. Linguist specialising in language acquisition and computational linguistics. Interested in every human endeavour except the scrooge... Read More »

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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) Brains


scientists 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 Journalism

How 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
The Third Player Hypothesis


Ever since our first ancestor had enough brain cells to ponder something more than the flavor of roast dinosaur, we have pondered over the why of our world: the real causes of observed effects.

At one time it was thought that most ordinary events in our lives were caused for the amusement of gods.  Thor throws a hissy-fit and we poor mortals get zapped for no good reason.  Today, in the 21st century, we laugh at such nonsense.  But if we examine our own beliefs, are we all that different today?
Science Fun With A Hot Drink


Here is a most enjoyable physics experiment that anyone can do almost anywhere.

You will need:

1 hot drink,
1 comfortable chair,
1 table or desk.

You will not need:

1 thermometer.


Having made yourself a nice steaming hot drink, sit in the chair and put the cup on the table.
You may, if preferred, put the cup on the table and then sit down.  This will in no way affect the validity of the results.  However, if you sit on the table and put the chair on the cup you are likely to invalidate the entire experiment, so stop being so silly!