A skeptical, replete take on gender-equity in science
May. 9th, 2008 | 04:31 pm
Why Can’t a Woman Be More Like a Man?
from the unabashedly conservative American magazine.
My view: Do as much as affordable to encourage retention of female scientists (e.g., blind tenure reviews, childcare services) but do not discourage male scientists (e.g., quotas). Trying to apply Title IX is all wrong.
from the unabashedly conservative American magazine.
My view: Do as much as affordable to encourage retention of female scientists (e.g., blind tenure reviews, childcare services) but do not discourage male scientists (e.g., quotas). Trying to apply Title IX is all wrong.
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Rationalization
May. 8th, 2008 | 04:19 pm
Is it any wonder a theistic apologist's twin intellectual pillars are wishful thinking and a poor understanding of natural law?
The article reports that Zacharias converted to Christianity after a suicide attempt at age 17. I wonder if there is a psychoneurological make-up (for example) that demands a Great Cosmic Silverback to make everything alright, and whether he was born with it.
The article reports that Zacharias converted to Christianity after a suicide attempt at age 17. I wonder if there is a psychoneurological make-up (for example) that demands a Great Cosmic Silverback to make everything alright, and whether he was born with it.
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Climate change exchange at Skeptic
May. 7th, 2008 | 08:22 pm
Patrick Frank argues that climate forecasts are unreliable because the different models don't agree with each other, taken together are not better than a simple linear forcing model, and not all the parameter uncertainties are propagated through.
Tapio Schneider counters that despite these limitations (mostly having to do with cloud formation), the underlying physics is well-understood and all the models agree that the warming is anthropogenic.
(As I posted earlier, people are looking into forecasting errors.)
My view: anthropogenic climate change is by far the best theory we have. Climate models are not as predictive as we like, but that is being improved upon. We will see how right they are, but if they are, inaction will be devastating to 3rd world agricultural populations.
Tapio Schneider counters that despite these limitations (mostly having to do with cloud formation), the underlying physics is well-understood and all the models agree that the warming is anthropogenic.
(As I posted earlier, people are looking into forecasting errors.)
My view: anthropogenic climate change is by far the best theory we have. Climate models are not as predictive as we like, but that is being improved upon. We will see how right they are, but if they are, inaction will be devastating to 3rd world agricultural populations.
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Daniel Dennett explains how testimony can be crap
Apr. 30th, 2008 | 05:21 am
A follow-up to my previous embedding on cognitive bias:
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Climate change buffoonery
Apr. 24th, 2008 | 02:35 pm
You might disagree with the IPCC. You might consider climate change to be a disaster for individual rights and technological progress. But please, please, don't make stupid arguments, like:
* Rehashing contrarian theories which have been already refuted (an incomplete list: solar variation, sunspots, cosmic rays, natural cycling, CO2 lagging temperature, miscalibration of surface weather stations, volcanic output and galactic motion).
* Ad hominem attacks, e.g. how climate scientists are feeding at the gov't trough and are collectivists trying to ruin your life. This can be applied just as easily to climate change contrarians, most of whom get their funding from oil and auto companies. A conjecture can refuted on the evidence, or not, irrespective of who is proffering it.
* How climate change is "merely" a theory, and so needn't be believed. The consensus hypothesis is a theory like evolution, quantum mechanics and special relativity are theories. Scientific knowledge is always provisional, but the assumption of science is that if a theory survives many attempts at falsification, it's probably close to the truth.
If somebody has a genuine criticism of the consensus hypothesis that passes the laugh test, I'd like to know about it. I have a minor concern that climate models are sensitive to uncertainties in initial parameters and force couplings, though people have looked at this.
* Rehashing contrarian theories which have been already refuted (an incomplete list: solar variation, sunspots, cosmic rays, natural cycling, CO2 lagging temperature, miscalibration of surface weather stations, volcanic output and galactic motion).
* Ad hominem attacks, e.g. how climate scientists are feeding at the gov't trough and are collectivists trying to ruin your life. This can be applied just as easily to climate change contrarians, most of whom get their funding from oil and auto companies. A conjecture can refuted on the evidence, or not, irrespective of who is proffering it.
* How climate change is "merely" a theory, and so needn't be believed. The consensus hypothesis is a theory like evolution, quantum mechanics and special relativity are theories. Scientific knowledge is always provisional, but the assumption of science is that if a theory survives many attempts at falsification, it's probably close to the truth.
If somebody has a genuine criticism of the consensus hypothesis that passes the laugh test, I'd like to know about it. I have a minor concern that climate models are sensitive to uncertainties in initial parameters and force couplings, though people have looked at this.
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If wishes were horses ....
Apr. 19th, 2008 | 09:31 pm
music: Bobina feat. Elles de Graaf - Lighthouse
Michael Shermer gives examples and demos of cognitive bias, with an ending that warms the cockles of my physics-y heart --
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The best TV ain't on TV
Apr. 17th, 2008 | 11:12 pm
Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss discuss the public education of science.
And via the same blog, more about the relationship between money and happiness.
And via the same blog, more about the relationship between money and happiness.
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... the wind's song and the white sail's shaking ...
Feb. 6th, 2008 | 09:28 pm
A great article at Physics Today, The physics of sailing. Teaser:
(Entry title from "Sea Fever" by John Masefield.)
"Sails and keels, like airplane wings, exploit Bernoulli's principle. Aerodynamic and hydrodynamic insights help designers create faster sailboats."
(Entry title from "Sea Fever" by John Masefield.)
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Speaking of new eyes ...
Jan. 14th, 2008 | 10:29 pm
How to find a mate: The scent of a woman (and a man)
A new kind of dating agency relies on matching people by their body odour
--
Redefining Genes
Will new revelations about RNA force us to rethink how our past affects future evolution?
A new kind of dating agency relies on matching people by their body odour
--
Redefining Genes
Will new revelations about RNA force us to rethink how our past affects future evolution?
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Report: TED continues to rock
Dec. 25th, 2007 | 02:33 pm
TED website
I prefer to watch the talks on YouTube, here.
If only TV were this good; if only these YouTube vids had more than 1% the views of the usual YouTube crap.
I prefer to watch the talks on YouTube, here.
If only TV were this good; if only these YouTube vids had more than 1% the views of the usual YouTube crap.
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Should government get out of the science game?
Dec. 12th, 2007 | 06:06 pm
Terence Kealey, a well-regarded bio-chemist, argues that basic science is not a public good, because it takes just as much effort to copy the marketable innovations as to develop them yourself. In other words, it's always a joint enterprise.
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
BREAKING NEWS: The Science and Technology Facilities Council of UK has pulled out of the future International Linear Collider, Gemini telescopes, and other pure science projects to deliver "increased economic impact." (Links: press release, Telegraph story)
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Jellyfish sleep?!
Oct. 24th, 2007 | 08:36 pm
Do box jellyfish sleep at night?
My mind is blown, and I'm impressed that someone even attempted to tag dangerous jellies.
My mind is blown, and I'm impressed that someone even attempted to tag dangerous jellies.
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More sobering truth from The Onion
Sep. 30th, 2007 | 09:49 pm
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Fetal testosterone and autism
Sep. 24th, 2007 | 08:16 pm
Testosterone in the womb linked to autism
Researchers in Britain say children exposed to high levels of testosterone in the womb show more autism-related traits when they are older.
[...]
Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, director of the Autism Research Centre at the university, who worked on the study says although the findings of the research show promise they did not show a direct link between autism and testosterone and he suggests other factors could also be involved.
[...]
Baron-Cohen says the next step is to collaborate with Danish researchers to tap a biological bank that has about 90,000 amniotic fluid samples to test whether there is a direct link between fetal testosterone and autism.
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Vertebral Limit
Aug. 2nd, 2007 | 06:48 pm
music: Nirvana - Oh Me
Prime Vertebrae: PZ Myers discusses the critical difference between having six or seven cervical vertebrae.
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TED Talks
Jul. 3rd, 2007 | 03:51 pm
The End of Poverty
An interesting look at the metrics of welfare, productivity, and carbon output -- shows the positive power (and climate risk) of globalization.
(WARNING: the talk goes completely off the rails at 17:30.)
***
Journey to the Center of the Earth ... and Beyond
An inspiring talk on the innovations required to open the gates to the space frontier and to finding alien life -- in our lifetimes.
An interesting look at the metrics of welfare, productivity, and carbon output -- shows the positive power (and climate risk) of globalization.
(WARNING: the talk goes completely off the rails at 17:30.)
***
Journey to the Center of the Earth ... and Beyond
An inspiring talk on the innovations required to open the gates to the space frontier and to finding alien life -- in our lifetimes.
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More proof: experimentalists can do anything
Mar. 15th, 2007 | 06:51 pm
music: Dream Theater - Finally Free
Asteroid scientists have measured how, when a lumpy asteroid is heated by the sun, the resulting thermal radiation can affect its angular momentum. Badass measurement described here.
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More on the origins of religiosity
Mar. 4th, 2007 | 05:27 pm
"Darwin's God" in the New York Times magazine.
I found it illuminating, between adaptations and spandrels, individual and group fitness; it's somewhat more detailed than the previous article I posted. However, I found the penultimate paragraph a little piquing:
Indeed, this makes a poetic closure to the article, as the introduction discusses Atran's juvenile desperation on the existence of a god. However, I was a born atheist -- rationalism has always come naturally to me, and most of the atheists I know are the same way. Perhaps that's worth study as well.
I found it illuminating, between adaptations and spandrels, individual and group fitness; it's somewhat more detailed than the previous article I posted. However, I found the penultimate paragraph a little piquing:
What can be made of atheists, then? If the evolutionary view of religion is true, they have to work hard at being atheists, to resist slipping into intrinsic habits of mind that make it easier to believe than not to believe. Atran says he faces an emotional and intellectual struggle to live without God in a nonatheist world, and he suspects that is where his little superstitions come from, his passing thought about crossing his fingers during turbulence or knocking on wood just in case. It is like an atavistic theism erupting when his guard is down. The comforts and consolations of belief are alluring even to him, he says, and probably will become more so as he gets closer to the end of his life. He fights it because he is a scientist and holds the values of rationalism higher than the values of spiritualism.
Indeed, this makes a poetic closure to the article, as the introduction discusses Atran's juvenile desperation on the existence of a god. However, I was a born atheist -- rationalism has always come naturally to me, and most of the atheists I know are the same way. Perhaps that's worth study as well.
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Dear LJ genie: painting of JRA
Mar. 3rd, 2007 | 11:32 pm
Dear all,
I'm looking for a specific Renaissance portrait (possibly Italian?) of a young woman who appears to be suffering from juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. I think I saw it last on the cover of the Washington Post's weekly healthy supplement, many years ago.
Mind you, I'm not referring to Botticelli's Portrait of a Youth.
Thanks!
I'm looking for a specific Renaissance portrait (possibly Italian?) of a young woman who appears to be suffering from juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. I think I saw it last on the cover of the Washington Post's weekly healthy supplement, many years ago.
Mind you, I'm not referring to Botticelli's Portrait of a Youth.
Thanks!
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Scientific proof: women are heartless sheep
Jan. 17th, 2007 | 12:27 pm
music: DJ Encore - I See Right Through to You
From the abstract:
[...] Here we show that observing other women with smiling (i.e. positive) expressions looking at male faces increased women’s preferences for those men to a greater extent than did observing women with neutral (i.e. relatively negative) expressions looking at male faces. By contrast, the reverse was true for male participants (i.e. observing women with neutral expressions looking at male faces increased male participant’s preferences for those men to a greater extent than did observing women smiling at male faces). [...]