Though it’s from last fall, since the Oscars are coming up and it’s likely to win some, I’ll let Chad Orzel explain.
Category Archives: Science And Society
Craig Venter
…is trying to decode death. Though, in reading, it’s more complicated than the headline. I heard him speak at a space conference a few years ago, interesting guy. And I’m fascinated by the hostility from his fellow scientists.
Historical Physics
Why do we spend so much time teaching it?
To me, understanding how we developed the knowledge is key to understanding the science itself.
Cancer
…as a metabolic disease. A long but interesting essay.
At least the community is starting to wake up to the hazards of sugar. I’ve seen a proposal to make food stamps ineligible for items containing it. Makes sense to me. It could help a lot with the obesity epidemic.
[Update a few minutes later]
Related thoughts from Glenn Reynolds.
[Update a few more minutes later]
Health authorities continue to fail us:
Considering the above, no one in their right mind would take any kind of dietary advice provided by the authorities at face value. It’s little wonder then that so many are taking matters into their own hands. Thirty years ago, if the USDA, AHA, or AMA told you something was bad for you, you stopped eating it. You didn’t question, because they were the ones with credibility and years of study. It was simply too much trouble for the average person to find the information they needed. Thankfully with the internet, all of the information needed is now available to anyone who wants it. We no longer have to put blind trust in authority figures because we can sift through the information ourselves and ask the right questions. If anything, the glut of information shows that the public’s trust in nutrition advice given by the authorities and media was sorely misplaced.
Same thing with climate, for the same reasons: there’s a lot of public policy, and money, at stake.
The Father Of Cryonics
…never really died. A brief bio of Bob Ettinger.
Of course, it’s worth noting that cryonicists do believe that patients in suspension aren’t dead. That only occurs after information death (as occurs rotting in a grave, or being cremated).
Climate Models
…are flawed. That’s putting it mildly:
Professor Curry said: “It’s not just the fact that climate simulations are tuned that is problematic. It may well be that it is impossible to make long-term predictions about the climate – it’s a chaotic system after all. If that’s the case, then we are probably trying to redesign the global economy for nothing”.
I’ve been saying that’s likely the case for years. I’ll look forward to reading her paper.
Light Blogging
Working on a new venture, an op-ed about the hypocrisy of the NASA safety culture, renovating the house, and a long essay on the potential for private robotic planetary exploration.
Perverse Incentives In Academia
This is sort of a disaster, particularly in the context of the student-loan mess.
Here's the horrifying key table from the paper Siddhartha Roy co-authored on perverse incentives in academia. #AAASmtg pic.twitter.com/sdrUlPmXs7
— Mike 48% Tⓐylor (@MikeTaylor) February 18, 2017
Wooly Mammoth
Is it on the verge of resurrection? That would be pretty cool. I wonder if they’d be as smart as elephants?
Winston Churchill And ET
A recently discovered document with his speculations about extraterrestrial life.