Should this be a necessary characteristic of a president?

If so, I suspect that none of the major candidates, of either party, would qualify (though perhaps Ron Paul might, being an MD). Hillary!, Obama and Edwards are all lawyers. So are Giuliani and Thompson, and Romney has a JD and an MBA (though McCain might have picked up math and science at Annapolis). Why would they know much about science? And historically, while there have been exceptions, not that many people come to politics at all, let alone the presidency, via science.

There’s a lot more to scientific literacy than understanding (and agreeing with) evolution, and being in favor of embryonic stem cell research. In fact, I don’t think that Al Gore is scientifically literate (in the way I understand that phrase–a good understanding of basic scientific principles, and able to both perform and recognize good analysis, including the math, as well as a facility with logic).

Well, at least Sophie gets it right. If she’s his wife, she married an idiot. Or at least an ignoramus.

[Update while later]

Perhaps it’s not so surprising:

Well of course that’s what they’d say. Aren’t the French told from birth that the entire Universe revolves around them?

I wonder how Americans would do? Sadly, probably not much better.

Don’t tell them that they are.

I think that it’s going to be tough to estimate the huge damage to society that the “self esteem” movement has caused.

[Via Geek Press]

Canadian beer drinkers threaten the planet.

Mark Steyn’s shirt buttons (presumably the lower ones) are bursting with pride.

Apparently, I’m not doing enough of this:

“It was hard to believe at first,” said Marc Hamilton, associate professor of biomedical sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia and leader of the research team. He said the team didn’t expect to find a strong signal when they began researching what happens to fat when we remain seated. But the effect, both in laboratory animals and humans, turned out to be huge.

The solution, Hamilton said, is to stand up and “putter.”

Hey, but isn’t sex good, too?

Seriously, when I was at Rockwell (a decade and a half ago) I used to do a lot of MBWA (management by walking around). It was a big plant. These days, working from home, not so much. I’ve added an inch or two to my waist. I do stand a lot, schmoozing in the hallways, when I go to a conference, every couple months, but I also notice that it kills my back. I can walk for hours, but standing is miserable, at least at the end of the day.

What to do…?

Apparently, I’m not doing enough of this:

“It was hard to believe at first,” said Marc Hamilton, associate professor of biomedical sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia and leader of the research team. He said the team didn’t expect to find a strong signal when they began researching what happens to fat when we remain seated. But the effect, both in laboratory animals and humans, turned out to be huge.

The solution, Hamilton said, is to stand up and “putter.”

Hey, but isn’t sex good, too?

Seriously, when I was at Rockwell (a decade and a half ago) I used to do a lot of MBWA (management by walking around). It was a big plant. These days, working from home, not so much. I’ve added an inch or two to my waist. I do stand a lot, schmoozing in the hallways, when I go to a conference, every couple months, but I also notice that it kills my back. I can walk for hours, but standing is miserable, at least at the end of the day.

What to do…?

Apparently, I’m not doing enough of this:

“It was hard to believe at first,” said Marc Hamilton, associate professor of biomedical sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia and leader of the research team. He said the team didn’t expect to find a strong signal when they began researching what happens to fat when we remain seated. But the effect, both in laboratory animals and humans, turned out to be huge.

The solution, Hamilton said, is to stand up and “putter.”

Hey, but isn’t sex good, too?

Seriously, when I was at Rockwell (a decade and a half ago) I used to do a lot of MBWA (management by walking around). It was a big plant. These days, working from home, not so much. I’ve added an inch or two to my waist. I do stand a lot, schmoozing in the hallways, when I go to a conference, every couple months, but I also notice that it kills my back. I can walk for hours, but standing is miserable, at least at the end of the day.

What to do…?

Randall Parker says eat more salmon (and nuts and eggs), and less bread. That’s not news, but there’s more confirming data for it, and too many people are still fataphobic, and don’t understand the dangers of high-glycemic carbs.

Oh, and if you’re a guy, try to have a high testosterone level, though it’s less clear how to do that dietarily…

As I wondered in comments over there, does this mean that one can get the benefit by artificially raising testosterone levels, or is the high level just a marker for something else that’s the actual cause?

John Tierney takes on Leon Kass.

Hey, if Kass wants to call me a “Scientist,” I’m OK with that. I’ll always take rationality over mysticism.

John Tierney takes on Leon Kass.

Hey, if Kass wants to call me a “Scientist,” I’m OK with that. I’ll always take rationality over mysticism.