Irma
There’s no question that Irma is a big, big, big, big storm. It’s already caused a great deal of damage in the Caribbean, and it’s set to do more in Florida and elsewhere in the States. It seems to me … Continue reading →
Category Archives: Science
The PC purpose of the female breast
Here’s the latest PC war: A children’s publisher has bowed to pressure and pulped remaining copies of a puberty guide for boys that claimed girls have breasts for ‘feeding babies and looking grown-up and attractive’. Growing Up for Boys by … Continue reading →
Harvey and anthropogenic climate change
AGW is the gift that keeps on giving. Its supposed effects are protean enough that almost anything can be blamed on it. Both its adherents and its critics are often tremendously fervent, and I’m not going to go into that … Continue reading →
Houston…
…in trouble: There is no indication the water will stop rising anytime soon. Swollen rivers in east Texas aren’t expected to crest until later this week, and federal officials are already predicting the deadly Tropical Storm Harvey will drive 30,000 … Continue reading →
The ancient history of math: Plimpton 322
Today is one of those days I look at the news and sigh. I don’t want to see lists of the most recent statements by people who think Trump is unstable. I don’t want to hear how the president is … Continue reading →
In their eagerness to skewer Trump…
…the New York Times goofs again. Their desperation has caused them to relax their already loose standards to the point where they ought to be overcome with embarrassment. They are not.
Continue reading →Google engineer who wrote wrongthink memo is Summersed
I don’t need to go into all the details, because if you follow this link you can get up to speed on them. But the gist of the story is that a senior engineer at Google wrote an internal memo … Continue reading →
The “double effect” of morphine at end of life: reality or myth?
The Netherlands euthanasia thread on Saturday generated a fascinating discussion in the comments section about the use of morphine at end of life, so I thought I’d highlight it here and expand on my remarks. First, a personal note. In … Continue reading →
Facial recognition systems at the railway station?
Here’s a little tidbit: German authorities have launched a six-month test of automatic facial recognition technology at a Berlin railway station, which the country’s top security official says could be used to improve security in the future. More than 200 … Continue reading →
News about cancer research that could be very, very important
As I get older, I have lost more and more people I love and care about to cancer—one of them very very recently. Others I’m very close to have had the disease and are (knock wood) okay so far. Anyone … Continue reading →
The oldest fossil mushroom
Found. Actually, it’s one of the very few fossil mushrooms we have. But all mushrooms, fossilized or otherwise, look pretty ancient to me. Here’s the fossil:
Continue reading →Trump and the Climate Accord
President Trump has announced that the US is withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord. That CNN article I just linked to says in the first sentence that his withdrawal will “seriously dampen global efforts to curb global warming.” But do … Continue reading →