Ego Depletion
Garbage in, garbage out?
Continue reading →Category Archives: Science
Are super intelligent human beings coming?
You decide. I’d settle for intelligent. On the other hand, there’s this.
Continue reading →The model…
…is not the territory: Presently, the best climate models fall many orders of magnitude short of the power and intricacy needed to effectively predict the long-term climate patterns that emerge from the interactions of all these planetary systems. And that’s … Continue reading →
The mystery bracelet
This bracelet fragment is surpassingly strange, although it may not be clear why on first viewing: Here’s a reconstruction of what it probably looked like when worn: Here’s the explanation: It is intricately made with polished green stone and is … Continue reading →
The latest scary virus: Zika
It’s not really new; the virus and the disease it causes, Zika fever, was identified back in the 1950s in Africa. But it has been spreading for a while, and recently made the leap to the Western Hemisphere and is … Continue reading →
Answered: a question I’ve been wondering about for years
My dog was a champ at this: While we’re at it, here’s another. This one’s about yawning: Dr. Seuss remarked on this phenomenon in a book I used to read to my son at bedtime, in the hope (usually vain) … Continue reading →
Phytoplankton: we have not a clue
Phytoplankton have been proliferating in the North Atlantic when they were predicted to be doing the opposite, and we haven’t a clue why. Nor do we know whether the increase is beneficial or harmful. Here’s an observation on this from … Continue reading →
Searching for the truth: those H-1B visas and STEM employment
The subject of H-1B visas* came up during last Wednesday’s Republican debate, most particularly regarding Rubio, who advocates an expansion of the program with some restrictions. So I decided to try to find out the truth about what’s involved and … Continue reading →
Programming the morals of the self-driving car
I knew that I didn’t like the idea of a self-driving car (that’s “self” as in “the car drives itself”). The moment I heard they were perfecting such an item, it gave me very serious pause. Maybe that’s because in … Continue reading →
Permanent spinal cord implant for chronic pain
As a former sufferer from fairly severe chronic pain, news such as this interests me: Joe Grewal, the first human to be fitted with a permanent implant, said he has suffered chronic back pain for more than 30 years and … Continue reading →
Scientists in Antarctica drink a lot
That’s the title of this article, and that’s the subject matter: scientists in Antarctica drink a lot. Well, you might say, why not? It’s Antarctica, Jake. NSF managers in Washington say they’re still looking at whether shipping a few breathalyzers … Continue reading →
Most toes feel alike to me
Can you tell which toe of yours is being touched? When they’re not allowed to peek, many people can’t differentiate between which toes of theirs are being “prodded” by an experimenter. Sounds a bit kinky: Researchers at the University of … Continue reading →