Climategate: it’s worse than you thought
A couple of must-read articles: Poor Harry, the hapless computer programmer. And about that code.
Continue reading →Category Archives: Science
Pay no attention to that Climategate behind the curtain
Because I’ve been away from civilization for nearly four days, I haven’t been able to follow the twistings and turnings of Climategate as closely as I otherwise would. But from my quick perusal of the subject today, it strikes me … Continue reading →
Wanting to believe in miracles: the case of Rom Houben
By now you’ve probably all heard the remarkable case of Rom Houben, the young man trapped in a paralyzed body for 23 years, unable to communicate and thought to be in a vegetative state. Recent brain scans indicated much more … Continue reading →
The CRU documents: when science becomes politicized, we all suffer
It’s been clear for quite some time that the AGW controversy has morphed from a scientific to a religious war—although in this case, it’s the AGW scientists who are the “religious” fanatics. That sort of situation cannot help but spell … Continue reading →
Climatology and AGW: who are the hoaxers, who the hoaxed?
It is way too early to know whether the just-released emails and other papers purporting to be from University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit (CRU) are real or fake. If real, they represent a sort of Pentagon Papers-ish revelation, … Continue reading →
Mammograms: don’t you bother your pretty little heads about them
It’s difficult to understand the new mammogram recommendations that suggest that women who are not in high risk groups because of genetic predispositions to breast cancer only begin screening at fifty, and then only every other year, and that doctors … Continue reading →
The hubris of the incompetent: the Dunning-Kruger effect could explain quite a lot
Take a look: The Dunning”“Kruger effect is an example of cognitive bias in which “people reach erroneous conclusions and make unfortunate choices but their incompetence robs them of the metacognitive ability to realize it”. The unskilled therefore suffer from illusory … Continue reading →
Placebo on the increase
Here’s a truly fascinating article on the subject of placebos. Commenter “Donna” brought it to attention in the thread on acupuncture, and it’s relevant to that subject and so much more. I don’t have time to do an in-depth piece … Continue reading →
“A yawn is quite catching…
…you see, like a cough. It just takes one yawn to start other yawns off.” That’s Dr. Seuss, in The Sleep Book, one of the childhood favorites of my sleep-resistant son. And it’s true; I’m sure you’ve noticed how hard … Continue reading →
Krugman and “treason against the planet”
Paul Krugman, who apparently is not only an economist but also a master of the physical sciences as well, says that those in the House who voted against cap and trade committed “treason against the planet.” Krugman assets not only … Continue reading →
The race is on: Obama and cap and trade vs. the global warming skeptics
Obama is in a hurry to pass his sweeping agenda without giving Congress—or the American people—time to learn properly about it and react. “Trust me” he says in that soothing baritone, “and all will be well.” House Democrats have advanced … Continue reading →
Welcome to the table, Ununbium
The Periodic Table, that is. The new element, Ununbium, is number 112 on the list, and one of six highly unstable elements created in the same lab since 1981 (the last naturally occurring element is uranium, number 92). To mark … Continue reading →