What science tells us about one of life’s biggest unanswered questions is, naturally, much contested. Jim Al-Khalili, a UK physicist and president of the British Humanist Association, recently asked: “So do we have free will or not?” The question came midway through an essay on the subject, and his answer is, “Yes,” I believe we still…Continue Reading…
Anyone who believes that science, above all, should inform our debates on medical, health and environmental issues, will find much to agree with in The Geek Manifesto, a recently published book by Mark Henderson, one of Britain’s leading science communicators. As science writer David Dobbs writes in his foreward to the U.S. edition, The Geek Manifesto articulates…Continue Reading…
One of the main impediments to rational discussion of biotechnology is fear-mongering by anti-GMO zealots. The most outlandish claims (cancer! birth defects!) are couched in science and often peddled by activists like Jeffrey Smith, who is given the opportunity to air his baseless assertions to nationally syndicated TV audiences (on multiple occasions), courtesy of the popular but…Continue Reading…
Despite the charges in some quarters that I indulge in “hippy punching,” (code for those challenging environmentalist dogma or climate hyperbole), I’ve long been an admirer of muckraking journalism. One of my early formative experiences to the genre came when I was a boy growing up on Long Island in the 1970s. I attended a…Continue Reading…
Long-time readers know that I enjoy the vibrant forum they have helped create at Collide-a-Scape. Yes, I sometimes get cranky in the comment threads and yes, I sometimes dish out the snark as well as anyone. But I’m conscious of this behavior and I strive to lead by better example. Overall, I’m gratified by the…Continue Reading…
The British environmental writer Mark Lynas gave a speech recently that opened with this remarkable mea culpa: I want to start with some apologies. For the record, here and upfront, I apologise for having spent several years ripping up GM crops. I am also sorry that I helped to start the anti-GM movement back in…Continue Reading…
One of the most trenchant observers of the science/policy interface is Daniel Sarewitz, co-director of Arizona State University’s Consortium for Science, Policy & Outcomes. Since 2009, Sarewitz has been a regular columnist for the journal Nature. He writes for both general and specialized audiences. His insightful essays, on everything from the politics of climate change…Continue Reading…
In the aftermath of President Obama’s reelection, there was much media discussion of the GOP’s ever-shrinking demographic base. As the Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza pointed out, with the aid of an astonishing chart: That only 11 percent of Republicans’ total vote came from non-whites tells you everything you need to know about the large-scale demographic…Continue Reading…
On Twitter, some smart people I follow alerted me to a post titled, “2012: The year crazy and stupid went mainstream.” It’s by a writer named Bernie Mooney who defines himself as a “progressive contrarian.” Here’s how he begins his post: I’ve always been of the mind that stupid should hurt, so 2012 was a hard…Continue Reading…
So it looks like I’m ending 2012 in a pissing match with PZ Myers. I don’t understand why he’s making such a big issue of my quoting writers like Saul Bellow and Margaret Atwood. I haven’t suggested they are experts in science. I’m merely highlighting observations about the human condition made by literary artists—observations that…Continue Reading…