Doomsday Chronicles, pt. 4
Bryan Walsh at Time has a nice
Posts Tagged ‘science’
Peer Review Takes Another Hit
But I view this recurring issue the same way I view revelations of juiced baseball players: Yeah, it happens, and it sullies the game, but not nearly enough to make me consider stop watching baseball. In other words, has the use of steroids fatally compromised the sport? No. So there’s two ways to look at…Continue Reading…
Where Science is Flawed
In its current issue, The New Yorker has an excellent piece on the prevalence of (unconscious) bias in scientific studies that builds on this recent must-read piece in The Atlantic. And to some extent, Jonah Lehrer’s New Yorker article builds on this story he did for Wired in 2009. Anyone interested in the scientific process…Continue Reading…
The Crank-Off
Speaking of contests, Orac has winnowed a list of “terminal terminator cranks” into the top three and asks readers to pick a winner: Anti-vaccine loons Tobacco/secondhand smoke denialists Anthropogenic global warming denialists
Blood is Thicker than Crankery
There’s an interesting food fight taking place at ScienceBlogs. Orac is dismayed that Coby Beck allowed his father to “hijack” his blog with this “case against flouride” post. Orac is all over the irony of this. I have to agree. It’s akin to Coby handing over his blog to an anti-vaxxer.
When Liberals are "Deniers"
This is the second post of what will be a three part series on the terminology used in the climate debate to define individuals and groups of people that share a common position. The first post surveyed responses from science and environmental writers on two common terms used in the climate debate: “skeptic” and “denier.”…Continue Reading…
The Land of Stupid
What to make of this latest study charting American ignorance? Well, let’s see. Are we flunking history? Check. Are we flunking geography? Check. Are we this flunking basic science? Check. So it should come as no surprise that Americans are a wee bit challenged on the basics of climate science. I have two questions: Do…Continue Reading…
A Lawful Reckoning
UPDATE: Charlie Petit at Science Journalism Tracker has a very complimentary overview of the special package discussed below. Twenty years ago, landmark legislation passed by the U.S. Congress revolutionized the field of archaeology in America. That much everyone can agree on. But some anthropologists insist that the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)…Continue Reading…
Follow the Story
The crusading, hydra-headed anti-vaccine movement deserves more consistent coverage in the media. Here’s the title of today’s press release from the American Academy of Pediatrics: How the anti-vaccine movement threatens America’s children Paul Offit, a pediatrician and the author of “Autism’s False Prophets,” (who didn’t tour bookstores because of death threats he received from the…Continue Reading…
When Science Goes Funny
Politics is the gruel that feeds The Daily Show and The Colbert Report with endless material. But science often finds its way onto both shows as well. In an interesting post, Matthew Nisbet wonders, to what effect? He asks what evidence is there for the potential of these programs””rich with satire and built on comedy””to…Continue Reading…