I was checking to see the next time the International Space Station would fly over Regina’s skies, and saw it was in two minutes! (There are only a few times a week it is visible for a couple minutes, sometimes none.) I threw on my ski pants and coat, and
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Exponential Book: What do you look for (part one) ?
I am a faculty member in a university physics department, who finds himself periodically involved in faculty searches and hires. How do I evaluate the curriculum vitae of an applicant for a tenure-track position? What do I look for, and what are the red flags? Does it really boil down
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The Mayans, the ecological crisis and the end of the world: a little sanity please
It seems like a lot of people are going to extremes with regards to the Mayan predictions – and I mean the skeptics as well as the fanatics. Some are dismissive of the Mayans altogether, while others are taking a very literal and grossly overly simplistic view, and thinking the
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: Someone is wrong on the internet
I discovered an entertaining site recently called Skeptic North. It’s a Canadian equivalent to several similar sites and blogs I read that are mostly American-based. It challenges popular assumptions, ideas, trends and pseudoscience and other claptrap. In a Canadian way, … Continue reading →
Continue readingThe Quantum Buddha's Blog: Dan’s Estimation of the Age of the Universe
As a follow up to my post on the theory of relativity’s implications on the age of the universe and the nature of reality, I am pointing out something that has been bugging me for see time. How did quasars get 33 billions years away from us in just 13.75
Continue readingThe Quantum Buddha's Blog: Dan’s Estimation of the Age of the Universe
As a follow up to my post on the theory of relativity’s implications on the age of the universe and the nature of reality, I am pointing out something that has been bugging me for see time. How did quasars get 33 billions years away from us in just 13.75
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: SaskPower: At Least 13 Years Out of Touch
I’m sorry Canada, and the world. I’ve tried to convince my province’s public utility that there are huge benefits from dialing down the reliance on coal burned electricity, but they won’t listen. They haven’t even removed or updated a shockingly out-dated “Solar” page on their website that lists information that
Continue readingPop The Stack: It’s worse than we thought and everyone is to blame
So, scientists are finding that once again, it’s worse than we thought regarding global carbon emissions. Particularly interesting here is the list of the top 10 polluting countries in 2011. Can you see which one of these is not like the others? Simple back of the spreadsheet calculation here for the
Continue readingPop The Stack: It’s worse than we thought and everyone is to blame
So, scientists are finding that once again, it’s worse than we thought regarding global carbon emissions. Particularly interesting here is the list of the top 10 polluting countries in 2011. Can you see which one of these is not like the others? Simple back of the spreadsheet calculation here for the
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Financial Post = Zombie Host
The Financial Post is the stupid-wing of the National Post. The NatPo manages to publish some actual news, while the Financial Post publishes misinformation that is there simply to anger and confuse people. That’s why I’m angry about their latest hyping of a stunt by climate change deniers like Tim Ball. (http://opinion.financialpost.com/2012/11/29/open-climate-letter-to-un-secretary-general-current-scientific-knowledge-does-not-substantiate-ban-ki-moon-assertions-on-weather-and-climate-say-125-scientists/) This came on […]
The Sixth Estate: National Post’s Anti-Science Piffle Worsens
Unlike the Globe & Mail, which claims that science is legitimate but that it has no really significant implications (regarding climate change, for instance), the National Post claims that science isn’t really legitimate at all. They even have an annual Junk Science Week devoted to the promotion of fringe scientific hypotheses, like radiation hormesis and […]
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Liar, Liar, Head’s On Fire
There’s an excellent animation of this sad situation regarding toxic fire retardants, in the video called “Story of Stuff”, which also explores the messed-up nature of our whole global economic system. It’s one of the decade’s must-watch videos. We don’t want our heads to catch fire while we are sleeping, so our pillows have toxic […]
The Sixth Estate: Globe & Mail Displays Disturbing Scientific Illiteracy
Here’s a thought for would-be editors of a national paper of record: any time your headline editorial starts with the phrase “in spite of the evidence,” it’s probably a good time to reconsider what you’re writing. On what basis are you going to argue, then, if not evidence? Gut feelings? Dreams? Divine revelation? Ever since […]
Continue readingTerahertz: California Rejects GMO Labeling, and why I approve
You may have missed it, but Barack Obama won re-election Tuesday in what the media wrongly called a very close race. While Mitt Romney was able to score over 70% of the vote in Utah, he failed to achieve either the popular vote nationwide or the only one that matters
Continue reading350 or bust: Hurricane Sandy Reminds Us We’re All Paying The Price For Politically-Created Climate Of Doubt
The PBS Frontline program “Climate of Doubt” masterfully exposed the strategies and tactics that climate denialists have used to delay, if not undermine meaningful action in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and addressing climate change in…
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Predictions and Credibility
[This first appeared on Back of the Book] I find the current political air in Canada to be insufferably stupid. Despite there being excellent, professional journalists everywhere, there are many more time/space fillers who skew the public’s perception of what is going on and what really matters. One thing the
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Passion
Why is there such passionate debate over climate change? It’s not like many global problems tend to inflame heated debate all too often at a local level, but climate change is different because it’s such an old and unresolved serious problem. When acid rain was destroying forests, swifter action was
Continue readingPop The Stack: The Long Form Census Debacle Starts to Show Its Impact
As predicted the dropping of the mandatory long form census last year is starting to be felt in the statistical results being collected. First problem: Language Data. New language data may be skewed as a result of shift to voluntary census survey – The Globe and Mail. Filed under: Politics
Continue readingPop The Stack: The Long Form Census Debacle Starts to Show Its Impact
As predicted the dropping of the mandatory long form census last year is starting to be felt in the statistical results being collected. First problem: Language Data. New language data may be skewed as a result of shift to voluntary census survey – The Globe and Mail. Filed under: Politics
Continue readingExponential Book: Binomial distributions and multiple choice tests
Readers of my blog know that I generally regard multiple choice tests (MCTs) as an adequate tool to assess student knowledge of, and proficiency with, a given set of topics. I have written about this subject here and here. No, I do not think that MCTs are perfect, nor do
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