Whither scientific publishing ?
I come back to one of my favorite subjects, prompted by a recent comment asking for my opinion on the proposed boycott of Elsevier, a company publishing a number of…
science
Republicans Aren’t the “Truth Party,” Mr. Santorum. They’re the “Certainty Party.”
225px-Rick_Santorum_official_photo.jpg Rick Santorum has been talking about the “politicization of science” a lot lately—although (a pet peeve of mine) he seems to have a problem with pronouncing the phrase. He…
Mining Industry Caught On Tape Plotting To Corrupt Media
* This week Australian mining billionaire Gina Rinehart became the largest shareholder in Fairfax Media, having already bought a stake in Channel Ten. But this new video reveals this move…
Saturday At The Movies
Climate deniers, take note: if you work at it, you might be as smart as this toddler. For more info on this toddler and the unique approach to learning his…
Why Offbeat?
Why would CBC post a story about a major census mistake, likely indicative of a widespread counting problem, as “offbeat” news? This is potentially big news, with no fewer than…
Santorum Calls Global Warming a “Hoax,” Suggesting a Full-Fledged Climate Conspiracy Theory
501px-Rick_Santorum_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg Conservatism is a political philosophy that is, at its most fundamental, about resisting change. So perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that an outrageous and absurd line uttered about global…
NASA Video Debunks Climate Deniers in 26 Seconds
As obvious as tumor on a smoker’s chest x-ray, this 26-second video of the 131 years of temperature data demonstrates the consequences of our addiction to burning fossil fuels. It…
A Conservative Ignores the Science on Why…Conservatives Ignore the Science
discoveryGlobeHeader.jpg David Klinghoffer, of the anti-evolutionist Discovery Institute, has a revealing article in the conservative American Spectator entitled: “Republicans and Science (as opposed to liberals and the science they’ve politicized).”…
Do The Math On Solar
Here’s an amazing article that walks you through the physics calculations that show why the Sun is such a great energy source for Earth. We could make use of its…
Brock U study links low IQ with racism, prejudice
A Brock University study has come up with findings guaranteed to ignite a few fires on the net. Put in the most basic terms the research finds that people who…
Weathermen For Republicans
Most people don’t trust their weather forecaster celebrities to be correct more than 50% of the time. I just made up that statistic, the same way many weathermen have done…
The Stupid Senate
“I felt like it is kind of an insult to be a denier for a long time,” said Sen. Bert Brown, last month at a parliamentary committee studying energy policies.…
Do churches influence your vote?
According to a new paper in the International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, where you vote may influence how you vote. The suggestion is that visual cues of churches…
Independent and original
I doubt if I can offer any deeper insight or more pointed advice to a tenure track assistant professor in the sciences, than what anyone can find on a number…
In Which Climate “Skeptics” Drop the Lysenko Bomb. No, I’m Not Kidding….
Lysenko_in_field_with_wheat.jpg There has been a much justified uproar over last week’s Wall Street Journal op-ed, in which a group of scientific “skeptics” reiterate the old line that we don’t have…
The Uneasy Relationship Between Explaining Science to Conservatives…and Explaining Conservatives Scientifically
democrat_and_republican_symbols.jpg Over the past year or more, I’ve profited from a series of conversations and exchanges with Yale’s Dan Kahan, the NSF supported researcher who has made great waves studying…
Letter to SaskPower President Regarding Solar Power
Here’s a letter going to the SaskPower President soon. If anyone has any suggestions for it, you have short time to make them. rwatson at ]saskpower.com
Newt Gingrich on Science: The "Say Anything" Candidate
newt_gingrich.jpg After smashing Mitt Romney in the South Carolina primary, former House speaker Newt Gingrich has now emerged as tied with the onetime Republican presidential frontrunner. So it’s time to…
Why I Am Putting All My Eggs In The Citizens Climate Lobby Basket
Citizens Climate Lobby is a well-organized grassroots organization made up of Canadians and Americans who want a sustainable future for their children, and are willing to work on creating the…