This is the winning video in a competition run by Discover Magazine to explain String Theory in two minutes or less. I give you: String Ducky
Category: Science
-
Science and the Pope
I see the Pope’s doing the old bait and switch again. He tells a bunch of academics that science cannot understand the mystery of man, thereby implying that his religion can. And, I note, displays breathtaking ignorance while he’s doing it:Contrary to the Darwinian concept of man, Pope Benedict said that “man is not the result of mere chance, of converging circumstances, of determinism, of chemical inter-reactions.”Ah, the old canard that evolution is simply "mere chance" again. Really, the Pope ought to understand a subject a little better before he pontificates on it. Ophelia has more. -
Aarrgghh!
Here’s another short clip of Dr. Brian Cox. Here, he’s trying to explain, desperately, what a wave is to someone else (who I take it is the film director) who simply doesn’t understand what Cox is trying to say. At one point this person seems to think that when he surfs, it’s the water that moves forward to the shore, and that’s the wave. I blame Meeja-studies for churning out people like this who haven’t a fucking clue about even the simplest of science. We’re all doomed. -
The Value of Diversity
Philip Ball, over at the Homunculus blog, has a nice post on the value of diversity in human groups. Well worth reading.Having a team composed of people who have a track record of all taking the same approach to getting the job done can be a less successful strategy than having a team composed of more diverse individuals. Basically, diversity trumps ability; and research exists to show this. As I mentioned the last time I wrote about this:I know from my own experience that the most exhillarating (as well as at times, the most frustrating) team I ever worked with was one that, by design, was set up to be as diverse as possible. When we learned how to manage our diversity, we were extremely productive, and came up with great results.As Ball says:Encouraging diversity is not then about being liberal or tolerant (although it tends to require both) but about being rational.Or as we put it to our employers: you shouldn’t support diversity in the workplace because it’s about being liberal or tolerant, but because it makes good business sense… -
The LHC
This video of CERN’s Large Hadron Collider conveys something of the excitement and wonder I feel about science and our exploration of the universe around us.(hat tip to the Bad Astronomer) -
Statistics and Lies
Ben Goldacre, over at the Bad Science blog, makes a book recommendation. It’s Darrell Huff’s 1954 classic: How to Lie with Statistics. He is prompted to do so by some sloppy journalism in The Daily Telegraph. Goldacre uses the techniques outlined in Huff’s book to show that the conclusions reached in the Telegraph story bear absolutely zero correspondance with truth. There’s a surprise.I’ve already got another of Huff’s books (How to take a chance: The laws of Probability); I’ll definitely be adding How to Lie with Statistics to the library. It will sit between my other Huff book and Mark Monmonier’s How to Lie with Maps as the perfect bridge. -
Hacking DNA
We talk quite blithely about computer viruses and hackers. Here’s an absolutely fascinating presentation given by a biologist (Drew Endy) at the recent Chaos Communication Congress in Berlin. Here’s a biologist talking to an audience of computer folks (geeks, scientists and hackers) about hacking DNA. The analogy of moving from machine code to higher level abstractions such as programming languages, parts and devices is mind-blowing. It’s also quite scary. As one of the comments says, the idea of script kiddies being able to construct their own ebola virus may not be so very far away… -
Changing One’s Mind
Richard Dawkins has a terrific essay on why good scientists will change their minds if the evidence is strong enough to persuade them. Worth reading. -
Ramachandran Webcast
I see that VS Ramachandran is giving a talk at the Royal Society tonight. Even better, it will be webcast. I’ll be watching. -
Taking the Biscuit
Denis MacEoin accuses Ben Goldacre of ignorance. I came away from this piece with a feeling of embarrassment, a conviction that he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. The comments on the piece do a pretty good job of demolishing what little argument he has.Update: The comments section on MacEoin’s piece is still firmly in the "Homeopathy is Bunkum" corner, but I see that a few homeopaths are fighting their corner, amongst them is Dana Ullman. Unfortunately, his submission to prove the efficacy of homeopathy is completely destroyed by this laser-like piece of analysis from "Scotty" -
Moeliker Triumphant
I’m pleased to report that Kees Moeliker has succeeded in his quest… Five old crabs and a fresh one… -
A Kind Of Magic
Ben Goldacre has an excellent piece over at Bad Science that flenses homeopathy in a magisterial manner. Do go and read it. If there is any evidence to show that homeopathy is distinguishable from the placebo effect, then it appears to be doing a damn good job to hide itself. -
Energy For Free
Never underestimate the desire for wishful thinking. Ben Goldacre reports on yet another "energy for free" non-story. The video of the "news interview" made me want to slap all concerned around the cheeks with a wet fish. -
More Tosh
I see Mark Vernon has been cranking out tosh again. Not content with this, he’s now come out with another column that leaves me pounding my head on the table. He seems to be saying that awe arising from ignorance is better than awe arising from knowledge. Bizarre. And he quotes with approval Stephen Jay Gould’s hoary old NOMA – Non-Overlapping MAgisteria; a particularly pernicious way of allowing religion to erect "Keep Out" signs around questions of meaning and purpose.I see that Jean Kazez has also raised her eyebrows at his column, and Vernon replies in the comments with more waffle. Sometimes I wonder if Vernon secretly hankers for the days when he was a priest. -
Phantoms In The Brain
I’ve mentioned VS Ramachandran’s terrific book on the architecture of the mind: Phantoms in the Brain a number of times before. He’s also a very good presenter and communicator. Here he is talking about Phantom Limbs, Synesthesia and the Capgras delusion with his customary lucidity and humour. Highly, highly recommended. -
Robert Hooke’s Notebook
Robert Hooke‘s notebook is now online. You can leaf through it as though it is an actual book.(hat tip to PZ Myers) -
Makers of Universes
Here’s George Bernard Shaw proposing a toast to Albert Einstein…Wonderful to see this rare footage from 27 October 1930, and to hear GBS speak. Hat tip to Nicholas Whyte -
Fodor’s Flying Pig
I read an article, by the philosopher Jerry Fodor, in the London Review of Books last week: Why Pigs Don’t Have Wings. And I thought at the time that something wasn’t quite right about it. Whether it was the science or the philosophy, I wasn’t quite sure, but it just didn’t feel right.Today, I come across Jason Rosenhouse’s critique of Fodor’s piece, and he explains, to my satisfaction, that my gut feeling was correct. Fodor was away with the fairies. Thanks, Jason. -
Saturn
Phil, over at Bad Astronomer, has a post on the 10th anniversary of the launch of the Saturn probe: Cassini. Amazing images, new knowledge, and the killer sentiment:"That’s how we learn. That’s how we grow. And that’s what science does for us".Amen. It’s a pity that so many of us will seemingly retreat into the false fuzziness of woo…
Geoff Coupe's Blog 