Category / Science
We are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones
We are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones. Most people are never going to die because they are never going to be born. The potential people who could have been here in my place but who will in fact never see the light of day outnumber the sand grains of Arabia. Certainly those unborn ghosts include greater poets than Keats, scientists greater than Newton. We know this because the set of possible people allowed by our DNA so massively exceeds the set of actual people. In the teeth of these stupefying odds it is you and I, in our ordinariness, that are here. - Richard Dawkins
Candidates talk religion - ignore science
A while back there was an ambitious attempt to get the 2008 presidential candidates to engage in a science debate. A debate they all turned down. And now we get this:
The Rev. Rick Warren, author of the best-seller “The Purpose-Driven Life,” will spend an hour interviewing each candidate at his 20,000-member Saddleback mega-church in Southern California.
On CNN’s “The Situation Room” earlier this week, Warren said he won’t play the role of a political pundit or ask “gotcha” questions, but rather tackle four areas of interest: the role of the presidency in government, leadership, the candidates’ worldviews and America’s role internationally.
It seems however that both our presidential candidates are more interested in answering questions from religious maniacs in high profile mega-churches than they are in showing the American public that they understand the importance of scientific literacy in in the 21st century.
Via: CNN
Penn & Teller tear down creationism
Volatile Compounds in Air Fresheners?
A new study by University of Washington researcher Anne Steinemann in the journal Environmental Impact Assessment Review reports many forms of smelly products like air fresheners, dryer sheets and detergents all contained a mixture of volatile organic compounds.
Since manufacturers aren’t required to list their ingredients for such consumer products, the boxes only admitted to containing a “mixture of perfume oils.” But five out of the six products Steinemann tested emitted one or more so-called hazardous air pollutants, which are carcinogens determined to have no safe exposure level by the EPA.
This shows a lack of skepticism on the everyone’s part, including my own. I don’t think I’ve ever really questioned how a company makes their fabric softener smell like Springtime or Flower Blossom fresh. Its pretty clear where companies used to use simple scented oils for many of their aromas, competition has forced them to change their tactics. The only problem is no one’s been keeping tabs. Technology is seeping into every form of consumer product out there and the EPA and other regulatory groups will have to keep up if they’re going to keep us safe.
Via: Scientific American’s 60-Sec. Science Podcast
Why teaching evolution is important
Evolution crusader Olivia Judson has written yet another excellent op-ed piece in the New York Times on the importance of teaching evolution in school classrooms. She breaks it down into three main reasons:
- Understanding of the evolutionary model that can be applied to other changing systems.
- Immediately relevant to the understanding of diseases and the ecosystem.
- Provides a philosophical understanding of the way science works.
I can’t find fault in any of those and could probably add a few of my own. Although the heart of the article is the non-debate over the teaching of evolution vs. biblical creationism, Judson intelligently steers clear from making it the main focal point. As The Friendly Atheist points out, “Teaching them that there is an accepted or debated alternative just makes the problem worse.” I couldn’t agree more. There is no real debate. Its a non-issue. Intelligent Design/Creationism is not a scientific theory and therefore not an alternative to evolution. Its just religion trying to stick its nose where it doesn’t belong.
…since the science classroom is where a contempt for evidence is often first encountered, it is also arguably where it first begins to be cultivated. A society where ideology is a substitute for evidence can go badly awry.
You’ll get no argument from me. You can read the whole article here. It’s short and well worth your time.
Via: The New York Times, The Friendly Atheist
NOVA’s The Bible’s Buried Secrets
The Bible’s Buried Secrets, premiering November 18 on PBS, is NOVA’s two-hour special on the history of the both the Old Testament (Tanakh) and of the Israelites through the archeological artifacts they left behind.
A powerful exploration of science, scripture, and scholarship, “The Bible’s Buried Secrets” examines the most pressing issues in biblical archeology: Who actually wrote the Hebrew Bible? Is there a real historical core to stories of Abraham, Moses and the Exodus, and King David, a warrior and writer of psalms, and his son, Solomon, who built the great temple in Jerusalem? And beyond the question of historical authenticity, what is the deeper meaning of these stories and why do they resonate today? Provocative new answers emerge from the program’s investigation of decades of literary research and archeological investigation in the Near East.
Via: PBS NOVA
The Genius of Charles Darwin by Richard Dawkins
Another excellent documentary by Richard Dawkins on the elegant simplicity of Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection. Within just the first 10 minutes, Dawkins creates an excellent metaphor for the body of evidence supporting evolution.
Nobody’s actually seen evolution take place over a long period but they’ve seen the after-effects and the after-effects are massively supported. Its like a case in a court of law where nobody can actually stand up and say, “I saw the murder happen.” But yet you’ve got millions and millions of pieces of evidence which no reasonable person could possibly dispute.
Worth Mentioning This Week
Here’s my (somewhat) weekly wrap-up of stories that caught my attention but didn’t get blogged.
- MIT researchers have discovered an interesting new way to split water molecules which could lead to new advances in solar energy.
- The Birmingham City Council decides to block its employees from atheist & occult websites.
- You can’t walk your cute pets around Saudi Arabia anymore because they might attract women.
- Karl Giberson rants & PZ Myers responds.
- Disney gave us a glimpse into their planned sequel to Tron at Comic Con. io9 got the (crooked but still awesome) video.
How To Scare Consumers
I was scanning the Reuters science news and saw this story on nano-foods.
ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Those consumers already worried about genetically engineered or cloned food reaching their tables may soon find something else in their grocery carts to furrow their brows over — nano-foods.
What a great way to introduce new technology to the masses, eh? OH NOEZ! DEY R GUNNA PUT NANOZ IN UR FOODZ!
Nano-technology is simply any technology that manipulates something on the molecular level. If you alter or add anything on that scale, it can be called nano-technology. Consumer product labs have been adding chemicals and additives to our food for years we rarely make a fuss. This is the exact same thing except on a much smaller scale. Its like deciding to use nano-technology to add fluoride to the water instead of the current technologies.
The worst parts however are the articles use of nano-scare tactics to address consumer’s fear of cloned animal products and their interviewee, Michael Hansen, who raises a complete non sequitur regarding the harmful inhalation of nano-sized particles and the use of nano-technology to engineer safer and healthier foods.
Sigh… why do I even read the news anymore?
Via: Reuters
Social Networking For Scientists
Labmeeting is a new social network geared at letting scientists share and discuss research that publicly opened its doors last week to anyone with a college e-mail account. Labmeeting can be seen first and foremost as a document management site that allows students and scientists to upload, search, annotate and share their growing collection of documents as well as follow what documents their colleagues are collecting.
Scientists aren’t exactly known for being the most social of people. Perhaps this kind of online networking can help bridge the gap between hardcore science and social interaction.
Via: TechCrunch
Happy Birthday, NASA!
50 years ago today, The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was established by the National Aeronautics and Space Act.
NASA began operations on October 1, 1958, with a staff of 80 spread among four laboratories. The agency now consists of 15 facilities that employed more than 17,000 people in 2006.
Happy birthday, NASA! I wish you all the best in the years and missions to come.
A Reasonable Alien Discussion
After Apollo 14 astronaut Ed Mitchell went on record as believing in alien visitations to Earth, its nice to know our other astronauts have not lost the ability to think rationally. Mark Kelly, the U.S. commander of space shuttle Discovery, briefly discussed the topic during a Tokyo news conference.
We have seen some evidence that there is a possibility of some life on Mars in the past, so there is probably life all over the universe.
From our experience, it is very difficult to travel through space, and I personally think aliens have not visited our planet.
The Discovery recently delivered Japan’s Kibo orbital laboratory to the International Space Station in June.
Via: Reuters
NOVA Offers ‘Open Content’
For their newest program, Car of the Future, NOVA and PBS have decided to try and get the public involved by making more than 200 raw, unedited video clips available online for everyone in hopes that they will fuel creativity and foster a sharing of ideas. The clips include expert interviews and a variety of scenic shots.
The videos are made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported so there are only a few restrictions on what you can do with them.
Food For Thought
Sir David Attenborough on the Orangutan
It makes me wonder why we don’t have more large-scale facilities designed to study and possibly facilitate this kind of behavior.
Here Be Dragons
Brian Dunning has created a 40-minute video introduction to critical thinking called Here Be Dragons based on his excellent Skeptoid podcast.
Most people fully accept paranormal and pseudoscientific claims without critique as they are promoted by the mass media. Here Be Dragons offers a toolbox for recognizing and understanding the dangers of pseudoscience, and appreciation for the reality-based benefits offered by real science.
Here Be Dragons is suitable for general audiences and is licensed for free distribution and public display. Go download your own copy or purchase a DVD at the Here Be Dragons website.
