Palin comparison (4)
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Phil Plait (12)
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Note: Because I can sometimes be a little vocal, I have added a disclaimer in the right sidebar. To be clear: opinions expressed on this blog are mine, and mine alone. But I’m usually right. So, Sarah Palin. I know I’m late in the game here, since I was at DragonCon (more on that later, promise). And others have said pretty much what I’m thinking (like Gia and Scalzi, particularly Scalzi’s Point Number 4), but ...
More about elitism (2)
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1 week, 3 days
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I like elitism. I like the idea that there are people out there who are very, very good at what they do. I don’t want a doctor who doesn’t understand biology, I don’t want a plumber who can’t use a wrench, and I don’t want politicians who cannot think properly. That last bit is the sticky one. In this case, it’s the Bush Administration’s (typically idiotic and Orwellian) recent finagling with the Endangered Species Act: ...
Phoenix Descending (2)
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The Bad Astronomer (36)
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As I looked at the spectacular — yet understated — picture of Phoenix beneath its parachute, I decided I couldn’t just let what I wrote before stand. I needed to gesticulate, I needed to make faces, I needed to say something! So I made a video. And you know what the best part is? This picture of Phoenix was taken before it was even doing any science! The mission had just started. What will happen ...
Antivaxxers must be stopped! NOW. (13)
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1 week, 6 days
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Antivaxxers are people who think vaccinations cause health problems, most notably autism. This is despite study after study showing them to be wrong; there simply is no link between vaccines and autism. While there can be isolated reactions to vaccines, they are very rare, and the overall health benefits of vaccines vastly — vastly — outweigh the negatives. But these antiscience crusaders are starting to have an effect, and it’s a bad one: measles outbreaks ...
Antivaxxers must be stopped! NOW. (2)
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Antivaxxers are people who think vaccinations cause health problems, most notably autism. This is despite study after study showing them to be wrong; there simply is no link between vaccines and autism. While there can be isolated reactions to vaccines, they are very rare, and the overall health benefits of vaccines vastly — vastly — outweigh the negatives. But these antiscience crusaders are starting to have an effect, and it’s a bad one: measles outbreaks ...
Hubble’s impact (2)
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Phil Plait (12)
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2 weeks
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Over at Cosmic Variance, my fellow astronomy blogger Julianne Dalcanton is looking for opinions. She’s writing an article about the scientific impact of Hubble, and she’s looking to see what others come up with. Webrainstorming, if you will (did I coin a new word there? I think maybe I did). This is scientific, not cultural impact. So no things about the public being more aware of astronomy and whatnot. I can think of two things ...
Science Idol cartoon winner announced (6)
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Phil Plait (12)
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Science Idol was a contest sponsored by the Union of Concerned Scientists to find the best political cartoon dealing with science. They just announced the winner: Justin Bilicki, for this cartoon: It’s a good cartoon: funny, pithy, and makes its point. But there were lots of other entries, and in the fine tradition of Monday-morning quarterbacking, I have to say I like some of them better… like this one, and this one. Still, most of ...
Pseudolympics (2)
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Phil Plait (12)
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2 weeks, 1 day
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I am not really a big Olympics fan. I used to be, but then they started letting pro athletes play, and the "pageantry" became ridiculous, and now China is hosting them and using them as a political tool in a way that strongly reminds me of 1938 1936. I thought it couldn’t sink much lower. But I was wrong, of course. Because, it turns out, astrology rules the Olympics! At least, it does according to ...
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Brandon said:
Unfortunately, so many things are created only to "sound cool" and are quite incorrect and preposterous when looked into.
Go Robert Lancaster (2)
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2 weeks, 1 day
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Regular readers may remember Robert Lancaster. I first wrote about him in early 2007, when he went on CNN to show that "psychic" Sylvia Browne is very, very icky, and then to link to his personal run-in with this awful person. He is the creator of the website Stop Sylvia Browne (for which he has taken some heat), where he gently but firmly shows that Browne’s claims about her abilities are at the very least ...
A final post about Jeff Medkeff (2)
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Phil Plait (12)
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2 weeks, 2 days
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My friend Jeff Medkeff died on August 3rd. There are a few posts here about him, but Jeff’s final request was that a blog post be written on his cancer blog, Yucatangee Eventually Shuts Up. I know most of you don’t know him, but reading that entry you might get a glimpse of the strength of will and of mind he had. He was an extraordinary example of humanity, of scientists, and of skeptics. I ...
Iran tries, fails, to join space age just yet (3)
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2 weeks, 2 days
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It looks like Iran tried to launch a satellite recently, but it exploded or otherwise failed during the second stage firing 100 miles above the Earth. I am, in general, supportive of other nations joining those of us who are space-faring. However, in this case I’m a little concerned. I think the U.S. government has grossly over-propogandized the threat of Iran — which in itself is a problem, since the White House can now use ...
Geller’s limp spoon (5)
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Phil Plait (12)
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3 weeks
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If you’ve never heard of Uri Geller, thank Randi: Geller self-purported in the 1970s to be psychic, and that he could bend spoons with his mind… along with many other ridiculous claims. Randi has doggedly pursued Geller, pointing out that he can do these same tricks very easily with sleight-of-hand, and that Geller himself has changed his tune on his abilities many times. So Geller maybe isn’t a guy you might trust with, say, feeding ...
Obama and McCain on space exploration (4)
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Phil Plait (12)
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1 month
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In a funny but convenient coincidence, both presidential candidates have made statements about space exploration lately; Obama while in Titusville, Florida (very close to Cape Canaveral), and McCain on NASA’s 50th anniversary last week. The full text of Obama’s speech is on his site (parts are on YouTube as well), and McCain’s on his. Obama’s is part of a speech, so it’s longer than McCain’s which was a simple press release statement. Comparing the two ...
Eight years ago today, the lies began (4)
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The mainstream media are, of course, full of campaign "news", so it’s easy to forget about how all this started… and that’s a shame, because that’s what this election is all about. On August 3, 2000, Governor George Bush took the podium at the Republican national convention to accept the nomination for President of the United States, and the unending series of lies began. Like these (emphasis mine): For me, gaining this office is not ...
So, so close, but UFOlogist blows it (2)
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I thought that maybe, just for a sec, a UFOlogist had somehow stumbled onto reality, but his toehold was, sadly, slippery. Keith Basterfield is a UFO guy in Australia. He’s written books, done research, and all that. I was rather surprised when he said that Ed Mitchell is full of it. Well, not in so many words, but he did say: …he believes Dr Mitchell may have damaged the work of serious scientific researchers into ...
Antikythera Mechanism revealed! (3)
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The Antikythera Mechanism is an artifact found on a sunken boat a century ago. It’s a device that has bronze gears and apparently was used to do some sort of calculation… by ancient Greeks, because it’s about 2000 years old. Its specific function has always been a mystery because of the deteriorated condition of the device, but new techniques (including advanced X-ray imaging) have revealed writing on the back side of the mechanism, indicating it ...
Followup: Ed Mitchell and UFO believers (2)
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Phil Plait (12)
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The post I wrote about Ed Mitchell the other day has really touched a nerve. In fact, in my mind it’s a perfect example of something that’s been happening on this very blog lately: people posting comments that precisely exemplify the type of antiscience thinking I am attacking. That includes global warming, antivaxxers, and to a lesser extent other topics. To wit: in the Mitchell post, and in previous UFO posts (some of which are ...
Shaking up Astrology (4)
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You know that astrology is equal to the solid waste matter that is extruded from a male bovine mammal, right? Want proof? Watch this video: Yes, you got it. An astrologer is startled — nay, shocked — by an earthquake while filming a YouTube video with her daily horoscope predictions. Yet somehow, while doing that voodoo hooey she do so badly — she missed the fact that she was about to experience an earthquake! I ...
Brotherton on Crichton (5)
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1 month, 1 week
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I have issues with Michael Crichton. When I was a kid I loved The Andromeda Strain, and thought it was a cool movie. It wasn’t until much later, after seeing Jurassic Park, I think it was, that I became aware of the clear antiscience — literally, saying science is bad — message. Jurassic Park is full of that sort of thing. There Are Some Things Man Should Not Tamper With. And Crichton’s science — blecch. ...
Creationists can’t take the heat (4)
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I’m at ComiCon for the next few days, and I don’t know how often I’ll be able to report to the blog. I do have some other posts ready to go, so these oughta keep you sated until I can talk more about the geekorama. As a follow up to the post I made about flawed creationist reasoning when it comes to plate tectonics, I missed something obvious that, in retrospect, is (yet another) killer ...
