Archive for November, 2007
Posted in Blurb, Critical Thinking?, Democracy, Technology, ethics
November 27, 2007 at 2:28 pm
“…the drug makers earn their enormous profits from a very few market-leading products for which new applications are continually sought. If those uses don’t turn up through experimentation or serendipity, they can be conjured by means of “condition branding”—that is, coaching the masses to believe that one of their usual if stressful states actually partakes of a disorder requiring medication.” Link to 3 related reviews in the NY Review of Books.
Posted in Critical Thinking?, Extended, Science
November 26, 2007 at 8:39 pm
In the previous incarnation of this blog, we had a nice long discussion about my beef with the Mythbusters and their sloppy approach to experimentation. I loved the show at first, but very quickly became annoyed with their claims of myths being Busted or Confirmed on the basis of blowing something up with very precise measurements based on completely arbitrary criteria. My husband refuses to watch the show with me anymore because I spoil the fun and point out the many problems with each experiment. Today he sent me a link to this interview with them on the NY Times Freakanomics blog.
Q: There are a lot of misconceptions about your show and its scientific value. In many of your experiments, it’s obvious when something is true. But in many of the more contentious cases, your tests are not scientific, and their results could be totally wrong — yet many people rely on them as proven fact. How do you feel about the seriousness with which many take your show’s results?
ADAM: We’re not scientists. That’s kind of the point of the show. If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn’t be much fun to watch. But our process of discovery (no pun intended) is, to the highest degree of our abilities, scientific. That is, we employ the scientific method, and a proper methodology to proceed from conclusion to conclusion.
If people are watching the show to discover scientific fact, then they’re missing the point, because the show isn’t about absolutes — it’s about how to proceed to a reasonable conclusion.
This just annoys me more since they’re basically claiming that they aren’t rigorous enough to be doing science, but that they’re using the scientific method for the sake of entertainment. I’m not convinced they’re giving strong enough evidence to call most of their conclusions “reasonable,” at all, which is annoying as all get out since the show has such amazing potential to teach science while being entertaining to the masses. I guess you can’t have your cake and eat it, too (unless you’re Mr. Wizard or Bill Nye.)
Link to interview.
Posted in Atheism, Extended, Science
November 25, 2007 at 5:25 pm
Are there any of my regular readers out there who would like a holiday card from me this year at Newtonmas? I’ve moved since last year and I’m not 100% sure about the status of my address book, which I maintain purely for Newtonmas cards. Even if you think I already have your address, you might want to re-send it to me just to be sure. And if you’ve never received a Newtonmas card from me but are the sort of quirky atheist (or science-geek deist) who might enjoy one, this is the year to get in on the action: I had a very talented crafter design and make actual Newtonmas Cards this year, instead of the usual “least offensive happy seasons” cards I tend to send out.
So drop me an email (in the sidebar – “About”) and I’ll add you to the list. Everyone loves a Newtonmas card! I love the opportunity to spread the dorky cheer!
Posted in Evolution, Extended, Philosophy, ethics
November 21, 2007 at 6:39 pm
I read about this phenomenon in Mutants: On Genetic Variety and the Human Body. My memory of the science is sketchy (and I’d look it up to give better details if I didn’t have Vegan Rice Krispy Treats to make). What I do remember is that this is actually a form of conjoined twinning, but it is precisely the sort of thing that raises questions about individuality when it occurs in humans (and it does). There’s so much interesting theory to be explored concerning conjoined twins, and I might undertake a longer post on the subject at some point in the future (when I don’t have Vegan Rice Krispy Treats to make!) But for some good background reading, I recommend both the aforementioned book (by Armand Marie Leroi) and One of us: Conjoined Twins and the Future of Normal by Alice Domurat Dreger.
Vets believe the cat, which has two mouths, two noses and four eyes, may have two brains, as one face can go to sleep while the other remains awake and it can blink independently on each one.
Link to article at the Telegraph (with photograph and video of the cute little guy(s)).
Posted in Blurb, Philosophy, Science
November 21, 2007 at 6:01 pm
“Babies as young as 6 to 10 months old showed crucial social judging skills before they could talk, according to a study by researchers at Yale University’s Infant Cognition Center published in Thursday’s journal Nature.”… Link to CNN.com article
Posted in Critical Thinking?, Democracy, Evolution, Extended, Philosophy, ethics
November 21, 2007 at 1:46 pm
Is it just confirmation bias on my part, or are these stories showing up more and more often of late?
A GIRL in China is scheduled to undergo a lengthy four-stage operation to remove a “spare” arm growing from her back.
Ren Xin, 11, will have the extra limb removed by surgeons in Beijing next week.
Chinese media has reportedly quoted doctors as saying that there had been less than 20 cases of similar conditions reported around the nation.
But in a similar case earlier this month, doctors in India successfully removed four “extra” limbs from two-year-old Lakshmi, making headlines worldwide.
Note the author’s use of quotation marks around “extra” and “spare.”
Perhaps a sign of some most-welcomed critical thinking.
Link to article, with photograph.
Posted in Atheism, Democracy, Extended, Feminism, ethics
November 20, 2007 at 7:05 pm
Excuse the profanity, but some days the world just depresses the shit out of me:
Saudi Arabian woman sentenced to 200 lashes for being gang-raped by 7 men. (Sentence increased from 90 lashes because she spoke to the media).
Under law in Saudi Arabia, women are subject to numerous restrictions, including a strict dress code, a prohibition against driving and a requirement that they get a man’s permission to travel or have surgery. Women are also not allowed to testify in court unless it is about a private matter that was not observed by a man, and they are not allowed to vote.
Thank goodness America is so friendly with this country. Read any one of the articles online about this and you’ll see specific mention that the American government has not criticized them for this – they’re “astonished” but they want to be sure the Saudi’s know they aren’t criticizing!
Posted in Comics, Digital Culture, Extended
November 20, 2007 at 2:54 pm
The writer of brilliant geek comic xkcd decided it was time to furnish his house…
I was thinking of getting a couch or something for my room, somewhere for guests to lounge around.
Fuck new couches. I now have a ball pit in my room.
…
The day we put it up, we spent probably twelve hours, on and off, lounging around throwing plastic balls at each other. It’s totally worth it, and everyone’s excited about expanding it. It’s wonderful to be able to wake up and roll sideways, blanket and all, into a ball pit, and sink slowly down to the bottom. I’ve padded it with pillows and blankets to make it more fun to, uhh, wallow, or whatever the appropriate verb is for ball pits.
Now that’s an anti-aging technique I can totally support.
Link to blog post (with photos of ball pit!)
Link to the comic that inspired it (but you should have this in your rss feed by now!)
Posted in Academic Life, Atheism, Critical Thinking?, Democracy, Digital Culture, Evolution, Extended
November 16, 2007 at 10:13 am
Maybe the world isn’t as bleak as it seems!
The appearance of the Flying Spaghetti Monster on the agenda of the American Academy of Religion’s annual meeting gives a kind of scholarly imprimatur to a phenomenon that first emerged in 2005, during the debate in Kansas over whether intelligent design should be taught in public school sciences classes.
I think we can all thank Jon Stewart for making parody the primary form of genuine criticism to be taken seriously in this country. Which is so strange that it is likely to fuel academic conferences for decades.
Link to article at CNN.com
Posted in Extended, Site Admin, mastheads
November 12, 2007 at 4:12 pm
New masthead is finally up. I hope you all appreciate the festivity! It’s taken from this photograph taken last year of our Thanksgiving feast. It’s good to be a vegetarian at Thanksgiving time. Happy holidays – I’ll be writing chapters!