Strangely Perfect

It Was 50 Years Ago, Today …when mankind left the gravitational confines of our Earth. A poor boy from the steppes, Yuri Gagarin, simultaneously became the first man in space and the first man to leave Earth and orbit it completely.  (This is something that took NASA several steps before John Glenn finally emulated the [...]

Introduction This week will see some news that will be twisted and churned by the climate change sceptics… Apparently, the coral islands are responding well to sea-level rises, which are real, make no mistake. The New Scientist article is here and the BBC News item is here. The Reality In my previous post, The Maldives [...]

I was staggered to read the contents of this news article today; Vegetative state patients can respond to questions Apparently, new research shows that people previously thought to be in a vegetative state can respond to questions “in a funny way” by being prompted to think of things as a way of answering the questions.  [...]

Via some Google Alerts I’ve got set up, I came across the weirdest definition of “Crawling Chaos” that I’ve seen for quite some time. This is the complete web-page on the right and it’s source, the link below: http://bathroomgirl.tumblr.com/post/276368760 In essence, it’s a long list of weird photos; some disturbing, some funny, many thoughtful, not [...]

It’s Just Like Bladerunner, And Not Just the Weather! Tears in Rain Bladerunner, the movie, based on an old Philip K Dick science-fiction story, was made by Ridley Scott from North-East England, someone I’m distantly related to.  Made in 1982, it presents a very grey, wet, bleak future, heavily referencing Scott’s (and my own!) upbringing [...]

Is Nuclear power Safe? Watch how the politicians duck and dive. Watch how they pick and choose which bits of ‘science’ to believe! Last week, smiley Alan Johnson fell out with serious Professor Nutt because the professor said some factual scientific things, things proven by statistics and analysis to have an overwhelming degree of proof.  [...]

Alan Johnson Sacks the Messenger This, of course, relates to the recent sackings and supportive resignations of Government Scientific Advisors (see More advisers may go in drugs row) . The home secretary faces the threat of more scientists resigning after sacking his chief drugs adviser Prof David Nutt for his comments about cannabis policy. Two [...]

The statements this week, by the UK government’s chief energy scientist, are right up my street.  See Britons creating ‘more emissions’ on the BBC. It’s obvious really. Over the last few decades our (meaning the UK and all western nations’) manufacturing industries have collapsed. Yet we can still buy stuff, more and more stuff actually. [...]

I remember an old  Tommy Cooper gag that went something like this; I went to the doctor and said,  “Doctor, doctor.  It hurts when I do this”  (Cooper raises his knee upwards to demonstrate) The doctor said, “Well don’t do it, then“ The point is that it’s exactly like our prolific consumption of carbon-based fuels, [...]

Is This the Worst Science Project Ever? The Daily Telegraph, short of stories this summer now that the expenses scandal is dead, has published a picture of Angelina Jolie under the heading: Women getting more beautiful, say scientists: (see link) According to some work done by  Finnish Philosopher/Psychologist Markus Jokela, …attractive women have more children [...]

Exploring the Simultaneous Nature of Cause & Effect Star Trek: The Next Generation: Finale, Episode – “All Good Things…” I’ve just watched the double episode finale to the TNG Picard series just after the cyclists finished their ascent of Mont Ventoux in this years Tour de France.  It was “All Good Things…”(see link, link & [...]

I saw some news today that apparently gives some creedence to the idea that music is what makes us human.  It’s here: ‘Oldest musical instrument’ found The academic in charge, Nicholas Conard, said that the development of music probably helped social cohesion in our ancestors, making their survival and our own existence, possible!  This is [...]

There’s a lot of hatred in the UK that we all have to pay a ‘licence’ fee to watch TV. Some people say that it gives quality and independence to the Corporation. Others have commented on the corridors full of empty champagne bottles… Recent scandals like the Jonathan Ross affair have seen the BBC ‘fined’ [...]

Data, and Trust in Science The Burden of Proof is on Science but ’twas ever thus…. The arguments from climate change sceptics ultimately hinge around the general perception of aloofness and intangibility that hang round science and scientists.  The trouble is that some people are basically innumerate and no amount of trying will make them [...]