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The Island of Doubt

An irregular exploration of the struggle between the power of rational discourse and the scientific method on one hand, and the forces of superstition and dogma on the other. Mostly regarding climate change, though.

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me-fergus.jpg James Hrynyshyn is a freelance science journalist based in western North Carolina, where he tries to put degrees in marine biology and journalism to good use.

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Inspiration

The Demon-Haunted World:
Science as a Candle
in the Dark, by Carl Sagan
(A review)

The Doubter's Companion:
by John Ralston Saul (Excerpts)

Skeptic Magazine: www.skeptic.com

Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal: www.csicop.org

A poem by Yehuda Amichai:
The Place
Where We Are Right


The Meaning of the
Island of Doubt


Author's site: cyamid.net


Add to Technorati Favorites! Penetrating so many secrets, we cease to believe in the unknowable. But there it sits nevertheless, calmly licking its chops.
--- H. L. Mencken

By doubting we come to inquiry; and through inquiry we perceive truth.
--- Peter Abelard

Undisguised clarity is easily mistaken for arrogance.
-- Richard Dawkins

As for evolution, it happened. Deal with it.
-- Michael Shermer.

"There is no need to sally forth, for it remains true that those things which make us human are, curiously enough, always close at hand. Resolve, then, that on this very ground, with small flags waving, and tiny blasts of tinny trumpets, we have met the enemy, and not only may he be ours, he may be us."
--Walt Kelly

June 27, 2007

Argument from authority: the voice of the "scientist"

Category: Sci-culture

You know how some people can't just leave that half-pint of ice cream sitting in the fridge? You know you shouldn't, but you can't resist. I'm that way with climate change stories. So when a friend called to alert me...

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June 26, 2007

Evolution, Einstein, E.T. and Star Trek: together again

Category: evolution

Picard and the gang race to re-assemble bits of a message encoded in the genomes of disparate species throughout the galaxy...

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June 25, 2007

Gore takes "swipe" at dithering climatologists.. or does he?

Category: climate

But one could just as easily read that last excerpted sentence as a lament for a lack of consensus itself.

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June 23, 2007

The incredible calculating canine!

Category: pseudo-science

"Her husband decided to ask their 4-year-old dog another question, the square root of 25. Micah tapped his paw five times."

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June 21, 2007

Coal supplies running low?

Category: climate

"in some areas, only 5 percent of the coal was recoverable with today's technology and at current prices"

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June 20, 2007

Girly names and sexy names

Category: misc

"While most linguists think there is no inherent relationship between the sound of a word and its meaning, there is some evidence to the contrary..."

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June 19, 2007

"Planet Earth today: imminent peril"

Category: climate

"We infer that it would be not only dangerous, but also foolhardy to follow a BAU path for future GHG emissions."

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The wisdom of ancient Islam

Category: religiosity

Scienceblog posts tend to revolve around current events, almost to the point where history is irrelevant, and the Island of Doubt is no different. I try to put things in historical perspective, but concede that I tend too often overlook...

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June 18, 2007

The autism conspiracy

Category: medicine

I take a keener interest in the autism-vaccine conspiracy nonsense, now that I'm taking my very young son to the doctors every few months for his shots. It bothers me no end that not every parent does the same, and...

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White paint saves the planet?

Category: climate

Business Week recently published an odd little essay by Greg Blonder, someone I've not come across before. He posits that painting your roof white will do more to offset anthropogenic climate change than installing photovoltaic panels. Seriously. The science appears...

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