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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.
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.
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
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
August 31, 2007
Category: climate
Naomi Oreskes, the researcher who could find not a single peer-reviewed climate science publication that disagreed with the consensus that humans are largely to blame for global warming, defends herself against a pathetic attempt to show that she was wrong....
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 5:04 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: climate
But I don't think we should be worrying about such distant futures. Our concern should be for those who will have to deal with the much close future, including possibly ourselves.
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 8:25 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
August 29, 2007
Category: climate
Lomborg's real problem is not that he's too skeptical of climate change alarmism, but that he's too gullible when it comes to believing economic reports.
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 3:19 PM • 11 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: climate
The thawing of Arctic ice typically continues until mid-September, virtually ensuring that next summer's melt season will begin with a much-reduced base of what used to be called "permanent" ice.
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 8:48 AM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
August 28, 2007
Category: politics
In the end, science does in our loyal correspondent.
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 7:54 AM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
August 27, 2007
Category: climate
The climate change denial gang is so predictable. Even when the science as written, and as covered by reputable science journalists, makes it clear that the new evidence bolsters the general consensus, there are those who will give the findings...
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 8:40 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
August 24, 2007
Category: pseudo-science
So Leonardo DiCaprio is picking up where Al Gore left off in the battle to keep Earth habitable. Is this a good thing?...
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 2:53 PM • 9 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: science culture
The New York Times' Sandra Blakeslee reports today that a group of researchers has managed to induce the famous "out-of-body" feeling that sometimes accompanies near-death experiences. So goes another piece of evidence for the "soul." They employed virtual reality gear...
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 7:03 AM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
August 23, 2007
Category: religiosity
The argument that atheists should try hard not to offend people of faith, lest we further polarize the two factions, assumes that the meek will inherit the earth, not the rhetorically courageous. But what historical evidence is there for this...
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 2:10 PM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
August 22, 2007
Category: climate
It's the big question that bedevils climate science and politics: how close are these "tipping points" beyond which things get very bad very fast? Tim Lenton of the Laboratory for Global Marine and Atmospheric Chemistry at the University of East...
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 7:37 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Neurophilosophy 11.19.2009
The Island of Doubt 11.20.2009
Greg Laden's Blog 11.20.2009
The World's Fair 11.19.2009
Laelaps 11.20.2009
