Russert an alien to a serious debate
Category: politics
For reasons unknown to this observer, Tim Russert has in some parts a reputation as a serious journalist.
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 8:41 AM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
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.
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Profile
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.
Recent Posts
- Gambling on the climate
- Why should we care about the polar bear?
- Polar bears to be listed
- Who are these "neural buddhists" of which you speak?
- McCain's McClimate plan
- Yet more Republicans in denial
- A little game for Monday morning
- Carnival of the Blue 12
- Clinton and the politics of fear
- Why climate change is so tricky to cover
Recent Comments
- dave X on Gambling on the climate
- Hank Roberts on Gambling on the climate
- blugger on Why should we care about the polar bear?
- James Hrynyshyn on Why should we care about the polar bear?
- pough on Why should we care about the polar bear?
- Ian on McCain's McClimate plan
- DaPrez on Polar bears to be listed
- khefera on Polar bears to be listed
- DaPrez on A little game for Monday morning
- scicurious on Who are these "neural buddhists" of which you speak?
for 9 July 2007
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Other Doubtful Blogs
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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
--- 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.
October 31, 2007
October 29, 2007
There is no such thing as a "woman president"
Category: misc
You wouldn't seriously consider using the phrase "man president," now, would you?
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 8:26 AM • 40 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
October 27, 2007
Who ya gonna call?
Category: superstition
Considering how down to earth This Old House magazine is, a seemingly serious piece on ghosts must be a joke, right?
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 11:12 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
October 26, 2007
Uncertainty is here to stay, say climatologists
Category: climate
All those positive feedbacks will accelerate not only global warming, but also increase the uncertainty involved in making predictions about just how warm it will get.
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 8:36 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
After the Warming: a view from 2050 (via 1989)
Category: climate
"Where they got it really wrong was the argument about whether or not the greenhouse effect was actually happening at the time."
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 8:05 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
October 25, 2007
The depths to which creationists will sink
Category: evolution
"Ouch," Dr. Jacobson said. "It was hideous."
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 8:43 AM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
October 24, 2007
Peak Oil: A Thing of the Past?
Category: climate
I have to say that I remain unconvinced that peak oil indeed is in the past. But considering the sources, I am more skeptical of the idea that it remains decades away.
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 7:20 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
October 23, 2007
And the wind cries ...
Category: climate
It's funny, 'cause it's true. Well, metaphorically speaking......
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 7:35 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
October 22, 2007
The trouble with Los Angeles
Category: ecology
Jon Gertner's feature in the current Sunday New York Times magazine is a timely reminder of 1) why the Nobel Committee is giving peace prizes to environmentalists and climatologists, and 2) why (as if we needed another reason) Bjorn Lomborg...
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 7:44 AM • 12 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
October 21, 2007
Getting rid an environmental scourge: unwanted catalogs
Category: ecology
I've just come across a wonderful concept thanks to Grist. I have no idea if it will work, but it seems worth trying: Run by the Natural Resources Defense Council, National Wildlife Federation, and the Ecology Center, Catalog Choice can,...
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 11:46 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
October 18, 2007
The Inevitability of Stupidity case study 567: Jim Watson
Category: misc
Sooner or later even the best of us will come to speak approvingly on something that has no scientific merit.
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 8:10 AM • 10 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
October 16, 2007
Sober second thoughts on solar cells
Category: technology
Just about everyone pushing civilization to kick its fossil-fuel habit includes photovoltaics in the list of renewable technologies that will be required to fill the power supply gap. And just about every week one can read about a new breakthrough...
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 8:45 AM • 13 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
October 15, 2007
Inside Bjorn Lomborg's brain
Category: climate
He just isn't interested in finding out what's going on in the real world.
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 7:53 AM • 7 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
October 12, 2007
Gore takes the prize; British judge less impressed
Category: climate
the problems identified by the British judge are worth examining. They actually shed a good deal of light on the science of climate change and the scientific process.
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 7:02 AM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
October 11, 2007
Nuclear power: the bottom line
Category: technology
"To avert catastrophic global warming, why pick the slowest, most expensive, most limited, most inflexible and riskiest option?"
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 7:45 AM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
October 10, 2007
Nobel Peace Prize favorites: IPCC and Gore?
Category: climate
It was only three years ago that an environmentalist, Wangari Muta Maathai, won the Nobel Peace Prize. Is the Nobel committee prepared to award this year's prize to another champion of the environment? Betsafe.com, a live-betting site, is giving the...
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 9:12 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
October 9, 2007
Dissin' Yoga: You can almost hear the gnashing of teeth
Category: pseudo-science
The real problem sets in when yoga is offered as part of a larger program of alternative care.
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 4:14 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
October 8, 2007
Climate may not be cool, but climate science is
Category: climate
They looked at what the ratio was back in the late 18th century to come up with an estimate of sea surface temperatures back in the decades following Darwin.
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 3:23 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
October 7, 2007
Is it the end of the world as we know it?
Category: climate
Can you really blame editors for using the language they do when there are scientists employing the same communications strategy?
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 8:50 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
October 4, 2007
The French beat us again!
Category: climate
Look what the French are up to on the climate change front. According to Nature, a wide coalition of government, business, labor and environmental advocates have agreed on the following:...
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 10:54 AM • 27 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
October 1, 2007
Inside the Dyson Sphere lives a lovable crank
"Even a smart 22-year-old is not a reliable guide to the future of science. And the 22-year-old has become even less reliable now that he's 82."
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 11:47 AM • 14 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
