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.
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.
June 27, 2008
Category: politics
So much has come down the political pipe in the past few days I've barely had time to think about science. Plus, I'm just about to head off for a 10-day vacation back on Canadian Shield birthright, so I need...
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 11:22 AM • 26 Comments •
June 24, 2008
Category: religiosity
If theists can be confused about their belief, why shouldn't some atheists be confused about their lack of belief?
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 9:48 AM • 6 Comments •
Category: climate
It would mean getting everyone on board, introducing a cap-and-trade regulatory regime for all fossil-fuels, reorganizing sales taxes and whatnot, but those are only political hurdles. Technologically, there's no reason why it couldn't be done.
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 7:43 AM • 9 Comments •
June 23, 2008
Category: religiosity
The way I see, it "In God We Trust" is more offensive than "I Believe."
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 7:46 AM • 6 Comments •
June 20, 2008
Category: climate
Sixty years is a blink of the metaphorical eye on geological time scales, and it's still damn fast when you're talking about climate change. While it may be far too long for Wall Street to worry about, six decades is...
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 3:00 PM • 2 Comments •
June 17, 2008
Category: climate
It's a wasteful process, sort of like turning gold into lead. Or composting caviar.
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 2:55 PM • 4 Comments •
June 13, 2008
Category: climate
Among the most common arguments to emerge from attendees of the climate-change slide show we members of Al Gore's Climate Project hear is "what about nuclear energy?" After all, it doesn't produce any greenhouse gas emissions, at least not while...
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 12:46 PM • 23 Comments •
June 12, 2008
Category: climate
The jobs it would mean, and the impact on urban planning would be staggering, but welcome.
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 9:39 AM • 10 Comments •
June 9, 2008
Category: climate
Even existing alternatives take time to introduce. And we may be running out of the kind of time needed to bring about the necessary transition.
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 1:22 PM • 1 Comments •
June 5, 2008
Category: climate
It's not so much what we know as the trends associated with what we don't that are so convincing.
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 10:54 AM • 3 Comments •
June 3, 2008
Category: climate
The report of NASA's Office of the Inspector General on the clumsy attempts to censoring climate science makes for a most enjoyable read. We can laugh now that it's over, I mean. There are lots of gems among the overall...
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 11:44 AM • 1 Comments •
June 2, 2008
Category: climate
It is no exaggeration to raise the specter of changes so dramatic that much of the planet will not be able to support human life without extraordinary measures.
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 7:42 AM • 11 Comments •
June 1, 2008
Category: cetacea
It's still far too early to tie what may or may not be going on with the minke to global warming.
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 3:08 PM • 2 Comments •
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