Now on ScienceBlogs: Recent Science-Related Events in the Triangle
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
Category: climate
Just why tree rings no longer provide useful proxy data for temperatures is not known. There are several theories, many of which suggest that climate change itself is the problem.
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 7:21 AM • 26 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: climate
The hacking of the data is a worthwhile story, insofar as IT security goes, but the content is just plain banal. All we learn is that scientists are humans after all.
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 2:51 PM • 164 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: climate
I promise to get back to substantive blogging shortly, but in the meantime, if you've got three minutes to tear yourself away from coverage of Sarah Palin's book: Scientifically sound? Not the words I would use, but not too far...
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 10:58 AM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: climate
Too precious not to pass along: Canadian Tourism Federation Welcome Video from Canadian Tourism Federation on Vimeo. In case there's any doubt. There is no "Canadian Tourism Federation."...
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 9:15 AM • 10 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: climate
Even as late as 2100 there's a still a good chance of the odd record low, even while we approach global average temperatures several degrees above pre-industrial norms.
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 10:52 AM • 10 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: climate
In an otherwise typically error-dominated Newsweek column, George F. Will spelled "minuscule" correctly. So I don't want to read any complaints that Will gets everything wrong each time he writes about climate change. Of course, that doesn't mean we can't...
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 9:36 AM • 9 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: climate
Hoggan could have titled his book "Lies and the lying liars who tell them" but Al Franken already took that one.
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 12:22 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: climate
(Pseudo)-Skeptical Environmental Bjorn Lomborg advises in the Wall Street Journal that spending money on anti-malarial campaigns makes more sense than, and by implication is morally superior to, spending money on cutting carbon emissions. But to make his case, he has...
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 1:54 PM • 9 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: climate
Rarely does a blogging day pass that I don't stumble upon some post or comment or email that champions the value of skepticism of anthropogenic global warming and the need for scientists to answer their critics. So it's refreshing to...
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 7:43 AM • 13 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: climate
Dramatic changes are necessary to avoid catastrophic climate change. There's no getting around that. Pretending, as the Globe and Mail does, that any plan that accepts that reality is "unacceptable" is denial, pure and simple.
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 9:44 AM • 13 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
The Island of Doubt 11.23.2009
The Frontal Cortex 11.22.2009
Gene Expression 11.23.2009
A Blog Around the Clock 11.21.2009
Guilty Planet 11.22.2009
