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.
Author's site: cyamid.netPenetrating 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.
If you have never posted a comment on ScienceBlogs before, now would be the time. Every commenter who supplies an email these days gets entered to win one of the those all-expenses-paid things to New York City. The trip includes...
If you've ever wanted to know what ScienceBloggers are like in the real world, and you're going to be in the general vicinity of Asheboro, North Carolina (that's halfway between the mountains and the ocean), drop by the NC Zoo...
Posted on September 2, 2008 9:12 AM • 1 Comments •
If you'd like to join a sort of Scienceblogs elite reader club, you've got two days to send me an email. Each blog here can nominate two readers for access to one massive club account on del.icio.us. You'll be asked...
Vote now, before the polls close today at 10 pm ET, in the Best Science Blog competition. It's neck and neck between Bad Astronomy, which is a pretty cool read, and Climate Audit, which is a place where people who...
Read the Science Creative Quarterly's list of 15 statements that are as close to being true as we can get without invoking dogma. You won't learn much, but I might win an iPod, allowing my wife and me easy access...
Posted on September 4, 2007 3:53 PM • 1 Comments •
The Guardian wins the prize for best headline for its coverage of the tipsy astronauts: "Drunk astronauts go from Right Stuff to the hard stuff." While we're on the subject, though, how about this, even less amusing, story: "Three die...
Last week, the city council of Brevard, N.C, a community just over a couple of hills from here that's known for its vibrant musical culture, voted to remove the fluoride they've been adding to the public water supply for last...
I love music as much as the next guy, just not when I'm actually out in the real world, which offers much more interesting -- and often critical -- sounds. But I had no idea just how dangerous iPods and...
I don't really care if those power lines, which are at the moment tangled in a tree lying across the street a few hundred meters from our house, can deliver a megawatt of power for a nanosecond. What I need is one or two kilowatts for several hours at a stretch.
My least favorite story-that's-occupying-too-much-media-attention this week is the Al Sharpton-Strom Thurmond family-ties affair. As a former newspaper editor, I know all too well why the story of the uncovering of the connection between a prominent African-American civil-rights leader and famous...
Following up on a couple of posts back in which I trumpeted Gary Trudeau's inclusion in Doonesbury strip an apocryphal story about Grand Canyon park rangers and the age of the geological wonder they are entrusted with explaining to the...
If I like what I see, I'll receive 5 more issues (6 in all) for just $14.95. That's 50% off the cover price! If I'm not completely satisfied, I'll simply write "cancel" on the invoice and owe nothing. The free issue is mine to keep.
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.
