Science is not a religion
Category: Sci-culture
No other ideology or religion even comes close to the scientific method's reliance on skepticism to advance understanding.
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 10:29 AM • 13 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. Mostly regarding climate change, though.
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.
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Recent Posts
- The Ultimate Charles Darwin Coffee-Table Book
- Hacked emails, tree-ring proxies and blogospheric confusion
- The hacked climate science email scandal that wasn't
- The ultimate anti-tar sands message
- Canada learns to love global warming
- Record high and low temps: An interesting trend
- George Will gets something right
- Climate Cover-Up
- Bjorn Lomborg launches campaign against logic
- The link between the climate denial and anti-vaccine crowds
Recent Comments
- Mike on The Ultimate Charles Darwin Coffee-Table Book
- Christopher Byrne on Hacked emails, tree-ring proxies and blogospheric confusion
- Nils Ross on Hacked emails, tree-ring proxies and blogospheric confusion
- Brian Macker on Hacked emails, tree-ring proxies and blogospheric confusion
- mandas on Hacked emails, tree-ring proxies and blogospheric confusion
- Moderately Unbalanced Squid on Hacked emails, tree-ring proxies and blogospheric confusion
- Brian Macker on The hacked climate science email scandal that wasn't
- titmouse on Hacked emails, tree-ring proxies and blogospheric confusion
- Science Avenger on The hacked climate science email scandal that wasn't
- qbsmd on Hacked emails, tree-ring proxies and blogospheric confusion
Archives
- November 2009
- October 2009
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Other Doubtful Blogs
- Panda's Thumb
- Real Climate
- George Monbiot
- Chet Raymo
- Ben Goldacre
- James Annan
- John Fleck
- Kristine Harley
- DeSmogBlog
- Climate Progress
- Jennifer Oullette
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.
"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
Sci-culture:
The Nobel prizes are in need of a makeover
Category: ecology
Given the attention that a Nobel prize brings to scientists and their work, it only seems appropriate to use that free publicity to focus more media resources on the climate crisis on an annual schedule.
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 10:34 AM • 18 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Don't be such a scientist: A review
Category: Sci-culture
It seems Olson has at last freed himself from the straitjacket of "framing" that seemed to lurk behind the scenes in Sizzle in favor of just being human. It's a welcome and refreshing approach that anyone interested in taking science to a wider audience should embrace.
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 10:36 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Should scientists be policy advocates?
Category: Sci-culture
First, we have the argument that speaking out as an advocate undermines the reputation of the individual or an entire field of science. That's an easy one to demolish.
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 11:25 AM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Defying Gravity (but not the unforgiving reality of the television market)
Category: Sci-culture
It could be the last gasp of hard-core sci-fi on network television.
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 10:11 AM • 17 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Science v. Atheism: the Dalai Lama gambit
Category: religiosity
Imagine the reaction if Francis Collins were to say "If science proves some belief of Christianity wrong, then Christianity will have to change."
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 10:09 AM • 21 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
The signal to noise problem in the climate crisis (and I'm not talking about data analysis)
Category: climate
The trick is convincing the climatology pseudoskeptics that there will always be loose ends,
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 7:18 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Unscientific America (isn't the only problem)
Category: Sci-culture
So sharp is their criticism of the scientific establishment that the book's subtitle is perhaps a little misleading.
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 12:03 PM • 24 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
The problem with Twitter
Category: Sci-culture
The more you Tweet, the less you think. The more Tweets you follow, the less you understand.
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 2:44 PM • 7 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Another one bites the dust: CNN axes science team
Category: Sci-culture
It sure would be nice to see the corporate robber barons that run the most popular media in the country do what's right for a change.
Posted by James Hrynyshyn at 12:44 PM • 101 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
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