My latest Wired article is now online and on the newsstands. It's about the messiness of experimental science, the blind-spots created by knowledge, Thorstein Veblen, European Jews and the background static created by the Big Bang.
- Log in to post comments
More like this
Every so often you will come across somebody who has a "killer" list
of "problems" with the Big Bang. While there remain unknowns and
questions about the Big Bang— just as there do with biological
evolution— the basic picture of the Big Bang is rock
solid— just like evolution.
Nearly two…
Science magazine reports:
In an unusual last-minute edit that has drawn flak from the White House and science educators, a federal advisory committee omitted data on Americans' knowledge of evolution and the big bang from a key report. The data shows that Americans are far less likely than the rest…
“Gamow was fantastic in his ideas. He was right, he was wrong. More often wrong than right. Always interesting; … and when his idea was not wrong it was not only right, it was new.” -Edward Teller
100 years ago, our conception of the Universe was so small it's almost laughable. We still were mired…
Two summers ago, I was in Les Houches, France, for a summer school that turned out to be one of the best experiences of my life. Seriously, we'd wake up every day and this was the view from the school:
Well, the University/Institution that ran the school sends periodic updates to me. And they…
Loved it, Jonah. Thanks!
You are on a roll, Jonah. This article is beautiful!
Beautiful article. I forwarded it immediately to all my nerdy friends. Thanx :-)
Bricks and mortar, the best way to describe this article. JL I dig your writing style. You provide the conceptual bricks and then layer the mortar of insight to give the article its richness.
Thank youâ¦fantastic!
Victor Antonio, Sales Influence
p.s., Loved your book, "How we Decide". Merry Christmas!
Beautiful text. Loved to read it.
I like how this line ties to your recent post on Why We Travel:
"There are advantages to thinking on the margin. When we look at a problem from the outside, weâre more likely to notice what doesnât work."
many thanks, m-
It's not easy to think on the margin when you've been working in the middle. Dunbar's E. coli team probably needed weeks of neurotransmitter-draining work before the correct resonant pattern could assert itself against all expectations.
I liked the data on the cingulate gyrus, which I couldn't document ten years ago. Thanks!
great article. especially loved the part about metaphors and analogies....it almost felt like it was another article at that point. would like to hear you talk/investigate more about the creation of a "specialized language" and how using metaphors and analogies facilitate outside thinking...
how do you deal with the "scientists" that subscribe to wired? their comments are intolerable (almost as bad as youtubers). someone went on a tirade about the process of dunbar's ball experiment. geez, dunbar informing the subjects of density and the environment of the balls dropping was immaterial to seeing how the brain behaves to view the information it's given. that's what he was really testing. although, i would avoid using the word "squirt" next time. and the "programmer" who accused you of not knowing how the scientific process works...i'm not scientist, but i at least know he missed the point.
sorry, i'm getting all riled up, for you.
anyways, great article. enjoyed the avatar post, too :)