Category Archives: science

Sustainable Energy Choices

Posted on 2011-06-29 by alan

Barry Brooks at ‘BraveNewClimate’ has made a brave effort at summing up the need for nuclear power as part of the CO2-free mix in a brief video, but parts of it still felt to me like “industry propaganda” – to the … Continue reading →

Posted in climate, sustainability | Tagged nuclear power | Leave a comment

Twisted Language in Physics

Posted on 2011-06-22 by alan

From the discussion in Quantum Diaries, it seems that helicity is a property of motion and chirality a property of shape (where, in the case of an elementary particle, this might be represented by something like the shape of a level … Continue reading →

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Creationism at the Royal Society

Posted on 2011-04-09 by alan

This would be old news but for the fact that the Royal Society’s president at the time was Martin Rees – who might now be seen by some as finally getting his reward for letting it happen. On the other … Continue reading →

Posted in religion, science | Tagged templeton | Leave a comment

And They have the guns!

Posted on 2011-03-25 by alan

From Discover Magazine:

Posted in canada, evolution, usa | Leave a comment

Moral Realism

Posted on 2011-03-24 by alan

Sean Carroll has taken issue with Richard Carrier over the latter’s position on Moral Realism. On reading Carrier I think that his real point is (or should be) that realism and relativism are not in conflict. Moral values, like the economic … Continue reading →

Posted in psychology | Tagged ethics, moral realism | Leave a comment

Algorithmic Babies and the Chinese Room

Posted on 2011-02-24 by alan

I commented at Stephen Downes’ website on Patricia Kuhl’s TED talk about “The Linguistic Genius of Babies”. My quibble was less with the content than with the sentimentalized headline, because, although the babies’ brains do appear to implement a sophisticated … Continue reading →

Posted in biology, neuroscience | Tagged AI, Chinese Room, language, neural networks | Leave a comment

Defining Evolution

Posted on 2011-02-21 by alan

When I read the title of this piece (Theologians Lobby Successfully to Change Definition of Evolution | Cosmic Variance | Discover Magazine)I was prepared to get angry. But instead I am embarrassed on behalf of those who are complaining about … Continue reading →

Posted in evolution, religion | Leave a comment

“The Belief Instinct”

Posted on 2011-02-21 by alan

Jesse Bering’s “The Belief Instinct” is described as an exploration of possible sources of religion in cognitive tendencies towards a sense of being observed even when we have no evidence for it. To support this idea he reportedly both cites … Continue reading →

Posted in evolution, psychology, religion | Leave a comment

Christopher Norris Defends Philosophy

Posted on 2011-02-20 by alan

Christopher Norris has written an article in Philosophy Now defending the Philosophy of Science from allegations of its irrelevance by scientists (most recently Stephen Hawking for example). Norris alleges the existence of “scientists’ need to philosophize and their proneness to … Continue reading →

Posted in physics, science | Tagged philosophy, quantum mechanics | 1 Comment

Sunrise and Sunset at Solstices

Posted on 2011-01-03 by alan

It is curious that the days of shortest and longest periods of sunlight (which just about everyone knows are due to the tilt of the earth’s spin axis relative to the plane of its orbit) are not everywhere the same … Continue reading →

Posted in astronomy | Tagged longest day, shortest day | Leave a comment

The Chinese Room

Posted on 2010-12-09 by alan

Stephen Downes links to this notice about three free Philosophy courses from John Searle who is famous for his Chinese Room thought experiment. Now Searle may be a great teacher, and the ‘Chinese Room’ may be a useful paedagogical device, … Continue reading →

Posted in biology, psychology | Tagged AI, Chinese Room, searle | 1 Comment

Miraculous Magnetic Clowns

Posted on 2010-11-29 by alan

James McGirk, writing in 3quarksdaily, repeats the widely stated claim that the Insane Clown Posse display inexcusable ignorance when they claim, in their song ‘Miracles’, to be mystified by magnets. One line in particular snagged the world’s attention: “Water, fire, … Continue reading →

Posted in arts and culture, physics | Leave a comment

The Inheritors of What?

Posted on 2010-11-18 by alan

A new book by Eric Kaufmann entitled Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth?: Demography and Politics in the Twenty-First Century is

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The Myth of Separate Magisteria | Big Questions Online

Posted on 2010-11-15 by alan

The Myth of Separate Magisteria | Big Questions Online. The main problem (aside from its pretentious name) with Stephen Jay Gould’s concept of “Non-overlapping Magisteria” as a resolution of the “conflict” between science and religion is the fact that many … Continue reading →

Posted in religion, science, uncategorized | Leave a comment

Who Needs Saving?

Posted on 2010-09-08 by alan

It is disappointing to see a supposedly sophisticated voice of religion still so literalistic.

Posted in christianity, religion, science | Tagged comte-sponville, cottingham, johnston | Leave a comment

Back From the Future

Posted on 2010-08-29 by alan

An article in DISCOVER Magazine discusses an apparent influence of the decision to make later measurements on the results of earlier ones. But then it turns out that the effect persists even when the later measurement is not recorded. Such … Continue reading →

Posted in physics | Leave a comment