Stuff I Wrote Elsewhere
From my work blog, on how not to make national non-proliferation policy.
Archive of posts filed under the science category.
Stuff I Wrote Elsewhere
One of the fundamental public misunderstandings about science, I think, is the difference between textbooks full of answers known and scientists poking blindly out at the fuzzy edge. That’s why the latest dietary study (“But I thought they said coffee was good for me!”) always causes such public puzzlement. That’s the premise I was trying …
Blowing Shit Up
Today’s lesson: never mix alkali metals with water. Now that’s science. (Hat tip Quark Soup.)
On Line Leadership
Luis reminded me the other day of one of the few smart insights I’ve ever had: the notion that in the free software world, a free-for-all of self-organizing social systems, “evolution” of a sort selects for nice people. Commenters at the time (rightly, I think) complained that “nice” was a bit “self-patting.” Jeff Waugh worked …
Stuff We Wrote Elsewhere
$3 a gallon gas and $70 a barrel oil represent a teachable moment. The results of my schooling can be found here: So is biodiesel made from restaurant fry oil the answer to our nation’s transportatioan fuel woes? The short answer, energy experts say, is “no.” But once the caveats are added in, the longer …
On the Radio
If you’re in Albuquerque, you can catch me on the radio this afternoon at 2, talking with Kim Johnson and Dave Thomas of New Mexicans for Science and Reason. We’ll be talking about science journalism. Or something. I’m not sure exactly what, but I trust Kim and Dave to ask some sort of useful questions.
Ancient Art
The cave paintings of Chauvet-Pont-D’Arc captivate me. Our ancestors were making art in depths of the last ice age, long before they domesticated food. It takes all kinds of hubris and reductionist deconstruction to imagine why they were doing it, so I’d rather just let it be and enjoy the fact that they did it. …
Drought Chat
I’m the guinea pig for an on-line chat experiment at the office. My chosen topic is drought science, of course. Join us tomorrow (Thurs. 5/25) at 1:00 p.m. MDT, or send in your questions early.
The Last Word
My employer kindly pays for a subscription to New Scientist, which has become my favorite curl-up reading, not least because the Brits seem to have mastered the amusement offered by their native tongue. My favorite bit is the last couple of pages, including the hilarious Feedback and The Last Word. The latter is a feature …
More Stuff I Wrote Elsewhere
Very late to the party, I finally got around to assembling what we know about that May 4 streak in the sky.