two magesteria In the courtroom
Three years before he died, paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould, one of my favorite popularizers of science, published a book called Rocks of Ages: Science and …
Pseudoscience
FROM THE ARCHIVES: in perpetuity
NOTE: I have a couple of blog posts in the works, and two others percolating in the back of my brain. But today the galleys …
skeptic etiquette
In the face of my very scientifically brilliant co-bloggers, this post might seem ridonkulously dumb, but this problem has been weighing heavy on my mind, …
does science fiction matter? at all? even a little?
Oh, cool! My favorite topic. And somebody asked me to write about it! Peggy Kolm, over at Biology in Science Fiction, sent the Cocktail Party …
does science fiction matter? at all? even a little? Continue Reading >>
REPOST: ghost in the machine
[NOTE: I'm currently in Boston attending the 2008 Industrial Physics Forum, and also writing blog posts about the various talks here. Nothing like hard work …
burn, baby, burn
It’s only a matter of time before C.S.I. and its various spinoffs warrant their own channel, along with the Law and Order franchise. Until then, …
hot capillary action
Most science history buffs are familiar with William Herschel, the famed astronomer who discovered the planet Uranus in the 18th century. His son, John, is …
genie in a bottle
One of Val Kilmer’s less stellar roles was as Simon Templar in 1997’s The Saint. Templar is a master thief and master of disguise who …
tongues of fire
There's very little these days that will keep me up past my usual bedtime; chalk it up to one too many all-nighters in college, but …
casting out the demons
"Fear of things invisible is the natural seed of that which every one in himself calleth religion." –Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (1651) Today is the …