Greg Laden is a biological anthropologist and science communicator. His research has covered North American prehistoric and historic archaeology and African archaeology and human ecology. He is an OpenSource and OpenAccess advocate. Greg's wife, Amanda, is a High School biology teacher, his daughter Julia is a world traveler and his son Huxley is 2.
You've met them. "Oh, those scientists. They get their funding from the government/industry/political think tanks. They're just producing the results needed to keep their money flowing. They'll say anything it takes. Besides, it's not like they don't make mistakes. Even Newton and Einstein had it…
Imagine the following scenario. Two guys are walking down the street, in different cities. Guy A has two PhDs, one in quantum physics with a focus on dimensionality dynamics, the other in astrophysics with a focus on relativistic aspects of gravity and black holes. She has published dozens of…
The Brown Cube is not the Rubik Cube. Anybody who thinks they are the same is ... wrong.
My friend Asha, as I write this, is heading out to the bar to watch the end of the game. It would be great to join her, but I've got some other things going right now. But YOU can join Asha, who is a pretty…
This is the problem with Christians. They think they have a special pass to do whatever they want as long as it done in the name of their god. Now don't get me wrong here. The average Christian does not think he or she is above the law on a day to day basis. But it is part of Christian religion…
There was a certain amount of Christmas shopping over the weekend, and I have to say the music was over the top this year. Or maybe I'm just getting more sensitive. In any event, it was driving me nuts.
So, I decided that I want to be in charge of the music from now on. And here is the playlist…
... SciTen is coming ...
In preparation for Science Online 2010 Session C, Trust and Critical Thinking organized by Stephanie Zvan and including PZ Myers, Desiree Schell, Greg Laden, and Kirsten Sanford, I'll be posting a few items such as Are You A Real Sketpic? over the next few days.
Most…
Denialism and Customer Service
What happens when it is your job to help people back out of mistakes, but you are an unrepentant skeptic and most of those people you are trying to help are ... not?
... I want to yell at the naturopath who tells me that vaccination is dangerous and that she is…
You see how funny the world is. And I don't mean funny-ha-ha.
Oprah. The show was about all these people who won a million dollars or more. Near the end of the show, Publishers Clearing House drove a van onto the stage and gave a randomly chosen audience member 25 Large. As she and Oprah were…
You know the old gag where the woman is in labor, and then gives birth, and asks the doctor "What is it, a boy or a girl?" and the doctor says "Both! You have twins!"
Well, astronomers have been playing this gag for some time now with a particular star system and the latest surprise just happened…
More than 24 hours after the incident, the Russian Ministry of Defence confirms that it was a failed Bulava missile launch that caused the strange spiral shaped lights over Northern Norway yesterday....
details
If you have not yet read John Wilbanks' posts on OpenSource Science, which is a critique of the idea, than you should. Start with this one. There are two more right after that. But they are very long, so by the time you are done reading all three of those, there will probably be a fourth one!
Orac has been blogging for five years. That's a long time, and it is impossible to look at that five years and say that his blog has not made an important difference.
What? Huh? It's "insolence"? Not "innocence"? Oh right.... all this time I was thinking it was Innocence! ... suddenly, it all…
Turn the blanket 45 degrees and fold down the farthest corner. Place baby with neck over the fold. Bring one side of the blanket across baby and tuck in behind. Bring lower extension of blanket up over the baby, and tuck one side into the same side you tucked the side into. Bring the opposite,…
I mean, you might be, but I'm certainly not going to take your word for it....
I have an email from a blogeague (that's a colleague in the blogosphere) asking for clarification on the use of the word Skeptic in relation to climate change. This is a person very much involved in ocean conservation…
Every now and then Rachel goes OTT with her ... disco ball. This is one of those times:
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
... with a survey.
This is a survey of The Media and your spending habits, which is being done as informal research pursuant to the writing of what will prove to be a very interesting book on a very interesting topic. Please take the survey and then pass on the link to EVERYONE YOU KNOW!!!!11!!…
... and other, related issues.
Gore's recent book: Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis
Oh, and did you notice the Inhofe - "kill the gays" link?
This decade is on track to become the warmest since records began in 1850, and 2009 could rank among the top-five warmest years, the U.N. weather agency reported Tuesday on the second day of a pivotal 192-nation climate conference.
For central Africa and southern Asia this will probably be the…
Google Chrome BETA is now available for Linux. Click here. I get the distinct impression that Google is no taking Linux seriously.
Most interesting Christmas card for under $200.00. ... made out of an iPhone.
Science cookies. (Hat tip PZ)
Traumatized By Truth discussed Kids and Drugs: Time for that chat with the kids about drugs...
Comrade PhysioProf notes the non-skeptical nature of some of the reactions among Skeptics to apparent sex bias in the volume edited by Skeptidemigod Dawkins. I had noticed that as well, and the irony is…
Primate Diaries has an excellent writeup on the very important news that came out overnight regarding the "Danish Text" draft climate agreement, leaked to the UK's Guardian. This climate agreement, if implemented, would significantly change the way climate management happens on this planet over…
The other day I was speaking with my future brother in law about the fact that most people remember that there was more snow in the past than there is now. This is totally true for me because I moved from a part of the country with a lot of snow (NY and New England) to a part of the country with…
This video does not show the tomato incident, but talks about it. More interesting is the depicted assembly line:
Here's one of our local news reports:
The following is the closest thing I could find to a Japanese simulation of the event:
