Tag: science
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Carpe Datum! Paragraphs from “Galileo’s Middle Finger”
Alice Dreger's "Galileo's Middle Finger: Heretics, Activists, and the Search for Justice in Science," is one of the most refreshing books I have read recently. Dreger is a clinical medical humanities and bioethics professor at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. Nearly twenty years ago, Dreger became an activist for the rights of intersex persons.…
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Pew: Major Gaps Between the Public, Scientists on Key Issues
From Pew Research: Major Gaps Between the Public, Scientists on Key Issues An enlightening interactive chart showing major discrepancies between what scientists believe and what the public believes, segmented by various demographics. It drives home that being pro or anti-science is highly selective across demographic groups. The divergence on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is particularly…
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Science and Technology Links
1. The Atlantic: What Americans Don't Know About Science On a recent survey, just 74 percent of Americans said that the Earth revolves around the sun. … … As you'll see, in the words of the report, "many Americans provide multiple incorrect answers to basic questions about scientific facts." Then again, "residents of other countries, including highly…
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Will Science Journalists Ever Confront Democrats?
Real Clear Science: Will Science Journalists Ever Confront Democrats … He [Phil Pliat at Slate] also rattles off a list of anti-science Congressmen, all Republicans. Excluded from his list are the 53 Democratic Congressmen and Senators (compared to only two Republicans) who wrote a letter to the FDA demanding labels on genetically modified food. This…
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17 Equations That Changed The Course Of Humanity
Business Insider: The 17 Equations That Changed The Course Of Humanity Mathematician Ian Stewart's recent book "In Pursuit of the Unknown: 17 Equations That Changed the World" takes a close look at some of the most important equations of all time. A great example of the human impact of math is the financial crisis. Black…
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Economic Incentives and Science
Science Nordic: Science has always been driven by money There’s no way around it. Money is involved in just about everything. But just how has money affected history’s great scientific discoveries? We may now come closer to an answer, thanks to a new Danish-led research project, which examines the background of some of the great…
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Environmentalist Mark Lynas Changes View on GMOs
Mark Lynas: Lecture to Oxford Farming Conference, 3 January 2013 I want to start with some apologies. For the record, here and upfront, I apologise for having spent several years ripping up GM crops. I am also sorry that I helped to start the anti-GM movement back in the mid 1990s, and that I thereby…