What would the science blogosphere look like in 1993 if it were around then? For one thing, I bet ecology blogs would have been all the rage, because there were huge hairy fights over the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA), national forest policies, and the meaning of wilderness, to name just a few issues that…Continue Reading…
Modern day heretics have it easy compared to their medieval antecedents (at least in the West). Denouncing dogma that they once propagated won’t get them tortured and burned at the stake. But they do stand a good chance of provoking hostile blowback, which is what Mark Lynas, the British environmental writer, has experienced this week….Continue Reading…
To paraphrase a famous observation, cognitive bias in certain precincts of the blogosphere is one of those things you recognize when you see it. So for the hell of it, let’s go to this randomly chosen example at Bishop Hill, the blog of climate skeptic Andrew Montford, who can reliably be counted on to share any…Continue Reading…
Long-time readers know that I enjoy the vibrant forum they have helped create at Collide-a-Scape. Yes, I sometimes get cranky in the comment threads and yes, I sometimes dish out the snark as well as anyone. But I’m conscious of this behavior and I strive to lead by better example. Overall, I’m gratified by the…Continue Reading…
The British environmental writer Mark Lynas gave a speech recently that opened with this remarkable mea culpa: 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…Continue Reading…
One of the most trenchant observers of the science/policy interface is Daniel Sarewitz, co-director of Arizona State University’s Consortium for Science, Policy & Outcomes. Since 2009, Sarewitz has been a regular columnist for the journal Nature. He writes for both general and specialized audiences. His insightful essays, on everything from the politics of climate change…Continue Reading…
In the aftermath of President Obama’s reelection, there was much media discussion of the GOP’s ever-shrinking demographic base. As the Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza pointed out, with the aid of an astonishing chart: That only 11 percent of Republicans’ total vote came from non-whites tells you everything you need to know about the large-scale demographic…Continue Reading…
On Twitter, some smart people I follow alerted me to a post titled, “2012: The year crazy and stupid went mainstream.” It’s by a writer named Bernie Mooney who defines himself as a “progressive contrarian.” Here’s how he begins his post: I’ve always been of the mind that stupid should hurt, so 2012 was a hard…Continue Reading…
So it looks like I’m ending 2012 in a pissing match with PZ Myers. I don’t understand why he’s making such a big issue of my quoting writers like Saul Bellow and Margaret Atwood. I haven’t suggested they are experts in science. I’m merely highlighting observations about the human condition made by literary artists—observations that…Continue Reading…
This exquisitely designed house would be perfect for PZ Myers and Jerry Coyne. I’ll expand on that (and more) in the New Year (later this week). Meanwhile, here’s something from Margaret Atwood that reminds us why religion is not so easy to stamp out in the 21st-century: I think that the religious strand is probably part…Continue Reading…