It’s not a gambit. It’s not fraud. It’s not an opinion. And it’s not biased like you think it is. Most of us, when we think about what science is, default […]
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The top of Mauna Kea is the ideal physical site for this new, ready-to-be-built telescope. But that’s far from the only concern. For many years, astronomers have looked forward to a […]
A recent study by researchers from Oxford and Cornell University examines the relationship between trust and moral principles.
After seeing these pictures, you’ll switch to raising your own. “People speak sometimes about the “bestial” cruelty of man, but that is terribly unjust and offensive to beasts, no animal […]
How a funny idea to ship your enemies glitter turned into an empire. “There is a concept that is the corrupter and destroyer of all others. I speak not of […]
In the United States, the FDA has the power to fine drug companies $10,000 a day for failing to publish clinical trials, yet most clinical trials still never see the light of day.
Make the world a better place — fighting disease and poverty while helping move science forward — with your computer’s spare time! Image credit: The Charity Engine, via slideshare.net. “While we do our good […]
We’ve known for a very long time that our body language influences others. What we’re only now beginning to understand is how our body language alters the way we ourselves perceive the world.
And the undeniable physics of how fusion actually works. Image credit: The FIRE Place, via http://fire.pppl.gov/. “Between cold fusion and respectable science there is virtually no communication at all. …because the […]
THE Gretchenfrage is this: Should honest, intelligent parents from a not so-privileged background send their children to the Ivy League when they know (and have been warned by the likes […]
…that said, what’s the big deal of having no soul when it got you into Harvard or Yale? You can’t have petty moral issues in high society; elites simply see […]
“Regulation” need not be a dirty word. When new technologies emerge that shift the paradigms under which an industries operate, it’s important for legislative authorities to prudently adjust the rules without stifling further innovation.
All the questions about the meaning of life, Plato found, belonged to the same area of knowledge, which we now call philosophy. Plato made the quest for understanding life one […]
Psychopaths make up 1 to 2 percent of the American population. That’s around 6,278,000 psychopaths who live among us and use intimidation and manipulation to lord over others. In any […]
Peter Singer: There’s been an enormous amount of changing forces on warfare in the twenty-first century. And they range from new actors in war like private contractors, the black waters […]
Recognizing corporate corruption and ending abuses of power are noble goals. But our system of overseeing, controlling, and when necessary, punishing corporations and their executives is flawed.
There appears to be a bizarre stigma around people – especially women – who voluntarily decide not to procreate.
I’m not sure where to begin on the ethics of this. On the up side, inspiring kids to learn about technology such as this could directly lead to promising careers […]
Higgs is Confirmed After a Higgs-like particle was detected last summer by CERN scientists, that particle has now been confirmed to be the real deal. Read more here. Sex in […]
First things first – I’m not a doctor, but the surprise new rules issued by the GMC (the British regulator for doctors) still worry me. Not just because I might perhaps one day […]
Fellow pseudonymous neuroblogger Neuroskeptic(to whom I owe a great deal in inspiration) has published a fantastic piece in Trends in Cognitive Sciences ($) on the benefits to science of anonymity. Last November Neuroskeptic became […]
In our increasingly overloaded lives today we need shortcuts, or rules of thumb, to guide our decision-making.
The problem of scientists manipulating data in order to achieve statistical significance, labelled p-hacking is incredibly hard to track down due to the fact that the data behind statistical significance is often unavailable for analysis by anyone other than those who did the research and themselves analysed the data.
Perceptions of Promise: Biotechnology, Society and Art is an interdisciplinary project that brings together a group of internationally recognized artists and social commentators to produce a body of original art work […]
On Sunday at 7pm EST PBS Nova is airing a special on the science of mega-storm Sandy. For readers who work and teach at universities, I encourage you to watch the […]
Editor’s Note: Please welcome Korey Peters, who’s written a guest post about an atheist organization he’s founded that he’s calling the Calgary Secular Church. In this post, he’ll explain what […]
If you think of all of the greatest viral campaigns in the world, you’d struggle to think of many from Asia. But that doesn’t mean people aren’t trying, and you […]
We don’t know what the future will bring in terms of enhancement. But to be fundamentally opposed to it is to fundamentally opposed to the future of medical science.
These days, it seems that the same common concepts are stressed over and over in order to ensure team success. But I believe, from pee-wee to pro, that this standard […]
Jesse Bering is the author of the new book, “Why is the Penis Shaped Like that?: And Other Reflections on Being Human.” He is well known in my circles as […]