Saturday’s NZ Herald carried a story under the headline, Locking in the benefits of dieting (along with the almost obligatory picture of someone carrying far too much weight round their middle). Nothing contentious in the research (& I went off & read the original paper too, since the Herald provided a reference) – but it’s a good example […]
Continue readingCategory: critical thinking
critical thinking & journalism
This morning’s NZ Herald carried an item on a study into immigrant doctors in NZ practising non-western medicine: how they perceived themselves & their role in patient health, & how their patients saw them. It certainly caught my attention – so much so that I found the original paper on line & looked at that […]
Continue reading‘the genius of Charles Darwin’
PZ has just posted the video The Genius of Charles Darwin on Pharyngula. It’s fronted by Richard Dawkins, & his intention in making this film (part of a series, by the sound of it) is to look at who Darwin was, how he developed the theory of evolution, what that theory is – & why it […]
Continue readinghave your say on science
On reading Charles Darwin’s blog (yes, really!), I see that the UK government has begun a process of public consultation on science, with the aim of [p]romoting public engagement on increasingly complex science issues and encouraging more people to choose science as a career. Which is an eminently desirable outcome, though how far the consultation process […]
Continue reading‘the demon-haunted world’
Another in the occasional series of ‘what I’m reading’ (actually, there are 3 books on the go at the moment but I’ve only just started the second & I’m still trying to decide whether or not I like the third). This one is The demon-haunted world by the late, great Carl Sagan.
Continue readinghow not to design an experiment
On the Panda’s Thumb today I read a review of a very poor experimental set-up indeed. Apparently demonstrating that beneficial mutations (here, antibiotic resistance) lower the fitness of the organism possessing them, it actually does no such thing because of the multiple flaws in its design. But read the review – the reviewer (ERV) studies virology […]
Continue readingyou won’t get a 747 from a tornado in a junkyard
A recent letter-writer in our local paper presented this argument: Many people believe the evolutionary theory but none practice it. For example, how much is left to chance in the design and assembly of a 747 jet? Nothing is left to chance. Every component is tested to breaking point to find any weakness in design […]
Continue readinghow evolutionary theory develops
I’ve just come across an excellent post by evolutionary biologist Massimo Pigliucci, talking about how evolutionary theory has developed since the ‘modern synthesis’ was set out. (And of course, the modern synthesis was an advance on Darwin’s orginal theory of natural selection as the agent of descent with modification – science changes as it accommodates […]
Continue readingsomething to listen to
I’m away at a conference at the moment, & maybe in a day or two I’ll find time to write about some of the things I’ve heard. One of the speakers had some things to say that I think are very relevant to students. But for now – following on from that article in the Dominion […]
Continue readingare internet polls worthwhile?
Over the weekend the Dominion ran an internet poll, accompanying this article. It posed the question: Should schools be allowed to teach ‘intelligent design? The two options given were a) yes, all theories should be taught, & b) no, it doesn’t belong in science class. (I might be a bit off in the wording, as the […]
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