James Burke was a wonderful science communicator (still may be; I don’t know if he’s still alive). Twenty-something years ago, I remember watching one of his TV series, The day the world changed. It impressed me then, & I wasn’t disappointed when I watched part of it again today, having found a link to it via […]
Continue readingTag: nature of science
why you should study evolution
I’ve just been talking with some of my students about evolution: fact, theory, process of, the whole lot. And why it’s important that people learn about it. I wish I had seen this piece by Olivia Judson beforehand – I could have referred them to it there & then. And because she says it so […]
Continue readingi didn’t know that!
When I was a kid one of my favourite books was Old Yellow. Great adventure story – but ends (spoiler alert) with the dog getting shot because it developed rabies. I was so pleased to find out that we didn’t have rabies in NZ! Anyway, rabies is caused by a virus, & there’s a vaccine for […]
Continue readingpromoting a scientific mind
There’s an excellent post (& subsequent discussion) over on Pharyngula, on how to promote ‘a scientific mind’ – using science, understanding science, enjoying science, knowing how it’s done. While some of the comments may refer to the US system, what’s being discussed on Pharyngula is relevant to us all – go over there & join in!
Continue readingcritical 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 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 readingpossibilities for future research into evolution
A week or so back I posted comments by Massimo Pigliucci about future directions for evolution research. He was speaking in the context of an international workshop where these new ideas and directions were up for discussion. Well, that workshop’s over, material from it is available on-line (parts 1, 2, & 3), and the participants […]
Continue readingthe beauty & wonder of science
I remember reading one of Richard Dawkins’ books in which he made the comment that a rainbow does not become any less beautiful just because we understand how it’s formed. Now I’ve come across a similar statement in another book (The Single Helix) by one of my favourite science writers, Steve Jones.
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