Category Archives: Science
Climate Change
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 2nd December 2019The video below, despite its sarcastic title, makes an important point. It’s that when looked at over a long time frame climate change is not as pronounced as some believe it to be. I am not an expert in this field and am not qualified to pass judgement on this view or those who think…
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You Cannot See My Face
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 18th October 2019The Universe is not only stranger than you think; it’s stranger than you can imagine. Richard Feynman The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity. WB Yeats And he (Moses) said: “Show me, now, Your glory!” He (God) said: “I will let all…
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Dumber Than a Broom Handle
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 24th February 2019A state similar to the instrument in the title is often the condition of prominent people who offer pronouncements about issues not related to their expertise. Typically, these proclamations concern politics, economics, and/or science and technology. Athletes and actors are obviously entitled to their opinions. Because they are prominent, their opinions get disseminated and commented…
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15 Minute Time Lapse From Space: Around the World Twice
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 1st December 2018The video below has nothing to do with the usual subjects of this site, but it’s so impressive that I thought it deserves as wide an audience as possible. The European Space Agency released this nearly 15 minute time lapse shot by astronaut Alexander Gerst. It’s the longest continuous time lapse from space yet available.
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Science and Knowledge: The More We Learn the Less We Know
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 22nd July 2018The Universe is not only stranger than you think; it’s stranger than you can imagine. Richard Feynman The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity. WB Yeats I take a walk everyday that passes me by the side entrance to a large building. The door is set at the back…
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A Troublesome Inheritance – Book Review
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 11th April 2018Subtitled Genes, Race and Human History, Nicholas Wade’s book has managed to get itself denounced by 144 geneticists in a letter to the New York Times Book Review. How has Wade managed this feat? He has a long and distinguished career as a science writer which includes a stint as Science Editor for the same…
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The Gene – Book Review
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 12th November 2017That children share traits with their parents, grandparents, and siblings has been recognized since antiquity. How these traits were transmitted remained a mystery for more than two millennia. Unmasking this process has been the greatest scientific discovery since man discovered fire. Siddhartha Mukherjee has written a history of this entire process – The Gene: An…
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The Paris Climate Accord and Reasoned Debate
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 3rd June 2017The center cannot hold… …
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The Genetically Modified Organism in Your House
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 12th April 2016Vermont in a spasm of enlightenment has mandated that all genetically modified foods sold in the Green Mountain State be so labeled. According to numerous polls 90% of the population of the USA thinks this a good idea. This is the same concerned and informed group that by an 80% margin supports labeling food that…
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Cosmosapiens – Book Review
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 27th March 2016Cosmosapiens by John Hands Subtitled Human Evolution from the Origin of the Universe, John Hands’ book attempts to explain the origin of the universe and our place in it; and he does so in less than 600 pages (about a quarter of a million words) including many tables and figures. Amazingly, except for a stumble towards…
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