On February 26, 2010 in science
by David Bradley
Symphony of science, science is the poetry of reality (an anthem for science). It's amazing what you can do with Autotune and a sequencer Dawkins, Sagan, PZMyers and others all sing the song of science and they all sound infinitely better than Cher.
Wonderful. Hat tip to Greg Laden and Skepchick.
On February 24, 2010 in science
by David Bradley
Here's a little puzzle. Spot the difference:
(a) "The British Chiropractic Association claims that their members can help treat children with colic, sleeping and feeding problems, frequent ear infections, asthma and prolonged crying, even though there is not a jot of evidence. This organisation is the respectable face of the chiropractic profession and yet it happily promotes these treatments."
(b) "The British Chiropractic Association claims that their members can help treat children with colic, sleeping and feeding problems, frequent ear infections, asthma and prolonged crying, even though ...
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On February 23, 2010 in science
by David Bradley
Katie Jones recently read a post on Sciencebase about the herbal "remedy" Rhodiola rosea for which there is little verifiable independent evidence of efficacy. Nevertheless, the comments thread caught her attention as it shuttles back and forth between those who have faith in unproven herbal tonics and those who would prefer at least some science-based evidence to appear before imbibing plant extracts of unknown chronic toxicity.
Jones offers a neat summary of the comment thread:
1) It is insane to think that any one product can cure ...
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On February 22, 2010 in science
by scerri
Eric R. Scerri (2008) Collected Papers on Philosophy of Chemistry. Imperial College Press, London. ISBN-13 978-1-84816-137-5: ISBN-10 1-84816-137-9: 248 pages. Price: $101 / 56.
Reviewed by: Joseph E. Earley, Department of Chemistry, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA.
What has philosophy to do with chemistry? Robert Boyle (1627-1691) a founder of modern chemistry had a low opinion of many philosophers. He claimed that the School-philosophers have their recourse to Agents that are not onely invisible, but inconceivable. Present-day chemists frequently form similar opinions on reading philosophical discussions ...
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