The Last Word On Nothing

One year ago today, the People of LWON published their first post. It was by Josie Glausiusz, it was on flesh-eating algae, and we thank her for setting that tone.

Writing LWON — that is, writing what we want to and in the way we want to write it — turns out to be a release and blessed relief.  And since writing is no good unless it’s read, we hope you’ll keep reading; we love it when you do that.  And talking back; we love back-talk too.  We don’t love our pay scale but we don’t see what to do about it.

Anyway, to honor the occasion, we offer two lists.

List #1:  our votes for our own favorite posts

Ann:  An argument about crows

Cassandra:  Ancient forms of biological warfare

Erika:  Seeking clarity for the toughest decisions of all

Heather:  Stonehenge through Gandalf’s eyes

Jessa:  A dead world at sunset

Richard:  Must come down

Sally:  The little roller girl who could

Thomas:  Battles so fierce they could almost be human

Virginia:  The brain’s dark energy

List #2:  questions for the other LWONites which they are now honor-bound to answer.  In the fullness of time.  At their convenience.  But thoroughly, substantively, and charmingly, and with joy and care.  As usual.  No pressure.

Ann, for Heather:  People have been living and building things in North America for tens of thousands of years, the same tens of thousands that they’ve been in India, China, Egypt, Mesoamerica, Europe; so why do we know comparatively so little about North American paleolithics?  My numbers could be off by a factor of 10 or 1000.

Cassandra, for Richard: How do we know the laws of physics are universal? Why can’t there be a far-off galaxy where our laws of physics don’t apply? (Is that a really stupid question?)

Erika, for Virginia:   The field of autism research has been marred by past fraud and bad research, but how is the field doing now in terms of rigorous science? What is the most promising theory about how autism develops, and who is doing the best science to pin down this theory?

Heather, for Ann:   SETI research — I’ve read about the budget crisis that has shut down the radio telescopes at the Hat Creek Radio Observatory in California.  Has any solid science come out of the Hat Creek facility – any findings that advance our knowledge of the universe? I know that both Paul Allen and NASA sunk millions into the observatory. Can it be repurposed now to other scientific research?

Jessa, for Thomas:  Squirrel it however you like — War: What is it good for?

Richard, for Cassandra:  In your bio on the site, you write, “I can tell you … why circumcision makes a man less likely to catch HIV.”  Okay . . . go.

Sally, for Erika:  What do you think is the moral cutoff point (if any) for animal research? Is there one? Does that imply a spectrum of frivolous to important research?

Thomas, for Sally:  I’m wondering, given your recent relocation to the UK, do Britannics interact with technology differently than North Americans do?  And please, do tell us about the British interest in sex robots.

Virginia, for Jessa:  Your upcoming book is about experiencing time in different cultures. I can’t wait to read it. In the meantime, could you tell us which country/city/village, in your opinion, has the best conception of time? (However you’d like to define “best.”) In other words, where should I move to feel more sane?

Meanwhile, while we get to work on all this, wish us well, will you?

* * *

Photo credits:  sparkler – Gabriel Pollard; milkweed – Denis Collette; sea anemones – Juliana Baylão