April 1 – 5 On April Fools day, Jennie Dushek teased the internet with the obituary of a great dad. I wondered whether science has anything interesting to say about stupidity. Cassie examined the evidence from the anti-vax side of the aisle and found it wanting. Guest poster Michael Balter told us about the dinosaurs […]
What is stupidity? That’s the question I set out to answer this week for New Scientist. The idea was to look at the science of stupidity, but it took me a good couple of weeks to stop hitting brick walls in my research. Respectable scientists don’t like to talk about stupidity. “Stupidity is an evaluative […]
March 18 – 22 FOLWON* guest poster Brooke Borel introduces the world to the bed bug hockey stick graph. Read it and you will understand why data journalism is about to change the world. That’s highly relevant for Erika’s post, because as she tells us, you only have control over your data until you become […]
March 4 – 8 This week, Tom delved deep into the mystery of the SCOBY lumps found at the bottom of an old jug of apple juice. Think nature documentaries merely observe? Don’t read Erik’s post. Heather describes the conditions faced by an archaeology writer in the field. If we want to get rid of […]
25 February to 1 March This week, Ann blew all our minds with the story of the Farm Hall tapes, the greatest-ever lesson in counterfactual thinking. Also, just off the cuff, who else thinks a dubstep group called “Hitler’s Uranium Club” lurks in our future? Cameron says no one does austerity quite like the people […]
11 – 15 February This week, Erik had a fascinating look at the people who think wind turbines are making them ill. Cameron explained why alligators never have to worry about shrinkage. Abstruse Goose neatly captured the infinite regress that tortures us science writers. I told you how gross bugs do Valentine’s day. And Richard […]
I’m not a big fan of Valentine’s day, but I love the ads. They are so utterly, transparently awful that they cross the line from crassly offensive into entertaining. Business Insider just did a brilliant roundup of the worst offenders of all time. They have a certain evolutionary-psychology simplicity to them — if you present […]
February 4 – 8 This week, Erika’s back! And she’s not happy about “informed consent“. Cameron considers the endangerment of the world’s apex predator, some of which are only as big as a chocolate bar! Cassie throws shade at the dodgy sleep aids of the 70s. Jessa tells us how architects are like psychoactive drug […]