29 April – 3 May This week, Richard’s new book came out! Oh, nothing, just the one he co-authored with Temple Grandin about the autistic brain. I don’t know how to put this, but he’s kind of a big deal. Jessa and Ann ask him many questions. And yet, in middle of a busy book-signing schedule, Richard […]
22 – 26 April This week, guest poster Tienlon Ho broke LWON with her post about what happens when the cloud breaks up with you. LWON power couple Ann & Abstruse Goose took on the topic of penis envy. Eric continues our series on debunking Hollywood with a look at the annoying legitimisation of fringe […]
April 15-19 Can a country have post-traumatic stress disorder? This week, guest poster Amy Maxmen reported back from two weeks in Sierra Leone, where survivors and perpetrators eke out an uneasy truce after a ten year war. Cassie realised in the aftermath of the Boston bombings that no matter how fast Twitter and CNN can […]
8 – 12 April This week, Richard marveled at the quantum carnival that rages in the decimal points. You might have heard that birds and wind power don’t mix. Erik brings home the heartbreaking reality — and shows that there might be a solution. Erika explains why you don’t want any austerity cuts in the […]
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 […]
