A few recent experiences in the realm of potty training have me thinking about the shortcomings of the human machine. Evolution, for the most part, has been kind to us. But the intelligent designer was missing in action, apparently, when it came time to assign our powers of excretion and elimination. The fish and birds […]
Miscellaneous
Feb 27 – March 2 This week, Richard wondered who explores in a world that no longer has undiscovered country Michelle considered the people who are lured by open, arid landscapes, even as the land tries its best to shake them off Christie explored the ongoing consequences of Agent Orange in Viet Nam, and the […]
“Because it’s there.” Not good enough. The traditional explanation for our species’ imperative to go to the ends of the earth no longer holds, and it hasn’t held for a long time. An isolated population or two might still be lurking out there, somewhere, in a jungle or on an ice floe, harboring a “Because […]
Science or music, music or science? Too often when it comes to science-inflected tunage, that’s the choice one has to make. The best songs, usually, are only tangentially about science. The Low Anthem’s “Charlie Darwin,” for example, is stirringly beautiful, and improves with each listen well into the hundreds. But poor old Darwin doesn’t ever […]
A week ago, I found myself sitting in a small phlebotomy room at the back of my doctor’s office. Had you been a fly on the wall, this is what you would have observed: On one side of me stood a young nurse holding a hollow needle and a glass tube with a brown rubber […]
February 13 – 17 This week, we all showed a bit of ankle to commemorate Valentine’s Day (well, Cassie showed her toes) Guest poster Sarah Zielinski told us what we’ll find in “Pickering’s Harem” Richard got punked by Tom Cruise while explaining the differences (and similarities) between show biz and science Hogan faced Hayden in […]
The magician Todd Robbins eats light bulbs. For a while last year he practiced his brand of indigestitation in an off-Broadway show on magic and murder, Play Dead. Most of the production was in the tradition of Ricky Jay’s several one-man meditations on the history of hokum. The one exception came early in the show […]
In 2008, I published a book about the evolutionary origins and cultural development of warfare throughout human history. John Horgan, about as distinguished a science writer as one is likely to find, graciously invited me to share my thoughts on war’s deep past and possible futures on a web video show he hosted. It was […]
