Category Archives: Science

A STATISTICAL METHOD FOR ESTIMATING THE NUMBER OF RATS IN NEW YORK CITY.

Posted on October 23, 2016 by Philip

A STATISTICAL METHOD FOR ESTIMATING THE NUMBER OF RATS IN NEW YORK CITY. It is often said that there is one rat in New York City for every human, which would give an estimate of about 8 million rats in … Continue reading →

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THERE ARE TEN TIMES MORE GALAXIES IN THE UNIVERSE THAN PREVIOUSLY BELIEVED.

Posted on October 21, 2016 by Philip

THERE ARE TEN TIMES MORE GALAXIES IN THE UNIVERSE THAN PREVIOUSLY BELIEVED. Less than a month ago, I posted here about the Galaxy Zoo website’s enlisting thousands of nonscientists to classify millions of galaxies, beginning in 2007 with a data … Continue reading →

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USING THE WRONG ALGORITHM (COMMENT).

Posted on October 17, 2016 by Philip

USING THE WRONG ALGORITHM (COMMENT). In a comment on yesterday’s post, Nick called my attention to a new book by Cathy O’Neil, WEAPONS OF MATH DESTRUCTION, which deals with the social and human costs of choosing the wrong algorithm as … Continue reading →

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CHILDREN ARE “PROMISCUOUSLY NORMATIVE”.

Posted on October 1, 2016 by Philip

CHILDREN ARE “PROMISCUOUSLY NORMATIVE”. Alison Gopnik had an article in today’s Wall Street Journal (0ctober 1 to 2) which discusses how children as young as three years old will readily formulate rules and establish them as norms not to be … Continue reading →

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HOPE FOR READING THE SCROLLS AT HERCULANEUM.

Posted on September 27, 2016 by Philip

HOPE FOR READING THE SCROLLS AT HERCULANEUM. I posted here about my hopes that the scrolls at Herculaneum can eventually be read and about a New Yorker story about the Herculaneum scrolls that ended in disappointment. The Economist (September 14) … Continue reading →

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COUNTING AND CLASSIFYING MILLIONS OF GALAXIES.

Posted on September 26, 2016 by Philip

COUNTING AND CLASSIFYING MILLIONS OF GALAXIES. The Galaxy Zoo website (here) uses the efforts of thousands of nonscientists to make classifications of galaxies to select galaxies for further study. It started in July 2007, with a data set made up … Continue reading →

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MORE SUCCESSES OF NONSCIENTISTS HELPING WITH LABOR-INTENSIVE SCIENCE.

Posted on September 25, 2016 by Philip

MORE SUCCESSES OF NONSCIENTISTS HELPING WITH LABOR-INTENSIVE SCIENCE. I have posted several times in the last six years, including here, on the use of “Foldit”, an online videogame with over 50,000 registered users, to bring the efforts of large numbers … Continue reading →

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MORE GROSS SCIENCE—ANCIENT POOP.

Posted on September 21, 2016 by Philip

MORE GROSS SCIENCE—ANCIENT POOP. Here is an array of Gross Science episodes. This episode entitled “What Can You Learn From Ancient Poop?” features research which shows that a contemporary of Dante died from drinking poisoned tea. This episode entitled “Are … Continue reading →

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“GROSS SCIENCE”— THE PROS AND CONS OF INCEST (COMMENT).

Posted on September 20, 2016 by Philip

“GROSS SCIENCE”—THE PROS AND CONS OF INCEST (COMMENT). In his comment on genetic diversity in endangered species, Nick sent me this link to an episode of “Gross Science” from NOVA, a PBS series put together by Anna Rothschild. This episode … Continue reading →

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DIVERSITY AND THE SURVIVAL OF THE PANDA SPECIES (COMMENT).

Posted on September 19, 2016 by Philip

DIVERSITY AND THE SURVIVAL OF THE PANDA SPECIES (COMMENT). Diversity is a big problem for zookeepers trying to encourage endangered species. Nick commented on yesterday’s post on pandas about a conversation he had with our friend Tanner, who has been … Continue reading →

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