Category Archives: Science

LYME DISEASE IS OVER 5000 YEARS OLD.

LYME DISEASE IS OVER 5000 YEARS OLD. Otzi is thought to have had Lyme disease, a disease which was only identified 5000 years later.

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THE ICEMAN HAS AT LEAST 19 LIVING RELATIVES.

THE ICEMAN HAS AT LEAST 19 LIVING RELATIVES. A paper in the journal Science reports on a genetic study which has determined that Otzi, the iceman found along the Italy/Austria border in 1991, has at least 19 relatives living today. … Continue reading

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WHAT ARE THE ODDS OF YOUR BEING HERE?

WHAT ARE THE ODDS OF YOUR BEING HERE? Some time when I was about ten I read a popular book about genetics. It included a chapter about human genetics. I accepted the idea of a sperm matching up with an … Continue reading

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EMPSON AND QUANTUM PHYSICS.

EMPSON AND QUANTUM PHYSICS. Jonathan Bate in his THE GENIUS OF SHAKESPEARE (Google book pages 313 to 315 here) highlights the influence of discoveries in quantum physics on SEVEN TYPES OF AMBIGUITY. Empson himself adverted to the discoveries in atomic … Continue reading

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EMPSON—EMBRACING ALL THE MEANINGS.

EMPSON—EMBRACING ALL THE MEANINGS. Just as Orwell rejoiced in the multiple meanings of words, Empson’s breakthrough was a rejection of the idea that there is a single meaning for a word. Empson said in SEVEN TYPES OF AMBIGUITY that his … Continue reading

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RONALD COASE AND PHRENOLOGY.

RONALD COASE AND PHRENOLOGY. Ronald Coase came from a humble background. He owed his academic career to phrenology. In the biography which he prepared for the Nobel Prize committee, he noted that: “Both my parents had left school at the … Continue reading

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HOW IMPORTANT IS STRENGTHENING A WEAKNESS?

HOW IMPORTANT IS STRENGTHENING A WEAKNESS? Anderson and Sally conclude that a soccer team’s performance is more affected by its weakest link than by its strongest. A soccer team should focus on reinforcing its poorest positions. This kind of question … Continue reading

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IS THERE MORE LUCK IN SOCCER THAN IN OTHER SPORTS?

IS THERE MORE LUCK IN SOCCER THAN IN OTHER SPORTS? In the September 6 TLS, David Goldblatt reviewed a book which, in the MONEYBALL tradition, applies statistics to football (soccer): THE NUMBERS GAME by Chris Anderson and David Sally. Anderson … Continue reading

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PENN AND TELLER LOOK AT VERMEER.

PENN AND TELLER LOOK AT VERMEER. This analysis of the chandelier in Jan van Eyck’s Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife shows how contentious is the issue of whether Vermeer and other old masters used scientific instruments in their … Continue reading

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TIM JENISON PAINTS A VERMEER.

TIM JENISON PAINTS A VERMEER. In the movie Penn and Teller show how Penn’s friend Tim Jenison reproduced Vermeer’s The Music Lesson. Jenison had never painted before. However, he was an expert in computer graphics and digital video. This gave … Continue reading

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