Category Archives: Science

IMPROVING ON THE WISDOM OF CROWDS—FISH.

Posted on March 26, 2011 by Philip

IMPROVING ON THE WISDOM OF CROWDS—FISH. Although I found it interesting that day stock traders put in so much effort to talking to other traders, Jonah Lehrer (and the researchers at Northwestern that he cites) found something more interesting—a way … Continue reading →

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FINDING THE WISDOM OF CROWDS—ONE PERSON AT A TIME.

Posted on March 25, 2011 by Philip

FINDING THE WISDOM OF CROWDS—ONE PERSON AT A TIME. Jonah Lehrer reports here at his blog (The Frontal Cortex) and also in the Wall Street Journal (March 19-20) on a paper by scientists at Northwestern University which analyzed instant messages … Continue reading →

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ACADEMICS BEHAVING BADLY—THE ASH TRAY ARGUMENT.

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Philip

ACADEMICS BEHAVING BADLY—THE ASH TRAY ARGUMENT. I posted here about an academic reporting another classicist to the FBI as a suspect in the Unibomber search because his review of her book was suspiciously harsh. (She said: “I voluntarily went to … Continue reading →

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PRECISION IN COSMOLOGY.

Posted on February 27, 2011 by Philip

PRECISION IN COSMOLOGY. David Kaiser has an essay in the London Review of Books (February 17) in which he recounts the changes in cosmology since he began studying it some 20 years ago. Back then one of his undergraduate teachers … Continue reading →

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THE BENEFITS AND COSTS OF FIGHTING MALARIA.

Posted on February 26, 2011 by Philip

THE BENEFITS AND COSTS OF FIGHTING MALARIA. Analyzing the benefits and costs of using DDT against malaria is complicated, as this wikipedia article illustrates. For example, DDT is easy to misuse, especially in agriculture; the continuous life cycle of the … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Science | 3 Comments

MALARIA—780,000 DEATHS A YEAR.

Posted on February 25, 2011 by Philip

MALARIA—780,000 DEATHS A YEAR. Richard Horton, the editor of The Lancet, begins a review in the New York Review of Books (February 24) of a new book about current efforts to fight malaria with the sentence: “The US eradicated malaria … Continue reading →

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MULTIPLE DAVID GELERTNERS.

Posted on February 2, 2011 by Philip

MULTIPLE DAVID GELERTNERS. One of the consequences of infinite universes is the notion that there may be a number of duplicates of each person. David Gelertner says to Brian Greene: “You write that, if parallel universes really exist, “‘there are … Continue reading →

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LOTS OF BIG BANGS.

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Philip

LOTS OF BIG BANGS. My first post on this blog was about how “radiation from the Big Bang still affects our radio reception.” I have since posted several times about what cosmologists are saying about the Big Bang, including this … Continue reading →

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MAYBE WE SHOULDN’T TRY TO PROVE SO MUCH.

Posted on January 7, 2011 by Philip

MAYBE WE SHOULDN’T TRY TO PROVE SO MUCH. There is a tension between scientific research directed toward proof (for example by” gold-standard” tests) and tests directed toward making decisions about treatment in situations involving life, death and pain. I think … Continue reading →

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“THE TRUTH WEARS OFF.”

Posted on January 6, 2011 by Philip

“THE TRUTH WEARS OFF.” Jonah Lehrer had an important article in the New Yorker (December 13 )about how the results of some randomized statical experiments can deteriorate over time. He begins with a finding from an experiment in 1990 that … Continue reading →

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