Category Archives: Science

“YAKKITY YAKS”—HOW I FEEL ABOUT POLITICAL CORRECTNESS.

“YAKKITY YAKS”—HOW I FEEL ABOUT POLITICAL CORRECTNESS. Tyler Cowen criticizes eloquently the way that people speak about people on the autistic spectrum. He gives examples at the beginning of his article of well-meaning academics whose writings about autism reflect what … Continue reading

Posted in Politics, Science | Leave a comment

THINGS I LEARNED ABOUT THE AUTISTIC SPECTRUM.

THINGS I LEARNED ABOUT THE AUTISTIC SPECTRUM. Here are some things I learned from the articles I linked to yesterday: 1. Temple Grandin says that “The thing about being autistic is that you gradually get less and less autistic…because you … Continue reading

Posted in Science, Theater | 1 Comment

ACHIEVEMENTS BY PEOPLE ON THE AUTISTIC SPECTRUM.

ACHIEVEMENTS BY PEOPLE ON THE AUTISTIC SPECTRUM. This interview with Temple Grandin by Bari Weiss in the Wall Street Journal (February 20-21) begins with her speculation that it was somebody on the autistic spectrum who made the first stone spear. … Continue reading

Posted in Science | 2 Comments

THE SOLUTION TO “THE PHANTOM OF HEILBRONN” (SPOILER ALERT).

THE SOLUTION TO “THE PHANTOM OF HEILBRONN” (SPOILER ALERT). I posted here about “The Phantom of Heilbrunn.” Here is a wikipedia article about the solution to the mystery: “In late March 2009, investigators came to the conclusion that the “Phantom” … Continue reading

Posted in Science | 1 Comment

DINOSAURS WITH COLORED FEATHERS.

DINOSAURS WITH COLORED FEATHERS. I remember when science articles discussed the theory that birds are descended from dinosaurs as being a maverick view. A problem for its proponents was a lack of evidence. This wikipedia article describes how “it was … Continue reading

Posted in Science | Leave a comment

NOT TAKING YOUR MEDICINE—38%.

NOT TAKING YOUR MEDICINE—38%. When Mary Jane was facing a difficult prognosis for breast cancer sixteen years ago, our friend Joe Foley consoled me by pointing out that survival rates are lowered because many patients don’t follow through on their … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Science | Leave a comment

DATA FOR STUDIES ON AVASTIN.

DATA FOR STUDIES OF AVASTIN. The Avery Johnson article says that the UnitedHealth Group data shows that Avastin is used heavily for treating two types of cancer for which it has not been approved. It is prescribed for 24% of … Continue reading

Posted in Science | Leave a comment

A DATA BASE FOR CANCER.

A DATA BASE FOR CANCER RESEARCH. I have argued, for example here, that there should be a lot more data collection and statistical analysis on the thousands of cancer cases that are treated each year and took particular note that … Continue reading

Posted in Science | 1 Comment

HEARTS PHYSICALLY BROKEN BY LOVE.

HEARTS PHYSICALLY BROKEN BY LOVE. This article by Ron Winslow in the Wall Street Journal tells of the discovery in the early 1990’s of “broken-heart syndrome.” The syndrome gets its name because it seems especially to affect patients who have … Continue reading

Posted in Literature, Science, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

A WIKI APPROACH FOR SCIENTIFIC COMPUTER CODE?

A WIKI APPROACH FOR SCIENTIFIC COMPUTER CODE? This article in the Guardian calls for publication of the computer code for scientific articles. It is surprising to me (actually, I am appalled) that this is not already done as a matter … Continue reading

Posted in Science | 1 Comment