Category Archives: Science

UPDATE–ANIMALS TALKING.

Posted on December 17, 2007 by Philip

UPDATE–ANIMALS TALKING. I posted here about the death of Alex the parrot, who had learned 150 words. Here is a skeptical account of the language abilities of animals from Professor Clive Wynne of the University of Florida (link via artsandlettersdaily). … Continue reading →

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UPDATE – PROUST WAS A NEUROSCIENTIST HAS BEEN PUBLISHED.

Posted on November 21, 2007 by Philip

UPDATE – PROUST WAS A NEUROSCIENTIST HAS BEEN PUBLISHED. This is a good time to update some of the posts from the last year. Jonathan Lehrer’s book PROUST WAS A NEUROSCIENTIST has been published, as he announced on his blog. … Continue reading →

Posted in Literature, Science | 1 Comment

“PELL-MELL” TODAY.

Posted on November 5, 2007 by Philip

PELL-MELL” TODAY. I have been posting on Tom Wolfe’s assertion that the American idea is the rejection of aristocracy and precedence. In a 1983 article on Robert Noyce, one of the founders of the Intel Corporation and one of the … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Science | 1 Comment

TOM WOLFE ON AMERICAN COLLEGES.

Posted on November 5, 2007 by Philip

TOM WOLFE ON AMERICAN COLLEGES. In the article I posted on today (see above), Tom Wolfe wrote about how Robert Noyce had had the good fortune to go to the college in 1948 with the best course in the world … Continue reading →

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ALEX, THE PARROT.

Posted on September 22, 2007 by Philip

ALEX, THE PARROT. Alex, the parrot, has died at the age of 31. This Economist article lists some of his accomplishments. He had a vocabulary of 150 words. His accomplishments would appear to require reasoning. He understood and could discuss … Continue reading →

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“IDEAS MOVED. PEOPLE LESS SO.”

Posted on September 8, 2007 by Philip

“IDEAS MOVED. PEOPLE LESS SO.” I have previously posted here on what DNA is now telling us about population movements in the British Isles. Here are two posts from Chicago Boyz which review a new book by Bryan Sykes, SAXONS, … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Science | 1 Comment

THE PLACEBO EFFECT AND EXPERIMENTATION ON HUMANS.

Posted on April 19, 2007 by Philip

THE PLACEBO EFFECT AND EXPERIMENTATION ON HUMANS. Annalisa in her comment on THE LUCK OF RONALD REAGAN said, “I’m sure someone somewhere has done studies about good luck charms ‘working’ thanks to the placebo effect.” My brother Elmer also asked … Continue reading →

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WHY WHITE SOX AND CUB FANS AND DANES ARE HAPPY.

Posted on March 25, 2007 by Philip

WHY WHITE SOX AND CUB FANS AND DANES ARE HAPPY. This is a great time of year for Chicago baseball fans. Games in the Cactus League (and the Grapefruit League) don’t count. We can cherish hopes, knowing that they are … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball, Science, Sports | 5 Comments

SPRING THAWS AND STONE WALLS.

Posted on March 22, 2007 by Philip

SPRING THAWS AND STONE WALLS. The stone walls here in Connecticut memorialize the spring thaws of the past, as this post from an always interesting free market blog describes.

Posted in History, Science | 1 Comment

RAMUNAJAN.

Posted on March 22, 2007 by Philip

RAMUNAJAN. Forty years ago the autobiography of the mathematician G. H. Hardy was something of a best seller. The main reason, I think, was his moving account of the life and death of his young protege, Srinivasa Ramanujan. Ramanujan was … Continue reading →

Posted in Journalism, Science | 1 Comment