BENEFITS OF SPACE TOURISM PART 1
SPACE TOURISM ALREADY EXISTS. AAAS Science, June 14, 2024, reports, “In 2021, four passengers, including billionaire businessman Jared Isaacman, rode into space on a SpaceX rocket, orbiting Earth for 3 days … Continue reading
BIRD FLU—YET ANOTHER CHALLENGE FOR HUMANITY?
THE BIRD FLU VIRUS H5N1 has been spreading around the world for two decades now. However, current assessments are that most of us have little need to worry. Those who … Continue reading
CONGRESSIONAL GOOFING AROUND WITH GOF PART 2
YESTERDAY WE BEGAN SHARING A DIALOGUE of two scientists commenting at AAAS’s Community Forum about the virological term “gain of function.” Today we continue this knowledgable commentary from Drs. Robert … Continue reading
CONGRESSIONAL GOOFING AROUND WITH GOF PART 1
THERE’S A POLITICIZING OF SCIENCE THESE DAYS. Lamentable but not surprising, given the current dysfunction of our national legislative body. As a case in point, Republicans are keen on convincing … Continue reading
CC Me—And Be Thankful for Cамиздат
AN OLD-TIME RADIO REFERENCE got me thinking of carbon paper. (What’s ‘carbon paper,’ Grandpa?) Here are selected tidbits gleaned from one place or another. Carbon Paper. Wikipedia notes, “Carbon paper (originally carbonic … Continue reading
CROWS COUNT
IN TEACHING MATH FOR ELEMENTARY TEACHERS, I oft shared the tale of a farmer plagued by crows feasting on his crops. The corvids weren’t fooled by a scarecrow. And they’d … Continue reading
SCIENCE (AND GENERATIVE A.I.) IN ACTION
THIS ALL STARTED WITH AN INTERESTING LITTLE ITEM in the “News” section of AAAS Science magazine, May 3, 2024. Its heading read “Physiology: All Dog Noses Are Created Equal.” And … Continue reading
THE PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
THERE’S IRONY TO BE HAD in my having a Ph.D. in mathematics. This is at least in part because I spent the majority of my career working in automotive journalism, … Continue reading
TIMEKEEPING—OBJECTIVE, GEOMETRIC, NUMERICAL, FRACTIONAL, DIGITAL
THE SANDS OF TIME ARE ONLY ONE way we describe its passage. The positions of stars and angled points of a sundial are geometric. We have numerals: “three fifty-two.” Also, … Continue reading
RPI BEATS WPI—QUANTUM-WISE!
BACK IN MY DAY, WORCESTER POLY always scheduled its homecoming weekend for when it played Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute—because a victory was all but assured. However, I must report that RPI … Continue reading
