TRUTH AND PROOF: AN EXAMPLE FROM EASY NUMBER THEORY
THIS PARTICULAR election campaign–thank goodness it’s almost over!– has been littered with innuendo, accusation and downright prevarication. As a counterpoint, I offer an example of truth, verified by genuine, unadulterated … Continue reading
SCIENCE AND THE CITY
A NEW BOOK, Science and the City: The Mechanics Behind Metropolis is a must-read. A book review titled “Street Smart,” by Sybil Derrible, is in the latest Science, October 21, … Continue reading
DIRECTIONS IN 3D PRINTING
3D PRINTING, also known as additive manufacturing, is the layer-by-layer fabrication of a product done under computer control. Science magazine, published weekly by the American Association of Science, offers an … Continue reading
SCIENCE BITES
THAT IS, “BITES” in the sense of tidbits. In perusing my weekly Science magazine of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, I regularly encounter things that lead to … Continue reading
OUR AXIOMATIC FOUNDING FATHER
“WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS to be self-evident” begins the second paragraph of the United States Declaration of Independence. Its author Thomas Jefferson then enumerates these truths: “that all men are … Continue reading
GREAT CAESAR’S FATHER-IN-LAW’S GHOST
A NEAT APPLICATION of archaeology, tomography and computer science has virtually unrolled a fragile 2000-year-old scroll. In today’s title, I invoke the memory of Superman/Clark Kent’s boss, Perry White, editor … Continue reading
NANOPOROUS FABRICS MAY KEEP US COOL
THE SAME SCIENTIFIC principle that explains a blue sky might bring new fabrics that keep us cool. Researchers have recently engineered polyethylenes that are measurably better than cotton or “cool” … Continue reading
THINKING ABOUT AVERAGE
LAKE WOBEGON FOLKS are all above average, yet how many of them know the difference between median and mean? This time, I’m not referring to that strip of land between … Continue reading
GEOLOGICALLY SPEAKING, WHAT TIME IS IT?
LET’S TALK ABOUT geology’s time clock. Stratigraphy concerns what can be learned from the order and relative position of rock layers. The word is a Latin/Greek hybrid: stratum Latin for … Continue reading
MORE POWER TO YA
AMERICA’S POWER GRID is the largest in the world. But it’s not the most modern, nor the most reliable. Gretchen Bakke’s book The Grid addresses these points and others. Cymene Howe … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 