Promoting Science and Critical Thinking
Yes, it is almost Olympic time, so obviously I have no idea what could have possibly inspired a team of researchers led by Dr Carl Heneghan of Oxford’s centre for evidence-based medicine to look into the claims made for sports related products. The BMJ has their study and it is entitled “Mythbusting sports and exercise products“. … Read more
There is an article in which Skype founder Jaan Tallinn claims …”Machines are becoming so intelligent that they could pose an existential threat“. Really!! OK, lets take a look. The article is in the Sidney Morning Herald . Claim: “Jaan Tallinn argues human-driven technological progress has largely replaced evolution as the dominant force shaping our … Read more
Yesterday, 4th July 2012, was indeed one of the great days in the history of science, and hopefully I need not explain why, instead here are a few quotes that I picked up … Brian Cox … This is without doubt in my opinion the biggest scientific discovery of my lifetime and without doubt one … Read more
It’s the scientific equivalent of the 639-year-long recital of John Cage’s “As Slow As Possible” (a performance of which in Germany is currently in its 11th year and with a new note due on 5 July). In 1927, … yes, 1927 ….Professor Thomas Parnell, the first physics professor at Australia’s University of Queensland, decided to … Read more
The rumors are circulating, and it looks like we get official confirmation tomorrow. The expectation is that CERN will announce the discovery of Higgs tomorrow … in terms of a “four-sigma confidence interval”, or to be precise 4.4. Huh? OK, let me explain, it is all about what the numbers tell them. four-sigma = 1 … Read more
There is a really interesting article on the BBC site today, (interesting for me anyway). It asks the question – “What do you need to do to live beyond 100?”. Yep, I have a skeptics hat on, and so I am wondering if it is just the usual “eat your veg and take plenty of … Read more