Promoting Science and Critical Thinking
I reported earlier, a few weeks ago, that #Arctic sea ice was in a rather dire condition and that something crazy was going on because in the middle of winter it was melting. So where do things now stand, has it all turned out to be a blip and things are now back to normal, or … Read more
Viral fake videos abound because they tickle our imagination. So how do you effectively debunk one? If you were faced with a talking head where somebody proceeds to debunk it fact by fact, then most eyes will rapidly glaze over and the vast majority will simply move on. Is there a better solution? Actually, yes … Read more
Much is being written about fake news and so there has been a dawning realisation that we live in an age where there is a very distinct reality gap. Steve Benen writes on MSNBC about how disconnected some are from reality. He describes it as follows … what struck me as especially notable about the … Read more
Hemant Mehta, the Friendly Atheist blogger who used to be a maths teacher, plucks out a gem regarding fake news going viral from a presentation by blogger Dan Meyer. Dan’s keynote presentation is mostly a talk by a maths teachers to other teachers, hence Hemant’s interest. Be warned, unless you are into teaching, it will mostly … Read more
Scientific American has an open letter that is addressed to Donald Trump. It specifically relates to Climate Change and hence for rather obvious reasons asks him to take six key steps to address climate change to help protect “America’s economy, national security, and public health and safety.”. Everybody who has signed is a US based subject … Read more
Scientific American has a good article on a recently released U.S. Geological Survey report. the report itself spells out how melting permafrost is causing significant changes to the freshwater chemistry and hydrology of Alaska’s Yukon River. There they write … “As the climate gets warmer, the thawing permafrost not only enables the release of more greenhouse … Read more