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Life-Size Sculptures Uncovered In Pompeii Debunk Myths About Ancient Women

Life-Size Sculptures Uncovered In Pompeii Debunk Myths About Ancient Women

Apr 04 2025 | comment(s)

Visitors to the site of Pompeii, the ancient Roman town buried (and so preserved for thousands of years) by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79AD, don’t often think to look beyond the city walls. And it’s easy to understand why: there’s plenty on offer within this monumentally well-preserved town, from jewel-like wall paintings of myths and legends like Helen of Troy, to the majestic amphitheater and sumptuously stuccoed baths.

But step outside the gates for a moment, and you’re in a very different – yet no less important – world.

The Problem With Peer Review

The Problem With Peer Review

Apr 02 2025 | comment(s)

In a world where misinformation, voluntary or accidental, reigns supreme; in a world where lies become truth if they are broadcast for long enough; in a world where we have unlimited access to superintelligent machines, but we prefer to remain ignorant; in this world we are unfortunately living today, that is, the approach taken by scientists to accumulate knowledge - peer review - is something we should hold dear and preserve with care. And yet...
Mammals On The Ground Before The Dinosaurs Were Gone

Mammals On The Ground Before The Dinosaurs Were Gone

Apr 02 2025 | comment(s)

For decades, natural history books have taught that when a catastrophic asteroid struck Earth 66 million years ago, it wiped out the dinosaurs and gave mammals – until then mostly small, tree-dwelling creatures – a chance to flourish on the ground​. It’s the classic “mammals rise after dinosaurs fall” narrative.

Yes, We’re Living Inside A Simulation

Yes, We’re Living Inside A Simulation

Apr 01 2025 | comment(s)

Reporting Live From The SmartZero City Conference, Taipei

Reporting Live From The SmartZero City Conference, Taipei

Mar 28 2025 | comment(s)

What are sustainable cities, and can we build them? I put my Institute Fellows’ decades of experience together with the content of this fine conference, and conclude: (1) A sustainable city will attend equally to innovation, to human opportunity and dignity, and to the Earth. (2) Cities are not yet doing that. (3) There are obstacles.

With Fluoride Ban, Utah Sets Out To Be The California Of The Right Wing

With Fluoride Ban, Utah Sets Out To Be The California Of The Right Wing

Mar 28 2025 | comment(s)

When asked about an effort to ban fluoride in drinking water, Utah Governor Spencer Cox said, "It’s not a bill I care that much about” but he still signed it, despite the health benefits being well-established and claims of harm being the kind of slimy epidemiology that claims "risk" of BPA, weedkillers, PFAS, and too many products to count.

Utah wants to be the California of the right-wing; ban things because it matches the politics of their voters and science will be marginalized.(1)
Is Canadian Patriotism Why Religion Is So Unpopular In The Country?

Is Canadian Patriotism Why Religion Is So Unpopular In The Country?

Mar 28 2025 | comment(s)

In 1961, less than one per cent of Canadians identified as having no religion. In 2021, 43 per cent of those between 15 and 35 considered themselves religiously unaffiliated.

Organized religion — and especially Christianity — is in decline. Secularization is advancing apace. Most sociologists of religion agree on this. What they disagree about, however, is why.

Sticky Pesticides Reduce Chemicals Needed To Protect Plants

Sticky Pesticides Reduce Chemicals Needed To Protect Plants

Mar 25 2025 | comment(s)

It's easy for Greenpeace employees in cities to talk about farming but in the real world, without pesticides we'd lose 78 percent of fruit, 54 percent of vegetables, and 32 percent of cereal crops.

Most farmers want to optimize razor-thin margins and protect their biggest asset, land, so they are cautious about spraying too much, but the organic process leads to startling amounts of nitrogen runoff into rivers and ground water. A study claims 31 percent of agricultural soils around the world were at high risk from pesticide pollution while the old ways of German farmers recently showed they were exposing everything to wasted chemicals. Seed treatments like neonicotinoids have gone a long way to reducing runoff but some products can only be sprayed. 
If The World Bank Stops Banning Nuclear, Boomer Environmentalism Is Over

If The World Bank Stops Banning Nuclear, Boomer Environmentalism Is Over

Mar 24 2025 | comment(s)

Greenpeace is facing bankruptcy after a $667,000,000 judgment. For the first time ever, the number of U.S. federal employees declined. Democrats have begun to consider they might be wrongly defending terrorists. They even became pro-vaccine for the first time this century. 

The best thing President Donald Trump may have done for science and political sanity is to switch from Democrat to Republican and bring Bobby Kennedy Jr. and Elon Musk along with him. It forced Democrats, who are nearly 90% of career government employees, to suddenly defend things they had opposed for decades.(1)

Like nuclear energy. Which means we could usher in a new Golden Age of Science.
Learning Through Student Feedback And The Role Of Digital Engagement

Learning Through Student Feedback And The Role Of Digital Engagement

Mar 20 2025 | comment(s)

In this article I'm going to examine how student feedback plays a pivotal role in enhancing learning design and engagement, particularly in online education environments. I will explore the mechanisms by which timely, constructive feedback not only improves course content and delivery but also empowers students as co-creators in the learning process.