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The Birth Paradox

The Birth Paradox

Oct 02 2025 | comment(s)

Surely you’ve noticed that many countries are subsidizing births – and others are banning abortions – even as tech lords lament the number of “useless people” in the world. You’ve noted the contradiction, and you’ve asked yourself, “What’s going on here?” Cool Hand Luke might say, “What we have here is a failure (of the two factions) to communicate.”

Air India Flight 171 Accident Summary - Key Findings

Air India Flight 171 Accident Summary - Key Findings

Oct 01 2025 | comment(s)

Air India Flight 171 Accident Summary - Key Findings

The purpose of an air accident report is to establish the most probable cause of the accident.  An air accident report should make recommendations to avoid such an accident in the future and should avoid assigning blame.  The AAIB Preliminary Report fails on both counts.

The AAIB report also fails to mention a key characteristic of the aircraft's high bypass turbofan engines: they continue to provide thrust for some time after the fuel is cut off.

Three Scenarios

There are three widely reported hypothetical statements about the probable cause of the Air India crash.
A  - Pilot fault.
B  - Maintenance fault.
Zombies In Love And Other Scary Things Taxpayers Fund

Zombies In Love And Other Scary Things Taxpayers Fund

Oct 01 2025 | comment(s)

We definitely need to DOGE nonsense like acupuncture out of the NIH and use that money for science but I don't want to live in a culture where children's theater doesn't want to have a play about "the ups-and-downs of a lovesick zombie who can’t find a date inthe land of the living."

It may not sound all that kid-friendly but this was a children's theater in Oregon and a stroll down any street in Portland exposes children to a lot worse things than lonely zombies.
Doctors Urged To Proactively Address Cancer Myths - Groups Like American Cancer Society Won't

Doctors Urged To Proactively Address Cancer Myths - Groups Like American Cancer Society Won't

Sep 28 2025 | comment(s)

Information freedom is a good thing but there is no question it has been weaponized. Many scientists have been ruined by activists and their trade groups who use Freedom of Information Act rules to find a sentence in correspondence with corporations or trade groups, remove it from context, and claim science is a corporate conspiracy. Then they publish it thanks to politically aligned schools like UC San Fransisco, where Tracey Woodruff, PhD, MPH, will help any attorney wanting to sue companies.
Deontological Decisions: Your Mother Tongue Never Leaves You

Deontological Decisions: Your Mother Tongue Never Leaves You

Sep 23 2025 | comment(s)

Ιf you asked a multilingual friend which language they find more emotional, the answer would usually be their mother tongue – the one they used while growing up and probably still use at home. This does not mean they are incapable of expressing emotion in another language, but there is a clear link between first languages and stronger emotional expression.

This has a lot to do with where and how we learn a language. Our first language, which linguists call L1, is usually acquired in the emotionally charged settings of childhood and family. Second languages, known as L2, are often learned in more neutral contexts, such as schools and institutions, making them less emotionally intense.

How Synthetic Pumpkin Spice Took Fall Away From Organic Apples

How Synthetic Pumpkin Spice Took Fall Away From Organic Apples

Sep 22 2025 | comment(s)

In 2003, the Human Genome Project was completed and both Tesla and LinkedIn were founded. Those were all interesting but not revolutionary; cars and job sites already existed, and we knew a lot about DNA, we just didn't have a complete "map" of a genome.

The biggest shift in culture was the introduction of the Pumpkin Spice Latte by Starbucks. In a few short years, it ended the dominance of apple cider to such an extent that unprompted people don't associate autumn with apple cider at all. Despite thousands of years of dominance as the Flavor of Fall.
Trust As Commodity: How Ukraine Public Services Keep Going During War

Trust As Commodity: How Ukraine Public Services Keep Going During War

Sep 22 2025 | comment(s)

Three years into war with Russia and martial law, public services continue to operate and citizens continue to have confidence in them. A new analysis of survey results in Government information Quarterly says trust in public figures and a sense of cooperation are key factors.
How Elementary Particles Die

How Elementary Particles Die

Sep 22 2025 | comment(s)

A preamble

Subnuclear physics obeys the laws of quantum mechanics, which are quite a far cry from those of classical mechanics we are accustomed to. For that reason, one might be inclined to believe that analogies based on everyday life cannot come close to explaining the behavior of elementary particles. But that is not true – in fact, many properties of elementary particles are understandable in analogy with the behavior of classical systems, without the need to delve into the intricacies of the quantum world. And if you have been reading this blog for a while, you know what I think – the analogy is a powerful didactical instrument, and it is indeed at the very core of our learning processes.

Air India Flight 171 - Ask The experts

Air India Flight 171 - Ask The experts

Sep 19 2025 | comment(s)

Air India Flight 171 - Ask The experts

An open letter

to H. Lawrence Culp, Jr.,
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
GE Aerospace

Dear Sir,

the pilots of Air India Flight 171 could be entirely exonerated if industry experts were motivated to investigate the AI 171 accident within their particular areas of expertise.

The AAIB preliminary report and various investigators in social media* agree that maximum airspeed was achieved before the fuel switches were moved.
Former NRDC Lawyer Robert Kennedy Just Handed His Friends A Huge Lawsuit Opportunity

Former NRDC Lawyer Robert Kennedy Just Handed His Friends A Huge Lawsuit Opportunity

Sep 18 2025 | comment(s)

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is a former Natural Resources Defense Council lawyer and once such a pillar of the Democratic party that President Obama floated his name to run the Environmental Protection Agency.

Now he controls the agency that controls EPA. That is a big win for anti-science progressives. And because they are playing chess, not checkers, anti-science Republicans think it's their idea.
Air India Flight 171 - The Vital Seconds

Air India Flight 171 - The Vital Seconds

Sep 15 2025 | comment(s)

Air India Flight 171 - The Vital Seconds

The Timeline - Vital Seconds.

This timeline is constructed from what little information was given in the AAIB Preliminary Report, together with what is publicly available about the 787-8's systems and engines.  The timeline is explained in more detail below and in my previous articles on Science 2.0

08:07:37 - Aircraft commenced takeoff roll.
    No problems indicated.
08:08:33 - Aircraft achieved 153 kts IAS - V1
    At about this time the fuel was shut off by FADEC/TCMA error.
08:08:35 - Aircraft achieved 155 kts IAS - VR
    Residual thrust at this point is still enough for takeoff.
Prenatal Depression May Be A Sign Of Privilege

Prenatal Depression May Be A Sign Of Privilege

Sep 15 2025 | comment(s)

New survey results find that sociocultural factors may be involved in how likely someone is to report moderate to severe depression symptoms and get a prenatal depression diagnosis.
‘Universal’ Antibody Cocktail Targets Flu Virus Weak Spot

‘Universal’ Antibody Cocktail Targets Flu Virus Weak Spot

Sep 15 2025 | comment(s)

FDA-approved flu treatments target viral enzymes of influenza but the virus mutates, which is why there is a new vaccine each year.

Recent work showed that a cocktail of antibodies offered protection mice from nearly every strain of influenza. Even avian and swine flu. Their cocktail did not allow viral escape, even after a month of repeated exposure.
Yankeedom, New France, Left Coast: 'Wellness' Is Regional And Based On Which Europeans Settled There

Yankeedom, New France, Left Coast: 'Wellness' Is Regional And Based On Which Europeans Settled There

Sep 15 2025 | comment(s)

People in the northeast of the United States think they have greater "wellness" than everywhere else except California. People in the southern United States think they have more wellness than everywhere else.

Which is right? They both are. Wellness may be in social media ad campaigns and have diets and apps and fads under the umbrella, but it's entirely subjective. The northeast believe they have greater wealth and social standing, which they consider traditional wellness. The south sense of purpose and community identity, which is existential wellness.
Charlie Kirk An American On The Level of Louis Farrakahn. Rest In Peace. He often quoted 'science' in a misleading way though.

Charlie Kirk An American On The Level of Louis Farrakahn. Rest In Peace. He often quoted 'science' in a misleading way though.

Sep 13 2025 | comment(s)

Charlie Kirk was shot while exercising his constitutional American right to free speech.  He was shot as if his very voice box had been the target. He was also someone who regularly engaged in racist, sexist, and homophobic rhetoric under the banner of “debate,” which he would either defend with a misuse or misunderstanding of science or the bible.
Air India Flight 171 Accident - The Most Probable Cause

Air India Flight 171 Accident - The Most Probable Cause

Sep 12 2025 | comment(s)

Air India Flight 171 Accident - The Most Probable Cause

In this article a combination of known facts and Newtonian mechanics is used to show that the most probable cause of the tragedy was a software fault.  Evidence is submitted which shows that the fuel was cut off by the aircraft's automated control systems and the switches were afterwards moved by a pilot as a perfectly proper corrective action.

Simplicity Versus Complexity
Cancer And Diabetes Deaths Down 80%, Why Do Progressives Insist The Modern World Kills Us?

Cancer And Diabetes Deaths Down 80%, Why Do Progressives Insist The Modern World Kills Us?

Sep 10 2025 | comment(s)

Death rates from non-communicable  diseases like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease continue to decline but you wouldn't know that by corporate media which prints every claim that some useful product is "linked" to shorter lifespans.

Weedkillers, processed food, artificial sugar, you name it and some activist group has weaponized the public against it - and only you sending their lawyers money to sue will prevent it. The drums of the anti-science movement have only gotten louder since one of the pillars of the progressive fringe got a job in, of all places, a Republican administration.(1)
Snus Works For Smoking Cessation And Harm Reduction

Snus Works For Smoking Cessation And Harm Reduction

Sep 09 2025 | comment(s)

Rather than encourage smoking cessation and harm reduction, the US Centers for Disease Control have spent over a decade undermining products that were not Big Pharma. That has been and remains a mistake. Smoking kills, and anything that helps reduce or eliminate it, from patches to gums to vaping to hypnosis, should be available.
The Bystander Effect Of Aggression - When Your Peers Attack

The Bystander Effect Of Aggression - When Your Peers Attack

Sep 09 2025 | comment(s)

If you have spent any time on social media, you have a different kind of bystander effect in action. Psychologists say if many people are around, the bystander effect is why everyone is less likely to help. They believe someone else will be more competent or know something you don't. If you walk by a person laying unconscious in New York City, based on experience they did not have a heart attack and are in peril. They are on drugs or alcohol.